Chapter Twenty-Four:

Cold

The following days were a mix of rush and joy for the members of the Black Army. The smile forming on Jack's face after every meeting was more than enough to drive White absolutely out of her nerves. The general cheerfulness coming from the others was right out infuriating for the Headmistress. She still did not understand why every single one of her most targeted students seemed so happy about. At every meeting, there was something new to cheer for.

Hiccup was especially proud of the general commotion, after he had successfully taught Merida the stunning charm; helped Astrid to master the levicorpus jinx, and even learned the freezing charm from Jack – no small deed. Even Aster seemed more confident at their everyday routine, and found ways to imagine White's face on the targets whenever he practiced the stunning charm. He could nearly hear her voice spitting barbarities about mudbloods – and that was more than enough to propel the australian boy to cast the spells at the edge of his rage.

It didn't take long for Jack and Hiccup turn back to their former awkward state. On every aspect they acted just like they once did back when they met. The shift in their behaviour could be nearly sensed by Astrid and Aster, who both had a good guess on the nature of their relationship, but smartly chose to remain quiet near them.

There was a bit of anger too. Hiccup was hurt, but stubborn as he was he'd never let that show. At night, he would slip out of the tower and fly Toothless out to the cold, the dark scales of the dragon mixing with the night and shadowing beneath the stars until they were far off into the sky. He would cry to himself, and even though part of him hated the distance from the other boy, he knew that there were far more important things to worry about.

He focused on Toothless after the meetings. Nearly every night he'd take out the dragon from inside his pockets and run to the Forest. Sometimes he wondered all the way to the Seventh Floor, standing before the doors of the Room of Requirement and mentally ask for a place he could fly. The first night he got in, he was so amazed at the tallest room he had ever stepped foot, full of pillars and pathways he could fly to, and his first impulse was to call for Jack.

This is for Toothless, he would think, shaking his head before flicking his wand to the dragon. "Essentio!" He whispered, and the 'model' revealed itself into a glorious dragon.

Even inside the expanded Room of Requirement, Hiccup missed the nights he could fly out in dark sky. Flying outside was true freedom. The black scales of Toothless would blend in with the sky and they would pierce through the air in full speed at every curve, descent and dives. Magnificent.


Even with all the excitement of the Black Army and the distraction that was watching White losing her façade of collected control, the students still had to attend classes, deliver their homework on time and live though the charm of school life. Astrid and Hiccup would often sneak into the library on their free periods – they still had to find a teacher to assume the Care of Magical Creatures class. Hiccup had the small model Toothless on his desk, currently curling around its tail with eyes wide open, staring at the two friends.

"I heard that Professor Slughorn is giving a party next week." Hiccup said, aware if Madam Pince was not eavesdropping on the two. Astrid smirked.

"Yeah, for his Slug Club." She nodded while scribbling answers on her Potions essay. "I haven't attended most of his meetings, to be honest."

"I didn't know you were in the Club." The boy replied, shaking his head to get his hair away from his eyes. "How did you make it?"

"We don't, actually, he just invites whoever he particularly likes." She explained simply. "He asked about you once." Hiccup looked up at her, his brows furrowing into a questioning gaze. "He was curious. Hell, everybody is curious about you."

"What you mean?" An irritated shush from Madam Pince reminded them to keep quiet. They exchanged an amused glance while Toothless gave an annoyed yawn.

"I mean, you showed up on the Prophet at least three times this year," Hiccup's eyes saddened when he remembered the reason. "And to most people, your mom is a hero now. And you're a great student and a terrific dueller. I mean, if I were Slughorn, I'd be trying to get you in the club ever since the beginning of the year."

Hiccup looked down, taking in this new view of himself. The boy wouldn't think of himself as popular, nor valuable. Especially with the way things were going, popularity was considered less useful than love potions in his mind. At least love potions could bring Jack back, he thought, but quickly shook away this absurd.

"He said we can bring guests, if we wanted." Astrid said as she waited for Hiccup's inexistent reply. "I am taking Aster, though, but I'm sure someone could bring you in."

"Aster?" Hiccup trailed, looking at his friend with an amused look. "So you two…"

Astrid's face flushed, the girl almost choking. "No, no, no," She quickly stuttered, and Madam Pince shushed again. "We are just goin-going as friends! Only friends."

Hiccup scoffed, which made Astrid blush even more furiously as he turned back to his parchment. "Yeah, right."

"You should take notes." The girl said, and now Hiccup stopped moving. "Maybe it could give you some advantage with Jackie there," She sang the name, effectively mocking Hiccup.

"Yeah, well, we know that is not going to work. He doesn't want anything to do with me." He spoke lowly, nearly growling.

"Well, I don't know about that, he considered inviting you to the party." She said lazily, her eyes glancing sideways.

"Is Jack part of the Slug Club?"

"Yeah… The old Slug was interested in Jack's frosting skill, I guess." She answered, "He didn't invite anyone to go with him yet."

Hiccup remained silent for a while, taking it in. Then shrugging it off. "Well, he'll find someone soon enough."

"Hiccup…" Astrid tried.

"Someone better, like one of those girls that keep swooning at him…"

"IF YEH CANNOT READ WITH YER MOUTH SHUT, THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LIBRARY!"

Madam Pince had finally lost it, because she was aiming any hard object at the two. Hiccup quickly gathered Toothless back into his pocket while Astrid lifted her books to protect her head, pulling Hiccup away from the Library, laughing as the witch cursed all sort of hexes to the corridor.


The thing is, throughout the whole White's ordeal, they could nearly feel the eyes popping out of the walls whenever they moved. White was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and Filch was working like a shadow behind the students, watching their every move.

The changes came up slowly. A few more rules here, a couple more detentions there. The Quidditch matches became impossibly unfair once that White banned the Gryffindor' seeker from playing, accused of associating with illicit purchases from Weasley Wheezes – all proven fake as Merida reported at the very next meeting of the Black Army.

"They've been framed," She explained as she collapsed on the comfortable plump cushions of the room, her fierce red curls spreading like a crown around her head. "Ah've heard my teemates scheming to plant those Dungbombs inside the Gryffindor's dressin' cabin. Filch's out there in the corridor patrolling, nobody should be able ter leave the room for this hour." She sighed before letting her head fall backwards against the cushions.

"They banned that Kingstom girl." Azel explained as she walked away from the bookshelves, that same copy of Muy Obscure Rituals on her arms; her golden blonde hair as always folded on a neat beehive above her head. "She is a muggle-born, so White just kicked her out of the team. Without a seeker, there is no way Gryffindor could win the game."

"We can still make over 150 points before them." Someone from the Gryffindor team suggested. "We'd still win if…"

"Fat chance," Aster retorted. "We'd never get that far before they catch the Snitch, and we couldn't let them score even one goal!"

"We need a new seeker, then." Another boy replied.

"Are we seriously discussing Quidditch at this point?!" Merida yelled, even though she had started the conversation. "White's nearly purgin' the school of muggle-borns and all ya concerned about is how to replace a goddamned player?" A Gryffindor boy opened his mouth to the raging girl, but docked as she threw a heavy book over his head. "To hell with your game!"

A strange silence fell on the room, but it took two seconds for Jack to notice the blonde girl standing at the doors. "Astrid?" He asked, furrowing his brows as the girl remained immovable at the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" Aster rushed to the girl, his hands ghosting over her elbows, but the girl walked past him, walking on a straight line to Jack.

"It's Hiccup!" She nearly whispered, and Jack's heart sank from his chest. "White called him in again, he's in her office right now."


The dreadful woman had intercepted Hiccup personally while he was only making his way out of his Common Room, barely making into the Grand Staircase when she materialised in front of him, the most devious expression as she stood unmovable in front of the boy and ordered him to follow her all the way to the very place they were sitting. "I thought that now that you're the Headmistress, you'd be using Professor McGonagall's office." Hiccup said simply as he slumped onto the chair across from White's desk. The same evil smirk was there, pulling her lips in a twisted sense of dread and suppression.

Hearing Hiccup's assumption, the woman's expression turned into one of obnoxiousness, and it took no words from her for the boy to presume that McGonagall made the room impenetrable. He smirked.

"I believe this is not what we should be discussing here, mister Haddock." She spoke quietly, her voice still piercing like knives on a chalkboard. "McGonagall is not here to bother me anymore. However, there is a far more important question to be answered here."

Hiccup gulped as he feared the worst. "…the Quidditch Match?"

"You'll find out not everyone here appreciates your wittiness." White said, her own smirk returning to her face. "No, Mister Haddock, the thing I want from you is to understand the following:'

'There has been some unrest lately. We have a loose creature threatening our grounds, and if we cannot contain it, then I suppose I won't be able to keep the school working much longer. I don't believe any of us want to see that happening now, do we?"

There was a condescending tone to her words, so Hiccup only nodded nervously. "…I suppose." Don't be Toothless, not Toothless, he thought.

"Wonderful." She said standing up from her chair and walking all the way around her desk. "In this case, I think you will make this pretty easy for the both of us." Before Hiccup could reach his wand, White casted her spell: "Incarcerous!"

Ropes burst from her wand, tying the boy's wrists to the armchair, his legs to the ground and his head backwards, trapped as he yelled in sudden fear.

"What are you doing?!" He tried screaming, but the ropes tightened around his throat, blocking the words as he choked.

"I am preparing you, Mister Haddock," White then walked on forwards, ignoring the squirming boy as he struggled against the ropes. "I need you to stay still for this experiment."

"Please!" Hiccup cried in pain as the ropes squeezed him tighter. "Please stop!" White looked back at him and smirked before she stopped in front of a locked black wardrobe that Hiccup hadn't even realised that was there, hidden in the shadows standing as tall as a man.

"I will let you go really soon, Mister Haddock." She said, pointing her wand to the handles of the wardrobe, unlocking it before stepping backwards. The cabinet shook once. "Expecto Patronum!" She exclaimed as a white shapeless shield ghosted out of her wand, hovering inside the cabinet – which shook twice. "Prepare yourself." She whispered.

A Dementor jumped out of the furniture, floating away from the white sparks of the Patronus charm as it screeched in horrible sounds, a deafening gurgle as the pressure in the room seemed to drop, the air turning even colder as the creature slammed itself against the opposite wall of the windowless office.

Hiccup didn't release a single sound, immobilised in horror as he witnessed the starved figure of the Dementor, seemingly even more fragile than he ever believed them to be as it shielded away from White's shield. The boy couldn't reach his wand, couldn't move his fingers as the ropes held him fiercely.

"He will try to extract something from you, Mister Haddock." White said. "It will be painful to watch, but I am sure that my effort will be rewarded."

"Please!" Hiccup tried again, tears straddling down his cheeks as he shook in terror of the dark cold creature.

The Dementor turned back to the boy, sensing his fear. Slowly it approached, and Hiccup felt every single hair in his body shiver at the freezing cold. He could not remember ever feeling that scared, not when the Dark Mark was conjured, not when Jack snapped in angst. That was the scariest he had ever felt in his entire life.

Face to face with the Dementor now, he shook horribly as the saw the dark cape lift above the creature's head, exposing a terrible dark pit where its mouth was. He shut his eyes, his mouth, in a desperate attempt to protect himself, but then all he felt was this weightless feeling as he could not form one coherent thought. The cold shattered the air as he felt the tips of his ears and nose freeze when the bony fingers of the Dementor grabbed his face, nearly passionately as if to kiss him. A horrible voice echoed in his head. A woman's scream.

His last coherent thought was of Jack's lips, and for a moment, he actually figured if that wasn't how it felt like. A kiss like any other of the kisses he shared with the pale and tall boy. He felt the push, twisting his insides as every last part of his being got pulled backwards, and pain worse than he could imagine crossed his heart. Rolls of memories rushed on his mind as he felt himself being ripped apart, torn and twisted and suddenly it was like he was falling, but not weightless anymore. He was heavy, so heavy that every single one of his limbs seemed about to explode in pain, like his blood had been replaced by liquid metal.

And then suddenly it was gone, the pull, the fall and the weight as he felt the warm white magic explode across the Dementor's face, Agatha's Patronus charm repelling the Dementor away from his limp and useless body, pushing it across the room until it got trapped back into the cabinet.

The strings around Hiccup loosened their grip, the marks where they held tightly against his wrists were whitened on his skin, but the boy did not move.

"I hope it didn't go too far…" The scratching voice of White ringed in his ears as she examined his face with her hands, and he managed to wriggle out of her fingers. She grabbed then a small tea cup, partly filled with a deep blue liquid. "Drink this, it'll make you feel better." She spoke.

Hiccup's fingers trembled around the cup, eyeing it suspiciously as White turned around on her heels. Something in his clouded mind sparked, a small light on comprehension between his confusion, but he knew better than to drink it.

White still stared at him. "Drink it!" She insisted.

As if on cue, the Dementor's cabinet shook, and in the short moment White took her eyes away from Hiccup's hand, he spilled the drink on the opposite floor, and quickly brought the cup to his lips.

"That's better. Now," She said before leaning towards the boy, and Hiccup could only see the scowl on her face, maddening as the frustration seemed to emanate from her features. She took a firm grip on the boy's chin, forcing him to look at her: "I will tell you this once, Mister Haddock, and listen closely: if you were an Obscurus then you would not have stood a chance against that dementor, it would have made it come out and then it would have torn you apart. If you or any of your friends are hiding that creature, you may be sure I will find out."

She let go with an abrupt move, and Hiccup felt the sting were her nails had pushed into his skin. Trembling and without using a word, he stood up from his seat, grabbing his backpack with shaken fingers and stumbling away from the office. His shirt was glued to his body, he was completely covered in sweat. His hair was damp and sticking on his forehead as he walked forwards, down to the spiral staircase on the third floor before collapsing on the handrail, his hand clenched to his chest, where Toothless jumped out of his pocket and into the boy's freckled hands.

How long did he stay in there? Minutes? Hours? All he knew is that eventually he heard steps rushing upwards to him, but he did not move, not when he heard the muffled gasps of Astrid nor the angry yells of Jack, running to him as he enveloped the boy in a desperate hug that he could not stand. He shied away from the pale hands, everything feeling too much. Too much heat, emotion and physical contact that he started crying on the spot, no longer protesting when Jack's fingers curled around his free hand, lifted him by his waist and guided him out into the corridors.