some spoilers since this is set after HTTYD2 involving a certain person's disappearance

It wasn't long before they reached the village. It could have been an even shorter distance, but Harry was adamant on not riding Toothless. He wasn't scared of heights and he did trust Hiccup to keep him safe, but the thought of being miles up in the air made his stomach churn. He didn't want to be reminded of his past, not when everything was so different that it was possibly the only place he could forget it. And besides, he wanted to stretch out his muscles and explore the wilderness around the place.

As time progressed, nature had taken the backburner. Of course there were still the environmental activists and the pleas from candidates running for office, but humans would be humans and wars put everything in perspective. Atomic bombs, gunpowder, and factory production of weapons all but destroyed the nature on Earth. It was hard to find the rare pockets of nature, and it took almost all of Harry's time to keep them safe. It had been one of the reasons the earth was dying out; oxygen just wasn't as readily available as it used to be. And he knew he should have been able to leech out the radiation from the atomic bombs, but Merlin was adamant that he didn't. It was messing too much with the balance of Magic, and although Merlin could vouch for him killing, though never needlessly and always on Merlin's command, the balance of doing something worldwide was something Harry or Merlin could never pay.

There was a certain order to things. He could take magic from his surroundings, but in the process he would drain the things around him to mere husks of their former selves. And normally, a life had to be paid back with a life.

So he was stuck, with power resting at his fingertips, to watch the people of his Earth slowly die. It was agonizing, but he did as much as he could to help.

So to be here now, with nature abound, and vibrant greens bending underneath his shoes and awry vines reaching at his face, it was almost like the paradise Morgana had promised him.

Hiccup startled him out of his thoughts, his back becoming extremely straight and tense as he stopped in his tracks. Harry was about to say something, when he caught sight of what had caused the boy to stop. There was a dragon swooping down toward them at a rapid pace. He wasn't sure if it was a friend or a foe, but considering the tense nature of Hiccup's back, he figured it should be a foe. He was just about to do something, maybe stop the dragon in its tracks with a spell, when Hiccup called out a name. Harry immediately relaxed, slipping his hands into his pockets and watching the scene in front of him unfold.

The blue-scaled dragon landed with ease, and within moments, a blonde-haired Viking swung herself off of the dragon. She was dressed similarly to Hiccup, and strangely enough, her outfit contained a lot of similar elements to Harry's as well. Her hair was braided to one side, and her blue eyes were as vibrant as Hiccup's. She was beautiful.

And angry.

She stalked over to Hiccup, her mouth set in a stern frown. "Hiccup," she all but growled, "where have you been?"

Hiccup tensed back up, a mulish pout on his features. "I was at the grove."

"Again!?" she asked exasperatedly, coming even closer to the brunette and stabbing him harshly in the chest with her pointer finger. "Hiccup, you're Chief now! You can't just go off by yourself without telling anyone."

Hiccup flinched at her words, unable to meet her eyes. Instead he exchanged glances with Harry, and after a few seconds, seemed to gather back his resolve. He straightened his back, sending a stern glare back to the girl. "That's right, I'm Chief. I don't have to do anything!"

Astrid seemed shocked at his sudden outburst, but continued on as if he hadn't said a word. "A chief's first priority is his village! You can't just shirk on your duties like this, Hiccup. Your dad would never have done this."

Hiccup's glare was harsh and unforgiving now, his green eyes glinting in the dying sunlight. "But I'm not my dad, Astrid. And it's time you start remembering that."

Astrid flinched at his words, shame coloring her cheeks as she drew away from Hiccup, stepping back a few paces so they were an arm's length away now. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I shouldn't have - "

"Yes, you shouldn't have," was Hiccup's biting reply. They descended into an awkward silence, neither of them willing to budge. They both had stubborn personalities and although Astrid had apologized, the hurt that she had inflicted on Hiccup would take a while to fade.

It was minutes before the silence was broken. Toothless had come bounding through the forest, stepping over twigs and leaves and coming into the open by pouncing onto the blue-scaled dragon. Just like puppies, they started playing around with each other, filling the air with their happy sounds as they rolled around on the forest floor.

A forced, but pained smile made her way onto Astrid's face as she witnessed the scene before her. She turned away from it after a while, bringing her gaze upward and locking eyes with Harry. Shock found its way into her eyes, "Who are you?"

"Harry Potter," he responded, "Hiccup found me in a lake."

"A lake?" asked Astrid, turning her head to look at Hiccup with a confused expression.

Hiccup seemed to force himself out of his stupor, laughing loudly and awkwardly as he brought Harry into a one-armed embrace. "Did he say lake? He's such a joker, isn't he? He's from the neighboring villages. I found him on one of those boats out in the open and rescued him."

Astrid's eyes narrowed into slits, obviously not believing one word coming out of his mouth. Thankfully, she decided to take his words as truth, turning to look at Harry. "I'm Astrid Hofferson, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and Harry took it, and wasn't surprised when she gripped down hard. When he didn't do the same, her eyebrow arched in surprise before turning away. She obviously didn't think him a threat; if she did, Harry was certain she wouldn't let him into the village.

"Hiccup," she said quietly, "I know you don't want me badgering you, but more than ever, the people need you right now. Please, just let me help."

Hiccup's back stiffened, and his smile from earlier slipped off his face, replaced with a slight frown. "You've helped enough," he snapped.

That seemed to be all Astrid could take. She didn't burst into tears, but the hurt was easy enough to see in her eyes. She turned away from Hiccup, making her way over to the now calm dragons. "Come on, Stormfly," she murmured as she made her way onto her dragon. "Let's finish our patrol. I'll see you tomorrow, Hiccup. And Harry? If you try anything in Berk, I will personally kill you myself."

Harry would like to see her try; actually, he would love if she could succeed, but unfortunately, he was immortal and wouldn't die until Merlin allowed him to.

Hiccup spoke up after a while; his eyes had followed Astrid until she was but a speck in the air, "Let's go, we'll have to get you settled in before dark."

"Your people seem friendly," Harry said after a few moments of silence passed.

His candor startled a short laugh from Hiccup, before the boy turned to look at Harry with a small smile. "It's just Astrid, really. The rest of them are a lot friendlier."

"Does everyone here have a dragon?"

Hiccup nodded, taking Harry's hand to help him navigate the trickier areas of the wilderness. Harry took it in stride; he knew his magic would help him stay balanced but it was sweet that Hiccup didn't want him to fall. "From the eldest to the youngest. Everyone has some sort of dragon."

"Should I feel left out if I don't get one?"

Hiccup chuckled, shaking his head as they continued to walk. "Don't feel bad if none of the dragons want you, Harry. Most of them can sense you're from another world and it makes them wary of you. Besides, what happened to not wanting to fly?"

"I didn't say I wanted to fly," he pointed out with a small smile, "but the companionship of an animal is something that shouldn't be underestimated."

"True enough," Hiccup conceded, and it wasn't long before they descended into a comfortable silence.

Harry enjoyed the feel of Hiccup's hand in his. Human contact always made him happy, and even in a different world, this sentiment didn't change. He liked the easy way Hiccup seemed to act around him. He was reluctant to let Hiccup's hand go when they got to flat land, but in the end, he let Hiccup pull his hand away. The environment of wilderness started to fade away, replaced by flat grassy ground and wooden buildings. People were milling about, but when Hiccup got close enough to be seen, they all turned to look at the newcomers.

The villagers all looked at Hiccup with pride shining in their eyes. One of the little girls even ran up to the armor-clad Viking, holding out a red flower in her hands. Hiccup bent at the knees so that they were eye-level, reaching out a hand and petting her head lovingly. "Thank you," he said, sincerely. He went to take the flower from her, but she laughed, shaking her head and then reaching out once again to place the flower behind Hiccup's right ear.

Hiccup blinked, startled, but recovered in the next instant. He chuckled, petted her once more and thanked her again before she ran off back to her parents.

Harry's smile was teasing, "Looks good on you."

Hiccup didn't seem embarrassed at his words, an easy smile on his face. Harry had expected a stammering, blushing Hiccup at his words and was slightly disappointed that he wasn't able to faze the Viking. "We need all the cheer we can get."

Harry didn't say a word, his eyes glancing over the broken wooden buildings further into the distance. They were full of blue-green icicles and he wondered just how they got there. He also calculated how easy it would be for him to remove them and if Hiccup would accept his offer. He spoke up hesitantly, "You know, I could get rid of those for you."

"Rid of what?" asked Hiccup, confusion written across his features as he looked away from the villagers.

"Those icicles," he said, trying to keep his tone casual.

Understanding filtered across the Viking's face, and then Hiccup was firmly shaking his head no. "You shouldn't feel obligated to help us, Harry. We're Vikings. We're strong enough to get through this on our own."

Harry's esteem of Hiccup rose, and he couldn't help the relieved smile that appeared on his face. He still wasn't sure what exactly he was supposed to be doing here in this time, but he somehow doubted it was to make Hiccup's life infinitely easier. He hoped Morgana or Merlin would show up soon to tell him what to do, but for now, he was just enjoying Hiccup's presence.

Settling in was rather easy. Hiccup's house had two bedrooms, but Hiccup had looked distressed when he had offered the larger one to Harry. It made him uneasy, so he had easily declined, Conjuring up a comfy bed in the common room. Hiccup looked like he was going to protest, but a second later deflated, looking relieved.

They ended up sharing a meal for dinner, talking animatedly about magic. Hiccup was the curious sort, and filled up a whole notebook with Harry's words. They spent the better part of the night doing that, and Harry didn't mind weaving his stories into the air when he had Hiccup's sparkling eyes as a reward.

It was nearing midnight when Hiccup let out a loud yawn. "Tired?" asked Harry, and laughed when Hiccup shook his head, stifling another yawn as he did. "I'll be here tomorrow," he gently reminded the Viking.

"I know," the Viking sleepily replied, "but you're so interesting. I never would've imagined magic being real."

Harry hummed a bit in response, thinking over his options before replying. "I was planning to go when you fell asleep, but if you're interested, you can accompany me if you want."

"Accompany you to where?" asked Hiccup, his tone wary, but his expression open and curious.

"I need some materials for a ritual. I'm not exactly sure if your world would have the ones I need, but I'm hoping I could find them out in the wilderness."

"You were planning to go out into the wilds alone?" asked Hiccup, obviously worried. "That's not very safe, Harry."

Harry leveled him an unimpressed look, "Magic, remember? I doubt anything can hurt me out there."

Hiccup didn't look too convinced, "I don't think dragons are affected by magic. You're not in your world anymore, Harry."

Harry stared blankly at Hiccup's worried look, somewhat offended, but mostly touched that Hiccup was worried about him. He hadn't had anyone worry about him for a long time, and it felt strange to have someone looking at him the way Hiccup was. It stirred up memories better left forgotten, and he turned away from the sight, biting his lower lip in consternation. He didn't particularly feel like outlining his role as Merlin's Knight, and instead wanted to leave Hiccup in the dark so that the younger boy would continue worrying about him.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said when the silence got to be too much. "That might have been rude."

Harry shook his head, a wry smile on his face, "I'm not offended, I'm touched, Hiccup. I do need a big strong Viking to protect little ol' me, after all."

Hiccup laughed, startled, "Then you probably don't want me then because I'm hardly big and strong."

"I beg to differ," said Harry, "Have you seen your muscles?"

Hiccup flushed, and Harry leered causing Hiccup to compose himself and shoot him a glare. "Not very funny, Harry. Don't tease me."

"I'm not," he said, innocently. "Wouldn't dream of it really."

Hiccup sighed before standing up and stretching to work out the kinks from sitting too long in once place. Harry watched, delighted as Hiccup's undershirt rode up and he could see more of the Viking's abs. Hiccup didn't notice, turning to shrug on the armor that he had set aside when they had settled down for dinner. "Well, it's getting rather late, we might as well go get your materials."

Harry's mouth felt dry so he simply nodded. Hiccup smiled at him, and Harry took his hand, letting Hiccup pull him up from his resting position.

When they got near the edge of the village, Toothless joined them. Toothless looked content to simply follow them, and only watched curiously as Harry started casting a detection spell.

He made it more flashy for Hiccup's sake, making swirls of blue light around his hand even though it was completely unnecessary. The shine in Hiccup's eyes delighted him, and just to have fun, he fashioned an orb out of blue light, spelling it to follow Hiccup's side.

Hiccup's eyes were wide, "Is that hard to do?"

"Nope," said Harry, cheerfully, waving his hand and spelling the orb to do a couple lazy circles around Hiccup's head. Hiccup watched it with fascination, and then laughed as Harry spelled it to dance around Toothless. Toothless reared his head back, growling at the light and then stilling when it showed it was harmless. They walked the rest of the way like that, with Toothless trying to catch the blue light but utterly failing.

"What are we looking for?" asked Hiccup when they were a ways into the forest.

"Something rather silly, to be honest," laughed Harry. "I need to find a flower that's been soaked in the moonlight's rays. I wouldn't think we could find it here, but I can feel the magic shimmering in the air."

"What does that mean?"

Harry hummed, thinking of a proper way to explain it to someone who couldn't feel magic. "It's strange, your world. It's very unlike mine, but in some ways, it's extremely similar. The magic here feels just like mine, just stronger? It's very hard to explain."

Hiccup's brows were furrowed as he tried to understand Harry's explanation, and they were promptly startled when Toothless suddenly jumped forward, just barely missing the playful blue orb. He bumped into Hiccup as he did so, and Hiccup fell forward, Harry just barely catching him.

"Careful," said Harry, "Wouldn't want you to fall now."

Hiccup made a face at his words, but pushed away all the same.

"I can fix that, you know. Your foot."

"What's with you and offering to fix everything?" asked Hiccup, playfully bumping his shoulder into Harry's. "You have a savior complex, don't you?"

Harry coughed awkwardly, "You don't even know half of it."

"Not going to explain yourself?"

He thought of Sirius, and how he had risked everything to get his godfather out of jail and subsequently killed him because he had wanted to save him from Voldemort so badly that he had misinterpreted the dreams he had been getting. He thought of Hogwarts, his home, ravaged beyond belief because he couldn't save them all from Voldemort. He thought of Hermione and Ron, asleep in the ground somewhere because old age was the one thing he could not save them from.

"Nope," he said, as cheerfully as he could muster.

Hiccup huffed, "Well, you don't need to save me, Harry. This gets the job done. And besides, it's kinda like a trophy."

"A trophy?"

Hiccup looked wistful, "Like a marker between my past self and who I am now."

Harry was suddenly reminded that although Hiccup looked soft and was younger than him by ages didn't mean that Hiccup hadn't experienced his share of losses. This wasn't his time, when most kids were given sheltered lives; Hiccup was a Viking and had been probably fighting battles since he was young.

He was reaching out before he even knew what he was doing, drawing Hiccup into a hug. Hiccup stiffened at his touch, but let himself be pulled anyway, probably sensing that Harry needed this more than he did.

"It hasn't been easy for you," he said, and Hiccup let out a shaky breath.

"No," he said, "but it hasn't been easy for you either."

"It's been a long time since I truly grieved," he said, honestly.

"My father," said Hiccup after a long silence, "he died protecting me. Because I was rash and stupid and thought I could take on the world without any consequences. Even though I had this," he paused to point sadly down at his missing foot, "to remind me that sometimes fairytales don't turn out okay and that people die because they try to be a hero."

"My parents died protecting me," he offered up, because he was in a different world and there was no reason he couldn't be honest. "They died and made me a hero in the process."

"It's not very fun being a hero," said Hiccup morosely, and Harry sighed in agreement.

"I don't know exactly what happened," started Harry, a bit hesitantly, but when Hiccup didn't move to shush him, he continued. "But you can't possibly blame yourself for what happened. Your father loved you, enough that he was willing to sacrifice himself for you."

"You didn't even know him," Hiccup protested, his voice rough.

"Parents are the same in every world," he said, startling out a miserable laugh from the boy pressed up against his side.

"I spent my childhood wishing I was born in a different family. To a father who would listen to me and hear my words, to understand where I was coming from. And I got it, I got his acceptance, his guidance, his love, and because he accepted me and listened to me, he lost his life. Sometimes I think it would've been better if I stayed unnoticed, stayed the scrawny boy that everyone thought was unfit to be a chief, because then he'll still be here and I'll still have him." His voice broke as soon as he finished talking, and he let out a distressed sob, letting Harry pull him closer in a move to comfort him.

"You haven't cried," he said knowingly. "I'm here, you don't have to be strong for me. Let it all out now and you'll feel better afterward, promise."

Hiccup protested quietly, but he obeyed anyway, and Harry pulled them comfortably downward into a sitting position, his back pressed flush against a tree's trunk.

He stroked the boy's hair softly, wondering absently if this was the reason he had been sent here. To guide Hiccup and to comfort him from grief that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I lost my godfather because I was stupid. Thought I could save him, wanted to play hero even though everyone was telling me not to. I miss him, everyday, even now, but I've made my acceptances. Sirius would have never wanted me to live the rest of my life in sorrow, Hiccup, he would have wanted me to get married, to live a life that was worth living."

He felt a pang of pain at the thought of his godfather, of what he would think of Harry now, stuck in a different world after decades of playing Merlin's knight. Decades of killing those who needed to be killed and living far beyond the time that had been given to him.

"Your father would have wanted the same," said Harry, soothingly.

"He wanted me to marry Astrid," Hiccup mumbled into Harry's chest. "And I did too, wanted to make him proud of who I was. But now all I feel is pain when I see her. I think I blame her, somewhat, blame her for not stopping me, blame her for letting my dad die. And isn't that so wrong? It's not her fault, it's mine, and yet I'm taking it out on her. I loved her, more than the whole world, and I let her go because I'm not strong enough for her."

"You don't have to be strong for anyone," said Harry. "I used to think the same way. I bottled up my pain at my godfather's death, and alienated my friends. I was utterly miserable, and it wasn't until they showed me that they were there for me and didn't need me to stay strong that I finally got better. She just wants to help. Your whole village feels the same."

"They don't," said Hiccup, miserably. "They hate me. I killed their chief, and I'm a lousy substitute for my dad."

Harry shifted, causing Hiccup to blink eyelashes wet with tears at him in curiosity. Harry smiled gently, before concentrating his power and Conjuring up a red flower in the likeness of the one Hiccup had been given earlier. "I'll argue you on that point," he said, brushing Hiccup's hair aside and slotting the red flower behind his ear.

Hiccup smiled, although shakily, and Harry's heart soared at the sight.

Even though this probably wasn't what he was sent here for, he couldn't help feeling as if he was on the right path. Because it couldn't be coincidence that Hiccup was the one to find him, and it couldn't be just coincidence that Hiccup was a mess just like Harry had been all those years ago.

It was obvious now to him why he was here. He had to shape and guide Hiccup, and he certainly wasn't going to fail his last task as Merlin's Knight.

Especially when it wasn't such a hardship at all to be Hiccup's friend.