Soon, several weeks had passed, with the marks never forgotten thanks to constant reminders. Each had experienced some type of event, always causing their marks to glow softly. Hiccup had to use his left hand whenever he answered anything in class as anytime he knew the answer, which was almost always, the glowing light appeared. Jack had made good friends with Peeves, the prankster ghost, and emerald green often decorated his hand when he was able to solve a friend's problem in ways none had thought of, sometimes using the strangest methods. Merida, the hot head she was, often got into arguments with those in her house, more often than not due to her friendship with Jack. Her glow was the most prominent when she was bravely defending her friendship against the older students, resulting in Astrid learning the secret fairly quickly. Rapunzel's kindness lead to an almost constant glow whenever she helped those in need, hidden only due to her long hair she often kept in front of her hand. This was one of the few benefits to the insanely long golden tresses, though it became tiring with how often she used the levitation spell the help her move her blonde hair. Astrid soon got some of the Hufflepuff girls to help braid her hair, resulting in one thick braid that just barely brushed the floor.
Not all was bad though, as the group found that their spell proficiency was better than their peers. They were able to perform the spells given in class correctly almost always the first time, with areas of specialty quickly becoming apparent. Hiccup was the best in his charms class, his levitation spell able to move most objects at his whim, sending them flying around the room in intricate dance. Merida ended up being forbidden from practicing the knockback jinx with other first years as she would send them flying and her red sparks were almost guaranteed to be seen across the school. Rapunzel was top of Herbology, the one most people came to for help in naming plants and their abilities. Both Merida and Jack quickly got the hang of flying, with Hiccup being the only one to outfly the two. Some of the prefects in DA had to help all of them practice due to the amount of power they couldn't quite control. And while they were getting help from both Ravenclaw prefects, and one of the Hufflepuff prefects, no questions were asked.
To top things off, the four were able to perform strange spells without saying anything. Merida found that she could create fireballs, accidentally setting a tapestry on fire. Luckily, everyone thought the candlestick was just too close to the tapestry. Hiccup created a huge gust of wind during one of the flying lessons he had, knocking over most of the other students. Jack had gotten the hang of his element fairly quickly, causing the water someone had spilt in front of him to trip him to slid out of the way. He enjoyed the discovery of controlling water by pranking other students with Peeves. Rapunzels was the most useful, her connection to earth being part of the reason she was so good in class.
"So Hiccup, I had class with hot head earlier. We didn't do much in class but she still managed to blow up something when we had a lesson on glassware. It was hilarious!" Jack laughed at the memory, Hiccup giving a smile before turning to Fishlegs, as the three boys walked down to the great hall for lunch. A fireball seemed to rush down the corridor, the body bumping in to Hiccup.
"Whoa, ah almost fell on ye Hiccup. Watch where you're walking." Merida said with a scowl, her lips tugging up into a smile to show she was joking.
"Hey Merida, how was class?" Hiccup asked, with a grin on his face telling her he already knew exactly what had happened..
Another first year ran up to her as she was opening her mouth, cutting her off before she could start.
"Merida, we aren't supposed to talk to Slytherin, remember? Ashley told us, Slytherin's aren't to be trusted. Why are you talking to these guys?" The girl said, glancing over at the three boys before resting on Jack.
"Umm, we're both in Ravenclaw. And Jack is our friend. Since when does being friends before being sorted mean we can't talk after being sorted?" Hiccup intervened, pulling Merida's arm from the girl. She stared in shock, turning quickly and hurrying towards the same thin girl from that morning as she was walking by. A few word were exchanged, the tall girl raising her head to glare at the group and marching over.
"Hey, let her go. Merida, get to the great hall. I want to talk to you after lunch. You know all Slytherins are evil." The girl, evidently Ashley, continued to glare at Jack, her eyes burning.
"Leave me alone. I have friends and I don't care that one of them is in Slytherin." Merida began, her hand beginning to glow softly. "I met him before we were sorted so are you saying we shouldn't talk to people until after we get sorted? Just so that we don't make friends with someone who are sorted into Slytherin? Not how I work princess. And really, you don't know your history very well do you? What about Professor Slughorn, who helped harry potter in his 6th year and in the final battle? What about Professor Snape, who also helped Harry Potter? What about his own son, Albus? Are you saying that Harry potter's son is evil? Then what about Alec Potter, Albus's son, who should I remind you was Gryffindor. He's the son of a Slytherin, does that make him evil too? Well I for one don't believe all Slytherins are evil. Jack is my friend, no matter what house he's in. And that will never change." Her voice had risen considerably, attracting the attention of several students passing by. By the time she had finished her speech, a large crowd encircled the two girls while the boys hung back just inside of the makeshift arena.
Ashley began to glance around, her eyes narrowing at Merida. Hiccup nervously looked back and forth between the two girls. Jack nudged him, nodding down to Merida's hand, which had begun to glow in earnest. Astrid burst through the crowd that had gathered around them, followed soon by Rapunzel, and quickly grabbed Merida's hand, covering the glow.
"Merida, no. We have to go now." She said firmly, lightly tugging on her hand. Just as Merida began to give in, one of the professors, wearing a long pure black robe that seemed to blend into the shadows around the hall.
"Is there a problem here?" Professor Pitch said, looking around the circle of bodies.
"No, Professor." Ashley said venomously, her hatred of the house extending all the way to former students.
He turned to face the six students gathered next to Ashley, narrowing his eyes slightly as Merida stared him in the eyes.
"It seems some of the first years need to learn what not to do in the halls. Detention for the six of you. You will report to Professor Dreems for your task at 6 o'clock tonight." He said before walking away.
"We will talk about this later Merida." Ashley said, sending one last glare at the others in the group as she stalked off in the other direction. Slowly the corridor emptied once again as the spectator left for lunch.