Chapter Thirteen
Jack Frost-
Jack sat up in bed as Hiccup, Rapunzel, and Merida entered the hospital. "Hey Jack," Rapunzel smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Hey you guys," Jack grinned.
"How are you feeling?" Hiccup asked.
"Fine. I can leave today. Madam Lawson just wanted to keep me one night to make sure I was ok," he said. They all looked relieved.
"That was some fall you took," Merida pointed out. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Aww Gryffindor is worried about me," he smirked.
"Not you. I'm worried about Rapunzel and Hiccup. They would be no fun if you got sick or something. I mean all they wanted to do was come visit you. Imagine if you were worse," she shuddered. Rapunzel rolled her eyes. She leaned forward.
"She almost jumped in the water after you," Rapunzel whispered. Jack chuckled quietly. Merida glared at them.
"Hey Hic. How's Toothless? Have you told him thank you for me?" Jack asked, leaning back into his pillow.
"Shhhh," Hiccup warned. He glanced around, making sure Madam Lawson wasn't around. "He's staying in the Forbidden Forest. I visited him last night and he seems ok," Hiccup said.
"Cool. Can I visit him?" Jack asked.
"Me too," Rapunzel said.
"I want to see him," Merida added.
Hiccup looked surprised. "Yea. You can all come feed him with me tonight I guess," he shrugged. They all looked at each other and smiled.
"I can't believe you've been keeping a dragon at the school. I mean you never break school rules and now we find that you've been breaking the law this whole time," Rapunzel breathed.
"Pretty impressive," Merida agreed. Hiccup blushed.
"So when do you leave today?" Hiccup asked Jack, changing the subject.
"Madam Lawson said I could leave around lunch," Jack answered.
"That's in an hour," Rapunzel said.
"I guess we'll see you then," Hiccup started towards the door. "We don't want to be late for classes," he pointed out. Jack couldn't stop himself from smirking.
"Yea you better go work while I chill," he said. Merida rolled her eyes and followed Hiccup.
"Bye Jack. See you at lunch," Rapunzel stood up. She smiled at him and her green eyes brightened. Then she turned and left. Jack sunk into his bed when they were gone. He closed his eyes to go to bed, but found he was too alive to be able to sleep.
Sitting up again he looked around for something to do. Madam Lawson walked into the room and started folding sheets. He watched in boredom, unable to think of anything else.
"Bored?" she asked, glancing up from her work. Jack shrugged. She chuckled. "Do you want to help me?"
"Why not?" he sighed. Rolling out of bed he began to help her fold the sheets.
Jack strolled into the Great Hall. He felt refreshed after the hours of no classes. On his walk to the Great Hall, everyone he saw had stopped and hugged him and told him they were glad he was ok. Cocking his head back he practically strutted to the Slytherin table.
"Jacky," Bounder ruffled his hair when he sat down. Jack shoved him playfully.
"How are you Jack?" Tess asked. Her green highlights were brighter, obviously she'd had them redone.
"Great. You guys have fun in class?" he teased. They rolled their eyes.
"Oh yeah. It was great," Bounder said sarcastically. "Oh Jack, here comes your buddies," Bounder grinned. Rapunzel, Hiccup, and Merida were rushing towards them.
"Jack," Rapunzel hugged him.
"Punzie, you just saw me this morning," he laughed.
"I know, but then you were in the hospital and know you're all better," she smiled. Letting go she sat next to him at the Slytherin table. Merida snorted.
"We all know why you want to hug him," she teased.
"So I'm not the only one who noticed it," Bounder said. He and Merida gave each other a knowing look. Jack could feel the heat rushing to his face, but he kept his cool demeanor and just shrugged.
"Of course I want to hug him, he's my friend," Rapunzel said defensively.
"Yes Rapunzel," Hiccup smiled at her.
"Hey Hiccup can you give this to Mary. I made it while I was in the hospital," Jack handed Hiccup a necklace similar to those Merida and Rapunzel were wearing, but with a raven.
"Yeah sure," Hiccup tucked it into his robes.
Merida-
Merida walked with Rapunzel, Jack, and Hiccup down towards the Forbidden Forest. They were glancing around nervously to make sure no one was watching. "What do you think would happen if we get caught?" Rapunzel asked.
"Nicholas will expel us," Jack said simply. Merida glared at him and resisted the urge to trip him.
"If he hasn't done it by now I don't think he will," Hiccup said. "Now be quiet or someone might hear us," he hushed them. They all grew silent at his command. The Forbidden Forest was growing closer and loomed ahead of them a like a low dark cloud.
Hiccup kept them in the shadows, glancing back at the castle every so often. Just ahead of them was an old shack. The windows were light with a warm glow.
"Who lives there?" Merida asked without thinking whoever it was might hear. Hiccup put his finger to his lips then nodded his head towards the woods to show he'd answer her there. She nodded.
Hiccup glanced around then slunk towards the old shack. He pressed his back against it and quietly began to slide around it. They all followed his lead. When they reached the back it was just a quick dash into the shadows of the trees. Hiccup took a deep breath then ran.
Merida chased after him. She could feel her heart begin to beat just a little bit faster realizing that if the person in the shack looked out they would see four students running into the Forbidden Forest. When she was safely concealed in the shadows she stood behind a tree just in case.
"The gamekeeper lives there," Hiccup said when they had all arrived. It didn't really answer Merida's question, but she didn't press for more. "Now keep close. Don't wander off and don't talk to strangers," Hiccup warned them. They all gave each other looks then got up to move on.
They traveled in a single file line, Hiccup in the front, Merida behind him, Rapunzel behind her, and Jack at the back. It was still daylight, but the trees blocked out most of the light, making it seem like night. Occasionally there was a break in the leaves that allowed the sun to shine through.
As they walked Merida picked up the sound of snapping twigs. She froze. Rapunzel bumped into her. "Oof," she grunted.
"Hey," Jack said as he ran into Rapunzel.
"Hush," Merida snapped. Hiccup turned around to face them with a curious look on his face. Merida ignored them and listened for the noise again. It was somewhere behind them, but then it stopped. "Did you hear that?" she asked.
"What?" Rapunzel asked. Merida looked behind them. For a moment she thought she saw something then she blinked and it was gone.
"Nothing," she shook her head. "Let's keep going." Hiccup looked where she had been looking then shrugged and kept walking. After a while he stopped and turned to face them.
"No sudden movements and don't do anything stupid," he said. Merida raised an eyebrow. Hiccup turned back around and pushed past a bush. Merida and the others stumbled after him.
They were standing in a clearing with a small pond in the corner. The sun bathed the clearing in an orange glow. Standing in front of them, his scales glowing in the fading light, was the black dragon from the lake.
"Hey Toothless," Hiccup ran up and gave the dragon a hug. Merida stepped forward with her mouth hanging open. Rapunzel and Jack stepped up beside her. She had seen the dragon up close before, but it seemed different now that they weren't freaking out over Jack.
"Is he gentle?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yea. Come on," Hiccup motioned them forward. Rapunzel hurried up and stood in front of his nose. Hesitantly she stretched out her hand. Toothless sniffed at it then pressed his nose against her open palm. Rapunzel squealed.
Jack walked up and scratched Toothless on the neck. "Hey bud. Remember me?" he grinned. Toothless turned and snorted at him. Luckily no fire shot out.
"Come on Merida," Hiccup held out his hand. Slowly Merida stepped forward. Hiccup took her hand and moved it towards Toothless's head. He stared at her with wide greenish-yellow eyes. Hiccup placed her hand on Toothless's nose. Toothless blinked at her. Hiccup didn't move his hand off of Merida's and Merida was slightly surprised to realize she didn't mind.
"He really likes you. I can tell," Hiccup said. Merida glanced at him. He was smiling at Toothless, his olive green eyes bright. She gulped, suddenly feeling nervous at being so close to him. He glanced at her and for a moment their eyes met and it was only them.
"I want to pet him again," Rapunzel said. Hiccup glanced at her and Merida could feel her blush rising. She pulled her hand out from under Hiccup's and stepped back. Rapunzel ran up to take her place next to Toothless.
Jack moved to stand next to Merida. "I saw that," he whispered.
"What?" Merida asked, trying to play dumb.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Jack promised. Merida glanced at him. He smirked. She socked him in the arm and he laughed.
"Anybody want to feed him?" Hiccup asked. They all raised their hands. Hiccup grinned. He pulled out a small bag from his robes. He opened it and revealed four fish. "I thought you would," he laughed. They all grabbed a fish. "Just do what I do," Hiccup said. He tossed the fish into the air. Toothless jumped into one of the trees then shot out and caught the fish in his jaws. Raising his head he swallowed it whole.
"Impressive," Jack said. He wound up his arm and threw the fish high into the air. Toothless scrambled into the trees and they lost sight of him. Suddenly he exploded out of the leaves and swallowed the fish while he was in the air.
"My turn," Rapunzel slung her fish up. Toothless dove underneath it and spread his wings out and began to parachute towards the ground. Throwing his head up he caught the fish and gulped it down.
"Alright Merida," Hiccup smiled. Merida thought for a second. She pulled her bow off of her shoulders and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. "What are you doing? Do you even know how to use that?" Merida ignored him and threw the fish up. Loading her bow she shot the arrow at the fish. It shot through it and caused it to fly up higher than any of the others. The arrow shot into a tree while the fish continued to fly. Toothless scrambled up a tree then jumped off and flapped his wings so he flew into the air.
He snatched the fish then twirled and fell back to the earth. When he landed his wings unfurled and he almost bowed.
"Well done Toothless," Hiccup gave him a hug.
"Do you think he could get me my arrow?" Merida eyed where her arrow was stabbed into the tree.
"Go on Toothless," Hiccup pointed at the arrow. Toothless dug his claws into the tree then propelled himself upwards. Reaching the arrow he grabbed it with his teeth and ripped it out. "Look out," Hiccup warned as Toothless dropped the arrow. Merida caught it and dropped it into her quiver. Toothless jumped out of the tree and landed next to her.
"Thanks Toothless," she rubbed his chin. He started purring like a cat.
"I told you he liked you," Hiccup stated. "I'm actually kinda surprised he doesn't mind your bow and arrows. When we first met he didn't like me to have any weapons," Hiccup said.
"How did you meet him?" Merida asked.
"That's a long story," Hiccup said.
"I guess Merida just has a way with dragons," Rapunzel said happily. "That's so cool," she smiled at Merida. Merida shrugged.
"Where did you learn to use that thing?" Jack asked staring at her bow.
"I was on the school archery team," she explained.
"We should probably be getting back," Hiccup glanced at the sky. The sun had faded and been replaced with the moon and stars.
"Let's go," Jack agreed. Hiccup hugged Toothless good bye then lead them away from the clearing.
Hiccup-
Hiccup lead the way back through the Forbidden Forest. He felt like something was watching them so he picked up his pace. His unease was evident and he could hear Rapunzel and Jack whispering to each other.
"What's wrong Hiccup?" Jack asked.
"Nothing. I just don't want to get into trouble," he lied. He was thankful his voice wasn't shaking.
"I wish we had a light," Rapunzel whispered.
"I can fix that," Hiccup pulled out his wand. "Lumos," he whispered. As the tip of his wand exploded into light a figure was revealed standing in front of them.
"Ahhhhhh," Hiccup cried and jumped back into Merida. The figure stared at them with bright grey eyes. Its skin was pale and its hair was white. Below its waist it had the body of a horse with a glossy silvery coat. Its hooves were silver and glistened in the light.
"It's a centaur," Merida gasped.
"My name is Simpion," the centaur spoke. His voice was deep and throaty.
"W-what do you want?" Hiccup stuttered. He could feel a cold sweat breaking out and his heart was pounding.
"The moon shines bright tonight, a good omen. The North Star is dim, someone is lost," Simpion gazed at the sky. "But someone is always lost at Hogwarts."
"Do you mean the 'shadow'?" Rapunzel asked. Simpion turned to them. He nodded slowly. "What do you know about it?"
"Is it Nicholas Jurntry?" Jack asked. Simpion's grey eyes snapped towards Jack.
"Nicholas Jurntry?" Simpion inquired. Hiccup held his breath, scared Jack had said something wrong. "What do you know of your headmaster?"
"He hates me," Jack grumbled. Simpion stepped forward. His great hooves made deep thuds against the ground. He leaned his head forward so it was inches from Jack. Hiccup felt his head go dizzy from holding his breath for so long. Simpion sniffed at Jack and backed away. Hiccup finally let out his breath.
"Perhaps," Simpion said. He turned his head to the sky again. They were all quiet.
"I think we should be going," Hiccup took a step around Simpion. Simpion kept his gaze locked on the sky.
"Perhaps," he repeated. Hiccup took another step. The others were close behind him. "Perhaps not," he said. They all froze.
"Why not?" Merida asked.
"The one with red eyes seeks you," Simpion said. Hiccup's heart accelerated to a new level.
"What?" he choked out, his throat dry.
"It knows you know," he looked at them. This time he leaned in close to Hiccup's face. "The 'shadow' will do anything for his master. Without his master he is nothing but lost souls and lost lives," Simpion said, his grey eyes boring into Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup gulped.
"So you mean the shadow isn't the real threat?" Merida asked. Simpion backed away from Hiccup and nodded.
"It was created by his master. It is nothing more than the extra lives its master has gathered. It does whatever he says and keeps anything from happening to its master," Simpion explained.
"Who is its master?" Hiccup asked.
Simpion blinked. He turned back to the castle. "The 'shadow' is the only thing that knows," he hung his head.
"Can the 'shadow' be beaten?" Jack asked.
"Only when his master is killed," Simpion said. Jack let out an aggravated sigh.
"This thing just keeps getting worse," he growled. Simpion let out a low chuckle.
"Wait," Hiccup said. They all looked at him. "You said the shadow was the extra lives its master has gathered. What does that mean?"
"Not all magic is good. Some spells can kill or cause fatal pain. To create a 'shadow' you must be able to steel lives from others," Simpion explained. Hiccup felt his heart pause in its beating.
"Has that been done before?" Rapunzel asked, her voice barely more than a whimper.
"Only once that I can remember. A wizard was trying to save his wife so he gave her his life. After tasting the power of having more than one life the wife took more and more. When she felt full she would take them out. The lives she took out formed a 'shadow'. She used it to become more powerful."
"What happened to her?" Merida asked.
"I don't know. Only the centaurs who were alive at the time know how she was defeated," Simpion said.
"She was defeated, wasn't she?" Jack asked.
"I don't know," Simpion said. Hiccup felt his knees go weak. Why couldn't I have just had an ordinary first year? he wondered.
"Is there anything else you know?" Rapunzel asked.
"I know many things young ones. I know that Gossle is searching the castle for students out of bed. I also know that the 'shadow' has returned to his master for the night," Simpion said.
"We should go,' Hiccup said. The others nodded. Rapunzel stepped forward.
"Thank you for all the help," she hugged Simpion. He looked surprised by the show of affection. He gently patted her head.
"I'll be here if you need me," he said as they walked away.
Rapunzel-
Rapunzel woke late the next day. At first she thought she would be late for classes then she remembered it was Saturday. Outside newly fallen snow blanketed the ground.
"Hey Punz. There's a major snowball fight going on in the courtyard. Wanna come?" Ashley asked.
"Yea." Rapunzel jumped out of bed. She pulled on her Hufflepuff sweater, thick skinny jeans, fuzzy boots, and matching gloves. Wrapping her Hufflepuff scarf around her neck she pulled on a beanie that matched her boots and gloves.
"Come one," Ashley urged. Rapunzel grinned and ran after her. They raced through the corridors and out into the courtyard.
Practically the whole school was gathered in the snow filled courtyard. As Rapunzel stepped out a snowball smacked into her arm. "Hey," she laughed. Jack waved at her then threw a snowball at her. She ducked and made her own snowball to throw.
When she looked up Jack was gone so she searched for a familiar ginger head. She spotted her hiding behind a snow fort with some other Gryffindors. Rapunzel smacked her right in the head. "Ouch,' Merida yelped. She glanced at Rapunzel and grinned mischievously. "House against house," she cried.
Immediately the large group of students separated into four smaller, but still large groups of students. Tanner took control of the Hufflepuffs. "Drew, Mal, Fable, Gloriana, Matt, and Droneek build us a fort. Rapunzel, Sal, Patrick, Ashley, Raviare, Tyler, and Rebecca make snowballs. Everyone else just throw them," Tanner ordered.
Rapunzel and the others in her group started forming snowballs and piling them up for the others. The fort builders were building the fort around them so Rapunzel was relatively safe. As she was making snowballs she watched the game progress.
Merida was on the throwing group for the Gryffindors. She looked fierce with her red hair blowing in the wind and her blue eyes focusing on hitting people with snowballs.
Hiccup was a builder in his group. He seemed to be in charge of the building progress, making sure the fort was sturdy and wouldn't fall down when hit with snowballs.
Jack was a thrower like Merida. He seemed to be more relaxed then her, but surprisingly he was hitting just as many people as her. He even hit Merida once.
"I'll get you Slytherin," she yelled. Jack gave her an arrogant smirk. Rapunzel grabbed one of the snowballs she had made and threw it at him. It whipped the smirk right off his face. He glanced around in surprise. Rapunzel giggled and waved before ducking behind the fort.
"Way to go Punzie," she heard Merida cheer.
"Look out Gryffindor," Jack warned. Rapunzel laughed to herself then returned to making snowballs. The game stretched on four hours and most of the people had left to do something else.
"Ok. We've lost a lot of people. I think the best thing we can do is just storm the forts," Tanner said. "On the count of three run to one of the forts. One, two three," Tanner yelled. Rapunzel ran out from behind her fort. The closest to her was Slytherin so she kicked at the fort.
"Hey," Jack jumped out. He tripped when he landed and ended up falling into her. Rapunzel and Jack rolled in the snow and laughed. Pushing him off of her Rapunzel grabbed some snow and shoved it down his hoodie.
Jack shot some snow at her with his wand. She laughed as it knocked her over. "Don't worry Punzie. We'll save you," Merida cried. She and Liam ran over, their arms loaded with snowballs. With a mighty battle cry she dropped them all on Jack's head. He disappeared under a pile of snow.
"You ok Rapunzel?" Liam helped her up.
"Yea thanks," Rapunzel laughed, brushing the snow off of her. Liam smiled at her.
"That's good." His big brown eyes shone brightly and Rapunzel could feel a blush rising in her cheeks.
"Come on Flynn. Get back in the game," Blake called.
"Coming Stellrook," Liam ran after his bestfriend. Rapunzel turned to see that Hiccup had come to rescue Jack and now he and Merida were throwing snow at each other.
"Look out," Rapunzel warned as she dumped snow out of her beanie and onto Hiccup's head.
"Hey," he gasped. "That's cold."
"Duh," Merida hit him with a snowball. Jack hit her with one in return and she kicked some snow at him.
Rapunzel refilled her beanie and hit Jack with it. He laughed and shot some more snow out of his wand. Rapunzel ducked and it hit Hiccup in the face.
"Argh," Hiccup sputtered as he tripped in the snow and fell over.
"Sorry Hic," Jack laughed.
"Yea sure," Hiccup sat up. Rapunzel dumped more snow on him and he fell back into the snow.
"Be careful," Jack grabbed her from behind. She laughed and tried to get free.
"Help Merida," she giggled. Merida grabbed a clump of snow and shoved it down Jack's hoodie. Jack jumped back and danced to get it out. Merida pointed at him and laughed. She laughed so hard she snorted. Jack glanced at her then at Rapunzel. They both burst out laughing until they fell in the snow next to Hiccup who was also laughing.
"It's not that funny," Merida crossed her arms. They ignored her and continued to laugh. Eventually Merida started to laugh again. When they all stopped they were gasping for breath and the game was over.
"Nice laugh," Jack smirked getting up from the snow. Merida shoved him back to the ground. Rapunzel hid her giggle behind her hand.
"Is it safe to get up now?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes. We won't hit you with anymore snow," Rapunzel answered him. Hiccup sighed and stood up. Rapunzel did too.
"I need help," Jack held out his hand. Rapunzel rolled her eyes and pulled him up. "Thanks Punzie." Jack slung his arm around her shoulders then slung his other one around Hiccup. "Who wants to go get some breakfast?"
Rapunzel slung her arm around Jack and her other one around Merida. "Sounds good," she said. Together they walked to the Great Hall with their arms wrapped around each other.
A/N:
Yayy another chapter up! I have to say I actually had a lot of trouble writing this one. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I wasn't sure how to write it. I hope it came out right. I've just got to saw that Simpion is AWESOME! He comes into the story again just so you know. Also I couldn't think of a Gamekeeper so I'm going to leave that up to you. If you want you can come up with a character to be the gamekeeper.I'll need to know his name, his personality and such. If you want you can add a history or if you want something to happen to him in the future with the big four(I can't guarantee it will happen, but I'll try my best). He can be evil or good I really don't care. However he can't be the master because that slot is already filled. You'll never guess who it is hehe. Oh and I also need to know how he looks. You don't have to submit a character, but if you want you can. If I don't get anyone I'll just come up with my own. Also you can still vote for who will win the House Cup if you haven't already. Here's a hint on who's winning, they've won something. Thanks to AlexJohnD, Bailey24, Cristyceci, XxXBlueRose23XxX, 4everETRNL, Shara Raizel, and Kasha Eliz for reviewing! Thanks for reading and please review!