Chapter Twenty-Five
Rapunzel-
Rapunzel looked over her new list of classes. There was Potions with Slytherin, Charms with Gryffindor, Herbology with Gryffindor, History with Ravenclaw, Defense Against the Dark-Arts with Slytherin, and Transfiguration with Ravenclaw. She felt a rush of excitement about the new year and the new prospects. Surely it would be better and maybe less dangerous than last year.
"Come on Punzie or we'll be late," Jack appeared by her side. Rapunzel gasped and jumped from him in surprise.
"Jack! Where did you come from?" she demanded.
"I just read my list and found out we have potions together. So I came to find you so we can walk to class together," he explained. Rapunzel smiled at him.
"I'm glad I have potions with you. If I was in there alone it would be disastrous," she laughed.
"That's what I'm here for," Jack grinned. They headed down the stairs, towards the dungeon where Professor Starling taught potions. Most of the class had already arrived by the time they got there, but Professor Starling was absent. Bounder and Tess waved them over to a table as soon as they stepped into the room.
"Hey Rapunzel," Tess said brightly. "Have a good summer?" she asked.
"Oh, you know," Rapunzel shrugged. "You?"
"Oh it was great. My brother visited from his job with Gringotts and took me to watch the Quiditch finales," Tess said excitedly. "I had a great time and it was really good to see him again."
"That's sounds like fun," Rapunzel smiled.
"Would have been better with me," Bounder butted in. Tess rolled her eyes.
"I told you Brock could only get two tickets," she nudged him.
"Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses," Bounder teased. Rapunzel and Jack laughed at their friends' arguments. Rapunzel was reminded of Merida and Jack, but she didn't dare say so. Still the idea made her laugh harder.
"Hey there Frosty," Jasper sneered from the table next to them. "I hope you had a good summer at the orphanage." Jack narrowed his eyes.
"Actually I spent the summer practicing Quiditch with Alex and Drake," Jack snapped.
"Teacher's pet," Gabby stuck her tongue out at him.
"That's extremely immature Gabby," Rapunzel stated.
"Not for her," Bounder muttered, "she's still on that level." Gabby's face flushed at his words.
"You're one to talk Bounder. Didn't you pass your exams last year with less than satisfactory?" Jasper raised his eyebrows.
"That's got nothing to do with maturity," Tess joined the argument. "If it did you two would be failing every class."
"You'd probably be kicked out of Hogwarts," Jack nodded.
"My father would never allow it," Jasper growled.
"My father," they mimicked his whinny voice. "Oh boohoo about your father Jasper. Nobody really cares," Jack snapped. Jasper fumed. He opened his mouth to say something else, but professor Starling arrived before he could.
"Hello students," she said haughtily.
"Hello Professor Starling," they replied.
"I trust you all had pleasant vacations. But now they're over so it's back to work. I don't want t hear any complaining or grumbling about assignments," she moved to the front of the room and watched them through her spectacles. "Now, turn to page 475 and begin work of the Ursulain potion." Rapunzel sighed and flipped through her book.
"Back to torture," Bounder groaned.
Hiccup-
Hiccup listened intently as Professor Moor explained a new charm. New to him Jack was passed out as was Bounder. Their heads fell back and they snored loudly. Hiccup was surprised that Professor Moor couldn't hear them, much more see them.
"I expect a two page report on the use of the accio charm in three days time," Professor Moor finished the class. Hiccup nudged Jack and Bounder awake.
"We have to write a two page paper on the accio charm in three days," Hiccup told them as they blinked awake.
"Not likely," Bounder shook his head. "Maybe I can pay off some Ravenclaw," he said thoughtfully. Both he and Jack turned to Hiccup. They gave him hopeful looks.
"No way," Hiccup said firmly.
"Oh come on Hiccup," Jack begged.
"Yeah please. Quiditch tryouts are coming up and we really need to practice!"
"We don't have time to write papers." Hiccup headed for the door, ignoring the two Slytherin boys. "Hiccup," Jack jumped in front of him. "Please, please, pleeeeaaassse." Hiccup sighed.
"I'll write your introductions, but that's it," he decided.
"That a boy," Bounder ruffled his hair. Hiccup pushed him away and tried to fix his hair.
"Don't expect me to do that all the time," he called as they rushed off to their next class.
"Write my paper Hiccup," an annoyingly familiar voice whined from behind him. Hiccup gritted his teeth and turned to face Gowthur. The short boy grinned up at him wickedly while Deb just stared coolly ahead.
"What do you want Gowthur?" Hiccup asked.
"Just seeing how you and your boyfriend were doing," Gowthur smirked. It was a rather disgusting sight on his froggy face.
"I don't have a boyfriend," Hiccup stated.
"Right how silly of me. Why would anyone want to date you? Boy or girl," Gowthur laughed. Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned away from him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Away from you," Hiccup answered. "I'd rather not waste my time with you."
"Look who's gotten all big and important," Deb said. She and Gowthur followed Hiccup as he walked away from them and towards his next class.
"Yep," Hiccup nodded. "It's too bad you two didn't."
"Listen here Haddock," Gowthur growled. Before he could continue a scream ripped through the air. Hiccup felt a rush of panic, he recognized that scream.
"Rapunzel," he breathed. Without giving Gowthur and Deb a second thought he raced up the dungeon stairs and back into the castle halls. Rapunzel's scream didn't come again, but several shouts and cries did. Hiccup followed the noise up two more flights of stairs and down a corridor till he finally found the source of the commotion.
Rapunzel, Merida, Liam, Blake, Dorian, Ellen, Ashley, Gloriana, and Drew were scattered through the hall, each battling a giant spider.
"Acromantulas," Hiccup gasped.
Jack Frost-
Jack ran as fast as he could. Rapunzel's scream echoed in his head. He pictured her all alone, standing up to the shadow, or even worse, the master. I'm coming Punzie! Jack took the stairs two at a time and reached the correct corridor in minutes. Without hesitation he shot down the hall like a broomstick. After rounding a corner however, he froze. Spiders, really, really big spiders.
"What the?" he wondered aloud. One of the spiders turned towards his voice. It snapped its pincers and advanced forward.
"Reducto," Jack shouted. The spider flew back and crashed through a window.
"Well aimed," Hiccup complemented him from where he was facing another spider. He shot a spell that burned the spider's leg. It fell to the ground and twitched. Hiccup finished it off with another fire spell.
"Bout time you got here Slytherin," Merida stunned one spider then severed the leg of another. She spared him a glance then turned back to the battle.
"I was trying to find you guys," Jack let a stream of ice freeze another one of the spiders.
"Oh yes. It's very easy to miss a horde of giant spiders," Rapunzel panted. She seemed to be having difficulties with one of the bigger spiders. It dodged her spells and kept swinging its hairy legs at her.
"Stupefy," Jack stunned the spider from behind.
"Thanks," she nodded to him.
"Anything for you Punzie," he winked. Rapunzel gasped and pointed her wand at him.
"Incendo," she screamed. Jack ducked down and a stream of fire shot past him. He turned around and saw a spider shrivel up in the flames.
"Would it have been that hard to warn me?" Jack demanded. Rapunzel laughed.
"I would've been too late then and the spider would have got you," she said.
"Rather the spider get me than get burnt by you," he protested. Rapunzel rolled her eyes.
"Will you two stop bickering and get back into the fight?" Merida moved in between them and blew another spider through a window.
"That's your job right Merida?" Hiccup ducked under one of the spider's legs then sent a burst of flames at its stomach. The animal let out a high pitched cry then collapsed to the ground.
"Darn right it is," Merida exclaimed. Jack and Rapunzel laughed loudly. "Look out," Merida warned. Jack noticed the spider creeping up behind Rapunzel a second after Merida did. He aimed his wand then shot out another stream of ice and snow. The spider froze almost instantly.
"Jack," Rapunzel brushed off a dusting of snow that had fallen on her.
"You can't say anything," Jack smirked.
"Enough already," Blake snapped. "There's a serious fight going on here and you four are just making jokes." They glanced at each other.
"But it makes it so much more fun," Jack pointed out. Blake shook his head then returned his attention to the spiders. The four friends joined him.
"How many are there?" Rapunzel groaned. She split one of the nearby spiders in half.
"They keep coming in through the windows," Hiccup answered. He motioned to where the windows had large gaping holes. A dark stream of spiders flowed through the gap and into the school. By now more students and teachers had arrived to help fight of the spiders, but they were still badly outnumbered.
Suddenly an idea struck Jack. "Cover me. I'm gonna fix the windows," Jack called. His three friends moved in front of him without speaking. Slowly they made their way towards the nearest window.
Merida-
Merida stunned one spider, blasted another, then burnt a third. The fourth spider dodged her spell and attempted to knock her over with one of its legs. Hiccup severed the leg then Rapunzel blew the spider back with the deprimo charm.
"You done yet Jackie?" she asked. No matter how much Merida liked fighting and using magic, she was getting tired from all of this.
"Almost," came Jack's reply.
Alex rushed by with his brother. They rescued Dorian and Ashley who had been trapped in a corner by three spiders. Professor Starling sent a small army of owls into the air above the battle. They poured a thick steaming potion onto the unsuspecting spiders then returned to the Professor to have their cups refilled.
"You know, if there weren't so many acromantulas I think we might be winning," Hiccup said.
"We're Hogwarts, or course we'd be winning. And we are winning," Merida snapped. Another spider approached them, smaller this time. Rapunzel took it down with one spell then killed another one. Merida turned to Hiccup and smirked. "See?"
"That doesn't mean we're winning," Hiccup muttered. The owls poured more of the potion onto the spiders and several fell dead. Professor Moor levitated a few of the beasts into the air and then floated them out one of the windows. Professor Durwing transfigured a few of the creatures into objects like paper and quills.
"Alright move to the next window," Jack ordered. They shuffled to the next hole. "Hiccup would you please clear this one?"
"Incendo," Hiccup killed the spiders crawling through the hole. "Stupefy!" He stunned the ones still outside the window.
"Thank you," Jack began to work.
Curious as to what he was doing Merida glanced back at the window they had just left. She grinned at what she saw. A thick sheet of ice covered the hole and joined the glass, blocking the spiders still trying to enter the school and trapping the ones already inside.
"Well done Jack," she exclaimed.
"Did Merida just give me a complement or did I imagine it?" Jack asked. Merida laughed.
"I did Jackie! But don't even think about getting used to it," she froze another spider that was advancing towards them.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Jack chuckled.
He was quicker with this window and soon had it done. Cautiously they moved on to the third and final window. Jack finished that one almost immediately. "All done, no more spiders can enter the school now!"
"Thanks Jack," Rapunzel gave him a quick hug. Merida rolled her eyes.
"Let's get back into the action," she said. As one they returned to the fray of battle. Without the constant flow of reinforcements the spiders were soon defeated. After the last spider was killed Merida sank to the floor in exhaustion. Rapunzel, Jack, and Hiccup sat next to her. "I didn't know I could be this tired," she sighed.
"This is worse than when we killed the shadow," Rapunzel muttered.
"Are you kidding? This isn't even close to that night," Hiccup argued. Rapunzel shrugged, but didn't defend herself. Jack didn't speak. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. The others did the same. It felt so good to rest that Merida almost dozed off. The sound of approaching footsteps roused her from near unconsciousness. She looked up into the eyes of Nicholas Jurntry. Merida nudged the others awake and then struggled to her feet. Jack didn't even bother.
"Professor Jurntry," Merida nodded her head at him.
"Miss Donbroch," Nicholas nodded his head back at her. "As I understand you and Miss Gothel were here when the attack started were you not?"
"Yes sir," Merida nodded again. It was the first time she'd seen Nicholas up close since she discovered he was Jack's father. She searched his face for any similarities. Other than their pale skin, she found none.
"Do you mind telling me what happened?" he asked.
"Of course sir. Rapunzel and I were just walking to our next class together and we heard an odd noise coming from down this corridor. We decided to investigate. When we came down the hall we found the odd noise was really the spiders breaking in through the windows. Rapunzel screamed, the others heard it and came to help. That's it sir." Nicholas looked thoughtful.
"Thank you Miss Donbroch," he said. "And well done to you Mr. Frost," Nichols turned his eyes to his son. Jack looked up at him, his expression unreadable. "I hear you were the one who closed the windows, that was quick thinking on your part."
"Yeah, I know," Jack said stiffly. Nicholas's hazel eyes flashed.
"Good day to you," he turned away from them and stalked away. Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel exchanged awkward glances.
"I know what you're thinking," Jack grumbled. "I don't care if I was mean. He disserves it." They don't reply. Merida felt a rush of sympathy towards him. Even if they argued all the time, Jack was still her friend. Besides she couldn't imagine life without her parents, even her mother. Jack disserved better.
A/N:
So this is actually two chapters put together. It was just going to be a filler about their classes and their enemies, but I got bored and decided to combine it with the one where they fight the acromantulas. It really isn't that important of a chapter, it just lets them know that the school is still extremely dangerous. I know the quality is kind of crappy. Sorry 'bout that. I've been kinda distracted today and I think I'm getting sick. Ughhh. I really don't want to go to school tomorrow. At least I've got a two hour delay. Yayyyyy! Well thanks to Inu Miko Warrior and ImagineDragons27 for reviewing. You guys are official my bestfriends! :D Anyways…. So I'm working on my own real book, but I can't decide which plotline to write. I'll write the summaries here and you guys can vote on which one you like better.
Strong- Terri is a Deservant. She lives a life full of money and fancy homes. Like all Deservants her parents don't have to work. They are served hand and foot by the Undeservants and paid monthly for simply being loyal citizens of Strong. One night her life of ease is changed by the tyrannical leader, Sir Banks. Overcome by his obsession with strength he creates a test for the whole of Strong to undergo. Those who pass the test are strong enough to continue living in the world he has concocted and will contribute to the development of a new race of people. But this is no ordinary test you take with paper and pencil. This is a test of physical and mental abilities. The Deservants and Undeservants are pitched together in a world filled with chemical radiation and strange creatures born from the effects of the radioactive fumes. They struggle to pass the test in the only way possible, make it to a safe haven before everyone else. Told from Terri's pov as she and her family travel towards the safe haven.
Main Characters: Terri- sixteen year old girl. Deservant
Jefferson-Terri's father. Deservant
Ava- Terri's mother. Deservant
Miranda- Terri's oldest sister. Deservant
Ash- Terri's other sister. Deservant
Justin- Ash's boyfriend. Deservant
Harry- Terri's older brother. Guard
Marcus- Harry's friend. Guard
Nick- Harry's friend. Guard
Ryan- Nick's brother. Guard
Lane- seventeen year old boy. Undeservant
Sir Peter James Banks- Dictator of Strong.
Daylor- Sir Banks's son. Eighteen.
Creativity- What if you could create a new animal just by drawing it? What if you could win a war just by writing about it? What if you could go into a book just by reading it? At the Academy all these gifts are real. Children born with special talents are taken from their families as soon as the government discovers them and brought to the Academy where they're kept a secret and kept safe. But when the Hornets bring Dakota to the Academy everything changes. Kids start disappearing from the Academy and don't come back. The government, their protectors, don't know what's happening and can do nothing to stop it. It's up to Dakota and her newfound friends to uncover the mystery and save those still at the Academy. Little do they know that Dakota is the real one in need of saving… Told from different povs, but mainly Dakota's.
Main Characters: Dakota- whatever she imagines comes alive.
Cal- whatever she writes happens.
Salem- whatever she sculpts comes alive.
Laya- if she sings a high note she grows taller, a low note makes her short.
Trish- if she sings a high not the things around her grow bright and pretty, a low note makes them dark and depressing.
George- if he reads something out loud it will come out of the book.
Nick- whatever he draws comes out of the page and into the real world.
Lo- if he reads out loud he can send people into books.
Lock Down- October and Luke go to high school, prepared for an ordinary day. However, after only one hour everything changes. Terrorists break into their school and take them all as hostages, threatening death if the police try to rescue them. Trapped inside and unable to get free Luke and a few friends manage to escape the gymnasium where they're being kept. They manage to contact the police who wait just outside the school, unable to get in. Deciding to play hero they begin to fight back against the terrorists. Will their actions win them freedom or death? Told from many different povs.
Main Characters: October- Luke's little sister. Sophomore
Luke- heroic figure. Senior
Gwyn- October's friend. Sophomore
Victoria- Luke's girlfriend. Senior
Officer Boggs- Police officer who attempts to rescue the children.
Lacy- October's friend. Sophomore
Brittany- lonely girl who manages to make friends and make a change through the book. Sophomore
Jonah- Luke's friend. Senior
I'd really like it if you voted so please let me know what you think. Who knows, you could be choosing the next big thing? (That would be totally awesome, but I kinda doubt it) Just please vote and thanks for reading!