Chapter Thirty(filler)
Merida-
Merida couldn't deny the gurgling feel of nerves in her stomach that was very unlike her. Still in the Gryffindor Dormitory she watched as her friends and teammates prepared for the game. Blake and Dorian were decked out in their uniforms just as Merida was. They were all in crimson and gold, Gryffindor colors.
"You ready to kick some Ravenclaw butt today?" June asked excitedly. She plopped in the chair next to Merida and finished pulling on her shoes.
"Oh, yeah," Merida tried, and failed to sound excited. June gave her a sympathetic look.
"You're first game is rough. But after that it's one of the easiest and most definitely the most fun thing you'll ever do," she comforted her. Merida gave her a halfhearted smile. Her words had done little to calm the ocean of nausea inside of her.
"I think I might be sick," Merida felt a lurch of nerves worse than the others in her stomach. She jumped from her chair, clutching her stomach.
"No time for that, I'm afraid," Ferris said as he approached them. "Time to play," he grinned.
"Now I'm really gonna be sick," Merida groaned. The two older students glanced at each other. With a wink and a nod they moved on either side of her then wove their arms around hers.
"Just hold it in until we're in the air. Then you can let it go on some Ravenclaw," Ferris joked as they led her out of the common room and into the hall. June laughed and nudged Merida, trying to get a chuckle out. The nudge only made Merida want to barf even more.
Ferris and June kept making snide comments on the way to the field, trying to get her to relax. It did work a little, but Merida was still feeling a bit queasy. "Now remember, you're the chaser, so you just grab the Quaffle and try to get it past Babs," Ferris reminded her. "Don't worry about the buldgers, that's mine and Blake's job. Oh and don't worry about the snitch because that's Florence's job."
"I know how to play Quiditch Ferris," Merida grumbled. "I just don't really feel like it right now."
"I'm gonna tell you three words that will totally change your life," Ferris told her. Merida looked at him expectantly. "Suck it up." She pouted at him.
"Thanks."
"Eh, it's what Simon would have told you too," Ferris shrugged. Merida remembered Simon. He was the former Quiditch captain. She hadn't known him very well, but it seemed highly likely that he would've said that too. "Now it's almost time to play so go get your broom," Ferris shoved her into the locker room. Obediently Merida retrieved her Nimbus 2020.
After the rest of the team had retrieved their brooms they waited by the doors. Even from inside they could hear the dull roar of the crowd. It was probably just her imagination, but Merida could swear she heard voices calling out her name. She was unable to dwell on the thought though. The doors had opened; it was time for them to walk on the field.
"You can do it Merida," Dorian whispered just before they entered the bright sunlight.
"Thanks, you too," Merida whispered back.
All talking ceased as they made their way onto the field. Ferris was in the lead. He smiled and waved at the stands like a movie star. Blake was too. Merida resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his cheeky grin. Instead she focused on the stands. Her eyes scanned the faces for three familiar friends.
There! She spotted them in the Gryffindor tower. They held up a giant red banner with her name painted across in gold letters. Rapunzel really is handy with a paintbrush, Merida smiled to herself.
Her blonde friend was dressed all in crimson, her hair serving for the gold part of her outfit. Hiccup looked very similar to her, but he also wore blue for his own team. Jack was in his blue hoodie with a Gryffindor scarf, looking less than fashionable, but at least he looked happy.
Merida had to look away from them as her team faced Ravenclaw. They moved to their places on the field then mounted their brooms. As Merida kicked off she felt her nerves vanish. She knew what she was doing, this was her area of expertise. Hiccup was good in school, Rapunzel was good at drawing, Jack was good at well being Jack, and she was good at this.
Now she watched with excitement, not dread as Ferris and Jason shook hands then moved into the air. Her heart beat with anticipation as Drake moved into the middle of the field. "I want a fair game, from both teams," his voice was strict, but Merida knew he really wasn't that harsh. After saying a few more things he released the other balls and retrieved the quaffle. Merida readied her broom, it was her moment to shine.
As Drake threw the quaffle up she flew into action.
Rapunzel-
Rapunzel watched with wide eyes as the game continued in front of her. It was a much more intense game than the first one she watched last year. Now that her friend was out there it seemed a whole lot more dangerous.
"Way to go Merida," Hiccup cheered as Merida made a goal.
"Go Merida, go!" Rapunzel cried. "You're the best!"
"What about me? I thought I was the best?" Jack teased. Rapunzel pretended she hadn't heard him. She had no desire to speak with him at the moment. Jack's smile faded and his eyes flashed. He turned away from her and returned to the game. Hiccup watched them silently.
"Anything I should know about?" he asked Jack, just loud enough for Rapunzel to hear.
"Nope," Jack answered. Hiccup shrugged then turned to watch Merida again. Rapunzel followed his gaze.
Pally had the quaffle now. She sped towards Liam and threw the quaffle. Liam blocked it with ease. Rapunzel felt a rush of delight for him and clapped her hands together happily. "Yayy, go Liam!" she cheered. Jack glanced at her then at Liam.
"Yeah, way to go Liam," he said sarcastically. Rapunzel felt a sharp pinch of irritation. She pushed it away with some difficulty and then struggled to ignore anymore comments he made.
In the game below Dorian had the quaffle. She headed towards Babs with incredible speed. Before she reached the goal Mason sent a buldger her way that nearly knocked her off of her broom and caused her to drop the quaffle. Jason caught the quaffle and headed towards Liam, who once again blocked the throw. The game continued with Merida catching the quaffle again and making it in the goal.
"Meridaaaaaaaa!" Rapunzel clapped and cheered loudly. She sent them a small waved then dove back in the game.
The game continue as usual with each team catching the quaffle and then either making the goal or missing. It wasn't until Blake sent a buldger at Mason that the game got really interesting. A minor war broke out between the two of them. Buldgers were flying back and forth, endangering the whole team, luckily nobody got hurt.
"What do you think got into them?" Hiccup wondered.
"Mason tried to hit Dorian with a buldger, who is Blake's girlfriend, so he retaliated by trying to hit Mason with a buldger. Angry with him Mason hit one back. Blake wasn't going to stand for that so he hit another back, and so on," Jack explained.
"Likely to get themselves kicked off of the teams," Hiccup commented. Jack shrugged.
Suddenly a buldger flew towards the stands. "Get down," Rapunzel jerked Hiccup to the floor, who in turn, pulled Jack down. The rest of the stands dropped down on their own. The crazed ball soared over their heads then came back around and entered the fray of broomsticks.
"Bloody hell! They must be trying to get us all killed!" Jack exclaimed.
"Florence or Juniper better hurry up and catch the snitch," Rapunzel stated. They nodded in agreement.
Lucky for them Florence did catch the snitch. Winning the game for Gryffindor and putting a stop to the flying buldgers.
"Thank you Florence!" Jack cheered.
"You're the man," Hiccup clapped.
"Gryffindor wins," Rapunzel cried. "Way to go Merida!" They laughed at her.
"Were we not just cheering for Florence, not Merida?" Hiccup asked.
"Merida is my bestfriend, not Florence," Rapunzel pointed out.
Hiccup just shook his head then headed for the stairs. Rapunzel followed him with Jack behind her. He grabbed her arm and held her back so everyone else passed them. When the stands we empty he pulled her around to face him.
"Look, I'm sorry about Halloween and I'm sorry about how I've been acting lately. I've just been feeling kind of low and so I just get mad easier," he apologized quickly, his words coming out in a rush. Letting go of her arm he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. Rapunzel hesitated before speaking.
"I know you've been going through a lot and you have good reason to be kinda moody," she began, "but that still gives you no right to treat me or anyone else like you do. You can't just flip flop around from being a good friend to yelling at us. We," she paused, "I deserve your respect and if you don't give it to me then you can say goodbye to our friendship."
Jack looked up at her, his eyes sad. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead he closed it again and looked down.
"I'm gonna go congratulate Merida," Rapunzel whirled around and stomped down the stairs.
Hiccup-
Hiccup caught a hold of Merida's sleeve and jerked her back. She stumbled into him, nearly making them fall over, but Hiccup somehow managed to stay upright.
"What the bloody-" Merida snapped, but Hiccup shushed her before she got too loud. Ahead of them Rapunzel and Jack walked down the hall, both keeping their distance and both keeping quiet. Jack had his hands in his pockets and was focused on the ground. Rapunzel kept studied the walls and ceiling, all but ignoring their Slytherin friend.
"What's wrong with them?" Hiccup asked, quietly.
"I don't know. Rapunzel hasn't breathed a word to me about anything," Merida replied.
"You should have seen them at the game the other day," Hiccup commented. "Of course your keeper didn't help the situation." Merida put her hands on her hips and gave him a look.
"What has Liam got to do with this?" she demanded.
"Rapunzel seems awfully fond of him," Hiccup explained. "Like she used to be with Jack."
"It's her choice who she likes. If she'd rather like Liam than I say she can like Liam," Merida snapped. "Personally I don't blame her. I mean it is Jack we're talking about here," she pointed out. Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Of course. How could I forget the undying love affair between you two," he laughed. Merida shoved him playfully.
"Oh shove it Ravenclaw," she grinned.
Hiccup stumbled from her shove then caught himself and gave her a fake glare. She smirked at him. Hiccup's glare faded. He moved closer to her. "I'm glad we're still friends," he said softly. Merida looked at him without speaking for a moment. Then she turned and started walking again.
"I actually didn't think that we would be friends when I first met you," Merida admitted.
"Why?" Hiccup asked.
"You were a complete coward," Merida answered.
"I think I still am," he laughed.
"Maybe just a little," she agreed. "But I can tell you're getting better."
"Your Gryffindor bravery must be rubbing off on me," he suggested teasingly.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "You didn't think that I meant you were getting better on your own did you?" she asked almost accusingly.
"Goodness no," Hiccup joked.
"Good," Merida nodded. They laughed at each other.
"Hey love birds," Jack called. "Hurry up!" Hiccup looked up to find that Jack and Rapunzel had already reached the gargoyle statue. He and Merida rushed to catch up to them. By the time they reached them Jack had already pushed open the hidden entrance. "After you," he swept his arm in front of him.
Jack Frost-
Jack paced in front of his three, well more like two, friends. "So I think it's time we got to work on defeating Nicholas," he stated.
"You've thought that since we got to Hogwarts," Merida rolled her eyes.
"That's because we should," Jack exclaimed.
"How are we supposed to fight him?" Hiccup asked.
"With magic, duh," Jack answered. Hiccup glared at him.
"We're hardly trained enough to do that," he said.
"That's why we've been visiting Simpion," Jack pointed out. "Don't you think by known we're ready?"
"No!" Rapunzel answered. "If it were the proper time to defeat him I think we'd have more evidence to support our reason of attacking the Hogwarts Headmaster. Besides we still don't know if he's the one we should be attacking or not. Maybe there's something else out there that he's defending himself against," she argued.
"I agree with Punzie," Hiccup nodded. Merida nodded too, showing her choice.
"Seriously?" Jack gave them a look.
"Yep," they answered.
"Well if you won't attack him with me, will you at least spy on him with me?" he asked. They glanced at each other. "I meant with this," Jack pulled out his map of the school with the moving footprints and everything.
"Ohhhh," Merida sighed. "Not sure what good it will do, but yeah I guess so," she shrugged.
"You have to agree to something first," Jack warned.
"What?" Hiccup asked.
"If we find Nicholas doing anything that we deem to be 'evil' we attack him, evidence or no evidence," he answered.
"Jack," Merida groaned. He held up his hand to silence her.
"Deal?" he raised his eyebrows and looked at them. They rolled their eyes at each other. He could imagine what they were thinking. Did he really drag us up here for this? "Well?"
"Alright, deal," Hiccup finally agreed to it.
"Thank you for the cooperation," Jack grinned.
A/N:
This chapter was a serious filler chapter. I was really hoping to get a good chapter out on my birthday, but this was next in line. I'm really sorry about how boring and dull and moody and depressing and suckish and just how downright terrible this chapter was. Ugh I wish this year was more interesting. Really this year is like their most average year and only gets interesting at the end. I LOVE it after Christmas, but for right now it's just kind of ehhh. But another reason this chapter stinks so bad is because I'm pretty exhausted. I've been at the barn ALL DAY clipping our heifers. Not how I had planned on spending my birthday, but oh well. At least I got to write! Now thanks to changeofheart505, KairaB, ImagineDragonz7, Starskulls, Rylee88, anon, Guest, stacy656246, and Chiisana Pierrot for reviewing. Wish I could have given ya'll a better chapter, but yeah.