Chapter Thirty-three

Jack Frost-

Jack sighed quietly from where he was perched on the window seal in the Slytherin dormitory. The other boys snored silently, completely enveloped in their dreams, oblivious to the pain writhing within their roommate's heart. Even Bounder didn't have a clue about the turmoil inside Jack.

Outside the school was wrapped in a crisp white blanket of snow. The moon cast an almost eerie light on the fresh white powder. Even the Dark Forest seemed to glow with the unearthly light. So disturbed by the picture outside Jack thought he saw red eyes peering up at him from the unlighted shadows under the trees. He shuddered.

Unable to take it anymore Jack stood up and exited the room. He was still dressed in his day clothes seeing as he had never changed into his pajamas. His attire consisted of his blue hoodie and old brown jeans from his days on the street. His feet were bare, but he didn't bother to put on shoes. Hardly caring to be quiet he left the Slytherin Common room and bustled into the hall. Luckily the portrait door was empty of its occupant.

Jack wandered aimlessly down the corridors, not caring where he went or if he got caught. The door next to him opened on squeaky hinges. Jack waited for a teacher to appear and give him detention or something. After a moment of hesitation, no one entered the hall.

With his curiosity aroused Jack peeked inside the room. Upon the first glance the room appeared empty. After a closer examination Jack realized there was something in the room. From where he stood at the door it appeared to be a block of wood. After a few seconds of puzzlement Jack entered the room, silently closing the door behind him. His bare feet made soft plodding noises against the cool tiles of the floor as he crossed the room. The noise ceased as he paused next to the object.

From his new vantage point Jack was able to see that the object wasn't a block of wood, but it was in fact, a mirror. It looked old and worn, its glass was cracked and the wooden frame was splintered and broken. There were words carved across the top, but by now the wood had been worn so that they were unreadable.

Still, Jack felt drawn to the mirror. Slowly he moved in front of the glass to see his reflection.

Jack's mouth went dry. He choked out a startled gasp and twirled around. There was no one behind him. Swallowing nervously, he turned back to the mirror. There! In the mirror there was someone behind him! What's going on? Jack wondered. He turned around again and waved his hands through the air, wondering if perhaps the person was invisible to the naked eye or something. His hands passed through empty air.

Confused and a little frightened Jack turned back to the mirror, intent on discovering who the mysterious person was. To his surprise there was another person with the other. They stood on either side of his shoulders, appearing to be a good deal taller than him. Their faces were blurry, but their bodies were clear. One was obviously a woman, the other a man. As their faces cleared Jack knew who they were in an instant.

His mother smiled fondly at him. Nicholas stood next to her, smiling too. His face was lined with laugh lines and his eyes twinkled with joy. Melanie gave him a loving look then turned back to Jack.

The young Slytherin felt his heart catch in his throat. Hot tears burnt his eyes, momentarily obscuring his vision. He blinked them away quickly, not wanting to lose sight of his mother. With shaking hands he stretched out his arm towards their reflections. His finger tips smudged the glass when they met his mother's outstretched hand.

"Mother," he whispered. Her clear blue eyes trailed down and she smiled again. Jack looked down, desperate to know what she was seeing.

Standing next to him, more than a head shorter, was a young girl. She had the same brown locks as his mother, but had acquired a darker version of his father's hazel eyes, so they were practically brown. In an instant Jack knew this was his sister, or it would have been his sister.

Jack dropped to his knees, unable to keep standing as the weight of the emotions he'd been hiding all Christmas break bore down on him. His sister reached out a hand and rested it on his shoulder. Jack almost thought he really felt it, but it was impossible. She wasn't there, she wasn't even real.

"I'm sorry," Jack apologized. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault that you're not here," he looked at his sister, then at his mother. She died giving birth to me, so she never had the chance to have a daughter. If it wasn't for me she would still be alive with Nicholas and they'd be happy with my sister, Jack thought sadly. He wasn't even surprised to realize that he was sorry for ruining Nicholas's life. He deserved his hatred.

The reflection of his father dropped to his knees next to Jack. He rested a hand on the opposite shoulder of the one his sister had a hold of. He closed his eyes and looked down. Jack bit back tears, wishing this was all real. He wished with all of his heart that Nicholas could forgive him. No matter how he acted on the outside, on the inside he wanted a family.

Spending Christmas with Merida's family had reminded him of what he had missed growing up. He watched her bicker with her mother, joke with her dad, and play with her brothers. All things he never got to do.

Jack stared into the mirror, feeling his heart break with pain. Suddenly a new face appeared. This one he knew well.

"Rapunzel," Jack breathed. She smiled brightly and gave a slight wave. His sister grinned and ran to Rapunzel's side. Rapunzel beamed at the young girl and scooped her up into her arms. They both turned to Jack. Rapunzel walked to his side, where his sister had been before.

Jack jumped to his feet, his eyes focused on the beautiful young girl next to him. It felt so good to have her look at him with joy and kindness again. It wasn't like the tolerant look she gave him now. "I'm sorry to you too Punzie," he said. "I should have treated you better. You deserve my respect." She blinked down at his sister, then looked back at him.

Emerald eyes met blue ones and a million words were spoken in the silence of the room. I forgive you, she seemed to whisper. Jack suddenly knew what he had to do. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the small black stone.

He didn't quite know why, but it just felt like all his recent misfortunes were related to the little rock. Maybe if he got rid of it, he would go back to being bestfriends with his friends. He clenched his hand into a fist, the stone tucked tightly in his fingers. With a last longing look at those in the mirror he marched out of the room and down the hall until he found an open window.

Using all of his strength he hurled the thing out the window. It landed like a tiny speck of dust against a white canvas. Already feeling better, Jack stepped back inside and closed the window.

Merida-

Merida groaned at the sound of pecking against the window. She grumbled to herself as she rolled out of bed. Making sure to take her time as she rubbed her eyes and stretched she slowly prepared herself to get out of bed. Feeling the slight chill of winter she tugged on her bathrobe before approaching the window.

Outside, her owl was hovering by the window, a small piece of paper clasped in its beak. Merida allowed the bird inside before she took the paper. The other girls in the dormitory mumbled as they slept, but Merida ignored them, intent on the paper.

Meet me at the staircase. –Jack

"What could you possible need to tell us?" Merida demanded to herself. She looked at her owl. It blinked then flew back out the open window. Rolling her eyes, Merida closed it after her bird. She found some shoes and pulled them on before tip toeing out of the dormitory. The Fat Lady was asleep and didn't wake as Merida closed the portal. Thank goodness, she thought to herself as she rushed down the hall.

There were two shapes waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. When she grew closer she realized they were Jack and Hiccup. As she approached Merida formed the best words to say to make Jack understand how much she hated getting woken up in the middle of the night.

"Do you wind telling me what is so dang important that you have to wake us up in the middle of the night when we're all having a well earned goodnight's sleep? It had better be something incredibly important or I'm gonna stupefy your butt right out of this school," Merida snapped at Jack. Hiccup laughed loudly, but Jack did something very surprising. He swept Merida up in his arms and pulled her in for an awkward hug.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Merida thwacked him upside the head. Jack dropped her and clamped his hands over his head.

"Gosh Merida. I was just hugging you," he exclaimed.

"I don't hug Slytherins," she snapped. "At least not at this time of night." Hiccup laughed again. Jack glared at him. Still something about him seemed different. He seemed about ten times happier than he had in a long time. "Now what's going on?" she demanded.

"That's what I want to know," Rapunzel's sleepy voice came from another corridor. She approached them with bleary eyes and a braid ruffled from sleep.

"I have something really cool to show you guys," Jack explained.

"Couldn't it have waited? Classes start bright and early tomorrow," Hiccup pointed out.

"When you see it, you'll understand," Jack said. "Now come on." He rushed up a flight of stairs. They looked at each other. Rapunzel yawned. "The sooner we get there the sooner you can go back to bed," Jack paused at the top of the steps, not looking back at them. They gave in with tired sighs. This had better be worth it, Merida thought longingly of her bed left empty in the Gryffindor dormitory.

Her mind was brought back to the present as Jack led them up the stairs and down many twisting corridors. She thought for sure they were going in circles, but Jack seemed confident in where we has going. How's he even find this place? She wondered with mild curiosity. She didn't bother to ask the question, doubting he would answer. He looked quite focused on where he was going.

When he final paused next to some unknown door in some unknown hallway the three friends let out relieved breaths. Jack rolled his eyes. He gave them a second to catch their breath before he pushed open the old creaky door.

At first Merida thought there must be some mistake. Why would Jack bring them to an empty room? After a second she realized the room wasn't empty, but was just scarcely furnished. And by scarcely, there was only a mirror.

"Okay?" Rapunzel raised her eyebrows in question.

"Come on," Jack grabbed her wrist and tugged her into the room. Merida and Hiccup glanced at each other before following. "I was walking down the hall and I happened upon this room. When I looked in the mirror, I saw my family," Jack explained. They gaped at him. "I know! That was my first thought too. But it was real. There was Nicholas and Melanie, and I had a little sister! We were all happy and it was great." Even Nicholas was happy? Merida bit her tongue to keep from speaking. She didn't want to ruin Jack's perfect mood. "Go on and look," he motioned to the mirror.

Now that her curiosity was sparked, Merida hesitantly stepped in front of the mirror and peered into the reflective glass. However, she did not see Jack standing with his family. Instead she saw herself. She was dressed in her normal Hogwarts uniform only now it was decorated with many patches signifying her importance. She was the Quiditch captain, Head Girl, and she had won the House Cup. Her bow was hanging over her shoulder and her quiver was present too. Simpion and Lady Whitewind stood in the background, nodding approvingly. Xandlerfer was also present. He was shaking her hand with a beaming smile. She had saved the wizard world from the master!

"Wow," she breathed. "I'm awesome." Jack gave her a confused look.

"Don't you see my parents?" he asked.

"No," she answered.

"I don't either," Hiccup said.

"Nor do I," Rapunzel agreed.

"Really? Well what do you see?" Jack asked.

Hiccup-

Hiccup waited for Merida to finish her explanation of what she saw before he began. "It's me sitting on Toothless's back. Only I'm older and I look stronger. The Minister of Magic is there, congratulating me on taming dragons. My dad is in the background. He looks proud. My mom's there too. They're next to each other, both of them are happy again," Hiccup explained.

He left out a small part. Merida was there too. She was sitting next to him on Toothless and they were holding hands. He would never tell her that though.

"Sounds like you both have it good," Jack mentioned. He still seemed highly surprised that they hadn't seen his family when they looked in the mirror. Hiccup was surprised too. In all the books he had read he had never heard about a mirror that didn't reveal the same thing to those who looked into its reflective glass.

"What about you Punzie? What did you see?" Merida asked.

Rapunzel was quiet for a moment. Her face looked thoughtful, like she was contemplating what to tell them.

"I'm not really sure," she finally answered. "I was in my house and my mother was there. But there were two other people there too. One was a women and the other was a man. I think he was Xandlerfer, but I'm not sure. They were all standing side by side and were smiling at me. There were odd floating lights too, but I don't know why. It reminds me of a dream I had once," she trailed off and blushed. Her eyes flickered towards Jack then moved away.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows, but Rapunzel didn't speak. Merida looked curious too. At least I'm not the only one who doesn't know what's going on, he thought with relief.

"So are you gonna tell us about it?" Hiccup asked.

"There's not much to tell really. I was on a boat in the Black Lake and there were floating lights everywhere. They kind of looked like lanterns. I think you and Merida were there too, in another boat."

"What about me?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

They elapsed into silence. Rapunzel kept her eyes focused on the floor. Jack looked at Rapunzel. Merida watched them both with a puzzled look and Hiccup watched Merida.

"So," Merida was the first to speak. "What do you think this mirror is showing us?"

Rapunzel and Jack shrugged. "I think I know," Hiccup said.

"What a surprise. Little smart butt Ravenclaw knows the answer," Jack teased. Merida laughed quietly and Rapunzel rolled her eyes. Jack gave her a cheeky grin and she blushed.

"Do you wanna hear my theory or not?" Hiccup demanded.

"Eh, I guess," Jack shrugged. Hiccup gave him a look. "Alright! Shower us with the richness of your fat brain." At that they all busted out laughing. When they were finally able to calm down Merida made them stay quiet to hear what Hiccup had to say.

"I've been contemplating the visions you've all spoken of, mine included and I've only been able to come up with one thing they all share. I believe this mirror shows us what we most want, our heart's desire. I'm not sure how that works in with Rapunzel's, but whatever," he shrugged.

"Brilliant Hic," Merida exclaimed.

"Thanks Mer," he grinned. Out of the corner of his eye Hiccup could see Jack make a kissy face at him. He ignored him. "Well it's probably time to get back to bed. If Gossle finds us missing then we'll have more problems than we need."

"Yeah," they all agreed.

After helping each other to their feet they headed towards the door. Jack and Rapunzel held back so Merida and Hiccup walked with each other.

"I think their making up," Merida whispered, motioning her head back towards Rapunzel and Jack.

"It'll be good to have them be friends again," Hiccup stated. Merida nodded.

"Of course now we'll have to deal with their constant flirting," she grinned.

"Oh dear," Hiccup groaned. Merida giggled.

"You know I bet we could do worse than them," she said. "Flirting I mean." Hiccup glanced at her. "Just you know, if it were a competition or something," she added, a dark blush rising in her cheeks. "That totally came out wrong."

"It's okay I know-" Hiccup began.

"You know what, I've gotta go," she hurried down the hall, leaving Hiccup staring after her.

Rapunzel-

Rapunzel watched Merida and Hiccup walk in front of her and Jack. They were joking with each other and would occasionally look back at them. Suddenly Merida took off, leaving Hiccup alone. She had expected him to come back to her and Jack, but he kept walking. Soon it was only her and Jack in the hall.

"Did you like the mirror?" Jack asked.

"It was certainly interesting," Rapunzel decided after a moment of thought. She still didn't understand what she had seen in the mirror.

"I saw someone else in the mirror that I didn't tell them about," Jack's voice came out like a whisper. Rapunzel looked at him curiously.

"Who?" she asked.

Jack paused. Rapunzel stopped next to him, waiting expectantly. He turned to face her, his eyes soft. "You," he answered. Rapunzel didn't speak. She wasn't sure how to respond. It wasn't like she had seen Jack in her vision. In fact she was still a little irritated with him for his attitude before. "I know you're still mad at me and you definitely have the right to be. But seeing you tonight, being happy around me like you used to be just reminded me of how much I miss you. Please forgive me Punzie," he gave her the cutest puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. In those blue depths she was reminded of the return train trip at the end of last year. Jack had been so hurt, but she had been there for him. Now here she was being a total brat to him when he really needed her.

"I should be asking for your forgiveness. I mean I told you I'd always be there for you, but I haven't been a very good friend these past few months. You've really needed me, but I've just been pushing you away," she said, her voice tinged with shame. "Can you forgive me?"

Jack placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Don't you ever blame something I've done on yourself. You're the best person I've ever met. I never want to hear you ask for forgiveness for something you didn't even do again," he stated.

"Then why don't we make a deal? If you forgive me this time, then I'll never ask you for forgiveness for something I didn't do," she suggested, sticking out her hand in the gesture for a handshake. Jack glanced down at her hand then back at her face.

"Deal," he pulled her in and kissed her right on the lips. Rapunzel just stopped herself from gasping in surprise. Her green eyes were wide with shock and she didn't have time to kiss him back before Jack pulled away. They didn't speak. Instead jack took her hand and they continued walking down the hall.

He escorted her to the Hufflepuff Common room. There he gave her a tight hug, burying his face in her neck. "Thank you," he whispered. Rapunzel hugged him back just as tightly as she could. When they finally pulled away Rapunzel wished he would kiss her again. But he didn't.

"Good night Jack," she said.

"Night Punzie," he smiled. He waited for her to enter the Common room before he left. Rapunzel felt slightly embarrassed knowing the portrait had seen her with Jack, but she pushed the thought away, to happy about the events of the night to worry about some stupid picture.

A/N:

So how long has it been since I updated? A month? Sorry bout that. I really do have legitimate reasons for not being able to update though. 1st of all, my computer teach gave me this completely crazy project that I'm still not done with, 2nd I got really sick, 3rd I've been in South Carolina, 4th I've had driver's ed, and 5th I'm in high school. That about sums it up right there. But anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, I really liked writing it. I'm quite proud of the part from Jack's pov. I thought I wrote it pretty well. (Not to brag or anything XD) Thanks to Aphroditesdaughter47850, Rylee88, KairaB, Bambastic Yaegar, stacy656246, Sapo S.B, and Sparkle Puppy for reviewing. XOXOXO to you all. (not in a weird way haha)

P.S. Xandlerfer is the Minister of Magic. I mentioned him in the first part of this story, but just in case you forgot, here it is.