All of Fishleg's and Hermione's work had paid off. Not only had they found a way for Harry to breathe underwater for an hour, they had found a solution which wasn't a spell, but a plant, which meant Harry wouldn't have to practise. Fishlegs was telling Hiccup they'd had some help from Neville Longbottom, whom, according to the description, was as interested in Herbology as Fishlegs was in dragons. If this was correct, Hiccup was sure he was a pretty nerdy person.

The Vikings would have to leave soon because Dumbledore had asked the group to be at the lake two hours early. It was something about a job they would have to do. Hiccup got the feeling he was referring to some dragons, but he wasn't sure. Dumbledore had sounded different, more stressed than usual. In the meantime, however, the Vikings intended on spending as much time with their own dragons as possible, feeling as though they hadn't spent much time with them over the course of their stay.

Hiccup looked at Toothless, a lazy grin on his face. The dragon looked happily at him and leant against the fire place, finding it too cold to sit outside. Hiccup felt bad for Harry, who would have to be in the cold for an hour in the water. They'd been swimming in the Black Lake, however accidental it had been and it wasn't warm in the slightest.

Astrid walked over to Hiccup, Stormfly in tow. She sat down and leant against Hiccup, sighing deeply.

"What's the matter?" Hiccup asked, knowing immediately something was wrong.

Astrid looked at him, moving her eyes but not her head from his shoulder. "I don't know, everything at the moment," she replied softly, sort of mumbling.

Hiccup nodded and gently held her hand in both of his. She formed a small, thankful smile. "I suppose I'm just struggling to get to terms with everything. Mostly about us possibly having to work with this dark wizard."

Astrid cast a glare towards the fire. "We will find a way to back out of it, Hiccup. There is no way I'm killing an innocent person, wizard or not."

Hiccup nodded again. "Yeah. We have to make sure he doesn't find out about our dragons, though."

Astrid let out a small gasp. "If he did, he would have the ultimate weapon," she said, understanding.

"That's never going to happen. He'll have to kill us because I'm not helping," Hiccup said firmly.

"And if he kills Toothless?"

Hiccup shook his head determinedly, reaching a hand out to touch the dragon's wing. "I wouldn't let him. I would take the fall."

Toothless made sounds of sorrow, clearly expressing that he would rather die than be without his Viking. It was a rather sad topic to be talking about, but it was clear it needed to be said.

Their conversation came to an end as the twins walked lazily into the room. Their zippleback followed closely behind, each head watching their respective rider. Hiccup turned to them, waiting for the words they so clearly itched to share.

"We were thinking," Tuffnut started.

Astrid groaned. "Never a good sign," she muttered. Hiccup sent her a sly grin, agreeing.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes and continued, "Hiccup gets to fly Razor Neck, the most dangerous dragon here…"

"…but we don't get to take ours out of the cages," Tuffnut said.

They both nodded, looking at Hiccup firmly. It was the first time Hiccup had seen them look so determined about something that didn't include explosions. Oh, Hiccup thought, their dragon combined with the Chinese Firebolt could create more devastation than three Zipplebacks put together. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Astrid looked at the twins, astonishment clear on her face. "You guys are thinking about the dragon?" she asked, clearly missing what Hiccup had noticed.

Tuffnut shrugged. "Have you seen his fire?"

Ruffnut grinned. "It could blow up an entire village," she exclaimed happily.

Astrid laughed. "Not even Toothless can blow up an entire village," she pointed out. Toothless growled, unhappy that she was talking as though he wasn't there. She brushed him off, more focused on the twins' clearly destructive thoughts.

"A small one," Tuffnut suggested.

"It's Toothless we're talking about. If Hiccup wasn't his rider, Toothless would be able to do more things," Ruffnut stated, clearly ignoring Toothless's warning grumbles.

Tuffnut nodded. "If we were, who knows what we could do!" he raise his voice, excited about the possibilities. Hiccup shuddered, also thinking of the devastation they could cause.

Astrid rolled her eyes and glared slightly at the twins. "If you want to fly your dragon, there are going to be rules," she said strongly, leaving no room for arguments.

The twins' eyes gleamed. They had really only heard the part where Astrid had given them permission to let their dragon out of the cage. Hiccup laughed to himself, watching the scene unfold. Toothless gave him a funny look, but did nothing. He was still upset with the twins' blatant disrespect for him and his rider, the only one who could really ride the Night Fury. However, it would be funny to watch the twins try to fly with the stirrup fitted to his bad leg and the prosthetic tail.

Astrid turned to Hiccup, a smile on her face. Hiccup smiled himself. He realised how long it had been since he'd seen her smile a real, genuine smile. It seemed as though they were always stressed these days, with no room to be happy and be themselves. Hiccup hadn't realised how much he missed Berk, how much he wished he could be in the open skies, with the people of his village, Toothless sharing his room, the house with his father. This was not his home. This school was little more than a prison for the Vikings. Hiccup just had to survive a little longer here before he could go home; sort out the dark wizard issue and they would be free.

Hiccup looked up at the clock above the fireplace, seeming to have forgotten the time. He frowned when he realised they had little over ten minutes to get to the Black Lake. How had the time gone by that quickly?

"Tuffnut, get Snotlout and Fishlegs please," he said, looking at the twins expectantly.

Tuffnut looked at Hiccup briefly before deciding not to argue. Hiccup was surprised, and he noticed Astrid bore the same shocked expression, but they covered it quickly when the other Vikings emerged from their chambers.

"Ready to go?" Hiccup asked.

Fishlegs sighed dramatically, turning to Meatlug, who stood lazily behind him. "I'll miss you, girl." He turned to Hiccup. "Do I really have to go? We were just writing more in our personal journal."

Before Hiccup could answer, Tuffnut snickered. "You have a journal?"

Fishlegs turned red, turning to the side. "None of your business," he muttered.

Ruffnut grinned. "I think we should steal it; see what kinds of things he write in it," she said to her brother.

"Agreed." They bent their heads, planning ways in which they would be able to steal the journal off of the nerdiest of the Vikings.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and turned to Astrid. Her eyes were sparkling with amusement, at either the twins' reaction or the thought that Fishlegs kept a journal. He was glad to see that she was happy.

"Can we please get a move on now?" Hiccup asked, interrupting the twins' schemes.

For a moment it looked as though Snotlout would disagree, but a quick glare from Astrid had all the teens out the door and heading towards the Black Lake. Hiccup walked beside Astrid, neither speaking. The twins yabbered on behind them, talking about some nonsense or the other.

At the base of the stairs, Hiccup realised one of the dragons had been following them. He smiled gently and told the near black but blue Night Fury to go back up the stairs.

Toothless whined unhappily, not wanting to leave Hiccup's side.

"I'll be back later, bud. Look after the other dragons for me," he said, giving Toothless a gentle hug.

Toothless whined again, but turned and headed slowly back up the stairs, every so often turning back to look at Hiccup. Hiccup stood at the base of the stairs, waiting to make sure the dragon actually made it upstairs.

Once Hiccup was satisfied Toothless was going back to the room, the teens set off. They would be late, but none of them really cared. Dumbledore wasn't scary, anyway.

Ron and Hermione weren't around to help Harry on the morning of the second task. For some reason, he felt like they'd skipped out. When he needed them most, they weren't there. Harry felt slightly better knowing he wouldn't drown in the lake this afternoon, but that was the only thought which could console him. He didn't know what he would have to deal with: all sorts of creatures lived in the lake.

Harry sat in the common room, surrounded by other Gryffindors who were waiting to head down to the pier. They weren't exactly talking to Harry, but he didn't mind. He wanted to stay alone for a little longer before he needed to go and ask Neville about the plant. Hopefully he'd been able to get some.

There was a pause inside the common room, all silent, and Harry could faintly hear the sounds of claws on the stairs outside. If Harry had to take a guess, he would have said one of the dragons was sneaking out of the Viking's room.

Two of the first years, opened the door and looked out. From their reaction, it was definitely one of the dragons. The Weasley twins were up and at the door before anyone could stop them, the two first years backing away silently. It became apparent they were frightened of whatever dragon was out there.

Harry followed behind, curiously gazing around the twins. Fred and George grinned as the large black creature stared at them in the dark stairwell. His green eyes glowed, the only part of his body evident. Harry knew it was Toothless, he was the only black dragon he could think of. Besides, if he was out, chances were so were the rest of the Vikings.

"Reckon Hiccup'll mind if we take his pet out for a while?" Fred said to George, mischievous grins spreading across both their faces.

A low rumble was heard from the chest of the dragon, but that didn't stop the Weasleys.

"Nah, clearly he didn't take him with him for a reason," George said.

Harry stepped up between them, blocking their path to Toothless. "I'm pretty sure it won't be Hiccup who minds, guys." He gestured to the dragon which was slowly slinking away, creeping closer into the darkness.

Fred and George both turned towards the dragon, noticing how much further he seemed to have gone. The sighed angrily. "Well, those Ruff and Tuff people would probably let us borrow their dragon," George said thoughtfully.

Harry groaned and turned away angrily. "Maybe when they're around," he muttered.

Fred chuckled and patted Harry on the back. "You worry too much. We wouldn't consider doing something like that when they're not around to watch."

George grinned. "Yeah. Besides, who never said six heads weren't better than one?"

Harry looked away, slightly glaring at the floor. "I think everyone who knows anything would say that's not true."

"You're a bad sport, Harry." George pouted dramatically.

Harry smiled softly. "We wouldn't want you guys getting in trouble, would we?"

This made the Weasley twins both laugh. It became apparent the black dragon behind them was forgotten, the new thought of taken the two headed one out for a spin appeared more exciting than him. Harry looked to see that Toothless was already heading back down the stairs slowly, making almost no noise.

"It wouldn't be us getting in trouble," Fred said. Harry had to assume they were talking about the Vikings.

"Yeah. Besides, if they do happen to catch us," George began, a grin on his face.

"We'll just set the dragon on them," Fred finished, grinning gleefully.

Harry laughed, imagining Filch being chased by the two headed dragon. He could just imagine the horror struck look on his face when the dragon's twin tails knocked over his precious stands or made a mess on the floor. He'd probably be angrier if the dragon ruined his grounds, than if it harmed him.

"Too bad we can't use that big red one," George said wistfully.

Harry looked up. "Red one?" he asked curiously.

Fred turned to Harry, nodding. "Yeah. Snotlout's dragon. He's a piece of work, all flame and bite."

"Doesn't help that Snotlout's rough with him," George agreed.

Harry paused. He couldn't remember if he'd met Snotlout's dragon. He'd seen the twins' at a glance, flying around and blowing up different parts of the school, but he hadn't seen many of the others. Astrid's was a mystery, and he didn't really care much for Fishlegs' dragon.

Harry glanced at the clock above the mantle and sighed. "Have either of you seen Ron this morning?" he asked.

Fred looked to George, their scheming taking a break for a moment. They turned back to Harry, both shaking their heads. "No. We thought he'd be with you, seeing how you two are friends again," Fred said.

Harry shook his head. "Haven't seen him since last night. Or Hermione," he added.

George snickered a little at this. "Well, she could be with Krum."

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked, sounding offended. Why wouldn't his friend tell him if she weren't going to be with them, but with some other guy who was part of an opposing school?

George shrugged. "No reason," he laughed.

Harry was about to argue, but thought better. He would have rather to be preparing for his dip in the cold waters of the lake later on.

Fred and George both put an arm on Harry's shoulder reassuringly. "They'll show up. They wouldn't miss your performance," Fred said.

Harry nodded and watched as the twins went back into the dorm room, heading to some of their fellow class mates. He leant against the door for a moment, deciding what to do. He didn't have anything to do. No homework since the teachers had gone relatively easy for the weekend, and his friends were gone. What had his life come to now?

He sighed and went to his room, gathering his things and preparing himself, making sure he knew what had to be done for the task.

Dumbledore already stood on the banks of the lake as the Vikings approached. Gobber and Moody stood beside him, looking as dull as ever. Well, Gobber wasn't paying any attention and Moody looked pretty sour. Behind them stood Barty Crouch, talking to Charlie Weasley and Jeremy Gerard.

Gobber waved as Hiccup approached, seeming happier that his friends were walking towards him. The Keepers and Barty walked over to Dumbledore, standing beside him. Hiccup noticed how Charlie and Jeremy kept sending glances towards the lake, as though they were nervous.

"You're late," was the first thing Dumbledore said, a disapproving frown on his wrinkled face.

Hiccup shrugged. "Had some issues with a dragon," he said casually. Gobber immediately knew what he meant, however the news seemed to frighten the wizards just that little bit. It made Hiccup feel slightly better inside. It was good to know they still had some effect on the wizards with their dragons.

Astrid walked beside Hiccup, which seemed to make Charlie and Jeremy uncomfortable, but it made Hiccup feel better. "You wanted to talk to us?" she prodded.

Moody stepped up next to Dumbledore, who was in the front, levelling off with the headmaster. "It's about the second task," he started, looking at all the Vikings in turn. "We brought over a couple of water dragons, which we have little knowledge of, but it is imperative that you make them calm, at least around young Harry."

"Sounds like you want us to help you cheat," Astrid stated bluntly.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Only to help the boy survive."

"Seems like this Harry Potter is a very special character around you strange wizards," Snotlout snorted.

"He's got a past and a future which are very important to the survival of the wizard race," Dumbledore said, a frown forming on his face.

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't really care, we'll help. What do you want us to do? It's not like we can really tell them specifically what Harry looks like, without him actually finding out, and I'm guessing you don't want him to find out?" he asked smugly.

Charlie stepped forward, holding out a piece of clothing. Hiccup took the guess and assumed they were Harry's. The Keepers weren't as stupid as they looked. "We have this. We tried before, but the dragons didn't respond and didn't sniff the clothes. We hoped you would have better luck," he explained.

"What sort of dragons are we dealing with?" Fishlegs asked, immediately about to launch into methods to help figure out a solution to their issue.

Charlie shrugged. "A Surgesea," he said.

Fishlegs seemed stumped. Hiccup paused, never having heard of this type of dragon before. Well, it would be alright to meet a new dragon, wouldn't it? It would take a little longer than expected, however, to train these new dragons. They would have to figure out how they should go about it.

"Another thing, before we introduce you to the two dragons, there are people at the bottom of the lake. It would be helpful if you could tell the dragons this so they don't eat them for lunch," Dumbledore said.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Why would you have people in the water anyway? Trying to kill your students?" she accused.

Dumbledore shook his head. "They are protected by a powerful spell, asleep and breathing, fully alive," he explained.

"Then why do you need our help to make the dragons not attack them? Surely the spell will help with that," Hiccup was confused. They weren't making sense. Why would the wizards bring in dragons, not knowing what they would do, hoping they wouldn't kill their competition? They were so stupid. They really should be thankful the Vikings were staying for as long as they were. Their dragons could have easily ruined their school, and taken them back to their home.

Dumbledore sighed. "You don't need to understand. Magic isn't the answer to everything."

For some reason, this infuriated Astrid. "Neither is relying on the help of a bunch of Vikings! We have a reputation for treachery and stealing, you know this, right?" she all but yelled.

Moody snapped at this moment. "We don't have time right now. Deal with this later. Get to work." He pointed to the water.

Astrid glared at him. "You'll be lucky if we don't tell the dragons to attack this Harry boy. Or better yet, you," she sneered at him. Hiccup quickly pulled her away before she brought out her fists and started a brawl. It was clear she wouldn't win against the wizard, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He just needed her to stop making it worse for them.

Charlie stopped at the lake, checking that all the Vikings were following. Hiccup looked around, confused. "Where are the dragons?" he asked.

The keepers pointed down, into the water. Hiccup's heart sank. How were they supposed to train dragons which lived in the water. They probably didn't have a way which would allow them to breathe under the water either. They just assumed they'd be able to work like this? These wizards were that dumb.

Fishlegs squinted into the water, a smile forming on his face. Hiccup looked down, realising immediately what made the book worm so gleeful. Inside two small cages – not what they were happy about – were two Thunderdrums, a tidal class dragon which Hiccup had had numerous encounters with. Astrid noticed and sighed dramatically. She'd never really gotten along with the Thunderdrums.

"Well, one good thing that's happened today," Astrid murmured to Hiccup. He smiled at her softly.

"Surely that's not the only good thing?" he asked gently.

She shrugged, leaning towards him. "Getting close to it." She closed her eyes, her fists clenching. "They just treat us as though we're here solely for their benefit."

"Yeah. I know." Hiccup had noticed this too, of course. The wizards didn't give the Vikings much time to themselves, and the short time they did, it was always to work on their project. They weren't in any of the Viking's good books at that point.

Hiccup turned to Charlie. "So, how are we supposed to train them?" he asked curtly.

Charlie waved his wand momentarily, and the cages around the dragons lifted. Hiccup stepped back from the water edge as the two Thunderdrums surged to the surface, trying to get away from their cage. Just as they breached the surface, a rope pulled them back, stopped them from spreading their small scaled wings and taking flight.

"They can come to the surface here, but that is it." Charlie explained.

Fishlegs watched the two dragons carefully. "Where did you find them? They are still young."

Jeremy turned up, looking at the two dragons. "Had them since they was born. My brother found their mother 'nd 'er eggs. New dragon species and all, he kept em and said I could ave em when they was older."

Astrid cringed next to Hiccup. He himself didn't feel too good about this story. No one should have to keep a dragon in custody all its life. At least with the dragons of Berk, they weren't in cages; they chose to be with their Vikings. Well, Toothless not so much, but Hiccup was sure he didn't mind after a while.

"Then why do you need help with them? Just call your brother," Snotlout stated shortly.

Jeremy looked down. "Wish I could. He died. That's why I have them. I wasn't supposed to get them for another few years."

Hiccup had to feel sorry for him. He had inherited the dragons before he was ready to. Before they were ready to. It was no wonder they were annoyed at being in the cage. Well, that and dragons shouldn't be kept in cages.

Charlie was getting agitated. He pushed the shirt at Hiccup, letting it fall for a moment before the one legged boy caught it. "You've got less than an hour now. Get cracking." Then both he and Jeremy walked away, leaving the Vikings with the dragons.

"They've got some trust in us," Fishlegs observed.

"Only because they think they've got us in their grasp," Snotlout said. Hiccup was just thinking he'd finally said something smart when he ruined it. "But we'll show them who's boss when we unleash our dragons on them!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Maybe not such a good idea, Snotlout."

They paused for a moment, staring at the two dragons. Hiccup looked at them thoughtfully. "Ok, split into two teams, I guess it's the best way to get it done quickly," he said finally.

"Um, Hiccup, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Tuffnut spoke up for the first time. Hiccup had almost forgotten he was there. Wow, that's a first. The twins were always the loud ones.

Astrid turned. "We're going to make sure these dragons don't attack Harry," she explained.

"That's cheating," Ruffnut said.

"It would be much more fun if they attacked him," Tuffnut snickered.

"Teach them a lesson," Ruffnut agreed.

Hiccup looked to Astrid, shaking his head, a small smile on his face. She grinned and listened to the twins' bickering. They were pretty funny sometimes.

"Ok, I'll work with the green one. Astrid, your team can have the blue one." Hiccup looked to the two young Thunderdrums in the water. They had large jaws, both with small yellow eyes on the tops of their heads. Razor sharp teeth were exposed, surrounding the entire jaw. Hiccup noticed a muzzle around their mouths, making sure they couldn't produce their concussive sounds, which could kill a man at close range. Their scales were shiny, probably from being in the water for such a long period of time.

Astrid nodded. "You choosing teams?" she asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "I'll take the twins."

She laughed. "Fishlegs and Snotlout for me? How lucky am I?" she said sarcastically.

Fishlegs snorted indignantly. "I'm not that bad, you know."

Astrid nodded. "I wasn't referring to you, Fishlegs. You'll be more helpful than Snotlout."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and watched the twins for a moment, before turning to the green dragon. He sighed angrily. This would take a while. These wizards were going to get their reward for the captivity of the Vikings soon, Hiccup could promise them that. It would make up for the poor treatment of the dragons too. Hiccup wouldn't let them get away with anymore of this.

Harry stood on the edge of the pier, nerves bundling inside of him. His friends hadn't shown up yet, which hadn't helped with his nerves. Why the day of the second task? Couldn't they have chosen a different day to skip out on him? Clearly not.

Slowly the pier was starting to gather with people, all gearing up to watch the task. Harry noticed people's sly glances to him, some clearly saying they hoped he didn't make it. Harry swallowed. Still no sign of Neville. Maybe the Slytherin's would get their wish. He wouldn't be able to participate for more than 20 seconds if he couldn't breathe under the water.

Harry sat down, dangling his feet over the edge of the pier. It was afloat in the middle of the lake, about a metre above the water. Even if he had wanted to touch the freezing water, he wouldn't be able to in this area. There was a platform which they would probably use for the start and finish, but they weren't allowed on it yet.

A movement in the crowd caught Harry's eye and he saw Hiccup moving towards him. Following him were Astrid and Fishlegs. He couldn't see the twins or Snotlout behind them, just assuming they were taking the time off to do something by themselves.

Harry noticed Hiccup's eyes narrow onto him, as he made a beeline for him. He noticed Astrid trying to pull him back, then Hiccup telling her something, pulling away from her grasp and walking towards Harry. Astrid and Fishlegs both stayed where they were, not looking too sure where they were supposed to go.

Hiccup stopped at Harry and sat beside him, dangling his prosthetic leg over the edge. For a moment, Hiccup feared that it would fall into the cool water and he'd never get it back, but it went out the window when he realised the Viking flew with it constantly.

"I needed to give you a warning," Hiccup said softly.

Harry nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of it. Had the Vikings done something to the task? Harry immediately figured there would be dragons in the task.

Hiccup held out a piece of what seemed to be red cloth. He kept looking around suspiciously, clearly not wanting anyone else to see what he was doing. Harry thought he was being shady about something.

Harry took the cloth from his hand, looking at it. "What is it for?"

Hiccup looked around, saying almost loudly, "For luck," before he bent down and explained properly. "I can't tell you exactly, but when you get to where you need to be, there are two guards. Show them this and they won't attack you." Hiccup sounded so sincere, Harry felt as though he could trust anything the young Viking told him.

"Thank you," he said.

Hiccup shook his head. "Don't thank me yet. You haven't seen what you're up against."

Harry nodded. "Well, I'm sure this will help." He waved the red cloth for a moment.

"I hope so," Hiccup muttered. "Well, good luck," he added cheerfully as he stood. Hiccup waved to Harry as he walked happily back to his friends. Harry was confused about his behaviour, but wasn't going to question it.

Harry turned the cloth in his hands, again wondering its purpose. If Hiccup had given it to him secretly, it must have been important. He wasn't about to show or tell anyone since it was clearly not something meant to be shared.

Stuffing the cloth in his pocket, Harry stood. He noticed a gathering around the lowered platform. He saw Fleur, Krum and Cedric standing on it, looking pretty confident. Harry gathered his courage and walked towards them. When Dumbledore saw Harry, he smiled. Harry felt better seeing the headmaster, as well as Professor Moody who stood beside him. They were both helping a lot with the Tournament. In a strange way, so were the Vikings. That was probably thanks to Dumbledore, for inviting them. Harry wasn't going to worry about the logistics at that moment: he needed to find Neville. The task had a couple of minutes before it was about to start, and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Champions, prepare your spells," Dumbledore said loudly, loud enough for the audience to hear as well.

Cedric, Fleur and Krum pulled out their wands, prepared to cast their spells. Harry looked around the pier, searching for any sign of Neville.

A movement caught his eye, one which was heading straight for him. Harry noticed it was Neville, holding some sort of green plant. It looked gross, but Harry knew he would need it for the task.

"Here you go, Harry," Neville said, passing the green plant through the barriers. Harry almost dropped the slimy plant as he felt it, but refrained.

"Thanks," he said genuinely, looking at the gross weed in his hand.

Dumbledore began the countdown for the task, Harry shoving the weed into his mouth. At '2' the cannon went off, and the champions jumped into the water. Harry choked for a moment, too consumed by the disgusting taste of the weed to swallow or jump into the water.

A push from behind had Harry swallowing the weed and plunging into the freezing water of the Black Lake.