Ladies and gents, here is the edited version, much gratitude to my amazing editor. Please feel free to thank her for me :)
A sharp rush of water surrounded Harry, the cold enveloping his body. A terrible stinging sensation rumbled over his throat, causing him to paw at it urgently. His nostrils closed off, no air entering. Harry couldn't breathe. He felt a strange web-like growth on his hands and looked down, surprised when he saw a spongy-looking pattern between his fingers, connecting them like a web. His feet were two long flippers, flimsy and soft.
Harry gasped, bubbles escaping his mouth. Instead of entering his air, he was breathing water which entered his body through his neck, where a set of gills were placed on either side. Harry realised this was the effect of the Gillyweed, the plant Neville had provided him with.
Without wasting a moment, Harry leapt forward, diving deeper into the chilly water. With everything going on, the cold was the last thing he was thinking about. It wasn't uncomfortable, instead enveloping his body and keeping it at the right temperature.
He swam further down, the water becoming darker. It was harder to see clearly, yet he could still make out where he was. He found himself spatially aware of everything around him. It wasn't difficult to reach the bottom of the lake, where he swam steadily through the kelp infested waters. He had an inkling that what he was searching for lay on the bottom somewhere, or he would at least be able to spot it from there.
Harry propelled himself forward with his flipper feet, his hands guiding the way. His eyes scanned the murky waters as his gills worked at filtering the sand from the oxygen in the water.
A moment passed as the water stilled, making Harry instantly aware something was wrong. He paused and brought out his wand. It wasn't a second later that a Grindylow leapt at him and grabbed at Harry's heels. Harry shook off the little creature and swam quickly away, not bothering to wait for more foul beasts to stop him again.
Harry kept his gaze straight ahead, noticing how the water was getting progressively lighter. He also realised that he had been swimming upwards for quite a while, still following the water bed. That meant there was some sort of sand bank. He knew something was up ahead, the way the sand was forming shapes now.
The kelp surrounding Harry departed, leaving Harry in the open waters. In front of him was something he never imagined he would have to deal with underwater. Four wizards were floating in the water, attached to the lake bed by a piece of kelp around their ankles. Harry noticed their faces, realising they were all wizards he knew. Ron and Hermione, Harry now knew why they weren't with him before the task had started.
Harry swam up to Ron, who appeared to be in a deep sleep. His eyes were closed and bubbles escaped his mouth every so often. Harry had barely touched Ron's arm when a large creature stirred the water and charged straight at the young wizard.
Swerving quickly, Harry managed to avoid the large beast. He looked up once he'd regained his composure and looked to see it was some sort of dragon. The dragon was large and green, attached to the lake bed by a long silver chain. Clearly, this was the guard Hiccup had been talking about, Harry remembered.
A thought struck Harry. He reached into his pocket, where he'd stowed away the red cloth given to him by the skinny Viking. He carefully held it in his hands, showing it to the dragon. The green beast gave Harry a glare before flicking its tail and positioning itself in front of a young blonde girl.
Behind one of the captives, Harry noticed another dragon. This one was blue, and a lot bigger. It looked as though it could do some damage too. The one he appeared to be guarding looked like Cho, but Harry could be wrong.
A movement caught Harry's eye and he turned to see Cedric Diggory swim up. His mouth was enveloped by a large bubble, which Harry knew to be the bubble head charm. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Cedric swam up to Cho and shot a spark at the kelp around her leg. He wasn't prepared for the dragon that ran straight into him, knocking both his wand and the girl out of his arms. Harry could only watch as Cedric recollected his wand and the girl, swimming quickly to the surface and out of reach of the dragons.
Harry waited for a moment next to Ron, as another figure swam up to them. This one was different, with the head of a shark and the legs of Viktor Krum. Harry stared as the head ripped the kelp from the lake bed and pulled both it and Hermione to the surface.
There were only two left now, Ron and the little blond girl. Harry expected that this girl was for Fleur, but he saw no sign of the girl. He made the rash decision to take both the girl and Ron, not wanting her to have to stay under the water for any longer than necessary.
He quickly broke the kelp around Ron's ankle and pulled Ron with him as he went to the little girl. Suddenly, a creature leapt in front of Harry, pointing a three pronged trident at him.
'Only one,' it hissed, before swimming away.
Harry blinked as the mermaid disappeared. He wouldn't let that being disturb him. He needed to help the girl. He waited a moment, before sparks shot from his wand and he was swimming upwards with the girl and Ron.
As he was swimming upwards, he felt the gills slowly disappearing and returning to regular skin. His feet were becoming more like feet and less like flippers, his hands less web-like. He took in a deep breath and propelled himself upwards, quickly and with more urgency.
Harry just broke the water's surface as his flippers and gills vanished completely. He gasped, the air reaching his lungs as they normally should. As soon as Ron and the young girl were out of the water, they woke up and gasped too, being above the water for the first time in a long while.
Ron looked to Harry happily before they swam together, helping the little girl, to the docks where the other champions all sat. Fleur was looking at the young girl with happiness, her whole face alight with pure joy. Clearly she was overjoyed at the fact that Harry had saved the young girl.
Hermione reached down her hand and Harry grasped onto it. He thanked her as he collapsed onto the desk, Ron following suit. A towel was draped over him, then another. He sat up and wiped his face, looking at Hermione with a sullen expression.
"You did great Harry," Hermione cheered.
Harry looked at the lake with disdain. "I finished last, Hermione," he said.
Hermione shook her head. "Fleur didn't get past ze gwindilows." The misfortune of the French girl somehow managed to cheer all three of them up. Harry hugged both Ron and Hermione. He felt someone's eyes on him, causing him to look up. He just locked eyes with Hiccup before he turned and walked away. Harry was happy, the little Viking had helped him through the challenge, even though he didn't have to. He'd have to thank them later.
There was a pause as Dumbledore announced the winners. Harry listened carefully through the muffled microphone spell the professor had put on his wand. "In fourth place, earning 25 points, Fleur Delacour. In third place, Viktor Krum, taking 40 points." There was a loud burst of talking, disagreeing with the scores. Clearly they didn't want Harry to be winning the points, if he was to be ranked above the star quidditch player of course.
"Tied for equal first are Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter. Cedric earning 45 points with the bubble head charm, and because of Harry's desire to help not just his own target, but the others too, he is rewarded 44 points." Dumbledore paused. "These scores will aid our competitors in the final task, which will be held next semester," he finished.
Harry grinned and hugged his two friends. "I'm second!"
Hermione laughed and helped Harry to his feet. She then proceeded to help Ron up, who stumbled a moment before regaining his balance. Harry chuckled and draped an arm over both his friends.
"I think we need to celebrate," he said happily.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we'll be celebrating tomorrow," she said knowingly.
Harry groaned. He had completely forgotten about the Yule Ball, the traditional event of the Triwizard Tournament. He hadn't even asked a girl to go with him yet, and it was customary for the champions to have the first dance. Hermione already had a date, she just wasn't willing to share who it was. 'You'll find out soon enough' was all she'd say. Ron and Harry were both pretty annoyed with the answer, but they would find out the following evening.
Hermione grinned. "Just ask someone," she said. She clearly knew, even though Harry hadn't told her that he had no date for the dance.
Harry sighed. They headed to the boats, which would allow them off the pier in the middle of the lake. Because they'd waited, they had a boat all to themselves. Only a few people remained on the pier, including the champions and their teachers. Harry shivered at the look Krum was giving him, but decided it meant little.
The boat led itself towards the mainland. Harry mulled over the events, still shivering from the cold water. He suddenly thought of Hermione and her role in being in the water. Hermione looked flushed, but otherwise like her usual self. He wanted to ask her again who she was going with, for now he figured she would be going with Krum. Of course, it would make sense. The people at the bottom of the lake were those who were close to the champions. Fluer's little sister Gabrielle – Harry blushed, remembering the kiss Fleur had given both him and Ron when she was thanking them for rescuing the sister – Cedric and Cho, who had rejected him to the dance in place of going with Cedric. It became apparent to Harry that Viktor Krum harvested feelings for his friend. He wasn't jealous as much as worried.
Harry hopped out of the boat as it reached the land. They didn't have much left of the day, considering the time it had taken for the task, and it was a Friday, so nothing important was on tomorrow. They walked together to the tower, and went to their respective dorms to put on some warmer clothes. Their swim in the cold lake wasn't leaving any favours.
As he was getting out of his swimming clothes, a red cloth fell to the ground. Harry hurried to pick it up and sighed. He pressed the small, damp red fabric to his chest, silently thanking Hiccup. He remember the cold eyes the dragon had given him, before he'd seen the cloth. Something in the dragon had changed, as though he was trying to do something nice for someone. Now that Harry thought about it, the more he realised the dragon was trying to please Hiccup. That boy had some bond with dragons, they all seemed to want to bend to his will.
Harry became incredibly grateful for everything the young Viking had done. It seemed as though Hiccup was doing it because he could, but Harry knew something deeper was going on. And he didn't know why, but he wanted to help.
Hiccup leant against the balustrade lazily. They were back at the tower, rolling about for no reason. Hiccup watched the students return from the lake and walk about the school, happy to have the rest of the day to themselves. Hiccup heard the sounds of his fellow Vikings inside the common room, but they were peaceful enough and Hiccup was happy standing outside. The wind was nice and he was feeling homesick.
The dragon sensed his emotions and pushed his head into Hiccup's back. The Viking laughed and turned around, tackling the Night Fury's head into a bear hug. Toothless grumbled and licked Hiccup, effectively getting him off.
Hiccup laughed and leaned against the railing, looking at the near black but blue dragon. Toothless sat up, his eyes just above Hiccup's, as he too, watched the boy. They stayed like that for a while, just staring at each other, until Hiccup sighed.
"This whole thing is stupid," he said. Toothless warbled in agreement.
Hiccup laid a hand gently on the dragon's shoulder, just where his wing connected with his body. "For one thing, the wizards shouldn't have done a tournament like this if they needed our help," Hiccup murmured. He was pretty annoyed with the whole situation, and this was just one thing amongst several.
He paused for a moment, his thoughts turning sour. "And if this 'Voldemort' is such a powerful being, who's supposed to be dead, by the way, then why would they just think to contact us now? Surely there were easier ways. And isn't us saying no enough?" Hiccup was blabbering, but Toothless didn't mind; it was good for the one legged Viking to be able to get these things off his mind.
Toothless moved closer to Hiccup as one of the other Vikings walked onto the balcony with Hiccup. Astrid stared down at the wizards, just as Hiccup had done previously. She then turned to look at both Hiccup and Toothless.
"Dinner's on soon, you know?" she said lightly.
Hiccup nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. "Yeah, I know."
Astrid noticed the smile and looked away. "What?" she asked curiously.
Hiccup looked to Toothless briefly, before walking and standing next to Astrid against the railing. "You know what's happening tomorrow night?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Sure, some ball," she replied casually.
Hiccup ignored her tone and pressed. "We've been invited." He was hoping she'd get the memo before he had to ask, but clearly this was not the case.
"You're planning on going." It wasn't a question, more a blunt statement. Usually Hiccup would be deterred, but not this time.
"I was hoping you'd go with me. Be my date for the evening?" Hiccup asked carefully, his voice nearly failing him. His heart fluttered a little at the smile which formed on her lips as she looked at the wizards below. He had liked her for ages, he knew she liked him back, but they'd never actually done anything together, other than their first flight, but that was because Hiccup was trying to keep Toothless a secret.
Astrid turned to Hiccup. Her blue eyes shone with happiness as she nodded. "With you, it might not be so pointless."
And that was the best compliment Hiccup could have gotten from the strong willed Viking. He beamed and looked out at the buildings of the castle.
His mind wandered, as usual, but this time to their Berk life. What would happen once they returned? Hiccup would be immensely happy to return, but there were some things he'd miss about this place. For one, the fact that all the wizards were terrified of Toothless. That was fun. He laughed aloud at that thought, causing Astrid to look at him curiously.
Hiccup looked at Astrid and then to Toothless. "It's just amusing, everyone's reaction to him. He's not even that scary." Toothless snorted indignantly, which added fuel to Hiccup's laughter. The dragon was plenty scary, Hiccup knew this, but not around him.
Astrid headed towards the door, standing just to the inside. "Come on, the twins and Snotlout have already gone down for dinner," she said.
Hiccup nodded. Toothless snorted, trying to block Hiccup's way to the exit, but Hiccup tackled him and made his way around the dragon. Astrid watched, half annoyed and half amused, at the playful interactions Toothless and Hiccup had. Hiccup caught her staring, making her to look away. He smiled and slung his arm around her shoulder as they headed out of the common room.
Toothless watched the door close behind the two Vikings, his mood darkening. He hated having his rider so far away, when there was no way he could follow. He couldn't very well open the large wooden door, nor could he jump out the balcony.
He heard movements from inside the corridor and saw Fishlegs walking hurriedly to the door. Toothless used the dark room to slink in behind the large Viking and follow him out. Fishlegs didn't notice the dark dragon as he hurried down the steps, clearly something on his mind. Toothless knew Hiccup would tell him if it was something important, so he ignored Fishlegs.
Toothless headed down the steps once he was certain Fishlegs was down. He moved slowly and carefully, making no sounds. There was something he needed to do, which had nothing to do with Hiccup.
Hiccup laughed next to Astrid as the twins created yet another food abomination. They were becoming more restless with their lives in the tower, being unable to blow as many things up as they usually did was taking its toll on them. They were dead set on flying the Chinese Firebolt though.
Fishlegs sat opposite Hiccup, his face scrunched in thought. Hiccup figured whatever was on his mind, Fishlegs would tell them. He wasn't good at hiding things, everyone knew that.
A silence fell over the Great Hall, and Hiccup turned to see Dumbledore standing at the podium for announcements. Hiccup put down his knife and fork to listen.
"Congratulations to the four champions who competed so well in today's events," Dumbledore started, his eyes scanning the room. They paused on Harry, before moving on. "We look forward to the Yule Ball tomorrow night, as is tradition." Hiccup glanced to Astrid subtly, but she wasn't paying attention. He noticed, in the corner of his eye, Harry was looking rather depressed about something. Hiccup would ask about that later.
Dumbledore nodded and looked to the teachers. Hiccup noticed a look in his eyes, one that told him the professor wasn't telling them everything, as always, Hiccup thought bitterly.
"Due to recent events, it is necessary for all students to head straight for their common room after dinner," he announced. There were a chorus of confused muttering and blank looks. Obviously, everyone expected an explanation but when Dumbledore turned to return to his seat, everyone knew they weren't getting one. They were left in the dark once again.
Hiccup picked up his food once again and started to eat. The twins and Snotlout immediately started shooting reasons as to why the curfew was so early, while Fishlegs still looked thoughtful.
The wizards around them chattered away nervously, assuming that no explanation from Dumbledore meant something bad was going on. Hiccup was pretty sure whatever it was, nothing would hurt the Vikings. They were strong, and they had an army nothing could compare with.
Hiccup looked over to Harry, who was in light conversation with Hermione and Ron, over something Hiccup wasn't too sure about. "Hey, looking forward to the Ball tomorrow?" he asked.
The conversation immediately broke apart and Hermione grinned. "Yeah, you? Taking Astrid?" she hinted.
Hiccup looked to Astrid briefly. "Yeah," he mumbled. He noticed a small look of disappointment form on Ron's face, which almost made Hiccup jealous.
Astrid grinned and beamed. "If the little guy can dance of course," she teased. Hiccup looked at her, his eyes sparkling. He knew little about how the wizards danced and he was uncoordinated, but with Astrid, anything was possible.
Hermione nearly squealed, but the sound was too quiet to be classified as one. She reached around Hiccup, who she was next to, to tap Astrid's shoulder. "Come to our dorms tomorrow, we'll help each other get ready," she said happily.
Astrid smiled. "Sure, could be fun. At least, it'll be better than with Ruff." At the sound of her name, Ruffnut looked up and dropped a piece of meat she had in her hand.
"What's the matter with me?" she asked.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Nothing. Just talking about the Ball tomorrow."
Ruff grinned. "Yeah? Got a date?" clearly the question was aimed at Hiccup.
"Yeah," Astrid replied.
Ruffnut laughed, as did Tuffnut. Snotlout looked pretty down, but he ignored them. Hiccup knew he still harvested feelings for the girl of his dreams, but he wasn't about to get jealous. Everyone knew Astrid was more likely to go with the one legged klutz than his burly cousin.
"Poor girl. Too kind to say no?" Tuffnut suggested, a snicker in his voice. They still liked to tease Hiccup, because he was still smaller than them but Hiccup had to have faith that that would change. After all, Stoic the Vast was his father.
Astrid reached across the table and hit Tuffnut upside the head. Snotlout snickered beside him. She pulled back and looked to Hermione, her anger at Tuffnut disappearing. "So, who are you going with?" she asked.
Hermione shook her head and held her finger to her lips. "I'll tell you later. I don't want these loons to know."
Astrid grinned. "Of course."
Hiccup rolled his eyes at the exchange. Girls were so strange sometimes. He turned to Harry, who was watching with an amused expression. "You going with someone, Harry?" he asked.
Harry sighed and looked at Hiccup. "Not yet. I haven't asked anyone either."
Hiccup nodded in understanding. "Yeah, can be hard to work up the guts."
Astrid lightly punched his shoulder. "We're not that scary," she said to him, then turned her attention to Harry. "I bet there are tons of girls who are waiting for you to ask. You are one of the champions after all."
Harry smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess. I just don't know many." He glanced to Hermione, who was looking away from him purposefully. Hiccup was surprised Hermione wasn't going with Harry, but, then again, he didn't know much about them.
The wizards around them started to move, signalling the end of dinner. The Vikings waited, surprised when Harry's trio also stayed. They appeared to be waiting to talk with the Vikings, which was nice of them. They really should have listened to their headmaster, Hiccup thought to himself.
Once the rush of the leaving wizards had cleared, the Vikings stood. Hiccup walked beside Harry and Astrid as they exited the hall. Hiccup looked behind as the twins started raving at Ron about his twin brothers, and how they were awesome. He heard something about a meeting between the two, in which Ron said he wasn't about to help with that. It was clear the wizard twins were just as bad as the Viking ones.
A familiar rumble was heard as the group walked down the hallway. Hiccup sighed and turned around, surprised when he couldn't find the dragon. A gasp came out of Harry's mouth, and Hiccup turned to look in front, where Harry's eyes were fixed. He grinned as the large Night Fury blocked the hallway. He sat like a cat and watched Hiccup, his green eyes glowing in the dim light.
"Very funny." Hiccup smiled, walking up to the dragon. "You miss me?" he guessed. Toothless leapt forwards and pushed Hiccup to the ground, his tongue dragging a long slimy chain of saliva down his shirt. Hiccup groaned. "I liked that one," he muttered.
Hiccup turned to the group, looking amongst the Vikings. They had all paused due to the interruption, not abiding by the curfew just yet. "Who let him out?" Hiccup asked.
Everyone shrugged, unsure of how to answer. It wouldn't have been the twins, Hiccup knew they had left before him and Astrid, with Snotlout. He himself knew Toothless hadn't gotten out when he and Astrid had: he'd watched the door. He couldn't have gotten out the window since he couldn't fly on his own. The only other option was Fishlegs, who was the last one out. Hiccup's eyes narrowed in on Fishlegs, followed by all the others'. The large Viking stepped back and held up his hands.
"It wasn't on purpose! I didn't know he was going to follow me out!" he exclaimed defensively.
Hiccup sighed. "That's ok, Fishlegs, it's not your fault."
"Yeah, it is," Tuffnut countered.
Hiccup turned his head to look at him. "It doesn't matter now. It's not like Toothless could have gotten up to much."
Ruffnut snickered. "Sure he could have: he's virtually invisible," she said matter-of-factly.
Astrid groaned. "Ok, that's enough. We're not blaming anyone here, other than the dragon. There was clearly a reason he left the tower."
Ruffnut grinned. "To blow up stuff."
Tuffnut high fived his sister. "He'd be pretty good at it."
Hiccup slapped his hand to his forehead in annoyance. "Guys, come on. Toothless wouldn't have blown something up without us there. Besides, we didn't hear anything, did we?"
The twins nodded slowly, trying to come to terms with Hiccup's words. "He might have found a place really far away and stealthily torn it apart," Tuffnut suggested.
"Yeah! Or used magic," Ruffnut agreed.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "Seriously? He's a dragon, not a wizard."
"He might have had accomplices," Tuffnut eyed Harry and Ron suspiciously.
Both wizards held up their hands. "Wasn't us, we were in the dining hall the whole evening."
Hiccup sighed and looked at Toothless. The dragon was watching the conversation with an amused look on his face. Hiccup knew there was a reason the dragon had snuck out, but he also knew Toothless would find a way to tell him when the time was right.
The group was still deep in their investigation of what Toothless was doing, as Hiccup started to walk off. Toothless followed quietly behind, his sharp claws making no sound on the stone floors. Harry noticed the duo walking off and followed carefully, ignoring his friends.
Hiccup made light banter with the dragon, who was pleased to have met back up with his rider. Harry subtly fell in step with him and smiled. Hiccup jumped slightly, but regained his composure after the Night Fury shot a teasing look his way. Hiccup glared at Toothless playfully.
"How do you stand them?" Harry asked in awe.
Hiccup shrugged. He rested his arm on Toothless's neck carefully, leaning some of his weight onto the dragon. He didn't seem to mind either, so Hiccup left it there. "They're not that bad. They're kind of fun sometimes," Hiccup said, looking straight ahead at the corridor.
Harry nodded slowly, not seeming to understand. "Yeah, I guess." He paused, then looked to Hiccup. "What are you planning on doing for the evening?"
Hiccup smiled to himself. "Well, the school's gonna be empty so Toothless and I are probably going to go out for a flight or something," he replied.
"Sounds like fun," Harry noted pleasantly.
Hiccup nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's the best. Flying in general is pretty good, but I've got the best dragon for the job."
Toothless held his head up taller and Hiccup laughed. "I don't recall mentioning it was you, Toothless."
The dragon turned his head and formed a glare in his eyes. Hiccup knew he knew they were both playing, but he didn't think that Harry did.
"But he looks like he'd be pretty fast," Harry said in confusion.
"Yeah, well. Razor Neck isn't too bad either." This earn a glare from Toothless.
"Razor Neck?" Harry asked. He'd heard the name before, he just couldn't remember where from.
Hiccup nodded. "The Hungarian Horntail." He thought for a moment, before adding, "You should meet him. He's quite a nice dragon once you get to know him." There was a disapproving grunt from Toothless, but he did nothing.
Harry shivered. "I don't think that's a good idea. One meeting was enough for me." He clearly couldn't forget the last time they'd encountered each other, which made Hiccup wonder what actually went on while he was facing the beast.
Hiccup nodded. They turned the corner which led up the stairs to their dorms. Hiccup sighed as he looked up the stairs. There weren't any stairs like these back at Berk. The only ones there were to the Great Hall, but even then, they were easy and pleasant compared to these ones.
"I wish we could fly up these," Hiccup muttered. Toothless mumbled in agreement as they started to climb the numerous amounts of stairs. At least Harry didn't have to walk all the way to the top like they did.
They walked up in silence, each in their own thoughts. Hiccup noticed the annoyed expression on his best friend's face, which made him aware something had happened during the dinner break. He wasn't about to ask though, not in the presence of the wizard. As much as Hiccup didn't mind Harry, he wasn't sure he'd understand what they were dealing with. For one, Dumbledore was just making life a living nightmare for them.
Hiccup paused as they reached the platform which held the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. They looked at each other for a moment, and Hiccup tried to decide whether or not all wizards were like him, or if they were more like Dumbledore and Malfoy.
"You got any ideas as to who you want to take to the ball tomorrow?" Hiccup asked.
Harry sighed and leaned against the wall. Toothless snorted, unhappy that Hiccup was making conversation. It was clear to Hiccup that the dragon wanted to go for a fly more than anything. He smiled reassuringly to him before facing the wizard.
"Not yet," he admitted, shaking his head.
Hiccup chuckled, leaning gently against Toothless. "Just have nerve. I'm sure a lot of girls would be willing to dance with you."
Harry smiled. "Yeah? Well, most of them already have dates." He sounded pretty bummed about it too.
Hiccup shrugged. "Worse comes to worse, you could always take Ruffnut. She'd be willing to go with you," he taunted.
Harry laughed and shook his head. "No, thanks. If that's the best you can offer, I don't think I want to visit Berk."
Hiccup fake gasped. "Nah, Astrid's the best we got." He was pretty happy he'd gotten her too.
"Well, count yourself lucky then," Harry grinned.
Hiccup nodded. "I do. Especially when I look at the past." He chuckled. "I wasn't really a Viking, to be honest. The only chief's son to be born like this, I reckon. And my dad, he's quite something. I'm just the hiccup of the family."
"Not anymore, though," Harry said.
Hiccup smiled and shook his head. He gestured to Toothless behind him. "All thanks to this guy."
"You're lucky to have such a good friend," Harry stated.
Hiccup nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's a pretty good friend. Saved me a few times too," he said quietly. Toothless grumbled and looked into Hiccup's green eyes. Somehow, they were able to communicate better than with their own respective species. The bond between them was stronger than a forged sword.
"How did you meet him? From the records Hermione found, you guys were at war," Harry questioned.
Hiccup looked to Toothless, remembering the first time they'd met. It had been a dark night. The dragons had attacked their village, a raid as they called it. Hiccup was working in the armoury as an apprentice, that was all he'd ever be, but he had designed a weapon which would shoot a net into the sky. He'd had the opportunity to strike down the dragon once Gobber had left the shop, in which time Hiccup had shot down the Night Fury. As predicted, none of the Vikings had believed Hiccup, but he knew he had. The following day, he'd gone out to see where the dragon had landed, to find the dragon lying in a ditch. Unfortunately, Hiccup couldn't kill the dragon, and neither could the Night Fury kill him. And thus, the beginning of their endless relationship.
"We were at war, but Toothless and I defeated the queen, and we…befriended the dragons, so to speak." Hiccup wasn't sure Harry needed to hear all the details, so he made it short.
Harry nodded. "Wow, is that how you lost your leg?"
Hiccup looked down at the metal contraption where his leg used to be. "Yeah."
Harry realised the conversation had gotten a little personal and looked away. He looked at the glowing light beneath the common room door and sighed. "I should be going now. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
Hiccup nodded and smiled. "Yeah, if this one doesn't eat me before then." He laughed, Harry joining in. Toothless grumbled and stalked up the stairs, waiting for Hiccup to say his final farewells. It didn't take long, and soon the two of them were heading up to their dorms.
They entered the dorms first, obviously considering they were blocking the only entrance below, and headed to the window. "Toothless, let's break some records," Hiccup said with determination. Toothless nodded his head in affirmation, and the two leapt off the balcony gracefully, shooting into the clouds.
Harry was already ready for bed by the time Ron finally made it back. He stared at him for a moment, the question in his eyes, before Ron sighed.
"Those Viking twins kept going on about seriously stupid things. It was hilarious, you should have stayed," Ron chuckled, getting into his bed.
Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they were. They seem like your brothers," he noted.
Ron laughed. "They're on another level."
"I'm sure they're saying that about your brothers," Harry said, looking at the roof of his bed. He yawned, indicating how late it had gotten. He hadn't noticed how long he'd actually been out with Hiccup and his friends. Time seemed to fly past when they were talking, and it was a nice change from the stress of school. Harry liked that.
Ron chuckled. "They invited us to go for a fly with them," he said randomly.
"Who did?" Harry asked. He knew he meant the Vikings, he just wanted to know who in particular had come up with the idea. He wasn't keen on flying on the black dragon, he looked too fast for Harry to be able to stay on. Maybe that purple and blue one? Or the large brown one?
Ron turned his head to look at Harry. "Well, it's up to us. Astrid said I could go with her...," he trailed off.
Harry laughed. "Come on, she's clearly taken."
"A guy can dream," Ron muttered.
Harry smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.
They lapsed into silence, both thinking about different things. Harry mulled over the events of the day, the second task finally over. He was so glad to have finally found something they could use to breathe underwater, combined with the relief of Hiccup giving him the cloth to protect himself against the dragon. All things considered, that one legged Viking had helped more than any of the teachers had. Come to think of it, they weren't really saying anything about the Tournament to him. All except Professor Moody, but he was strange in a whole other way. He had given Harry hints, but not ones that were helpful. More than anything, Harry was creeped out by the teacher.
Harry turned over in his bed, leaning on his stomach. He was pretty tired from the swimming event, but not as tired as he'd expected. He would have a big task the following day, trying to get a dance for the ball. He just wasn't sure he'd have the guts to actually ask someone to go with him. And he wasn't a dancer. What could he offer when they were actually there? He hoped Hermione would have fun with her date. He would have asked her, to go as friends, but neither would have particularly enjoyed it. Ron would have had more fun with her, but he was too much of a chicken to actually ask his best friend.