Hey guys. So it's been a while, I know. This is the unedited version, my editor is on a small break, but I know she's going to be back on her feet in no time! If anyone notices how bad the grammer is, that's because my editor is amazing and you guys should all seriously shout out to her in the comments. She has had no thanks, and she really deserves it. Her name's Riya, for those of you who want to! Thanks, it would make her day.
They were sitting at the large Gryffindor table for breakfast on Monday morning, the Vikings communicating with their new friends, when Fishlegs entered the great hall with an ecstatic grin on his face. Hiccup watched as his large friend took a seat beside Astrid, a piece of parchment in his hands. For the first time ever, Hiccup imagined, the larger Viking ignored food, pushing his plate away, replacing it with a parchment which looked ancient.
"I know how to get out of this deal now." He exclaimed happily, rolling the parchment open, revealing a complicated selection of ancient runes. They had clearly been written specifically for the Vikings, the wizards wouldn't have written anything like this.
Hiccup reached across the table, pulling the parchment closer. He recognised the runes immediately, having familiarised himself with many types when he was younger and the shame of the Viking community. The runes were smudged, but still readable. Hiccup surprised himself at the signature at the bottom, having seen it once before on a darker agreement.
"Written by Chief Haddock." Hiccup murmured, scanning the signature and running his hand gently over it.
Astrid looked to Hiccup in surprise. "You can read this?" she asked. Clearly, she'd been more focussed on fighting dragons when she was younger, to have learnt the ancient runes the Vikings would use to communicate with. They were now extinct, which made it safer if the Vikings didn't want another tribe to read their work and discover their secrets.
Hiccup glanced to Fishlegs, who beamed at him. "Yeah, did a lot of learning in my free time." Hiccup explained. When he was younger, he'd wanted to become a better Viking, so he learnt the ancient communication ways, became a blacksmiths' apprentice, and read the book of dragons. At the same time, he designed his own weapons. He had a lot of free time on his hands.
"It's great! Hiccup, Chief Haddock didn't mean for the Vikings to kill permanently, he left the future generations an out." He explained happily. Hiccup scanned the document carefully, noting Fishlegs was indeed correct in his assumptions, not that he doubted it.
Astrid looked over Hiccup's shoulder to the work on the table. She was confused, not able to understand it. "What does it say?" she asked.
Hiccup read it out slowly. "Chief Haddock never would have signed it if he were given the choice. Then he says he made sure the deal left them an out, so the future generations wouldn't have to follow his rules. Clearly, Haddock didn't want to agree with the dark wizard. It also mentions that if we were ever to gain peace with the dragons, we weren't to tell the dark wizards. Like we would anyway." Hiccup added.
Astrid nodded in agreement. "What's the out? How are we supposed to break the contract?" she asked anxiously.
Hiccup sighed, noticing the rushed scribbles of the runes at the end. "Well, we've got to disconnect from the wizards." He looked up, briefly noticing Dumbledore's eyes on his own, before looking to Fishlegs. "How would we do that?" he asked the nerdy Viking.
Fishlegs looked down. "Well, I would assume it meant to never come into contact with them, but I don't know. There wasn't anything that mentioned it." He mumbled. Hiccup understood what he meant.
Hiccup sighed, looking around his large group of friends. He'd earned the attention of the trio of wizards as well, all eyes on him and Fishlegs. They all knew what this meant, they had a lead and they would be able to escape the wizard world without killing them. They just had to figure out how they would be able to disconnect completely from the strange world, as the chief had ordered.
"Good work, Legs. We'll keep looking." Hiccup said, handing the parchment back to his large friend.
Fishlegs nodded and tucked the parchment away, hiding it under his layers of clothing. Hiccup sighed, feeling relieved for the first time in ages. He picked up his toast and brought it to his mouth, thinking about going back home. For the first time in yonks, Hiccup felt as though they'd be able to go home soon, they wouldn't have to stay there much more. They could leave the stupid wizards in their tracks and go back to their simpleton life they all enjoyed.
Harry prepared himself for the long day of classes, a feeling of relief washing over him. He and his two friends were all quite pleased to hear the Vikings wouldn't have to fight against them, as well they would be able to go home. Much as Harry liked to have Hiccup around and talk to him, he knew Hiccup just wanted to go back to his old way of life.
The trio walked towards their first class, transfiguration, and sat in silence at a bench. Each one of them were contemplating what would happen, and how things would pan out their end. At least they didn't have to worry about the third task, it was still months away. He was glad, it would give him time to prepare and do his studies for once.
"Do you think they'll be able to find the loop hole soon?" Ron asked quietly, not wanting the Slytherins in the room to hear their conversation.
Hermione leaned across Harry, who sat in the middle, and whispered, "I hope so. Beside, we can help them too."
Harry smiled slightly, thinking of the strange writing he'd seen on the parchment earlier at breakfast. It surprised him when not even Astrid could read the writing, but the small one legged and larger blond Viking could. "I don't know how much help we'd be." He pointed out.
Hermione pouted. "I wish I was taking ancient runes." She mumbled, more to herself.
Harry chuckled and nodded. "That would be helpful. But you've got a pretty full schedule." He noted.
She grinned. "Not getting another time turner."
Harry shivered at the memories. Ron still didn't know about their adventures, but he did know the gist of what happened. "Probably a good idea." Harry agreed.
The class quietened as the professor walked in, clearly ready to start the lesson. Harry pulled out his writing gear and prepared himself for the tasks ahead.
Hiccup had to ditch his friends on request of the headmaster and professor. Toothless was grumpy himself, having a new contraption on his tail. He was running late to the class, having taken a longer time than necessary to get the new gear on the dragon. Toothless didn't want to be able to fly without Hiccup, not trusting his own lethal abilities. Hiccup thought it was almost endearing, but his best friend was being overly dramatic at the same time.
They walked towards the courtyard, where they had been instructed to meet the slime ball of a teacher. Hiccup could feel a string of rather unpleasant names for the two teachers, but in the company of the dragon, he wasn't sure it was a good idea. Toothless might be liable to take them literally, and then they were really in danger. Well, Hiccup wasn't, the professors were.
As they rounded the last corner before the corridor, Hiccup nearly ran into the headmaster. Dumbledore looked about ready to apologise, but he noticed it was Hiccup and his gaze stiffened. Hiccup felt the same and Toothless bared his teeth in warning.
"Morning Hiccup." The professor said lightly. Hiccup gave him a quizzical glance, before the old wizard sighed, as though formalities were wasted on the young Viking. Well, Hiccup thought bitterly, they kinda were.
"What was on that paper Fishlegs shared with you this morning?" Dumbledore asked. It was the kind of voice which told Hiccup he wasn't about to get out of the conversation, but that didn't mean he wasn't about to try.
"None of your business." Hiccup said bitterly, his eyes hard and firm. He wasn't about to have this conversation, he couldn't be bothered. Of course, the head master just had to go and finish it.
"You made it my business when you involved my students."
"No, you involved your students, by bringing us here. We had no clue about the stupid contract until you brought it up. It's your fault it's still in effect." Hiccup exclaimed, losing his cool. He waved his hands angrily in the air, gesturing to nowhere in particular. Dumbledore still didn't seem to get the big picture, which made Hiccup even angrier.
Dumbledore didn't seem to get that Hiccup was losing his cool however. "We only did so we could end the ties once and for all, so no more trouble could come to my students."
Hiccup laughed bitterly, his eyes getting crazy. "I'm beginning to think we should work with this dark wizard, so we might be rid of you." He snapped. Toothless was wary of his rider, knowing he was on a short tether which would snap momentarily.
This seemed to catch Dumbledore's attention, for all the wrong reasons too, Hiccup knew. "We were right to be wary of you. No matter how you seem, you're still all Vikings."
Hiccup looked at Toothless, his eyes growing with hatred. He couldn't believe this guy had actually gotten the position of headmaster, let alone gotten his students to like him. It was an act, clearly. Hiccup was sure they were getting the special treatment.
"And Vikings take care of our own, which is more than I can say for you." Hiccup said, walking off. He could feel Dumbledore about to say something else, but Hiccup ignored him. He walked off, Toothless glaring at the professor, to the courtyard to meet Professor Moody. Neither of them were happy, both fuming at the seams, and about to tear something apart, but they had agreed, and Vikings don't go back on their word.
They were still fuming by the time they entered the courtyard, receiving stares from everyone in the class. The mechanical eye of Professor Moody stared them down, just as his body turned. Hiccup breathed a deep sigh, turning to Toothless and trying to calm down. The dragon seemed to understand, for he moved closer and allowed the one legged boy to lean on him.
Hiccup gave the dragon a scratch under the chin, effectively calming them both down at his reaction. Hiccup chuckled and stood up straight, ready to face the next idiot teacher. They weren't to wait long, either, for Moody walked towards them, his mechanical eye switching from the dragon to the students, who were watching the exchange anxiously.
"You're late." Moody said stoutly.
Hiccup shrugged. "Ran into a wall." Which could happen, he thought sarcastically. He wasn't the best at looking where he was going sometimes, and in the old castle they were trapped in, it was easier to lose their way.
Moody seemed to contemplate this for a moment, before he pulled Hiccup by the scruff of his shirt, towards the centre of the courtyard. Hiccup held his hand for Toothless to stay where he was, whilst he was dragged to the front of the students.
All eyes were on Hiccup, the small Viking who couldn't pass for much and had somehow managed to survive a battle with a large black beast. Hiccup knew they weren't his age, much older in fact, possibly in their last year of schooling. He didn't recognise any of them. They weren't wearing the colours Hiccup had grown used to either, which told him they weren't Gryffindor or slytherin.
Moody released Hiccup at the front, standing beside him. His mechanical eye watched Hiccup, a clear glare in it, as he spoke to the students. "With the recent events, it has become necessary for students to learn how to defend themselves against the dragons. We will be demonstrating on the black beast which Hiccup here so kindly allowed us access too."
He's not putting words in my mouth, Hiccup thought sarcastically. He was about to speak up, when Moody's hand hit him roughly in the side to shut him up. He grit his teeth and looked to Toothless, who had watched the exchange and was seething.
A murmur went around the class, as students exchanged worried glances. Hiccup would have felt relieved at this, but he knew if they were nervous, their spells would be twice as effective. That was what he was worried about. The only thing which made it better was his knowledge that Toothless would be able to fly away if he needed to. At least that made him feel even slightly happier.
Moody looked to Hiccup expectantly. The boy faked innocence, having no idea what he was trying to imply. The professor was growing agitated at Hiccup's behaviour. "The dragon, boy. We're running out of time." He instructed coolly.
Good, Hiccup thought angrily. He nodded his head, which seemed odd to all the students, for they assumed he was nodding at no one, before a large shadow loomed behind Hiccup and created a strong gust of wind. Hiccup smiled internally at the shocked and nervous reactions the dragon held on the students.
Toothless stood carefully behind Hiccup, his wings flared and tail moving side to side in precise movements. The professor sighed angrily, fed up with the lack of consideration Hiccup had for the students. Hiccup sent him a challenging look, he was beyond angry with the way the wizards were acting towards them, and he wasn't about to start with this one.
"It's alright, class. This dragon won't hurt anyone here. We'll practise the stupefy spell first. Line up please." Moody yelled curtly.
Instantly, the class formed a straight line. The student at the front, black and yellow robes with the symbol of a honey badger, stood there shakily as he held his wand in front of him. Hiccup stood to the side, not wanting to be hit with the spells. Toothless gaged the boy carefully, before jumping out of the way the moment the spell was cast. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, the dragon looking to him for a moment before training his cautious green eyes on the students.
Class continued, no student laying a single spell on the black dragon. Toothless seemed to be enjoying himself, pretending it was hard to avoid the slow moving spells. Hiccup knew the dragon was moving slowly for the benefit of the students, who had each thought they were 'this close'. Hiccup snorted, the dragon could move at the speed of sound, so this wasn't hard at all.
The class ended, and Hiccup could see the professor fuming on the other side of the courtyard. Hiccup called Toothless over, who was more than happy to oblige. He grinned and attacked his best friend, which in turn knocked himself to the ground. Hiccup laughed and batted away the oncoming storm of paws trying to playfully grab at his face.
A cough interrupted their playful act, and Hiccup turned icy at the cold glare he was receiving from Professor Alistair Moody. Hiccup stayed on the ground, not caring about how undignified it looked, whilst Toothless let a low grumble escape, his chest vibrating above Hiccup as he stood carefully over his best friend.
"That was not good enough. Get your dragon under control." Moody snapped, however still wary of the fiery dragon.
Hiccup grumbled to himself. Why did these things always happen to him? He should have told Astrid, she would have been able to help him. Instead, he'd said he would be busy taking a long flight away from the castle, whilst they hung out with the dragons in the common room. He would have gathered to be there with them, then this nightmare.
"He's a dragon, it's not my fault he's following his nature." Hiccup snorted, watching the near black but blue beast above him. Toothless looked to Hiccup proudly for a moment, before returning his protective stance over his rider.
Moody stepped forwards, rewarded by a loud growl which ripped through the entire courtyard, and made the professor stand still in his tracks. Students who had gathered for the class also stopped, afraid of the deadly beast before them.
"The way I see it, you owe us. You're going to work with Voldemort, and the wizards need to defend themselves against the dragons." He said. So that's what he planned. Well, he didn't need to bring that up. Hiccup rolled over onto his stomach, watching Moody with a calculating expression.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "If that's what your worried about, you'll be sorely disappointed." He wasn't going to tell this wizard he'd found a loop whole, but he was pretty proud of it. And Moody had always seemed to act as though he wanted the Vikings to help with the dark wizard, for some odd reason. Why would someone as known as him for defeating dark wizards, want Hiccup and the Vikings to help the dark ones?
This seemed to stun Moody for a moment. Something clicked in his mind, clogs turning. "How are you going to get out of it then?" he asked, obviously curious.
Hiccup looked at Toothless, who growled at the professor. "We're not telling you." He'd told Toothless, of course. Something as big as the news they'd heard earlier wasn't something he was about to keep from his best friend. It was something the dragon needed to know, too, as it affected him more than Hiccup.
Moody gave Hiccup a small side glance, before he returned to his bench and waited for his next class. Hiccup rolled his eyes and moved with Toothless towards the edge of the courtyard, where he sat down on the railings and rested a hand on the scaly dragon.
As the next class filled, Hiccup knew by the excited looks on the young faces of the students, they were looking forwards to seeing a dragon. The small thought gave Hiccup the hope that these students wouldn't be too harsh on his best friend. By the looks of them, they were either first or second years, ravenclaw or gryfindor. There was something to be said about the two houses, neither were very happy to see each other. Hiccup wondered why all the houses disliked each other, as though it was some sort of built in hatred which came with the house.
Toothless watched with annoyed eyes as their class began. Moody was speaking in a low voice, to which Hiccup wasn't able to hear from the distance he was. When the professor turned to meet Hiccup's eyes, he nodded and Hiccup sighed. Toothless growled to himself as he stalked into view, already formulating a plan of defence. Smart dragon.
Lunch was a loud event, many students whispering about their defence against the dark arts class. Harry looked around the great hall, surprised by the sheer number of people who were all looking rather ecstatic. He saw the Slithering forming the nastiest glare towards Hiccup, but most others were giving him a look of awe. It was clear to him he'd done something impressive during their class.
Hermione looked up from her meal as she noticed Harry's distracted looks. She smiled as she said, "Guess we're about to find out, we've got it last." She said.
Harry and Ron grinned. "Well, I'm sure it'll be fun. Hopefully nothing like the curse lesson we had before." A shiver ran down Harry's back as he remembered the way the bug had shrivelled up in pain, contorted before being killed instantly by another spell.
The trio all cringed as they went back to their food, trying to ignore the buzzing around the room. They would surely find out what the mystery excitement was about, they had defence next. It was their last class for the day, and unfortunately, with the slytherins.
As the clatter and excitement died down, Harry decided they should get to their class. Ron and Hermione were quick to agree. They left their plates and headed out of the great hall, mixing into the numerous other students who were all having the same idea. They wanted to get to class early too, mostly the ravenclaws.
The group went to the courtyard, where they'd been instructed to go for their lesson. It seemed like an odd place for a class, but none of the students wanted to question their slightly crazed professor. Harry sat down at a bench and waited for Ron and Hermione to follow suit.
Unfortunately for them, they weren't the only ones there. Malfoy and his two goons were already waiting, and had spotted the Gryffindor trio with smirks. Malfoy headed over to Harry, his face a mixture of smug and nastiness, not unusual for the pale slytheirn boy.
Harry immediately stood up, not wanting to disadvantage himself against the slytherins. Hermione and Ron flanked him carefully, watching Malfoy with hawk like eyes.
"Interesting set up for a class, isn't it? I heard we're here to fight dragons." Malfoy snickered.
Harry exchanged looks with Ron and Hermione, who both gave him the same blank look. "Why would we be doing that? There aren't any dragons here anyway." Aside Toothless and all the Vikings other dragons, Harry thought to himself. Maybe Malfoy had forgotten that minor detail.
Malfoy snickered. "Yeah, apparently, according to some first years, it's this black dragon. But none of them could get any shots in." he almost sounded like he was insinuating a challenge.
Harry knew immediately to who they were referring to, only one dragon would be able to avoid spells, even cast from the most inexperienced wizard, in a small space like this one. From the stories he'd heard from Ron, Harry knew this dragon had to be Toothless.
"I doubt we'll be able to then." Ron noted, also coming to the same conclusion.
Malfoy smirked. "We'll see about that." And he turned on his heel and stalked off, somewhere that Harry really didn't care. He just was annoyed at how the pale Slytherin could act like he didn't care about anyone but himself. Well, he thought, he didn't.
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Hermione asked curiously. Harry could see it in her eyes that she was worried, but she wasn't about to let it show.
Ron shrugged. "He's always making things up." He remarked.
Harry agreed and they left it as an open statement. They didn't really have an answer, only time would tell.
Soon enough, they had their answer. When the class began, Professor Moody limped to the front of the class and began his explanation on the following class. It came as a surprise to everyone, including Malfoy, from what Harry could tell.
"As a practical lesson, we'll be using spells on an active subject, who has been volunteered by a young man you may all know." Professor Moody started. He turned his head, and Harry was surprised to see the scrawny form of Hiccup against the stone walls of the courtyard. So Malfoy had been right, Harry mused.
"You'll all get the chance to practise defensive spells, only, on the dragon." the professor continued. Murmurs went around the class, which went along the lines of 'where's the dragon' because no one could see it yet. Harry doubted Hiccup could either, and he was the dragon's friend, or what have you. He still wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was.
Harry noticed Professor Moody give Hiccup a sharp look, to which made the one legged boy stand up straight and nod. A moment later, a large shadow fell over the courtyard, blocking the sun. Harry looked up, as did many of the other students, as the large black dragon swooped over the courtyard. As Harry had seen the dragon before, he noticed a couple of things. The dragon didn't have a saddle on, and the prosthetic tail which was usually a vibrant red, was instead a dull grey colour, clearly different and fully functional. Hiccup must have designed this one recently.
The large dragon came in for the landing, bounding in front of Hiccup and standing protectively in front of the short boy. Harry saw the surprised looks around the class, either that they were able to cast spells towards the dragon, or his reaction towards Hiccup, Harry wasn't entirely sure. Either way, he felt pleased that he knew the dragon personally, rather than just glances.
Hiccup walked into the centre of the courtyard, to the front of the class. Toothless stalked close behind, watching Hiccup and the class simultaneously. Harry was impressed in the dragon's ability to multi task. Professor Moody seemed to scowl at Hiccup, before turning back to the class.
"Single line, please." The professor announced. There was a flurry of motion, and Harry and his friends were swept towards the back of the line, just behind Malfoy and his goons. They weren't unhappy, they didn't really want to have to aim their spells at a dragon which Hiccup was so clearly attached to.
The first person in line was a Slytherin, who was clearly itching to have a shot at Toothless. Hiccup moved out of the way, a small frown on his face, whilst Toothless prepared himself. The Slytherin seemed to take this as a challenge and prepared his wand.
It went on like that, Toothless defended himself quite perfectly, Harry barely seeing the dragon move he was that fast. Toothless made it look effortless, but a careful glance to the side from Harry's part confirmed that Toothless was working hard, the look on Hiccup's face saying it all.
Eventually, it came down to Malfoy's turn. Malfoy stepped to the front of the line, waiting and watching the lethal black dragon. Toothless breathed heavily with exhaustion, the first time he'd been able to stop moving. The other students had thought to act quickly, but Malfoy had clearly seen this tactic didn't work. He was prepared to attack with everything he had, and both Harry and Hiccup were worried. Hermione and Ron were watching anxiously behind Harry, waiting to see what would happen.
Toothless was analysing Malfoy carefully, watching with those large green eyes which screamed danger. Malfoy was poised to strike, the same emotions reflected on his face. It was the ultimate face off, Slytherin vs dragon. It was almost ironic, considering their house emblem was a snake.
Malfoy looked at Hiccup for a moment, a small smirk forming in his eyes. He lifted his wand and muttered a spell, the blast heading straight for the defenceless boy. Harry knew his strategy immediately, after seeing the way the large black beast leapt in front of Hiccup to defend him, taking the full brunt of the spell and landing further from Hiccup.
The plan was pretty smart, really. Malfoy knew Toothless would defend Hiccup no matter what, but still. Malfoy seemed pretty proud of himself as they watched curiously to see what would happen.
At first, there was no effect. Harry stayed tense, knowing the spell would have to have done something, considering how long Malfoy had been deliberating it.
After a moment, a bright light began to engulf the black beast. Malfoy smirked, the students all moved quickly to get a better look, and Hiccup dashed closer to the dragon. Toothless roared as the lights swallowed him, and Harry saw something he really wished he never would.
The dragon seemed to change shape, becoming more vertical. The silhouette of his body in the bright light showed what seemed to be a human, but that wasn't right.
As the light cleared, shocked gasps went around the entire courtyard, including their professor. Malfoy smirked, also surprised by with glee. Hiccup ran forwards, trying to gather what was going on. Harry just stared in shock, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
There, where the black Night Fury had once stood, was a tall, thin and pale boy, a pair of large black bat wings attached to his back and bright green eyes. His hair was jet black which made his skin stand out more. On his body, instead of the prosthetic tail, was a makeshift shirt and a pair of shorts, which was clearly made of the same material.
The boy brought his hands to his face in surprise, examining his fingers carefully. He turned his hands over in succession, as though they would suddenly disappear. His eyes held shock and fear as he looked up at Hiccup, who also held the same expression.
Hiccup stared at the boy, Toothless, in shock. His best friend was no longer the fastest dragon known to man, but a boy with a pair of jet black wings. Although there was a class behind him, Hiccup felt as though it was just the two of them. They were surrounded by their own bubble of shock, one which seemed to be lasting forever. Hiccup wished he could blink and his beloved dragon would return to normal, but no matter how hard he tried, such things never returned.
"H-Hiccup?" a stuttering, deep voice came out of the boy's mouth, which surprised everyone and broke the bubble around the two.
Hiccup grinned. "Well, there are plusses and minuses to this." He noted pleasantly, trying to contain the horror he was still experiencing in his chest.
Toothless smiled, and it was definitely better than when he was in his dragon form. "Guess we're not breaking records." His voice was scratchy, and it had a lot of Hiccup's accent in it, which made it known the dragon only knew what to say due to the number of times he'd heard Hiccup talk.
Hiccup rolled his eyes and walked closer, examining the thick wings Toothless still appeared to have. "Well, no. but you can on your own now." Somehow, the thought annoyed Hiccup. Toothless shook his head at this, everyone knew Toothless hated to fly without Hiccup. That was why this was such a predicament they'd gotten themselves into.
"Got any fish though?" Toothless asked suddenly, moving his hands to his side.
Hiccup laughed. "Guess it's better than head butting me until I do." He chuckled. They had seemingly forgotten the class behind them, and the class was just focussed on watching the dragon interact with the boy as though he was a normal human. It was strange for everyone there.
Toothless grinned, a sly look in his eye. He walked forwards, bending down and rubbing his head against Hiccup's chest. The young Viking jumped back in surprise, earning a hearty chuckle from Toothless. "Apparently I still can. Just not the same."
"I'd rather you were a dragon." Hiccup said, a note of resentment.
Toothless smirked. He looked at his tall figure. "And pass up all this? Doesn't sound like you Hiccup."
The small boy blushed and looked away, saying something he shouldn't have in the presence of numerous people. Toothless laughed to himself and nodded.
"Yeah, it's weird. I prefer being a dragon too." He finally agreed.
They seemed to remember for the first time that they were in front of a large group of people. Hiccup looked to Malfoy, who was looking annoyingly smug, then to Professor Moody, who had a damn smirk on his face. Upon seeing Hiccup's eyes on him, Moody collected himself and walked forwards.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting turn of events. Sadly, we can't continue the lesson, we don't have a dragon." a chorus of murmurs went around the courtyard, Hiccup felt sure they were competing against each other, some glad and others not so for the abrupt end.
Moody turned to Hiccup, the stupid smug look returning in his eyes. "Could be interesting for you though." He added, low enough that the class wasn't able to hear it.
Hiccup frowned. He looked at Malfoy quickly, who was still wearing that annoying smirk. "How long until it wears off?" he asked, almost pleadingly. He wasn't sure how long he would last if the dragon stayed a boy.
Malfoy shrugged. "Well, the book said it could last up to a month... minimum a week... so you know, somewhere in between." Which didn't help at all, and Malfoy knew it.
Toothless glared at Malfoy. A distorted growl escaped his lips, which would have sounded more threatening if he were a dragon. Malfoy clearly wasn't afraid, he just stood there with his hands in his pocket. This made Toothless even angrier, preparing himself for a fight. He flared his wings and glared furiously, unable to do much else than crouch down low.
Hiccup stepped in between them then. Toothless immediately stood up straight, giving Hiccup the biggest doe eyes possible for a human. Hiccup almost smiled, but he needed to sort this out first. "Well, great. Thanks, Malfoy." He said sarcastically. "We'll just have to cope, it's not really the worst thing that's happened to us." Hiccup directed this more to Toothless than to the pale haired wizard.
Toothless nodded, turning his head to the large black wings on his back. "No need for the tail rod, or saddles now though."
Hiccup grinned. He walked forwards and pushed Toothless towards the edge of the courtyard, away from the prying eyes of the students. He wanted to be away from them, they had caused enough damage for one day.
They were able to escape the courtyard, heading up to the tower. Hiccup opened the door, Toothless not knowing how, and they walked into the room together. Immediately, all heads turned. Gobber, Astrid and Fishlegs were in the common room, their dragons behind them. Hiccup felt a small pang of jealously run though his chest, but he remembered Toothless wasn't gone, just not a dragon.
"Where's Toothless?" Astrid asked curiously, not able to see the dark haired boy behind Hiccup's body.
Hiccup looked at the boy, a small smile in his eyes. "Um, well, see, we ran into some trouble... and now he's not really a dragon..." he explained carefully.
Everyone gasped as Toothless walked out from behind Hiccup, his wings carefully balanced against his back. He stood in front of Hiccup, just barely protecting him, but old habits die hard when you're a dragon.
Fishlegs had a shocked expression on his face, Gobber amazed and Astrid furious. "What happened?! I'll go kill whoever did this!" she exclaimed.
Hiccup shook his head, resting a hand on Tooth less's shoulder as he seemed ready to fight the girl. "It's alright, it'll wear off eventually. Besides, now I'll have someone to talk to."
This infuriated Astrid further. "You had me before you know. And it's not alright. No one should have done anything to him, he's a Night Fury." She fumed.
Hiccup sighed, stepping closer to Astrid. He grabbed both her hands into his, clasping them in front of him. "I know that, Astrid. Malfoy was sneaky though, and Toothless was only protecting me." He paused, looking deeper into her blue eyes. "Besides, it's not like it's the worst thing, he's a human, not some distorted animal with no resemblance to anything we know of."
Astrid frowned, but nodded in resign. "Going to be interesting around here, that's for sure." She said after a moment, completely changing her tone.
Hiccup grinned. "Yeah, that's for sure. Now he'll be able to come to the great hall for dinner."
Astrid was about to say something when Toothless appeared at Hiccup's side, pressing his shoulder firmly onto Hiccup's, clearly claiming possession of the smaller boy. And he really was shorter, Toothless was at least half a head taller than Hiccup, which made almost no sense, considering how low to the ground the dragon actually was.
"Right here, you know." Toothless announced. He had a very deep voice, even in sarcasm and annoyance.
Hiccup smiled and looked at Toothless. "Well, at least you don't have to head butt me to get my attention."
Toothless formed a waked smirk on his face, sending a quick glance at Astrid, he rubbed his head under Hiccup's chin, looking into Hiccup's green eyes with his own blazing ones. Hiccup jumped away, crashing into Astrid, who had started to laugh.
"Still the same dragon, you know. Just different body." Toothless grinned. Hiccup mumbled under his breath in an unimpressed tone.
"For a dragon, you've got the speech thing down pat." Hiccup muttered, watching as Astrid sent amused smirks their way. Oh sure, thanks for the help.
Toothless grinned. "Helps that you talk an awful lot to me, about pretty much everything." He said suggestively.
Hiccup blushed, turning away from Astrid as she started to laugh harder. "That's because you're my best friend, and you can't really do much..." he trailed off, knowing the point was invalid.
Toothless just beamed. "Well, you never thought I'd become human." He agreed. He turned his head as he looked at his large black wings, a frown forming on his face. He looked around the common room, trying to find something, but Hiccup wasn't entirely sure what.
Before they could do anything, Snotlout and the twins walked into the room, completing the party. Whilst Fishlegs and Gobber hadn't said anything – though they had listened – Snotlout and the twins were bound to. As Hiccup had predicted, Snotout's eyes landed on Toothless and he snickered.
"Who's the new boyfriend, Hiccup?" Snotlout asked, walking closer and admiring Toothless.
Hiccup watched as Tooth less's lips formed a small smirk, amusement in his eyes as he watched Hiccup reaction. The Viking glared at Toothless before turning to Snotlout. "Well, complications arouse... and this is Toothless."
The twins exchanged looks and pouted. "He's not fun anymore." Tuffnut grumbled, Ruffnut agreeing.
Toothless frowned, still agitated with the twins blatant disregard for his loyalty towards Hiccup. He was about to step forwards when Hiccup pulled a hand in front of him, easily restraining the stronger male.
"It won't last long and you'll have the Night Fury back." Hiccup assured the twins.
Ruffnut grinned. "Great."
"Who was the one who took away our dragon?" Tuffnut asked.
Hiccup rolled his eyes and glanced at a glaring Toothless. "Malfoy thought it would be a good idea. At least now Toothless can go with us on more trips."
Toothless nodded, turning back around to Hiccup. "I'll protect you with my life." He swore. Hiccup felt a pool of guilt riding up inside his stomach. He glanced away momentarily, looking at the floor and then to Astrid. She didn't seem to understand, so he reluctantly looked back to the humanised dragon.
A cough behind them made heads turn, everyone facing Fishlegs and Gobber. Fishlegs opened his mouth to speak, an air of superiority radiating off him. "This gives us the chance to figure out how to get away from the wizards." He said.
Gobber nodded. "Indeed it does," the old Viking said wisely. "Also very amusing for us when the wizards glimpse a human dragon."
Hiccup grinned, looking to Toothless. "Malfoy probably told the whole school his version of the story."
"We'll have to set them straight." Astrid said.
Toothless showed his teeth in a wide smile. "Yeah, I'm still dangerous as a human."
The twins perked up as he mentioned this, evil plans forming evidently in their eyes. Hiccup looked away, exasperated, at the stupidity levels shown by the twins. Somehow, though, both Ruffnut and Tuffnut were incredibly smart individuals. They just chose not to show it often.
Snotlout then broke off, seeming to find the conversation too boring for himself. He walked over to where Hookfang was perched, the stair well. The twins cackled to themselves and heading to Barf and Belch, Gobber left who knows where, and Fishlegs walked up to Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless.
"What's the matter, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked.
Fishlegs looked at Toothless, disbelief still written in his eyes, but he pushed it down and turned to Hiccup. "Do either of you get the feeling that somethings off about this whole thing?" he asked wearily.
Hiccup nodded, glancing at Toothless first, who seemed to frown. "Yeah. I mean, how was Dumbledore supposed to know about the contract in the first place?"
Fishlegs' eyes brightened, knowing the answer. "I thought of that too, actually. I went searching and found that chief Haddock had been on good terms with the head master here. Turns out, that headmaster had left instructions to Dumbledore as well, but I have no idea what they were."
Hiccup frowned. "No good to us, they were probably just to get Dumbledore to get us to break it off. I'm sure Haddock knew what the headmaster was planning."
Fishlegs shook his head, his eyes frowning rather than his lips. "That, but I think there was something more."
"There's no way he's ever going to tell us though." Astrid spat angrily, hatred for the current headmaster rising.
Hiccup couldn't agree more, whilst Fishlegs was nodding. "True. So we've just got to get out of here before Dumbledore decides we've got to do more for him."
Toothless looked as though he'd just remembered something, a horror-struck look forming on his serene face. "He wants us to sign a contract with him." He said quietly.
Hiccup, Fishlegs and Astrid were stunned into silence, staring at the tall winged boy near them. Hiccup was the first to snap out of it, shaking his head and looking out the window, his eyes glazing over in worry. "But we can't!"
Astrid snapped out of it after hearing Hiccup's voice. "Yeah, the only way to break the contract would be to break off contact from the wizarding world." She reminded them.
Toothless nodded. "Well, I overhead Dumbledore talking to Snape..." he was interrupted by Hiccup giving him a strong glare.
"And when was this?" he demanded.
Toothless looked down, an apology in his eyes. "When you were eating with your friends a few weeks ago." He replied.
Hiccup sighed. "Well, can't say it's not important, but when I tell you to stay put, I generally meanit."
The winged boy cringed and whispered, "Sorry."
"It's alright." He paused, letting it sink in for his best friend. "Now, what did you find out?" he asked.
Toothless grinned, looking up to the group. Fishlegs and Astrid had stayed silent during their conversation, however it was clear they would have told their dragons the same thing had they done what Toothless had. "Anyway, I was walking through the halls when I heard them talking. Naturally, with the way they were obviously trying to be stealthy, I walked to them and listened in. they were talking about you guys, which infuriated me. Dumbledore mentioned that once you broke the contract with the dark wizard, he'd force you into signing on with him. Only this time, we'd be against the dark wizards rather than the good ones."
Astrid looked at Toothless in surprise. "But we can't! The only way to break off the contract is to break off all contact with the wizarding world." She exclaimed.
Fishlegs hummed in agreement. "Unless there is another way, and Dumbledore already knows it?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else.
Hiccup frowned to himself. If that was the case, wouldn't he have just told them in the first place? It would have saved everyone the trouble. But then again, it did seem as though the headmaster also really wanted to learn the secrets of training a dragon. And he'd known almost everything about the Vikings on Berk, who's to say there wasn't a spy working for him that would come back and force them to work for Dumbledore?
Everything had just gotten that much more complicated. If it was indeed that Dumbledore knew how to break off the contract, he wouldn't tell them until he got what he wanted. Hiccup knew this. The wizard was old, but he was a scheming pile of yak dung. He hated how, even though Hiccup and the rest of his friends all hated the wizard, Dumbledore still managed to have them wrapped around his small finger. Simply because he couldn't let the dragons die.
Hiccup looked up. "We've got to get out of this place." He said.
Fishlegs and Astrid both agreed, but their faces both held anguish and sadness. "How though? We can't up and leave, you know what they'll do to the dragons." Astrid reminded him.
Hiccup shrugged, a devious look in his eye. Toothless had the beginnings of a smirk forming on his face at his best friend, knowing what he was planning. "Well, I never said we'd leave them."