I was very pleased by the reactions I've received so far. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter as the story thickens. I wanted to get a good chapter or two in before the actual plot begins. Hope you enjoy this one, and remember; I'm still accepting Triwizard tournament ideas!
I sat alone in the Great Hall. It was dawn and not a single soul was awake in the castle. I sat in my usual spot at Gryffindor table, mulling over last night's argument with Hiccup. My mind reeled at the discovery of his leg. He treated it like it was no big deal, he had gone 2 whole months without mentioning it. It was like it was a secret he didn't want us knowing, or something that was painful to remember.
Then, with a flash, my mind reeled back to the scathing comments I had made about him and the Vikings. Over the years, I had called them bloody, barbaric, senseless brutes who never thought of anyone but themselves. I had let my pride as a Scot get in the way of being a friend.
My father has disowned me, my mother is dead, and my only friend on that godforsaken island was a blacksmith. They are not my people anymore Merida, I am not a Viking.
Hiccup's words continue to ring in my ears as I tried to block them out with new thoughts. Just at that moment though, the Great Halls doors swung open and someone walked in. Their robes rustled loudly and the clunk of something metal resounded against the marble floor.
I stood from my spot and saw a familiar mop of auburn hair, tousled and looking windblown. I noticed the serious face hidden beneath it and saw the over sized robes hanging from that persons skinny frame.
I saw Hiccup, and he saw me.
He stopped walking and paused, his forest green eyes searching my face. Pursing his lips, he began walking towards me. I stood up from where I sat as Hiccup neared the table.
"I'm sorry." We both said at the same time.
"What are you sorry for?" I asked him.
"I-I was being foolish and I said things that I shouldn't have, and last night-"
"Hiccup, the only thing you did that was foolish was not telling me sooner. I mean, it was my fault, about the argument. I was just so shocked and-" I stopped. This was odd, I felt a lump form in my throat. I was choking up. "You-you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry Hiccup."
Hiccup nodded mutely. He shifted awkwardly and we stood there for a few moments in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Then, I noticed a large book he had under his arm.
"So, what's that book about?" I asked him.
Hiccup looked down at the book tucked under his left arm, as though checking to make sure it was still there.
"Oh. Uh, this is a book about dragons." He said, gesturing to the thick novel.
"Why dragons?" I asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "Back on Berk, we have a dragon book, and I wanted to see what other opinions were out there, since ours were mostly about killing them and stuff."
"Can I see it?" I asked.
Hiccup nodded and placed the book on the table. "Yeah. I mean it's the schools book, it's not actually mine so-"
I gave him a look.
"Yeah. Sure." He summed up.
We sat at the table, pouring over the pages together, so lost in the images and different species, we didn't notice Punzie and Jack walk in to join us, or any of the other several hundred students walk in. Jack cleared his throat awkwardly.
"So, uh did you two..." He pointed between Hiccup and I, uncertain.
Hiccup closed the book and swept it into his satchel. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I think we did."
Jack sighed in relief and Punzie smiled.
"Good." He said, sliding in on the other side with Rapunzel. "Cause I was worried we might have to choose sides or something." He grinned mischievously. "Hey, Punz, who do you think would win in a fight between them?"
Punzie frowned. "I don't know. Merida, if it were punching and stuff, but Hiccup if it came to magic."
Hiccup scoffed. "Yeah right. There is no way Merida could take all this." He gestured to himself.
"Please, Fishbone." I scoffed. "I could take you any day."
"I've got my bets on Horrendous." Jack said. "He's a feisty little sprite."
Hiccup shot a glare at Jack.
"DunBroch" Punzie quipped, grinning at Jack.
"Everyone quiet down!" North boomed across the hall. I looked up to see him standing at the speaking podium. He was obviously going to make an announcement.
"Now, I have news for everyone!" He said. "For this month, council has made decision on celebrations. For big event there has been decision..." The Hall went silent. "It is Flying Tournament!"
The Hall exploded in noise, the sounds of foot stomping and applause thundering through the room.
Each month, the school held an event of some sort, to help everyone relax and enjoy learning instead of having to worry about homework constantly. The Flying Tournament was a school wide favourite. The teachers got to choose the teams from existing Quidditch players. They could choose from any house but could only accept 7 players per team. There were always 3 Chasers, 2 Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker. The teachers would always engage in some 'friendly competition' as Prof. Toothiana put it.
"Professors will be posting teams in First Floor hallway after dinner. Now eat!" And with a loud clap, the food appeared at the tables.
"I can't wait for this year's tournament" I said excitedly. "Who do you think will be chosen for Prof. Norths team?" I asked them. Being the headmaster, Prof. North always got first choice on players, and his team rarely ever lost.
"I don't know." Jack said. "I've barely been here for 2 months." He frowned lightly. "That sing along last month wasn't much fun."
"I loved that sing along!" Punzie said. "But for Prof. North's team, I bet Hiccup will be his Seeker." Rapunzel said thoughtfully.
I saw Hiccup go slightly red in the face. He appeared suddenly very interested in his half-full plate.
We continued debating teams, and took bets on who would play what positions. While Punzie explained to Jack the skill set of each player, loud hoots could be heard from overhead.
"The owls are here!" I said. Hundreds of packets of mail rained down from above, landing on plates and several student's heads. A small green envelope landed in my lap and I looked up to see my barn owl, Cailleach, flying out the large windows.
I looked across the table to see Jack and Punzie both receiving letters, looks of surprise on both their faces. I heard a heavy thump and looked over to my left, only to see Hiccup being knocked off his seat by his nearly meter tall owl.
"Ow! Volr!" Hiccup said. The owl hooted and righted himself. Hiccup stood and held out an arm, allowing Volr to perch upon his shoulder. The dark grey owl was actually quite light, as it was the dense feathers that gave him his huge appearance. The owl ruffled Hiccup's hair as he sat back down on the bench. Others further down the table noticed the huge beast land on the table, and were whispering among themselves.
"It's fine, Volr." Hiccup murmured to the owl. "I know I don't have any mail." He picked up a scrap of bread to feed to the deceptively large bird before sending him on his way back to the owlery.
The birds all left the room, and it seemed almost peaceful without them. Students all around us opened their letters and read articles their parents had sent them. I heard laughter from a few tables down, most likely coming from the Slytherins.
As we finished reading our letters, students began leaving the Great Hall, making their way to classes. Hiccup, bored while waiting for us to finish reading our letters, had enchanted an apple to float around us, aimlessly making circles around each of our heads until we finally swatted it away, annoyed.
We all stood and collected our things, and began making our way to Potions class with Prof. Pitch. We walked down the halls, then approached the stairs that led down to the dungeons.
"Can't we just skip this class?" Jack complained. "I hate Potions with Pitch."
"So do I." I said. "But we can't skip it, or Pitch'll be at our throats for the rest of the term."
"Come on you guys, Potions isn't that bad." Punzie said.
"That's because you're a good cook, Punzie." I said. "And you're always paired with Haddock, which is completely unfair."
"Wha-how is that unfair?" Hiccup asked.
"Because the best cook in 5th year and the school's top student paired together is like an A+ waiting to happen." Jack said.
I chortled and Hiccup snorted.
We entered the dark and dreary room used for potions. It was damp and frigid, and Prof. Pitch always insisted that the room be kept in the dark for some absurd reason. We all sat down in our assigned seats, with our usual partners. I sat with Jack in the far back, with Punzie and Hiccup further ahead on the left side of the room, the Ravenclaw side. We waited for Pitch to arrive, chatting idly with each other and other Gryffindors.