Note: Words Without AN: 5,096. Words With AN: 1,107

=Rapunzel=

I didn't know what to think when Elsa yelled at us to leave. Nor did I understand the wall of ice she put up as a barrier but when it finally melted away she was sitting next to Hiccup, a sad expression on his face as she explained something to him. Autumn stood with his back to us, though his form flickered in and out. Merida was the first to walk over to them, Jack following shortly behind and I walked more slowly. "I suggest talking to North about it." Elsa said to the two. "It's never happened before, in every case with like yours when they do that the second spirit is cast out or locked away."

"Well, we've been expecting Pitch to try something for several weeks now." Autumn said, he sounded distant. "He might have just been saving energy to try this..."

"What's going on?" Merida asked, half glaring at Elsa.

"Pitch decided to reappear." Elsa said, ignoring the glare and looking at the three of us as if we were pests that interrupted something important. Hiccup didn't say anything to it so all we had was the information she provided. He remained secluded for several weeks after, barely talking even when the Quiddich tryouts came. His performance was average at best and he didn't make the cut, not that he wanted too. While Merida was boasting about making Beater on her team and Jack was quite happy with Seeker.

It wasn't until a particularly calm Sunday that he finally kept up a full conversation with one of us. We were sitting in our private emptied classroom and he had been drawing in a sketchbook keeping out of the conversation and just being there. "I wonder how Toothless is." Merida commented, getting the boy to look up.

"He's fine, I'm sure." Hiccup responded, not quite meeting anyone's eyes. "Dad's been looking after him, gives Gobber an update each week."

"Yer dad, looking after a dragon?" Merida smiled a bit. "Ya sure that's safe?" She wondered. He gave a shy smile.

"Not like I can bring him here with me." He noted. "I'm sure he only try's to kill him once a day." He was a bit disturbed by the thought, then winced slightly and rubbed his temple.

"You alright?" Jack asked, it hadn't been the first time he's done this. Whenever somethings bothered him lately he's done it.

"Fine," Hiccup dismissed the concern. "Just a headache." His eyes returned to his sketchbook and he tapped his pencil against the bricks we sat on. Then he glanced up. "How's training?" He wondered.

"So boring." Merida said blowing some of her hair out of her face. "Bunnymand keeps having me read all these books and Elsa has been pushing me to my limits. She annoys the 'ell out of me."

"She's not that bad." Jack defended getting Merida to roll her eyes.

"Ya only say that because yer in the same house." She glared at him.

"That's not true," Jack blushed a little. They continued to bicker.

"What about you Rapunzel?" Hiccup turned away from the two. "You're quieter than normal." I lifted the book in my hand, Merida's not the only one with homework from these classes.

"I enjoy training." I responded. "But every keeps focusing on my healing magic not the other things Spring has been teaching me." I explained, he nodded. "I mean, I understand that healing is important but if it comes to it, I'll need to know how to fight. Or at least defend myself."

"I'm sure they'll start teaching you it soon." He said hopefully.

"What about you?" I wondered, the question made him slip back into the shell he had buried himself in.

"I'm mostly strengthening my defensive magic, to help Autumn keep Pitch out..." He looked back at his sketchbook again and picked up his pencil. I noticed that he wasn't using his dominant hand to draw with.

He continued to get more social again, but would always shell up whenever the conversation would be brought back to him. By the time winter vacation rolled in he was back to his normal self. Until the owl landed on the table and held out a leg for him. Hiccup took the letter and gently pet the bird before reading the letter. "Great," he groaned when finishing it. "I have to stay here this break." He explained, tapping the paper before showing it to me.

Hiccup,

Sorry I haven't written sooner but there's been a constant storm hitting Berk. I wouldn't be shocked if Porky here doesn't reach you. I'm asking that you stay at school for the winter holiday this year for safety reasons. Wouldn't wanting you to break your other leg by slipping on some ice. Tell Gobber that I'm sorry I haven't responded in a while, this storm's been destroying the town. The dragon friends of yours have been a good help, always keeping us warm when it gets too cold.

I'll send your gifts early so they make it to ya, you don't have to send back mine until either me or Gobber tell you it's safe for the owl's to fly. Take care of Porky for me.

Love,

Stoic, your dad.

I glanced up at Hiccup who was eating much slower than normal. Which was odd for him because he loves food. His free hand was absently rubbing Porky's head and the large owl didn't seem to mind. "Well, at least you know he's just looking out for you." I commented, he gave me a smile before feeding the bird some bacon and watching it fly off to who knows where. "When will you tell Gobber?" I wondered.

"After lunch like normal." He shrugged. When we finished eating we went to the normal classroom to find Jack and Merida already there with Elsa who joins us on occasions.

"I can't wait to see Izzy," Jack was saying. "I'll have great story's to tell her this year. Like how I'm in the lead for our pranking war."

"His pride is swelling." I noted to Hiccup who just smiled at the comment.

"By three points, that's not much of a lead." Merida commented, crossing her arms over her chest. She noticed the two of us walking towards them. "Well?" She asked. "You look grumpier than usual. What's up?"

"Not going home for the holiday." He responded taking his normal seat against a support beam. "A huge storm has hit Berk, dad told me to stay here." He mad a face.

"Well that sucks." She agreed. "Least you'll have company. Punzy is staying too." He glanced at me and I smiled. "It'll be lonely for Toothless though, staying with yer dad."

"He'll manage." Hiccup commented, digging through his bag. "The Easter holiday isn't that far off. I can see him then." He shrugged a bit after taking out his sketchbook and pencil. "So what's everyone doing for Christmas?" He wondered, starting to draw.

"Just going home and celebrating with me family." Merida answered first.

"Mom's taking Izzy and me to the United States for a cruse." Jack answered, bouncing in his seat.

"My sister and I are spending it together." Elsa shrugged, Hiccup glanced at her as if he were using her as a model for his drawing. "What would you have done if you went home?"

"Probably spent most of the time with Toothless." He responding going back to his work. "Christmas with my dad and the village. Hiding from Snotlout, normal things."

"You Rapunzel?" She wondered.

"Both my parent's work most of the holiday," I responded. "They're doctors so they don't normally get Christmas off." I shrugged a bit. "I'd probably be with my Aunt if I stayed." I explained. After lunch we parted ways, Hiccup going to Gobbers so he said his goodbye's to everyone there. Jack and Elsa went to gather their things and Merida gave me a hug before going to gather her belongings. The rest of the evening was uneventful, Hiccup didn't return until after dinner and he looked to be in higher spirits than normal even with missing dinner. We sat but the fire in the common room, being few of the only ones that stayed and drew together.

The first day of vacation we spent mostly in the common room, decorating page after page with art. "Can I see your drawings?" I asked Hiccup as he worked in his sketchbook. I noticed before that he carries more than one on him, this specific one was smaller than the other three. He glanced up at me.

"Sure," he settled himself next to me on the couch and took out another one but set it aside. He flipped through the small sketchbook, I could see diagrams and writing on some pages before finding the first picture. It was of Toothless, he was curled in a ball sleeping. The next picture was of the dragon flying. "These ones are pretty old." He explained, the third was of an island. An aerial view, "this is Berk." He told me. Then there was a detailed drawing of a girl, she was holding an ax that rested on her shoulder in one hand and her other hand was pressed against her hip. She looked annoyed, under her was a name Astrid Hofferson, I knew her. She was in the Gryffindor Quiddich team, a chaser if I remembered right.

"This was before we started school," he explained which is why she looked younger. I nodded and he turned the page, there was a large boy fishing in this one, the name under it was Fishlegs.

"He a friend?" I asked, Hiccup shrugged.

"Haven't seen him in a while, his parents home school him. I guess we used to be friends, but we didn't talk much." He said before turning the page again three people were in it, I recognized them all. Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, Snotlout Jorgenson. The twins were attacking each other and Snotlout was laughing at them. The next picture was of Hogwarts, then the one after that were of Snotlout and his gang, only Jack was standing in the background leaning against something.

"How do you get the pictures so detailed?" I asked him, "I doubt they posed for you."

"I have a good memory," Hiccup responded, smiling sheepishly at me. "I wouldn't call it a photographic memory but it's as close as it gets." He shrugged turning the page. Merida was looking at me, grinning her normal cheeky grin, the next page was her looking out a window bored during a class. Then three boys labeled Harris, Hurbert and Hamish Dunbroch. I remembered them as Merida's brothers. Next was Jack and a young girl labeled Isis "Izzy" Frost. The two pictures after were just of them, Jack then Izzy. Then there was me, I was sitting in a windowsill looking out at the world, something I do quite often. The next picture was labeled Autumn and Pitch, the two spirits were standing and talking. Pitch with his arm around Autumn explaining something and Autumn looking annoyed. Then Autumn had his own picture. Last was Elsa Arendelle, it looked like the newest entry, she was standing, one arm clutching onto her books while the other hand was held out and a sort of mist was flowing out.

"You're quite talented." I told him. He smiled sheepishly.

"Not as good as you," he told me getting me to blush. He closed the first book and brought over the second.

"What's the difference between this book and the other one?" I asked him, he thought about it.

"The bigger ones are newer." He responded, "I take them out whenever I want to draw just anything." He explained. "This one," he tapped the smaller one. "It was a present from my mother, shortly before she died. I put things that impact my life in it. The first sketches of anything go in here I guess." He shrugged a bit and opened the larger sketchbook. I was met with a picture of Merida poking at a chess bored, the first several pictures, at least ten were all of Merida. She had different expressions in each. Bored, tired, excited, angry, disappointed. Each with a different seen and props around her. Then there was me, with an atlas in my hands and Snotlout cowering at it. Then a girl I didn't recognize but she was labeled Anna Arendelle and Merida, Anna was laughing and Merida had a smile on her face, she was holding her hand out, waiting for someone to take it. There were several drawings of different classes, I caught myself in most of them, either sitting next to or in front of Hiccup who's point of view I imagined the images to be in.

Then there was the Hogwarts Express, two large men standing next to each other and Merida's mom next to one of the men. Then it must have been summer, because there were the streets of a small town on an island and Merida was there, some in a forest, the town and eventually a cove with Toothless. A large red and gray dragon settled on a mountain frightened me, there was Merida jumping onto Toothless's back, two other dragons I didn't know and Astrid on one of them. Then a cloud with lightning and red fire I assumed.

After we were in a hospital, and the first picture of Hiccup appeared. He was sitting on a bed with his legs hanging over the edge but one of his legs was wood and metal. His prosthetic. After this image he started incorporating himself into the images more. He and Merida were at DunBroch, there were a few images of them hanging out together before Jack and Izzy, as she was labeled, joined. They seemed to be doing all sorts of things, telling stories, playing in a garden, and one where Merida was in a beautiful dress, her hand on her hip and the other hitting Jack over the head.

"Jack insulted her," Hiccup told me.

"Why, she looks so nice." I glanced at him. He shrugged.

"He was shocked to see her so dressed up." He explained, I nodded. The next picture was of me, hugging Hiccup in the book shop, then we're shopping together, and outside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where they all linked pinkeys in the muggle promise.

"When do you ever find the time to draw all these?" I asked, looking at us sitting on the train, then following the events leading up until meeting Elsa.

"Classes mostly," He responded. "Sometimes when I can't sleep I'll stay up and draw." There was a strange picture, one where Pitch and Autumn were slitting the page, Autumn taking the right while Pitch was on the left, between them was Hiccup. "Uh... that's..." He tried to find a way to describe it. "Elsa was teaching me a move, to bind a spirit with a soul and I tried it with her help. Pitch interrupted it and managed to split my soul so currently both he and Autumn have it." He explained. "It's why I've been getting so many headache's lately, and why I sort of stopped talking as much." He looked away. "Pitch is trying to get complete control and Autumn is doing what he can to stop him." There was a long silence before I pulled him into a hug.

"Why didn't you tell us?" I asked worried.

"I didn't want to worry you." He responded.

"We've been worried ever sense finding out about Pitch being in you." I told him, "Hiccup the reason we're learning to use our spirits is because of him."

"I know, it's just... there's already been enough stress on everyone." He sighed. "Do you want to come with me to visit Gobber tomorrow?" He asked. "It's Christmas so I wanted to spend part of it with him."

"Of course," I smiled at him. We did spend Christmas with him and Hagrid, the two were extremely happy to let us join them. "Where are you taking me?" I asked, laughing a bit at the singing from the drunken men in the hut.

"It's a secret." He smiled, "seriously don't tell anyone." We entered the forbidden forest and he traveled expertly through it before finding a clearing. The black dragon was bounding around in the snow.

"Is that...?" My eyes widened as Toothless looked up, hearing my voice. He danced over to us, tackling us both down to the ground. Hiccup laughed, patting the dragon on his head.

"It's mine and Gobber's secret." He said, smiling after the dragon let us up. He helped me stand and whipped the snow off of himself. "He brought him here so I can take care of him during the school year." He looked at me.

"This is why you disappear every morning?" He nodded.

"I thought it'd be safe to show you." He said sheepishly. "I want you to take care of him if Pitch wins." He pat Toothless's head the dragon purred. There was a long moment of silence. "Want to fly?" He asked, "Hogwarts looks amazing from the sky, and covered in snow."

"Sure," he climbed onto his dragon and helped me up. Then Toothless took off into the sky. The rest of break was spent together with Toothless, then huddled next to the warm fire in the common room drawing pictures and sipping on hot chocolate. Then when everyone returned we exchanged storys, everything was picking back up.

The rest of the year seemed to fly by, sometimes literally with Hiccup and me flying around on Toothless. He even taught me how to fly him, switching out his specially made harness for his prosthetic with the old one he used before. Merida, Elsa and I would tease the boys about stupid things they would do, Jack and Merida played pranks on unsuspecting bullies. Elsa and Hiccup would sometimes disappear after talking about something and glancing over at the three of us. As if they had been planning something only for them to play a prank of their own several minutes later. Being more advanced in spirit magic training than us they both effortlessly pulled stunts that made other students question why they were only in the second year.

We trained with our spirits daily, getting to know them and how to use their powers, I learned a lot about healing. "I think I have a crush on Jack," Elsa confessed to Merida and me one training session while the boys were getting food from the kitchen. "I keep finding myself looking at him and being jealous over stupid things."

"Well why don't ya tell him?" Merida asked in a teasing tone. "The worse he'll do is reject you."

"But, what about Hiccup?" Elsa asked, frowning. "He likes Jack too."

"But he wont do anything about it." Merida shrugged. "Least not yet." I thought about Hiccup and Jack being together, and I could see it. The two were almost always together when they had classes together or just when they found some free time. Hiccup was even helping Jack study for the end of the year exams coming up.

"What if he rejects me?" Elsa asked, worried. "And he doesn't want to be around me any more?" She wondered.

"He won't push you away like that." I said, putting my hand on her arm. "He's too loyal to just push you away because you told him that you liked him. He'll still be your friend." I promised.

"Just tell him." Merida pushed. "There's no harm in it." And there wasn't, in fact Elsa was extremely happy with the result and Jack agreed to try dating her. The first thing she did was grab her sister and told the younger girl the news. Then came to us, hugged us and thanked us.

Merida laughed at her enthusiasm and we spent the next few days surrounding Hiccup and his smaller sketchbook as he secretly (as in, unknown to Elsa and Jack) drew the pair sitting together at a desk and holding hands. Elsa smiling and looking at Jack while he brushed some loose hair out of her face. Under it he labeled them and wrote: 'Took them long enough' and 'second year's' to which Merida laughed and gained Jack's attention while he and his girlfriend were trying to figure out the best way to finish the essay Professor Toothiana, their transfiguration teacher, had assigned them. Jack snuck over to the three trying to sneak a peak at what Merida was laughing about but only caught Hiccup putting away the sketchbook.

"You know Jack," Hiccup commented. "You should finish your homework, it's dew next period." He noted to the boy who just scowled at him and went back to work. The end of the year rolled in and the final exams passed leaving us a few days to breath before our results came in. We sat near the lake while Elsa and Hiccup practice fought against each other, which we've seen multiple times sense training with her started. Jack was giving commentary to the fight, sometimes distracting one of the two and letting the other get a hit in and making the boy laugh while Merida braided my hair.

"Hiccup!" The voice startled everyone and the duel stopped. Hiccup turned to see Astrid running over, she stopped a few feet away, panting. "Hospital wing." She told him, trying to catch her breath. "Snotlout's there..." I couldn't read the expression of Hiccup's face as the name came out of her mouth, but he nodded and the two ran off.

"What's that about?" I asked, "why would Hiccup care if Snotlout's in the Hospital wing?" I wondered, not exactly knowing what it is between the two of them. I just knew that Snotlout often bullies Hiccup, even with the four of us backing him up.

"I know he's soft hearted and all, but..." Jack commented.

"Snotlout's Hiccup's cousin." Merida told us, silencing the confusing thoughts. "He visited Hiccup in the hospital last summer when he was there after fighting the Red Death." She explained. "That's where I found out." She stood, patting the dirt off of herself. "I'm going to see what's going on." She said leaving us and following after Hiccup and Astrid.

"Let's go," Elsa told us and we quickly followed after. The hospital wing was quite bare, not many people wanting to be up here in this weather but Tuffnut and Ruffnut, Astrid and Hiccup were all standing around a bed where Snotlout was sitting.

"So, you had Astrid run all the way down to the lake to get me because you were in the forbidden forest and nearly trampled by a centaur that looked like my dragon?" Hiccup asked, which was a bit of a funny story considering Toothless had been taken back home the day before. "Are you delusional?" He asked, trying not to laugh.

"I'm not kidding, it was black and had wings just like your night fury. And it wasn't a centaur!" Snotlout complained.

"The hove print on your arm says otherwise." Astrid noted, crossing her arm. "Honestly, you probably hit your head." At this point we had decided to sneak out of the room and head to our normal meeting classroom. Which thankfully was nice and cool.

When it was time for us to go our separate ways, after getting off the Hogwarts Express back in Lyndon we all decided to meet at least a twice over the summer. Which was seemingly easy to do because Jack wasn't going to be to busy this summer and Elsa had few plans other than spending time with her sister and something about building snowmen. Merida was pretty free for most of the summer, she just had to keep up with her Princess duties and Hiccup didn't think he would be learning much over the summer after his father said he would grow up to be a great viking chief.

I for my part didn't anything planned for the summer, and would be glad to leave my little town to go somewhere more adventurous. Which happened almost right away, Elsa had invited me to stay at her castle where we spent the week together with her younger sister Anna building snowmen with snow Elsa created and drawing, I got to use a bunch of paints that we didn't have at home. The best part of the paints were that if I enchanted them, which I wouldn't be able to do until we were back in Hogwarts, they would move like the paintings all around the school.

"So," Elsa said to me one day while we were laying on her bed pretending to sleep because there was no way we were getting to sleep, we were visiting DunBrun tomorrow for Merida's birthday and everyone would be there. "Is there anyone you like?" She asked me and the question kept me thinking the rest of the night.

"I don't think so," I had answered to which she shrugged and proceeded to make snowflakes in her hand in different shapes. "If Jack's spirit is Winter, what's yours?" I wondered after watching the snowflake dancing around.

"It's hard to explain," she responded. "Because like Jack I can make all the winter elements ice, snow, cold wind. I guess his is defined as the season, who's powers are linked with the other seasons while I'm more free." She shrugged. With that we both drifted to a restless slumber where we were too excited to actually sleep properly.

Merida's was more fun than it should've been because there were too many people around even after the birthday party where she happily turned 13 and accidentally shot a turkey that was plucked and prepared for dinner the following day. Anna came with us, as well as Jack's little sister who I finally got to meet. Where Hiccup and his party came, his dad and Gobber who spent the whole of the day with Fergus talking about everything and anything to do with war. Fishlegs, who I had recognized from one of Hiccup's drawings had joined him and Hiccup was explaining to the timid guy things that he missed out in school, as well as introduced him to Merida, Elsa, Jack and myself and easily joined our group for everything. Astrid had also tagged along, with her dragon who was outside with the other dragons Hiccup and his gang had rode in on, the dragons now becoming a everyday part of life in Berk.

Izzy, Jack's little sister enjoyed playing with my hair which had grown much longer and now reached the floor. She was ecstatic for after this summer she would be joining us in Hogwarts to which Merida's brothers were grumpy about, complaining that they would have to be in the same grade as her. But I think they liked the fact that they would have a friend to see other than themselves when they got on the train that first day.

I didn't spend much time there, just a few days because my parents wanted me home again when we visited our family in the United States for their independence day. And there isn't much to say about it other than the fireworks were okay. Then I was visiting Jack at his home, where we didn't spend a lot of time outdoors because it was cold year round. For a few days it was just me, him and Merida before Elsa was able to come then another few days before Hiccup joined us and by then I refused to leave the fire. We spend a few days at my house afterwords, which in my opinion was quite boring compared to the other places we stayed at then finally I got to visit Berk for the first time.

Dragon's were everywhere, some helping the vikings with chores while others just flew around. Merida had made us keep quiet about our showing up at Berk, her and Astrid planned it so that we would be here for the last few weeks of summer and it to be a complete surprise for Hiccup, who, as Astrid told us when we arrived, had been down in spirit's lately and needed some cheering up. When we arrived there wasn't much going on, Astrid explained that the village was preparing to build a dragon flying training school, and was dedicating it to Hiccup today, and the boy was currently taking Toothless out for a walk in the woods.

"You're going to be there when we reveal the school to him." She told us, walking down the path that led to the new school. "He needs the cheer up, always answering everyone's question's and working with everyone to adapt to the new life. Stoic noticed it too, the few break's he's had to visit you all made him the happiest."

His face was completely shocked when he was given the school, unsure about it at first as if this were some sort of joke then extremely happy that the younger Viking's would learn how to live with dragons from here on out. Then he was straight up shocked when we all tackled him, after his shock faded, confusion set it and I noticed that he looked cute when he was confused and trying to figure something out. After the confusion he was ecstatic and we spend the next few hours answering all his questions. Elsa's question from earlier that summer popped into my head.

'Do you like anyone?'

For the first time all summer, I had an answer. Yeah, I do.