Author's note:
Hello everyone :) This is my first piece of fiction ever, so I'm very excited to hear what you think of it. I consider myself quite well versed in the English language, but since it's not my first language, please let me know if you spot a grammatical error or a misspelled word and I'll make sure to correct it.
Jack, Hiccup and their friends are 17/18 years old and beginning their 6th year at Hogwarts.
(Edited 2022): I don't agree with J.K Rowling's horrible anti-trans views. Trans people deserve all the love and support in the world.
The platform was buzzing with the excitement of students eagerly awaiting the train to arrive. It was a new school year at Hogwarts, and students were reuniting with their friends across the platform, embracing each other, greeting each other warmly and talking excitedly about their summers. The prospect of learning new magic skills and once again being in the old familiar castle that began to feel more and more like a home seemed to increase the buzzing excitement that was drowning the platform in noise.
Jack was by himself, leaning nonchalantly on a large stone pillar waiting to spot any of his friends. His white owl let out a loud hoot in its cage, causing him to jump slightly at the unexpected sound slicing through the sea of noise. He snickered to himself, being almost scared to death by his own owl.
He tugged at the sleeves of his school robe, not ever really feeling too comfortable in it, even though he'd had to wear it to school for five years. He instantly missed wearing his favorite blue hoodie that looked like it had frost on it. It was soft, familiar and always seemed to surround him with a certain feeling of safety, even though it was just a piece of clothing. It had been a gift from Emma one Christmas a few years ago. She said it reminded her of him and all the happy times they had shared playing in the snow. He had been so touched by her words and the soft look in her brown eyes that he began wearing it all the time, and soon he was reminded by his sister in a warm, comforting way, every time he put the familiar blue item of clothing on.
He was pulled out of his thoughts, as he spotted a very recognizable head of wild, curly red hair. Not that it was difficult. Anyone could spot Merida's untamed lion mane from miles away. He smiled to himself and started moving through the crowd.
"I heard he was the first to-"
"- try out for the Quidditch team this year?"
"- hope it's going to be professor-"
Jack's ears were filled with parts of conversations between students brimming with the joy of seeing their school friends again after a long summer of separation, as he pushed through the sea of people trying to reach Merida. He could relate. Even though he and his friends were good at keeping in touch over the holidays, it just wasn't the same as spending every day with them at school. Living at Hogwarts, spending time together every day, friends quickly became much more like family.
Merida was standing by a group of first years eagerly trying to make their first friends at Hogwarts. She looked bored, playing with one of her curls. Jack smiled to himself, while doing his best to slowly walk towards her from behind. He was careful not to get in her line of sight, and when he was close enough to touch that wild curly mane, he threw himself at her.
"MERIDA!" he yelled dramatically, throwing his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. He squashed her face against his chest. "I've missed you terribly, darling!" he continued in a snobby thick accent. Merida managed some muffled sounds against the fabric of his robes.
"No, don't speak! There are no words! Every minute away from you is tragedy," he said in his best attempt at sounding like a character from a play.
Merida however, had had enough. She poked him hard in the side and he yelped and jumped backwards.
Merida's face was flushed from the warmth of being held against his chest but her eyes were bright.
"Frosty, you idiot!" she said, her hint of a Scottish accent a welcome sound in Jack's ears. Her accent had lessened considerably over the years. When he had first met her at 11 years old, he had barely been able to understand her. That didn't stop them from being friends though.
He flashed her a grin. "Don't pretend you didn't like it, milady. I'm not through courting you," he said and did a quick bow.
Merida shook her head and grinned. "Well, I am not interested in marriage, Mr. Overland. You'll never make an honest woman out of me."
Jack clutched his chest in a mock hurt way. "You hurt me, milady. You are an evil breaker of hearts, a succubus drawing men in just to crush them!" he said, pointing directly at her face.
Merida shook her head, her blue eyes filled with laughter. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. This time no one was forced into anyone else's chest.
"So… Ready for another year"? Jack said, when they pulled apart. But he already knew the answer.
Merida sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Snowflake. You know me. Quidditch is going to be great as usual, but I'm not sure I'll live through another year of potions."
Jack grinned. Potions was Merida's least favourite class to put it mildly.
"Sure you will, Mer. I'll help you," he said. He had a knack for Potions, and he didn't mind helping out a friend, as he had done plenty of times before.
Merida smiled sincerely and opened her mouth to say something, when they were interrupted by a familiar face.
"There you are! Finally!" Flynn said, faking exasperation that quickly melted into a warm smile.
"Flynn!" he said. They grabbed him and pulled him into a quick group hug.
"How are you, mate?" Jack asked, happy to see another one of his best friends.
Flynn shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. It didn't work out with that girl I was sort of seeing though."
"Oh right… Heather?" Merida asked, pointing a finger as she said the girl's name.
Flynn nodded in response.
Jack remembered Flynn mentioning the girl in some of his letters over the summer, but as always when it came to Flynn, it was just a fling. Since he was one of the most popular guys in school, he usually always had some kind of fling going on. He and Merida were both used to it by now.
"Sorry, Flynn," he said.
Flynn did a waving motion with one of his hands, dismissing the words. "Nah, don't be. Like I said, it's okay. There are plenty of fish in the sea, right?" Flynn said, a bright smile spreading across his face.
Jack and Merida both chuckled. Flynn was never one to be depressed over a girl. He was a good-looking guy, tall and slightly toned with thick and soft dark hair and deep brown eyes. He made a lot of the girls at school (and anywhere else) go soft in their knees, much to Jack's amusement.
"Anyway," Merida said but the rest of her words drowned in the sound of the train approaching the platform and the excited noises among the other students.
When the train slowly stopped, a loud screeching noise hurt Jack's ears.
"Anyway," Merida tried again. "Have you guys seen Mavis? It's not going to be long before we have to leave."
Flynn and Jack both shook their heads but looked around them to see if they could catch a glimpse of her.
"Well, I'm sure she's going to be here any minute, so maybe we should just find a compartment, before they're all full of first years," Flynn said, making a face.
Jack smiled and Merida quickly moved towards the train, as if that prospect was truly repulsive to her.
The noise continued inside the train, students walking and running, trying to find their friends or somewhere to sit, all the while chatting loudly about anything and everything.
Jack followed the bunch of wild curls that was Merida through the narrow passageways of the train, before Merida let out a small cry of success and pushed open a door to an empty compartment. The three of them slumped down comfortably on the soft seats.
"That's better," Flynn sighed as he placed his feet on the empty seat next to him.
Merida just rolled her eyes, while Jack watched them in amused anticipation, sensing some banter coming up.
"You're such a lazy bastard," Merida said but they all knew she meant no harm. Flynn was a lazy bastard but that was just a recognized fact and not a real insult.
"Oh, shut it, Curly, I'm comfortable," Flynn said, his lips twitching.
Merida's eyes narrowed.
"Uh oh," Jack said as a smile settled on his lips. Merida and Flynn had had a thing going for years, where Merida always pretended to loathe the nicknames he came up with.
"Don't. Call. Me. Curly!" she yelled, throwing a pack of chocolate frogs at Flynn. They hit him straight in the face.
"Ouch!" Flynn said and rubbed his nose, where the packet had hit him.
Merida was on the Quidditch team and she was a lot stronger than she looked. She also had a mean punch, which Jack knew from one time where a prank went terribly wrong and she thought he was some kind of axe murderer. He'd had a very sore, black eye for a week.
"Well, well, Red, if you were trying to get into my trousers, you only had to say so. No need to bribe me with chocolate frogs," Flynn said in a seductive voice that made Jack sputter with laughter.
Flynn's sexual comments were a regular part of the unique banter between Merida and him because the thought of either one having a crush on the other was truly ridiculous.
Merida's eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'll crush you, Rider. You've just made a very powerful enemy," she said.
Flynn chuckled and was about to retort, when the compartment door opened, revealing the very person, they had been looking for on the platform. The three of them smiled warmly at their new arrival and quickly gave her some welcome hugs.
"Hi guys, I've missed you," Mavis smiled, pushing her black fringe away from her eyes. She sat down in the seat next to Flynn.
"So, how did it go with that competition you wrote about in your last letter?" Jack asked.
Mavis nodded and smiled. "It went well, actually. I got second place."
"That's great!", "Well done!", "Congratulations!", they drowned each other out with their proud replies.
Mavis was an artistic soul and this summer she had finally braved herself and entered a competition for teenage artists held by the local art museum. Jack had always been impressed by her skills and she had even painted him once a few years ago, while he was sitting under a tree relaxing. She had let him keep the painting and he had cherished it so much, he had hung it up in his room back home. It meant a lot to him that she would create something like that just for him.
Mavis gave them a shy smile. "Thanks guys. I guess it won't be the last time I do it."
"Of course it won't!" Flynns reply came instantly. "You have a real talent, Mav, you should keep using that."
Mavis smiled fondly at him.
Jack smiled as well. Flynn was a popular ladies man and a lazy bastard but he was also one of the best friends a person could ask for, something that most people at school didn't get to see because they didn't know him well enough.
While Merida, Flynn and Mavis quickly became engulfed in conversation about which electives they were going to have this year, Jack looked out of the window as the train slowly started to move. He sighed with a smile on his lips. He was back with his best friends, and soon he would be back at the school, that had become like a second home to him. This was going to be another great year filled with fun and games.