Students brimmed through the massive stone passageway, making their way to the Great Hall. The noise of their enthusiastic conversations overpowered Jack's hearing even more than usual.

He and his friends headed through the crowd, brushing against robes and accidentally bumping shoulders with several other students.

When they finally managed to get out alive from the overwhelming sea of people all heading to the same destination, they took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Only a few Gryffindors were already occupying the table and they were all several years younger, so Jack and the others kept to themselves.

While Merida and Mavis began discussing the piece of artwork that had won her second place, Jack glanced around the Great Hall.

Something seemed different.

He observed the students sitting at their respective House tables. Many of them sat close together, whispering to each other like they were discussing a secret. He saw a Hufflepuff girl with red curls widen her eyes as a pale boy with black hair whispered something to her.

Jack turned his attention back to his friends. Apparently, they hadn't noticed anything. They were still occupied by their own conversation.

"Hey," he said, interrupting Mavis, as she told Merida and Flynn something about the artist that won first place in the competition. "Do you guys notice something different around here? Seems like everyone's talking about something," he said, throwing a quick glance over his shoulder at some Ravenclaws with sparkling eyes, deep in eager conversation.

Merida snorted. "Of course, they are. They just got back from the summer. Everyone's talking."

"No, that's not what I mean… Look around. Everyone seems to be discussing something… It's like that time Lucas Harrison peed his pants, the first time he saw a Boggart," Jack said. That secret had spread like Fiendfyre.

His friends' eyes darted around the Hall.

"Yeah, something's definitely up," Flynn said.

At that moment, a familiar boy with a huge grin on his face sat down next to them.

"Jim!" Flynn greeted their friend. "Just the guy we need"!

Jim Hawkins was the kind of guy, who knew almost everything that went on at Hogwarts. If anyone knew what was going on right now, it was him.

But before they could even ask him, Jim spoke, his eyes sparkling with excitement: "Have you guys heard about Haddock?"

"No?" Flynn said.

"What's with Haddock?" Merida said.

Jack frowned and found himself hoping the news wasn't too terrible.

He didn't have much to do with Hiccup Haddock but he'd always felt sympathetic towards the guy. They'd shared several classes over the years, since Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were often put together. Haddock was easily one of the most intelligent people in their year, while also being sarcastic and quick-witted. Jack and his friends had often laughed, when they'd overheard one of the guy's clever comments. He also had a prosthetic leg, which no one really knew the story behind. He had come back from the summer holidays two years ago with a missing limb and it spurred all kinds of strange theories. And in the last couple of years, he'd gone through one hell of a growth spurt.

But why would Jim be so excited about a rumor about Haddock? He feared this was going to be bad. Something big had clearly happened to cause this kind of commotion from everyone.

"Well… It turns out, he has a dragon!" Jim said, lips splitting into a grin.

"Wait… What?" Flynn said, looking just as baffled as Jack felt right now.

What the hell was Jim talking about? No one had a dragon. They were huge fire-breathing reptiles that could end you in seconds.

"That's impossible," Merida said and shook her head. "No one has a dragon. It's not a pet."

Jim nodded eagerly. "It's true! Someone overheard Professor Lunar telling one of the new professors about it. Apparently, Haddock was the first person to ever tame a dragon, and he defended his village on the back of his dragon against a massive dragon queen!"

"Pffff, that's not true," Merida said and rolled her eyes.

Jack had the urge to see if Haddock was actually here. His eyes scanned the students sitting by the Ravenclaw table. Haddock was nowhere to be seen. But he did see the two friends that were usually glued to Haddock's side. Ingerman and Corona both glanced at their surroundings with anxious eyes.

Jack pursed his lips. Why were they so on edge? Did they know, what was being said about their friend? Were they nervous because it wasn't true or… because it was?

"Well, how do you know?" Jim asked Merida, snapping Jack out of his thoughts.

"Because it's Haddock!" Merida said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jack tapped the table with his fingers. He wasn't sure he bought that argument. Yes, it seemed pretty impossible for a student, a brainy sarcastic Ravenclaw at that, to be a dragon tamer, but… impossible things had happened before, right? Before Jack was 11, he didn't even know magic existed, and now here he was at a magical school learning to wield that ancient power.

"I don't know, Mer... if Professor Lunar was telling someone about it, there must be some truth in it, even if we all think it's impossible," Mavis said, being the voice of reason.

Jack didn't know what to add to the conversation. His mind was still frozen with surprise.

He didn't know Haddock well, but he still thought he had had some idea of who the guy was. If this turned out to be true, then Haddock had taken everyone completely by surprise. Jack had trouble picturing him with a large dragon with sharp teeth and the ability to reduce him to ash.

But on the other hand, if it wasn't true… why was this rumor suddenly spreading? Jack didn't pay much attention to rumors, as they were often wrong but what fake rumors usually had in common was that they revolved around something embarrassing or otherwise negative. This rumor about Haddock was amazing. So why would anyone spread it, unless it had some truth in it?

"Jackie!" Flynn said and waved a hand in front of his eyes, bringing him back to reality.

"What? Sorry…" he mumbled and rubbed his neck.

"You were gone for a moment there," Mavis said with amusement in her eyes.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," he said and shrugged, not willing to share that he was thinking about Haddock of all people.

At that moment the overpowering buzzing chatter in the Great Hall suddenly died down. The forceful blanket of noise melted into whispering and giggles.

Jack watched none other than Hiccup Haddock walk into the Great Hall in the middle of a scattered trail of students, all heading towards their respective House tables. He looked slightly different than Jack remembered. He had grown even more over the summer, so he was easily taller than Jack now. His hair was longer and fuller too. The change really suited him, Jack thought.

Jack observed him head towards the Ravenclaw table, along with practically everyone else in the hall. He was not surprised to see several girls giving Haddock appreciative glances. His lips formed an amused smile. There's a change.

Haddock was usually ignored by girls. Before, it was probably because he was short and skinny, but even after he had grown, it hadn't really changed. Maybe it was because he was still an introverted guy, not bothering to be social outside of his two close friends. But now, it seemed Haddock's status with the girls at Hogwarts had changed.

Haddock's body language was tense. His posture was rigid and he fidgeted with the hem of one of the sleeves on his school robe.

He didn't know, Jack realized. He had no idea, what people were saying about him, but he was put on edge by everyone watching him. Haddock had always seemed private, so this must be horrible for him. Everyone keeping their eyes glued on him and talking about something that he didn't know about.

When Haddock joined his friends, Ingerman whispered something to him and watched him almost apologetically. Haddock's eyes widened before he got himself under control again and Jack tried his best to analyze what was going on. But he couldn't tell if he was shocked about a lie someone was spreading about him or shocked that his secret had been revealed.

Everyone else in the hall were still whispering, giggling and shooting curious looks at Haddock. But Haddock had decided to stay frozen and just stare at his hands for now. Definitely a defense mechanism. Probably one of many Haddock had in his arsenal.

Corona nudged him gently, her concerned eyes watching him. She was trying to get him to talk to her but he remained quiet. Ingerman said something to him but Haddock just shook his head.

A few of the other Ravenclaws in Haddock's year scooted closer to the trio. A guy with curly brown hair said something to Haddock but Haddock gave him an annoyed glare and stayed quiet. Ingerman muttered something to the guy, and he and the others went back to where they sat before, offended that they didn't get the answers they wanted.

Jack smiled at the pouting boy with the curly hair. Haddock wasn't one to just share his privacy with anybody. Jack already knew this. The guy usually only hung out with his two friends. It was safe to assume that he wasn't someone who would tell strangers or even acquaintances about personal things.

The arrival of the headmaster, Professor Lunar, quieted down all whispers and giggles. The headmaster strolled towards the podium with his usual air of calm but powerful authority surrounding him. He was a tall, pale man with short white hair and green eyes, and even though he was authoritative, he was never unfair or unnecessarily strict. He managed to keep a perfect balance of discipline, kindness and respect, which was a rare thing in Jack's opinion.

The teachers were already sitting in their places, when Professor Lunar turned to the students, a restrained but genuine smile on his face.

"Welcome!" he said so even the students sitting in the back would have no trouble hearing him. "To a new school year! Only a few short messages, then you can begin enjoying the feast. Please welcome our new teacher, Professor Creek, who will be teaching Potions this year," Professor Lunar said, while the students started to clap to welcome their new professor.

Merida groaned, clearly already dreading taking Potions. When the clapping died down, their headmaster continued.

"Also, this year Care of Magical Creatures will be taught by Professor Lucero, as Professor Brown is on temporary leave."

Jack frowned and wondered why Professor Brown would need to go on leave. It didn't seem like him. He was a very dedicated teacher. Some would probably say a workaholic. He practically lived for his job and his research on magical creatures, so what could be so important that he had to take a break from his beloved position as Care of Magical Creatures teacher?

"As always… the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits to all students, unless they are taken there by a teacher as part of detention or a class," the headmaster said in a strict tone, looking at the new first years standing around the podium, waiting to be sorted into Houses.

Jack felt a tap against his foot and looked at Flynn, while Professor Lunar continued with basic information, that Jack didn't need to hear again. He had heard it every year for six years now.

Flynn passed him a note and Jack unfolded it, looking at the creased paper.

That brunette behind you is really hot. I don't think I've seen her before. Think I should go for… The Smolder?

Jack almost sputtered with laughter but made a muffled sound into his sleeve. Flynn and his Smolder, honestly. Jack had watched him use his trademark move many times, and while it worked most of the time, it was very amusing when it didn't. Flynn would stare at the girl with his mouth open, as if she should have been hit by a very powerful spell but somehow was immune to magic.

He shook his head while smiling and wrote a reply.

Sure, go for it!

Flynn grinned at him and nodded to confirm that he was indeed going to go for it.

Meanwhile, headmaster Lunar finished his speech and allowed the sorting ceremony to begin. Jack and his friends were never that interested in this part, since they wouldn't have anything to do with the first years anyway. But they still clapped in support every time a kid got sorted into their House, because there was no need to be rude. After all, they clearly remembered how nervous they had been themselves on their first day in the magical castle.

Jack caught himself shooting looks at Haddock but noticed that he wasn't the only one. Far from it. Well, that was to expected with that rumor going around. Haddock still looked tense and remained quiet, clapping without much enthusiasm every time someone was sorted.

"Hufflepuff!" The Sorting Hat said, as the last new student was sorted. The clapping quickly died down.

Headmaster Lunar stood once again and said: "Let the feast begin!"

Food of all kinds magically appeared on all the tables. Meats, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, pies, all in huge bowls or on golden plates.

As soon as the food had appeared, Merida began stuffing her face with pie. Mavis looked intently at the food as if trying to make a very difficult decision and Flynn was still checking out the girl behind him.

Jack's attention was once again pulled towards Haddock, who got up from his seat and quickly walked towards the doors of the Great Hall. His body language was guarded, fists clenched by his sides, eyes fixed on the floor.

That wasn't surprising. Haddock definitely didn't want anyone to approach him right now.

Jack's curiosity gave him the urge to go after him and get some answers but he resisted. He barely knew the guy and he didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

Merida hadn't even noticed Haddock's exit. She was busy attacking another piece of pie, while still having crumbs on her cheek from her last baked victim.

Mavis however, was more attentive, as usual, and exchanged a pensive look with him. Flynn had clearly also noticed, as he looked towards the doors.

As soon as Haddock had left the Great Hall, the talking intensified among the students, drowning the room in overwhelming noise. About 10 minutes later, Ingerman and Corona left their seats after grabbing a quick bite to eat. Almost every student in the hall watched them as they left, the two of them looking concerned and whispering to each other.

Merida finally looked up from her vicious battle with the pie and finished chewing the remains of her defeated foe. "I know how we can get some answers," she said.

"How?" Jack asked.

"Astrid," Merida said and stuck her fork into another piece of pie on a tray. "She and Haddock come from the same place, so she must know something about this."

"Yeah, that's true. Good idea, Red," Flynn said with a nod.

Merida gave him a deadly glare. "I know that, Rider. I'm a genius."

Jack shook his head and grinned. "Yes, you're definitely the brains of this operation, Crumbs," he said, looking at the crumbs that stilled loomed on Merida's face from her assault on the baked goods.

Mavis and Flynn snickered. Merida narrowed her eyes in that threatening and playful manner Jack had come to know so well over the years.

"Just because you're envious of all of this," Merida said while gesturing to herself, "doesn't mean you have to get cranky, Snow Queen," she finished, using the nickname that had caused Flynn to spit out his pumpkin juice on Mavis and nearly die of laughter, the first time she used it.

"It's difficult not to be cranky, when a pie crumb spitting Scot is ruining my perfect reputation just by association," he said, looking away from Merida to seem offended.

Merida just snorted and then chuckled. "Well, are we going to ask Astrid then?"

"Maybe we shouldn't," Mavis said, her eyebrows lowered in a serious expression.

"What? Why not?" Merida asked, nose wrinkled in disapproval.

Jack chose to remain silent, simply to hear Mavis out on this. She always had well-founded reasons for her opinions.

"I just mean that… maybe we shouldn't pry. It's none of our business after all," she explained, "I'm sure Haddock and Astrid will have plenty of people trying to meddle."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Jack said. He'd always liked Haddock in a friendly-but-not-actual-friends sort of way, and he didn't want to cause the guy any distress.

Flynn nodded and Merida let out a sigh.

Merida's idea to find Astrid had been good though. Everyone knew that Astrid and Haddock knew each other, because it seemed strange to most people that a popular, beautiful Gryffindor Quidditch captain would be friends with a sarcastic, brainy, introverted Ravenclaw. Jack and his friends heard from Astrid herself later on, that she and Haddock grew up together on the same island.

Trying to think of something else besides the sarcastic guy with the prosthetic leg, Jack asked his friends to see their schedules, trying to find out which classes they had together. He was happy to discover that he didn't have any classes alone. There were even two classes that all of them had: Potions and Charms. As much as it pained and aggravated Merida, Potions was on the schedule for tomorrow. However, Jack had promised to help her through, and he intended to keep that promise.

The Potions classroom had always been dark and depressing. It was in the Hogwarts' dungeons, so that was to be expected, but it was still too gloomy for Jack's taste.

Despite the large windows, barely any sun made it inside the room, and it didn't help that the walls were built in dark stone and the classroom was filled with huge, dark shelves brimming with mysterious ingredients in large containers.

The room always smelled old and dusty, like piles of ancient parchment combined with residue from the previous years of brewing. Large square tables with cauldrons and other required materials were set up as workstations for the students, and Jack and his friends shared one of these tables, waiting for class to begin.

Merida was already groaning and complaining that this was going to be unbearable, but Jack tried to comfort her.

"Come on, Mer. I'll help you, okay? You'll live through it," he said, even though her frustrated outbursts could be hilarious.

Merida looked at him, unable to keep the dread out of her eyes. "But Jack… it's Potions! And this year, it's going to be even harder," she said, planting her arms on the table and resting her head on them. "I'm never going to survive." She said and sighed. "I might as well drown myself in Bloodroot potion."

"Well, just don't make a mess, I don't feel like cleaning up," he said and poked her on the top of her wild hair.

Merida's fist flew out and punched his arm.

He winced from the sudden burst of soreness.

"That's cold, Frosty! You don't even care, that I'm going to die of boredom and frustration in this class," she whined.

Flynn and Mavis chuckled.

"It's not going to be that bad, Mer. After all, we're all here," Mavis said and patted Merida's back, earning her a small smile from her.

"Yeah, Firefly, we'll get you through it," Flynn said with a confident smile.

Jack sputtered at the new nickname, certain that Merida would absolutely hate it.

"Firefly?" she asked incredulously. She rolled her eyes, as if Flynn was mentally unstable. Well… he is, but not in a bad way.

While they kept themselves occupied with friendly banter, more people began taking their places by the workstations and the room was busy with chatter and students getting their books and other supplies out.

Jack suddenly spotted Fishlegs Ingerman walking through the door, quickly followed by Haddock, both guys carrying books under their arms.

He briefly wondered if Haddock and Ingerman were any good at this class but quickly dismissed it. They were Ravenclaws, so naturally there would be few things they weren't good or at least acceptable at academically speaking.

The only available seats were at the workstation next to the one Jack and his friends sat by, so the two guys quickly made their way over to it and put down their things, while several students watched Haddock's every move.

Jack had a pang of sympathy in his chest. Haddock was obviously uncomfortable with all the attention, although he tried to hide it by speaking quietly with Ingerman. The two Ravenclaws shared the workstation with two Gryffindors a year above Jack and his friends, Thomas Levin and Peter McGowan, both of whom were well known for being complete twats and not too fond of people, who were different.

Jack had never liked them, and he and his friends usually ignored them as much as possible, as did many of the others in their House. He briefly found himself hoping that the combination of those two Ravenclaws and those two Gryffindors wouldn't be too volatile.

While Flynn and Mavis were still busy convincing Merida that she was actually going to survive this class, Professor Creek entered the room, large heavy textbooks under one arm, causing everyone to stop talking. He was a rather short man in his fifties, clean shaven with short brown hair with some grey streaks in it and a round face with soft features that automatically made him look friendly.

"Hello and welcome to Potions. I'm Professor Creek and I'll be teaching the class this year," he said in a voice that was authoritative yet inviting. "Now, I'm not much for chit chat, so let's begin straight away. We'll start this year by brewing Shrinking Potions. Open your books to page 75 and begin. If anyone needs help, don't be afraid to ask," he finished, giving the students a small smile. He planted the heavy textbooks on the massive desk in front of him.

Everyone flipped open their books to the required page and read the instructions. Jack didn't think it looked too complicated, but he heard Merida groan next to him. He smiled to himself. He could practically feel the hopelessness radiate off her. But he refused to let her give up. The first class had barely even started yet.

"Come on, Mer. I'll get the ingredients, if you prepare the utensils," he said, trying to encourage her. He received a grateful smile and a nod in return.

The potion required shrivelfigs, daisy roots, caterpillars, wormwood, leeches, rat spleen and cowbane, so Jack began searching for the containers with the correct labels on the old, dusty shelves. It wasn't the most appetizing ingredients, but for some strange reason, potions rarely contained things that weren't disgusting.

He quickly located all the right ingredients in the assigned jars and grabbed a double portion of each, so there would be enough for Merida as well. He made sure to take a few purple bulbs as well – something that could easily be mistaken for shrivelfigs if someone wasn't paying close attention. Jack was forming an evil plan in his head about how to use them to mess with Flynn.

He found the jar with the last ingredient, cowbane, and propped the lid open and took a double portion of it. He spun around to head back to the table but bumped straight into someone. Jack took a few steps back and saw a pair of familiar green eyes looking back at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was my fault," Jack said and gave Haddock a friendly smile. He could be quite unaware of his surroundings sometimes.

The surprise faded from Haddock's eyes. "That's okay, don't worry about it," he said with that nasal voice of his and turned around to get the rest of the ingredients, he had been getting from the shelf.

Jack looked at Haddock's back for a moment. He noticed he had two small braids on one side of his brown hair. What's the point of that? He's never had that before.

He tore his eyes off Haddock and headed back to his workstation. Merida was waiting for him, having prepared all the utensils as planned. Jack split the ingredients into two neatly divided portions.

"Now, let's see what we can do about this," he said confidently and rubbed his hands together.

Merida chuckled and looked more optimistic than earlier. Well, that's an improvement. He needed to keep his friend's spirits up to get her through another year of Potions.

The potion hadn't been difficult, although juicing leeches was always disgusting. He worked steadily throughout the class, making sure Merida was on the same step of the process as he was, so he could help her when she needed it. Jack had always liked Potions. There was something relaxing about preparing the ingredients, adding them and seeing the reactions.

When Flynn went to the stone basin in the corner of the room to wash some caterpillar juice off his hands, Jack switched the shrivelfigs on his side of the workstation with the purple bulbs.

Merida saw what he was doing and smiled at him with a devious gleam in her eyes to let him know she approved of his wicked plan. He could always count on Merida to take part in his mischievous ways, especially when they were directed at Flynn.

As Flynn returned to the workstation, he began slicing up the purple bulbs, not noticing that they weren't shrivelfigs. In his defense the two ingredients did look almost identical.

Merida snickered at Flynn, who was blissfully unaware that he was about to be pranked. When Flynn added the purble bulbs to the batch, the potion made a loud pop and squirted out of the cauldron in all directions.

Mavis jumped and looked at Flynn in shock.

Merida burst out laughing at Flynn's baffled expression and Jack couldn't contain his own laughter either.

Other students around them snickered at the unexpected reaction from the potion. Professor Creek looked towards the workstation in disapproval but remained silent. Well, at least that was something. After all, Jack wasn't trying to get Flynn in trouble. He just wanted to mess with him.

Flynn snapped out of his current state of utter shock and began cleaning up the mess on his workstation.

Jack walked around the table. "Come on, mate. I'll get the ingredients for a new batch, and Mavis or Mer can help you clean everything, so there's still time to get it right," he said, trying to reassure him.

Mavis hummed in agreement. Flynn nodded and a smile settled on his lips.

After Jack had made another trip around the old shelves, collecting the ingredients for the potion, he checked his own batch. To his relief, it looked exactly like it was supposed to at this step of the process. He continued brewing his potion, helping both Merida and now Flynn along the way to make sure that they would all get it done in time. Luckily it didn't take too long for Flynn to catch up, when he had help from him and Mavis.

Jack began stirring his potion, watching it change color from a muddy brown to a light green, when he heard McGowan's annoyed voice behind him.

"Come on Haddock, fix our potions."

At the other workstation, Haddock and Ingerman were both already finished with their glowing green potions. McGowan and Levin seemed to have completely messed up their batch, since it looked like like someone had taken a poo and was now attempting to cook it. Those two were both hopeless at Potions, but they deserved what they got, since they were also impatient idiots. Jack was hoping the encounter unfolding before his eyes wouldn't escalate.

"No," Haddock said, crossing his arms and looking McGowan straight in the eye.

Ingerman's eyes darted around the room and his feet shuffled anxiously.

Haddock definitely didn't seem nervous though. Everything about him screamed defiance: his feet didn't move an inch, as if they had taken roots in the stone floor, his back was straight, his fists were clenched by his sides, and his green eyes were fixed on the two Gryffindors in front of him. He and Ingerman couldn't look more different but that's the way it had always been. Haddock was the calm one and Ingerman was the nervous one. Haddockhad always stood up to bully types, disarming their threats with clever comments, but Jack had to admit that he'd never seen him as confident as he looked right now.

"Fine, Ingerman can fix it then," Levin said with a scowl.

"No," Haddock said, holding out an arm in front of Ingerman, as to keep him in place. It didn't look like Ingerman was planning to move though. The guy seemed to be transfixed by the current encounter.

Jack felt for the guy. Ingerman had always seemed so nice and gentle. There was no reason for him to be dragged into something this tense by McGowan and Levin. Jack briefly thought about interfering, but he decided to wait. If it escalated he would definitely do something and bring Flynn along for support though.

"He won't help you either," Haddock said. His tone left no room for discussion. He was really holding his own. Good for him. Not everyone would have the guts to oppose two big, threatening guys like McGowan and Levin.

"What? Why?" McGowan demanded to know, moving closer to Haddock. Jack watched the tension build and for a moment, he feared it could become ugly, especially since Professor Creek had gone to the supply room.

He shared a look with Flynn. They were on the same page. If things got out of hand, they would interfere. He glanced at Mavis and Merida. Their eyes were fixed on Haddock and McGowan.

"Well…" Haddock began, holding a single finger to his chin, as if he was in deep contemplation, "Let me see. This is a school… In a school you get your marks based on what you know. So me doing your work would kind of defeat the whole purpose of this fine institution," he finished, talking slowly and carefully as if he was speaking to a child.

Jack smirked.

McGowan clenched his jaw. Levin moved to McGowan's side with a glare that signaled his patience was about to run out. It seemed more and more likely that this would end badly.

"Shut up, Haddock," McGowan said, his face twisting in disgust. "Just because people are telling lies about you and dragons doesn't mean you get to mock us."

Jack bit his lip. McGowan was such a git.

Not for the first time over the years, Jack found himself despising that those two twats were both in Gryffindor. But on the other hand… There were bound to be assholes in every single House.

"Well, no. I get to mock you, no matter what people are saying about me," Haddock said and shrugged.

"Watch it," Levin snapped. "Or you're going to have a serious problem."

Jack kept quiet for now and picked at his nails. He didn't want to push them, if things still actually had a chance of being resolved peacefully.

"Really? I thought you were enjoying my friendly banter. I actually feel a little hurt now," Haddock said and held a hand over his heart.

Ingerman's gaze flickered back and forth from Haddock to McGowan and Levin, observing every word and facial expression. He looked ready to run away.

"You're using sarcasm," Levin said and narrowed his eyes.

Haddock's face transformed into a fascinated expression. "Wow… You're like a psychic," he said, his voice full of mock wonder.

Jack sputtered, unable to keep it in. He tried to contain his laughter but failed miserably and Merida, Flynn and Mavis joined in.

McGowan and Levin glared at him but he didn't care. Haddock put these two stupid gits in their place using nothing but words.

Just as Levin was about to make an angry outburst directed at Jack, Professor Creek entered the room again, oblivious to what had been going on. Levin and McGowan slumped back in their seats with blazing eyes, mentally stabbing daggers straight into Haddock's head. Haddock on the other hand, ignored them.

Professor Creek made his rounds to the different workstations giving feedback on the students' results. Jack didn't pay much attention, fiddling with a pencil and drawing a few doodles, until Professor Creek was at the workstation next to them, complimenting Haddock and Ingerman while sounding very disappointed about McGowan's and Levin's brown, bubbly blob potions.

Jack snickered. It served them right, trying to threaten someone to do their potions for them.

When Professor Creek got to their workstation, he was happy with everyone's results, even Merida's, which caused her to smile brightly. Jack hoped she might be a bit more optimistic about Potions in the future.

He stole some glances at Haddock, who was talking about something with Ingerman, both seemingly very interested in the conversation. Ingerman let out a high-pitched squeal at something Haddock had said. Haddock grinned and tried to calm his friend. What were they talking about? Did it have anything to do with those dragon rumors?

When Potions was over, Jack and Merida headed to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, while Mavis had Muggle Studies and Flynn had been excused from his next class by Professor Creek, who needed a student to assist him with something in the storage room.

When he and Merida arrived at the classroom, he spotted a familiar head of brown hair. They sat down two seats behind Haddock. The noise made Haddock throw a quick glance and then a nod their way, before looking back down at whatever he was writing. Now that Jack came to think of it, Haddock was always either writing or drawing in the classes, when neither Ingerman nor Corona was around. He caught himself wondering what the guy was writing or drawing and whether it was about dragons, but he dismissed the thoughts. He shouldn't be so curious, even though it was difficult not to be, when it involved dragons and a brainy, sarcastic guy that no one ever expected to do something heroic.

He glanced up at the dragon skeleton hanging from the classroom ceiling. Would Haddock be sad that a dragon had died? Would he be angry that it had probably been killed by someone? Or would he be indifferent because it happened many years ago?

He and Merida both got their books from their bags and started talking about the brunette at the Great Hall that Flynn was obviously interested in.

"Yeah, she better watch out, because he's planning on using his secret weapon," Jack said and grinned.

Merida rolled her eyes. "Seriously? The Smolder? I'm starting to question whether he's right in the head."

"Starting to? I've been questioning that since I met him."

They shared a chuckle. They both loved Flynn, but he was too hilarious with the whole Smolder thing.

They continued laughing and joking around about Flynn and his magical dating move, when more students started to take their seats in the classroom. Jim slumped down in the seat next to him.

"Hey," Jack said and Merida waved.

"Hi guys," Jim said with a warm smile on his lips.

"So, how's it going with Haley?" Jack asked, keen to know how his friend was doing.

"Great," Jim said, a bright grin spreading across his face, "She's actually coming home with me for Christmas to meet my parents."

"Wow, that's great!" Jack said and gave Jim an affectionate pat on the back.

"Yeah, good for you Jim," Merida chimed in.

The students all went quiet when their Professor, Aster Bunnymund arrived. Jack wasn't sure if he liked him or not. He was knowledgeable and talented, but he was also strict, and while Jack tried to get good grades in the classes that mattered to him, sometimes his mischievous side took over, causing him to pull pranks or make jokes, which Professor Bunnymund did not approve of in the slightest. The professor was more about hard work and deadlines, while Jack was more about fun times, but nonetheless he tried his best to contain himself, especially in this particular class.

Professor Bunnymund stood in front of his desk. He was a tall, muscular man in his 30's with dark blue hair and an Australian accent. To most people, he probably wouldn't seem like the professor type but he was a powerful wizard and he did know how to teach.

"Alright, class. Welcome to another year of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Today we're going to start practicing non-verbal spells. Can anyone tell me, what the advantage is to this kind of spell?" he asked the class, and Jack was not surprised to see Haddock raise his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Haddock?" Professor Bunnymund said, turning his gaze towards Haddock.

"In a duel, non-verbal spells mean your opponent doesn't have any chance of knowing what sort of magic you're about to cast. That can give you an advantage."

Professor Bunnymund's lips twitched in one of those hints of a smile he would do, when he was satisfied with someone's performance. "Very good, Mr. Haddock. Today we're going to be focusing on stunning and disarming spells, so if you'll each pair up with someone, we can get started."

Jack and Merida quickly paired up, while Jim was left with Haddock, since everyone else paired up with the person sitting next to them. Jim didn't seem to mind though. He was probably still beaming on the inside from the dragon rumors.

Almost everyone struggled with the non-verbal spells. Merida was failing completely, not getting any reaction at all from her wand, when she tried to cast a Stupefy spell on him.

"Ugggh!" she said. "This is impossible!"

"It's not impossible, Ms. Dunbroch, merely difficult." they heard Professor Bunnymund say from behind them, where he was helping another student.

"I stick to impossible," Merida muttered and Jack laughed.

He didn't do much better than her. Twice he managed to do a Stupefy spell non-verbally, but it was so weak that Merida barely moved at all by its impact. He occasionally glanced over at Jim and Haddock, who weren't doing any better than them.

At the end of the class, none of the students had managed a successful non-verbal stunning or disarming spell. Jack could feel the disappointment in the room, as several students were complaining to each other.

Professor Bunnymund took his place by his desk, and his voice quickly made all talk die down. "It's too bad that none of you managed to do a perfect non-verbal spell today, but don't be too discouraged. It's difficult so it might take you a few classes to learn it properly. Practice until next time. Class dismissed."

Jack watched Haddock quickly gather his things and hurry out of the classroom, which seemed strange. Why was he in such a hurry? And why was Jack suddenly so curious about Haddock all the time, wondering what he was doing and thinking and talking to people about? Sure, he liked the guy, but still… It was probably the whole dragon thing. He really should pull himself together. After all, Mavis was right. It was none of their business.