The first few days at Hogwarts had practically passed in a blur. Jack occupied his time with classes, pranks and his loving friends.
This morning's Transfiguration class had been particularly amusing, as they practiced changing their hair colors and styles with the Crinus Muto spell. Jack and Flynn competed to see, who could make the other one laugh first. Jack almost lost, when Flynn changed his hair to a big blond curly hairdo, similar to that of fine porcelain dolls, but he won in the end, when he restrained his laughter and surprised Flynn completely by changing his snow-white hair into a big pink and purple mohawk. Flynn got stomach pains from laughing so much.
The weather was mild today, only a slight autumn breeze rustling through the colorful treetops, and the sky was clear and blue without a single cloud obscuring its gentle rays. He was sitting in one of the courtyards on a blanket on the ground with his friends, studying. Or at least that's what they had intended. As usual, they ended up studying a little and then goofing off a lot.
This time they'd barely gotten any homework done at all, before they got sidetracked. Jack was currently listening to the conversation between Merida and Flynn, as they were having a drawing contest with Mavis as the judge, as she was obviously the most artsy person of them.
The challenge had been extended by Merida to Flynn after he had made fun of some of the little doodles she'd done on some parchment. Apparently she had drawn a crab, but Flynn insisted that it was some kind of goblin-shark. That had been too much for her pride, and she had challenged him to find out who was the better artist. The challenge had been to draw three different things requested by Mavis and Jack, and the person who did the best job would win the right to humiliate the loser brutally, which was never something to be sniffed at in their little group.
The natural competitiveness between Merida and Flynn made this challenge impossible for either of them to refuse. At first they had been asked to draw a baby, then a car and Jack had suggested a frog as the last option, which Mavis accepted, much to Merida's and Flynn's frustration, as none of them really knew how to draw a frog. Jack had already suspected this though, which was exactly the reason he had suggested it. This was going to be good.
"You're going down, Rider!" Merida said triumphantly, lying on her stomach on the blanket and tracing her quill over the smooth parchment.
Flynn huffed, sitting cross-legged with a book in his lap, parchment resting on it. "Yeah right, Simba. You've got nothing on me," he said confidently, but lost a bit of that confidence when Merida narrowed her eyes, while Jack and Mavis both sputtered with laughter. Man, he loved it, when Flynn came up with some new nickname that infuriated Merida to no end.
"What… did you just call me?" Merida asked him from her comfortable position, her voice ice cold. She had stopped working on her drawing to glare at him.
"Oh nothing," Flynn said dismissively, while trying his best to look completely innocent. Jack knew that wasn't going to work with Merida though, and he decided to rile her up a little more.
As soon as Merida focused her attention on her drawing again, Jack couldn't help himself and gave them his best Mufasa impression. "Simba, when we die our bodies become the grass and the antelope eat the grass, and so we are all connected in the great circ- whoaah!"
He didn't manage to finish his (in his opinion spot on) impression, as Merida suddenly got up from her resting position on her stomach with almost super-human speed and threw herself at him, making him tumble over and land on his back.
She started tickling him, her freakishly strong body pinning him to the ground. The tickling sensations invaded his body, as Merida's slim fingers jabbed at him and dug into his robes, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing uncontrollably, his breath becoming more and more strained. He wriggled, trying to slip out of the evil tickler's grasp.
"Don't call me Simba, Frosty! Say you surrender!" she said, while still holding him down, now by the wrists to give him a little time to catch his breath again. He was grateful for that. His stomach ached and his lungs craved oxygen. He greedily sucked in as much air as possible. When his breathing had steadied a little, he decided not to submit to that tyrant of a lion on top of him.
"I'll die before I surrender to you, Simba! Pride Rock is Scar's by right! Usurper!" he shouted with as much conviction as he could manage, his still uneven breathing making him to struggle to get it out as loudly as he wanted.
He could hear Flynn's and Mavis' laughter.
Merida jabbed her hands into his sides again and began wobbling her fingers, creating those shocks of delight and horror that trembled through his body. He trashed violently in protest, while he roared with laughter, unable to stop it in any way. His chest heaved and right now he hated that Merida was so unbelievably strong, because it would have been great to overpower her and win this fight.
"Surrender, Snowman!" Merida yelled at him, but he could barely breathe, much less speak. He was taking more and more desperate breaths to get some oxygen to his lungs.
Merida noticed this and gave him a moment to recover from all the tickling, leaning slightly back on him, so she sat on top of his stomach.
"Fine!" Jack said and breathed heavily, his voice hoarse. His stomach was trying to overcome that aching feeling that always followed the extreme ripples and spasms from a tickle attack. "I surrender," he said, while he held his hands up in mock surrender, still lying on his back in the grass with Merida on top of him.
He really didn't want to give in to her, but he definitely couldn't handle any more tickling, and he knew that Merida would never give up until he surrendered. She was so bloody stubborn that it was nearly impossible to win any kind of fight with her.
Merida grinned, her blue eyes lighting up. "Yes! Once again the Scot defeats the Snow Queen" she shouted with pride, letting go of Jack and returning to her comfortable position on the blanket. She was practically beaming.
"You know, that's not the most flattering nickname," Jack said, still a little out of breath, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. God, his stomach ached and his whole body felt weak and tired from the uncontrollable thrashing. Oh well. At least he also had that relaxed, pleasant tingling sensation in his head that also came after a tickle attack from all the endorphins being released into his brain.
"I know, that's why I use it so much," Merida said and smirked in a particularly malicious fashion. Typical bloody Scot. Underneath that Gryffindor appearance, she was definitely pure evil, no doubt about it.
Jack chuckled at his friend. "Well, let's see if you're still smiling when the drawing contest is over."
Mavis reached out to get the drawings. Flynn and Merida handed them over almost reluctantly and viewed each other with narrowed, challenging eyes.
Mavis flicked through the papers and her whole face twisted, struggling to keep from laughing. When she reached the last drawing, she lost the fight over her body, and she burst out laughing.
Merida and Flynn watched her with equal amounts of offense and amusement.
Jack couldn't help but smile fondly at Mavis, her light laughter floating through the air like dandelion seeds.
"What is it?" he said, tilting his head.
Mavis handed him one of the drawings, and when he trained his eyes on the slightly crinkled piece of parchment, his face lit up in amusement, and he couldn't even hope to contain the bubbling laughter that instantly escaped him. What was supposed to be a drawing of a baby looked like some weird creature with hateful bulbous eyes in vastly different sizes, legs that were way too long for any human, an arm that looked more like a tail and hands that were enormous compared to the rest of the body. What the hell was that?
He and Mavis continued laughing, the bubbling sounds and the facial expressions of each other only making it even more difficult to stop. Merida joined in when she took one look at Flynn's drawing and started rolling around on the ground.
"What? That's obviously a baby," Flynn huffed and rolled his eyes, like the three of them were blind to his artistic genius.
Jack shook his head while trying to get his laughter under control. "That… that's not… a baby. That's… orc spawn," he told Flynn with wide eyes, making Merida and Mavis topple over in amusement.
Merida held a hand on her stomach as she continued to heave with laughter and Mavis wiped away a single tear that had trailed down her cheek.
"Fine, whatever," Flynn said dismissively, while crossing his arms, even though the corners of his mouth turned upwards and his eyes were gleaming. Flynn always knew how to take a joke. He was never truly offended by anything his friends said. He still loved to pretend though.
When their laughter died down, and the three of them all managed to get their breathing under control, they decided to look at the rest of the drawings. This however only brought them back to a state of hysterical hilarity, as they saw Merida's frog drawing, which looked more like some alien with an antenna and Flynn's frog drawing that resembled some kind of mutant dog.
When they were all done mocking the drawings, Mavis began considering who the winner should be. After some careful thinking (the honor of two of their friends was at stake after all), Mavis declared Merida the winner of the contest, making her gloat long and hard, as she laughed, stuck her finger in Flynn's face and danced around him, singing a little song about how she was better than him.
When she decided she was done humiliating Flynn, Merida lay down on the blanket on her side, pulling out some candy from her bag.
Jack shook his head and smiled. Merida was almost always eating and he had no idea why she wasn't the size of North yet. She must have some kind of superhuman metabolism, although that was a pretty lame superpower. Jack found himself thinking that if he could choose a superpower, it would definitely be to turn himself invisible at will. He would be able to pull so many awesome pranks. The potential was limitless.
Flynn and Mavis started discussing Flynn's strategy for getting the hot brunette to succumb to his Smolder, when Jack spotted Haddock walk into the courtyard.
He wasn't alone though. Ingerman and Corona were by his side and the three Ravenclaws were clearly heading somewhere in particular, as they walked with purpose and at a fast pace. Ingerman and Corona by Haddock's side was the norm. What wasn't the norm at all, were all the people who decided to approach him.
Jack watched students saying hi to him, smiling at him or waving at him, and many actually walked up to him to say hi and try to start a conversation. This failed miserably, as Haddock seemed to only give them short answers and a few polite smiles, while he continued on his way with his friends.
Jack noticed how the girls that approached him were smiling shyly or giving him notes or giggling. They were clearly flirting with him. Jack couldn't help the stab of annoyance in his gut. It was obvious that Haddock didn't want all the attention and yet people were just throwing themselves at him. They should leave the poor guy alone. He clearly had enough on his mind.
"Wow," Flynn said, his smooth voice cutting through the silence among the four of them. "Haddock seems to be doing well for himself."
"I don't think he likes all the attention," Jack said without much emotion, still observing Haddock, who continued to walk further away with his two friends, his whole body language tense.
"Me neither. He seems like a private person," Mavis told them with sympathy in her voice.
"Pffff… Anyone should be happy to get that kind of attention," Flynn said.
Jack frowned. He didn't agree with that. Despite what most people thought about Flynn, he wasn't shallow or vain, but he clearly had difficulty imagining Haddock's discomfort right now.
"Are we a bit jealous of all the attention he's getting, Rider?" Merida said with a hopeful spark in her eyes, her lips threatening to burst into a grin.
"What? Of course not!" Flynn said in a slightly high-pitched voice that screamed denial.
Jack rolled his eyes with a smile. Of course Flynn was jealous. He loved getting the attention from all the girls and being popular with the guys as well. That was his whole thing. And despite his image, Flynn wasn't arrogant or overly confident. He wasn't some insecure mess either, but he had doubts about himself just like everyone else.
"Besides, I'm still as popular as ever with the ladies" Flynn said and demonstrated this by waving to a bunch of girls nearby, who immediately giggled, smiled and waved back.
Jack watched Haddock disappear around a corner with his two friends. For some reason he found himself being a little disappointed at that. He picked at some blades of grass. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on with him, but somehow he wanted to make sure that no one was bothering Haddock too much. Maybe it was just because he felt sympathy towards him, since he was obviously having difficulty handling all this change.
Merida snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'll never know what those girls see in you," she said, exasperated.
"Well, my devilishly good looks alone is plenty reason, but I have countless awesome qualities, Red. So no, I'm not jealous of Haddock of all people," Flynn said.
Jack smiled at the banter between his two friends, but kept looking at the corner, where the guy in question had disappeared from view a moment ago.
"It's just a shame people won't leave him alone now. I mean, everyone's curious, we want to know about it too, but at least we keep our distance, since we don't actually know him and have no right to pry," Mavis said softly, her blue eyes gleaming with empathy.
She really was one of the kindest people Jack had ever met, and he thought that was a seriously underrated character trait. When people had to list others positive qualities, kindness was rarely highlighted as an equally important trait to things like intelligence, humor, looks, courage and extrovertism. This was always illustrated clearly by the way Hufflepuff was often sort of dismissed among other students as the least impressive house of Hogwarts. It was a shame.
"Yeah, and we've even talked to him a bit sometimes in class. Some of the people throwing themselves at him now never even noticed him before," Jack said, hoping his annoyance wouldn't show too much.
"Yeah, you're right," Merida said and nodded. "It is a wee bit sickening how people suddenly change that way."
Mavis and Flynn hummed in agreement.
Jack and his friends remained in the courtyard, eating candy, talking and laughing together until it was time for dinner in the Great Hall.
They packed up their things and headed towards the Hall, when Jack noticed a library book in his bag that he was supposed to bring back earlier that day. Oops. As usual his need for fun and social interaction had distracted him from doing what he was supposed to. He stopped in his tracks, and his three friends quickly did the same, giving him questioning looks.
"Uh guys, I'll be there in a little while, I forgot that I had to bring this book back," he said and held up the book in one hand for them to see.
"Jack seriously, one day you're going to forget your own name," Mavis told him, trying to sound stern but with amusement in her eyes. Agreements quickly followed by Merida and Flynn.
"Traitors," he said and sent them an evil glare.
They just chuckled at him and started walking towards the Great Hall again.
Jack slung his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the library. The halls were completely deserted as everyone was gathering in Hall for dinner, so he walked slowly to enjoy the peace and quiet. He loved being around people, and he was often the center of attention, but once in a while it was nice to just walk in solitude, taking in the peaceful surroundings.
Jack had always felt awe towards the old magical castle, ever since he saw it for the first time. Six years later, things hadn't changed. Hogwarts was so full of secrets, of history, of brimming magical power. Even though he had been here for five years, there were still so many things he didn't know about the ancient castle. He brushed his hand against the stone wall. The surface was rough against his fingertips. When the entrance to the library finally came into view, he smiled to himself and got the book out of his bag again.
Thankfully, the library had a system that allowed students to bring back books, no matter if the librarian was present or not. She was probably at dinner right now just like everyone else.
He took in a few students sitting scattered at different tables, their eyes eagerly scanning the pages of their books. Bloody hell, why weren't these people at dinner? Who would miss delicious food just to study?
He approached the librarian's desk, where a container had been set up for students to drop off books.
He placed the leather-bound book in the container and hurried towards the library entrance, eager to join his friends for a nice hot meal as quickly as possible, when he suddenly bumped into someone, who was walking out from behind a bookcase.
"I'm sorry," they said in unison and Jack once again found himself face to face with a familiar pair of green eyes. Well, this was weird, bumping into Haddock twice in a short amount of time. Jack really should be more aware of his surroundings.
"I seem to be doing that a lot lately, huh?" Jack said with a grin, trying to defuse the awkwardness between them. He couldn't stand tense silence, and luckily he had always had a talent for making people comfortable with him, an ability he had been grateful for several times in his life.
A small smile appeared on Haddock's lips. "You sure do, Overland."
Jack wasn't used to hearing his real surname from other students, since everyone called him Jack or Frost. Only the teachers called him Overland, but it made sense that Haddock would call him that, since they didn't know each other.
Jack's eyes drifted towards the three ancient-looking books in Haddock's arms.
"You're studying dragons?" he asked before he even had a chance to think about it.
He watched Haddock visibly tense and his eyes became guarded. A moment later, he forced himself to calm down and his shoulders relaxed and his eyes were neutral again.
Jack had definitely said the wrong thing. Why had he even mentioned dragons, when he had decided not to approach him about it at all? Not that this was entirely the same thing, as he was just asking about the books he was carrying, but apparently it was enough to make Haddock suspicious of his intentions. Not that he needed to be.
"Yeah…" Haddock said like he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to have this conversation. "I'm very interested in them and Professor Lunar said that the library had recently acquired some rare books on them. So I thought I'd check it out".
Jack looked at the books again. They really did look ancient. Two of them were quite small and leatherbound with wear that had faded the color of the leather and from what he could see, the pages were brown from the aging of the paper. The third book was larger and much thicker. It had a dark brown cover that had been ripped in several places.
Jack nodded. "That's cool," he said, trying to sound casual and not too interested. He didn't want Haddock to think that he was prying or somehow trying to convince him to spill his secrets.
"Yeah, umm, so… I'm going to go outside and study," Haddock said and started to walk away, leaving Jack without giving him a chance to reply. But Jack somehow didn't want this talk to be over yet.
"Hey Haddock," Jack called out, trying his best not to be too loud in a library of all places.
He briefly wondered if he should just leave him alone, but calling out had just been instinctual somehow. He wanted to talk to him a little while longer, though he wasn't sure where this urge was coming from.
Haddock turned around and looked at him, tilting his head, making a few brown locks sway across his forehead, before he covered the short distance between them. So, now it was too late for Jack to question himself.
"Yeah?" Haddock said, his green eyes seeming a little uncertain.
Well, this was a little awkward actually. He'd have to use his awesome social skills to turn that around. Why had he called him back, again? Where was he going with this? He wanted to know more about him and why he was here right now. No dragon questions though. That would be stupid and insensitive.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but… why are you up here now? Shouldn't you be getting some food?" he said and did his best to make it sound casual and friendly. It wasn't just something he said to keep the conversation going. He actually wanted to know. Skipping meals was surely not a very good idea. And who could say no to delicious food, right? That was just common sense.
Haddock adjusted the position of the books in his arms. "Well… I sort of just wanted some time alone. Which is suddenly hard to come by," Haddock said, his green eyes suddenly seeming... annoyed? No, that wasn't quite it. More like solemn.
Jack frowned. "Oh… Yeah, I understand. Everyone's suddenly throwing themselves at you. Must be weird," he said with a relaxed shrug, trying to ease the sudden awkwardness that had emerged between them again.
He meant it though. It must be an overwhelming experience getting that kind of attention, when you weren't used to it. Jack didn't have a problem dealing with that kind of thing. He was familiar with being the center of attention because of his genius pranks and being a social butterfly.
"It is," Haddock said softly, not meeting Jack's eyes at the moment. He found it strange that Haddock was now taller than him, so he didn't have to look down, when he talked to him. He was suddenly all grown up.
Haddock tugged a little on one of his small braids. The act seemed very subconscious. Like a tick.
"By the way, what's with the braids all of the sudden?" Jack said, pointing to the two small braids that stuck out from the rest of his brown hair. It was a strange development, so, of course Jack had to ask about it.
Haddock's lips twitched and he met his eyes again. This time, his green eyes were gleaming with a hint of amusement. "It's a Viking heritage thing," he said and shrugged.
Jack furrowed his forehead. Okay, that certainly wasn't the answer he was expecting. Haddock didn't exactly look like a Viking. Far from it.
"Vikings, huh… Big burly men with bushy beards, helmets and axes?" he asked with a smile gracing his lips.
"Yeah… Don't you see all that raw, manly Vikingness that I've clearly inherited from my ancestors?" Haddock said with no emotion in his nasal voice whatsoever.
Jack couldn't stop himself from chuckling. Okay, so he was actually serious about being a Viking. Well, that was interesting. He couldn't claim that he'd ever thought he'd be talking to a Viking.
"Well, not exactly," he said and lifted his eyebrows. "Although you have grown a lot. I mean seriously, what have you been eating to get that kind of growth spurt?" he said, gesturing with his hands to underline the unusualness of Haddock's sudden change.
Jack briefly thought that – depending on Haddock's answer – they should definitely consider making a product out of it and market it to small scrawny boys. That would be a bloody goldmine.
Haddock smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling, which made Jack feel satisfied for some reason. Well, not some reason… He loved making other people smile and laugh. It made him all warm inside, as if he had achieved something truly special.
"Oh, the usual… yak brains, chicken feet, fish scales… The traditional Viking recipe for growing," Haddock said, while gesturing with his free hand as he listed the gross items.
"Well, I'd rather be two feet tall than follow Viking tradition then," Jack said and wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Yeah, be glad you're not a Viking then. They don't take too well on breaking traditions," Haddock said.
Huh. It sounded like there was a story behind that statement. Jack rubbed one of his arms, and briefly wondered what kind of traditions had been broken… Well, except the whole dragon thing, of course.
"Really? Why?" he said, tilting his head.
"Well… stubbornness issues, mostly," Haddock said, a faint smile on his lips, as he pulled the books in his arms closer to his chest.
"So, you and Astrid are actually Vikings?" Jack said, remembering that she and Haddock grew up together. The thought of Astrid as a Viking seemed very fitting actually. She was strong, confident and sometimes violent, and those were surely qualities that were appreciated in a Viking, right?
"Yeah. And Fishlegs too," Haddock said, lifting his eyebrows in amusement.
Jack blinked. Well, that was certainly surprising. Ingerman had always seemed so shy and introverted, even more than Haddock. Not exactly traits associated with Vikings. But on the other hand, there were bound to be some unusual Vikings around, just like with any other group of people.
"Fishlegs? So, the three of you grew up together?"
"Yeah, we did," Haddock said with a slow nod. "We're all from the same little island in The Barbaric Archipelago."
Bloody hell, that was a cool name. Like something from a storybook. Now, that Jack thought about it, he could vaguely recall Mavis telling him something about Astrid being from some far off place with an odd name. Now he wished that he had actually been paying attention and not been busy trying to fling little pieces of food at Flynn.
"That's wicked," Jack said, a huge grin spreading on his face.
Haddock raised his eyebrows, observing him intently with those intelligent green eyes that seemed to be currently analyzing his words.
"Well, it's a lot more interesting than just being from some random British town. I mean, Vikings! Battles, mead, Thor, Odin, Loki, Valhalla, all that stuff!" Jack said, gesturing with his hands as he listed the things. He would love to have ties to a rich ancient culture filled with great heroes and battles, mythological creatures and powerful gods.
Haddock shook his head of brown locks with a smile on his face. "You're interested in Norse mythology?" he said and seemed almost amused by it.
"Yeah," he nodded eagerly. "Not just Norse mythology though. I mean, I'm not religious, but religion and mythology are important parts of history and also explain many of the traditions we have today. I find that interesting… And also mythology is full of awesome stories".
"Huh," Haddock said, studying Jack's face with those observing eyes that almost seemed to be able to read your mind.
Jack had a sting of self-consciousness, before he willed it away. He'd always been someone who was comfortable in his own skin. He didn't feel self-conscious often and he wasn't about to start now.
"What?" He said, lifting his hands in a questioning manner, wondering where this was going.
"You just… don't seem like the type to be into mythology and history," Haddock said, still having a vaguely entertained smile on his lips.
"Oh?"
"No offense," Haddock quickly said, holding up one hand in a brief calming gesture, while clutching the books under the other arm.
Jack smiled at him to reassure him. He was rarely offended by anything.
"It's just… You're almost always messing around," Haddock said with a faint smile on his lips, like he was recalling some of the pranks Jack had pulled off through the years. Well, no one could blame him for that. Those pranks were strokes of pure genius.
Jack chuckled. That certainly explained it. "That's true. But that requires a certain discipline and intelligence too. What, you think it's easy coming up with all those brilliant mind-blowing pranks?"
"Yes," Haddock deadpanned with a hint of a challenge in his eyes.
Jack suppressed the urge to grin. That little bastard… Well, not so little anymore but still a bastard nonetheless.
"What? I'm outraged! My artistic genius is clearly not being appreciated here!" he said and huffed dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air in a frustrated gesture to emphasize the drama.
Haddock's lips curved a little. "Oh no, it's definitely appreciated. I'm sure making a frog poop in Astrid's bag and switching Rider's ingredients in Potions is very draining creatively."
Huh. He had noticed Jack's little prank on Flynn earlier.
A bright grin spread across Jack's face. "You really know how to break a prankster's heart, Haddock. I'm wounded," he said, clutching his chest, making his face look as sad as possible.
"Good," Haddock said with amusement in his eyes and then chuckled. "Something's going my way then… And you can call me Hiccup, if you want," he said, gesturing with one hand like he was underlining his words with them. He seemed to do that a lot. Jack hadn't noticed that before.
"I'm not really a fan of the whole surname thing" Hiccup said, while doing a dismissive waving motion with one hand, like he wanted to will away the whole tradition at Hogwarts of calling people you didn't know well by their surname.
Jack hadn't expected that, even though it was just a small simple gesture of friendliness. He found himself smiling warmly.
"Great. But then you have to call me Jack," he said.
Hiccup nodded and a brief moment of silence passed between them. Jack was surprised to find that it wasn't awkward or tense this time. Still though, he would always prefer talking to silence. That whole 'silence is golden' thing is completely overrated.
"By the way… I hope it's okay to ask you this but why that name? It's not exactly a common name… Actually, that's definitely an understatement. I'm pretty sure you're the only one in the universe with that name," Jack said, making sure to give Hiccup a friendly smile, so he knew he was just being genuinely curious and not cruel about it.
"It's a Viking thing," Hiccup said and adjusted the books in his grip.
More Viking ties. Jack scratched the back of his head in a few quick movements.
"How so?" he said. It seemed like there were many interesting ties between Hiccup and his Viking heritage, and it wasn't that often Jack came across people with ties to some ancient culture. He found himself wanting to genuinely know more about it.
"Many Vikings named their children strange or horrible names. It used to be because they believed that it would scare off trolls and gnomes, but now it's just a dying tradition," Hiccup said, gesturing with one of his hands. He seemed more relaxed now, his shoulders not nearly as tense and his stance not nearly as guarded as before, which made Jack incredibly pleased.
"Seriously?" Jack said and chuckled. "That's… interesting. Fishlegs has it way worse than you though."
"Most people think that," Hiccup said. "I still remember the first time you heard our names, when we were sorted and got detention because you couldn't stop laughing."
Oof.
Heat crept into his cheeks. Yes, his 11-year-old self had found the names hilarious but it was only afterwards, when he was a bit older, that he realized he might have hurt their feelings.
"I almost choked on the piece of candy I was eating too," Jack said. "But seriously, I'm sorry that I laughed at your names… That was a bit insensitive."
He hoped Hiccup didn't hold a grudge, though somehow he already knew that he didn't. It occured to him that Hiccup had said most people think Fishlegs has it worse than him name-wise. Interesting. He wasn't going to ask about it though. It was definitely something that would be personal.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at his apologetic words. "Jack Frost, concerned with his manners? I never thought I'd see the day."
"Come on, I'm not that bad," Jack said and laughed. It was true that he was rarely concerned with manners and rules, but he never intended to be rude or insensitive to anyone. He wanted to have fun and mess around, but he didn't want to hurt people's feelings.
"Yeah, you are," Hiccup deadpanned.
"Aww, come on, I'm actually a nice person, you know," Jack said, defending himself with a slightly whiny tone, that he wasn't entirely sure where was coming from.
Hiccup waved his hand in some dismissive motions. "I'm just kidding, Jack. It's fine. We're pretty much used to it by now. At least you stopped finding it so funny. Others still can't let it go."
He could breathe easier, knowing Hiccup didn't hold anything against him. "Well, it doesn't matter what they think," he said and shrugged. He had noticed that some students still made fun of Hiccup and Fishlegs sometimes because of their names, but he avoided mentioning that. He didn't want to make Hiccup uncomfortable.
"I know," Hiccup said with a calm voice, giving Jack a small smile.
Hiccup's resilience was quite impressive. He hadn't had the easiest time at Hogwarts, being teased and sometimes even threatened and shoved around after pissing off students, who had bothered him or his friends. But he didn't stop his sarcastic and clever comments, and he always refused to give bullies what they wanted.
"So, I guess Astrid was the lucky one of you three," Jack said.
"Yeah, I guess. Although I don't think the name would have suited me or Fishlegs," Hiccup said and furrowed his brow, like he was contemplating what it would be like to have Astrid's name.
Jack chuckled. "Aww, come on. Fishlegs has always had a certain feminine grace."
Hiccup sputtered at that, his eyes wide with amusement for a few seconds.
Jack couldn't deny the bubbling feeling in his chest, delighted that he could make him laugh like that. It seemed like Hiccup had a lot on his mind lately, and he appeared tense and restrained most of the time, so getting him to loosen up a little would be good for him. It was always a really satisfying feeling, whenever he could get someone to genuinely laugh and just let their worries drift away at least for a little while.
"Right. He's always had the delicate soul of a dancer," Hiccup said with bright eyes. "And Astrid's favourite things are poofy dresses and rainbows."
Jack couldn't stop the laughter that poured out of his mouth, as he imagined Astrid in a huge pink dress twirling happily in a flowery meadow beneath a sky full of rainbows. That was just… wrong.
"Good point. She's always been more of a battle axes and spewing blood kind of girl, huh?"
"Oh yeah," Hiccup said and chuckled. "But seriously, she's great."
"Yeah. I mean, I don't know her that well to be honest. Sure, we're on the Quidditch team together and we spend some time around each other in the common room and in classes, but we've always kind of stuck to our own little group of friends. Sometimes she can be fun to be around though. When I don't piss her off by pulling pranks on her," he said and grinned.
Hiccup laughed. "Yeah, I mean… Astrid's got a good sense of humor, but you've definitely rubbed her the wrong way a couple of times over the years."
"I'm not surprised by that at all. She seems like a good friend though," Jack said and ran a hand through his white hair in a swift movement.
Hiccup nodded slowly and let his grip on the books loosen a little. "She is. She still looks out for me and Fishlegs, even though we're not little kids anymore" he said with fondness in his eyes.
"You're totally still a little kid, Hiccup," Jack said and gave him one of those half-smiles that Flynn said made him look like a smug twat.
"Says the person who gets ridiculously excited about snow and starts every single snowball fight," Hiccup said and rolled his eyes.
So, Hiccup had noticed that. Well, most people probably had, now that he thought about it. After all, that was one of the reasons people called him Jack Frost.
"Snow IS exciting! And I'm all about snowballs and fun times," he said and smiled, crossing his arms in protest.
"You should really consider officially changing your name to Jack Frost," Hiccup said dryly and gave Jack a crooked smile of his own. "You definitely have that whole winter vibe going on. You could even team up with Professor Mansnoozie: Jack Frost and the Sandman," he said, referring to Professor Mansnoozie's nickname among the Hogwarts students.
The short, golden-haired Professor was mild-mannered and most students were fond of him, but he had the uncanny ability of being able to fall asleep in some very strange places. He was also mute, so he communicated by spelling out words and pictures with golden sand, which didn't exactly help deter the students' use of the nickname.
Jack chuckled, as he imagined him and Professor Mansnoozie in some well-designed superhero costumes, standing on a rooftop, overlooking a massive city in the dark of night, their capes blowing in the wind. His costume would obviously be the coolest.
"Hmm, we would make a good team… " he said and scratched his chin. "With his calm, non-threatening demeanor but huge magical force and my terribly good looks and superior intelligence."
"Riiiight," Hiccup said.
"But I don't think I want to spend my time teaming up with a narcoleptic dreamweaver, who could fall asleep, while we're battling the Boogeyman or something."
Hiccup grinned at him. For the first time, Jack noticed that he had a small gap between his front teeth.
"Well, Jack…" Hiccup started, "I better get going now, if I want to do some reading before it's time for bed."
"Sure. I'll see you around, Hiccup. It was nice talking to you," Jack said, although he had to admit to himself that he was a bit disappointed that their conversation was over. Hiccup was surprisingly easy to talk to.
"You too. See you around," Hiccup said and gave him a small wave, before walking out of the library and down the hall, carrying the dragon books under one arm.
Jack stayed at the library for a few moments, looking at the exit, before heading towards the Great Hall. His friends were probably wondering what took him so long, and his stomach was beginning to growl, scolding him for not having eaten in a while.
As he made his way down the old stone corridors of the old magical castle, he wondered about the conversation he had just had with Hiccup.
Hiccup was definitely more, than he had appeared in the last five years, and Jack decided that he was brilliant. He had already known that Hiccup was smart, quick-witted and had a dry, sarcastic humor that had always appealed to Jack, but now that he knew the two of them actually hit it off, enjoying the friendly banter that seemed to come so natural to the two of them, Jack secretly found himself hoping that he would get to talk to Hiccup again soon.
In the Great Hall, only a few scattered students remained at the House tables, and he was met with the faint sound of a few people's clinking cutlery and a weak buzz of relaxed conversation. It was a nice change from the usually overwhelming noise in the Hall, which could sometimes practically give Jack a headache.
As he approached his respective House table, he wondered if there was any good food left. He didn't care too much though, as he wasn't a picky eater. The real question was probably whether Merida had beaten him to it, clearing every plate and bowl in sight.
He chuckled on the inside at the thought, as he spotted his three friends sitting by the long table, discussing something, and waiting for him to join them. Merida's frustrated voice reached his ears.
"She just doesn't understand!" she said and slammed a palm down on the table. "She thinks that girls shouldn't play Quidditch at all… or any kind of sports."
Ah, this again. Jack shook his head. His heart felt soft with sympathy.
Merida was a brilliant Quidditch player, but her mother wasn't even close to accepting her daughter's favourite pastime.
"You're not going to let that stop you though, are you?" Mavis asked, reaching out a hand and placing it on top of Merida's.
"No, I just wish she would let it go. If it wasn't for my dad, I would never be allowed to play," she said.
Jack plopped down on the bench next to Merida.
"Problems with your mum again?" he said softly.
Merida had complained about her mother regularly over the years, so her problems didn't come as a surprise to any of them.
"Yeah. It's so obvious that she's disappointed in me. I just got a letter from her, where she reminded me that she's not happy about it… again," Merida said with tired eyes.
He felt bad for Merida whenever this topic came up. He didn't have a family with huge expectations for him. Anna, North and Emma never tried to change him or make him do things he didn't want to do.
He started rubbing small circles on Meridas back to give her some comfort.
"I'm sorry, Mer. But you're an awesome Quidditch player and you love it, so it doesn't matter what she thinks… and if you ever repeat this, I'll deny it to the day I die, but we need you on the team," Jack said. It was true though. Merida was an excellent Beater and she added a lot to the team.
Merida chuckled and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Jack," she said, seeming less tired.
Jack couldn't help the warm smile on his lips. She only used his real name, when they were having a sincere moment.
"We're all here for you, Red," Flynn said with a soft look in his eyes. "And if you need cheering up, I could always hold you close and whisper in your ear," he said, as he changed his voice to a low, seductive tone and gave Merida a dazzling smile, flashing his white teeth.
Merida and Jack snorted simultaneously at the joke. Jack loved listening to their banter and sometimes participating in it, usually to rile one of them up more. He was the mischievous part of the group after all.
"No thanks, Rider. I'd rather let my mum dress me," Merida said and made a disgusted face.
"Ouch, that's harsh, Curly," Flynn said, holding a hand over his heart. "You really know how to break a man."
"Yeah, a foot in the crotch and a knee in the stomach," Merida deadpanned and cracked her knuckles in a terrifying gesture.
Jack and Flynn both winced at her words, their eyes wide in horror, while Mavis chuckled.
"Oof! That's just… evil," Jack said in disbelief, as he briefly considered the excruciating pain of being kicked in the groin."
Yeah, no need to crush a man's spirit," Flynn said, his hands held up in pretend surrender.
Merida smiled, slow and predatory. "Oh, there's always a need for that" she said in a low voice.
"Okay, I take it back. I don't want to hold you. You're the devil," Flynn said, pointing an accusing finger at Merida.
Jack couldn't exactly disagree with that. Merida was definitely evil.
Merida snorted. "Don't be such a wuss, Rider," she said, her eyes gleaming with amusement.
"So, Jack… Why were you so late? It couldn't have taken that long to drop the book of?" Mavis asked and looked at him with questioning eyes.
Oh right. He hadn't even told them that he'd talked to Hiccup. Not that it was a big deal, but he imagined they'd still like to know about it.
"Yeah, what were you up to, Frosty? Did you actually manage to get in trouble on that short walk?" Merida asked, trying to sound disapproving, even though everyone knew that she loved Jack's pranks and mischief.
"Oooh, what's her name, Jackie?" Flynn said, waggling his eyebrows and leaning forwards in anticipation.
"What? No! It's nothing like that," Jack said. "I ran into Hiccup at the library and we talked."
He liked the way the first name felt rolling off his tongue. It was unfamiliar but in a nice way.
"Hiccup?" Flynn said, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"He told me to call him that. Apparently, he's not a fan of using people's surnames," Jack said while making some dismissive motions with his hands.
"What did you talk about?" Mavis said, tucking a black lock of hair behind one of her ears. "You don't usually talk."
"I know, I know. I just ran into him and saw him carrying some interesting books, so we started talking about that and then we just started talking about other stuff," he said and shrugged.
"Did he say anything about the dragons?" Merida said, sounding excited by the prospect of possible getting some information about the large fire-breathing reptiles, even though the four of them had agreed on leaving Hiccup alone.
Jack shook his head. "Nah, and I didn't ask. I figured he's probably sick of all the attention, he's been getting lately. We just talked a bit about his friends, and where they're from… and Vikings."
Jack smiled to himself. He wanted to know more about Vikings. Maybe he should ask Hiccup to tell him more, next time he saw him, if it didn't seem too awkward.
"What? Vikings?" Flynn said with a confused wrinkle on his forehead. "Why would you talk about Vikings?"
"Because it turns out, Hiccup, Astrid and Fishlegs are all Vikings… The culture is apparently still alive today back where they're from," Jack said, not being able to keep the excitement out of his voice. He still thought it was all really cool.
"Yeah, Astrid's told me a few things about that," Mavis said and took a drink from her cup.
"Pfft, Vikings are nothing compared to Scots," Merida said and ignored the rolling of eyes and snorts from him and the others.
"Well, obviously, no one could ever be equal to you, Your Curlyness," Flynn said. "But Vikings are still cool. I mean, axes, Viking ships, Thor, the whole thing!"
"Hmff, I guess," Merida agreed.
Jack shook his head, smiling at his stubborn friend. She was incredibly proud of her ancient Scottish heritage. Merida was actually a part of an old aristocratic family, although no one would know it by her wild appearance and gruff, unpolished demeanor.
"Anyway, it seems that they keep a lot of Viking traditions alive today," Jack said to get back on topic. "Like, Hiccup told me that the reason he and Fishlegs have funny names is because Vikings used to believe that giving their kids strange or horrible names would scare off gnomes and trolls," he said, unable to keep a grin from spreading on his lips. Who would be scared off simply by some kid's name? Not very courageous trolls or gnomes that's for sure.
Giggles erupted from his three friends.
"That's pretty strange," Mavis said and shrugged. "But I guess people believe a lot of weird things."
"Definitely," Jack said and nodded. "Like Flynn believing that his Smolder has some sort of magic power."
Mavis and Merida both giggled at that, while Flynn huffed and pretended to be offended, sticking his nose in the air.
"For your information, Jackie, it's a highly effective weapon that only a skilled dating master such as myself can use," Flynn said. "Too dangerous for amateurs like you."
"Ouch, Rider," Jack said and wrinkled his nose, suppressing a grin. "That was cold, even for you. I'm not that inexperienced, I'll have you know."
"Oh, I know, but you're no me either," Flynn said and lifted his head in mock arrogance.
He had to admit that that was very true.
After Jack had managed to get something to eat from the slim pickings that were left over from the other Gryffindors, the four of them retreated to the Gryffindor common room and spent the rest of the evening in front of the warm, comforting fireplace talking and laughing the evening away, before it was time for bed.
It hadn't been a particularly trying day, but somehow Jack found himself exhausted. His last thoughts before his head hit the pillow and he fell asleep was about how nice it had been to talk to Hiccup today.