There's Always More

by AlicevsWonderland

Hogwarts AU. When Hiccup's secret of being the first to train a dragon is revealed, he struggles to handle his new popularity among the other students. Jack decides not to bother him like many of the others, even though he is also curious about the whole story. Despite this, an unlikely friendship blooms between the two boys and eventually turns into something more. Rated M!

5. Unnoticed Attraction

The noise of the students in the Great Hall eagerly talking, joking and laughing, the clinking of cutlery and the scraping of trays and plates across wooden tables was deafening, bouncing off the old castle walls and incasing Jack in a blanket of sound.

He really didn't appreciate how the intrusive noises were creating an oncoming headache. He rubbed his temples a few times in a futile effort to relieve some of the strain. He really wasn't a morning person, and the loud buzzing was invading that air of soft, peaceful drowsiness that overtook him every morning and that he both loved and loathed.

It always took some time for him to truly wake up and this morning was no exception. He stuck his fork in and out of a muffin repeatedly, slowly stabbing the poor piece of baked goods to death. Well, if it hadn't already been quite dead. Jack didn't know everything, but he was pretty sure that muffins didn't have souls. He snorted to himself, while briefly entertaining the idea of living muffins and for some reason they were dancing around with top hats on. His sleepy mind created the best images sometimes.

He cast a quick glance at the Ravenclaw table, where Hiccup, Fishlegs and Rapunzel were chatting excitedly about something that he couldn't hear. They seemed way too rested at this ungodly hour. Oh well… his first class of the day was Transfiguration, so he could talk to Hiccup again then. He wasn't sure what it was about him, but Jack knew that he wanted to spend more time with him.

His thoughts were interrupted as the familiar sounds of hooting owls filled the Great Hall. He smiled warmly to himself. He loved receiving mail from his family.

His eyes lit up as he spotted his white owl flying towards him. When it passed him, it dropped a letter into his hands. Jack immediately recognized the purple envelope with unicorns on it, and he was already excited to find out how Emma was doing.

He noticed Mavis, Flynn and Merida had each received letters as well, and were already busy taking in the words written on the pages. He ripped open the envelope without hesitation and unfolded the piece of paper.

He was relieved to find that Emma was doing just fine. Her first day of school after her vacation had been going well, and there was a new girl in her class that she was trying to make friends with, because she shared Emma's love of unicorns and fairies. She also mentioned getting detention yesterday, which made Jack frown, especially since she didn't mention why. He'd have to ask her in his next letter. She told him to say hello to his friends from her and that she hoped they'd be over for a few days during the Christmas holidays as always. She ended the letter with confessing that she already missed him a lot, and Jack felt a familiar squeezing sensation in his chest. He really missed her as well.

They'd been together all summer and he'd been overjoyed to be around her again. They'd played together constantly, enjoying the long days of summer sun and laughter. Every night Jack had read her a bedtime story, before tucking her in and kissing her goodnight on the forehead. He missed all of that.

"How's Emma doing?" Mavis gentle voice asked from next to him and he briefly explained what Emma had written.

"That's nice," Mavis said with a sweet smile. "Say hi to her from us."

Jack nodded in response. He would do that when he'd send his next letter.

He remained mostly quiet for the rest of breakfast, only occasionally throwing in a funny comment about whatever his friends were discussing. This was fairly common though. He felt like a zombie in the morning… like some half-sleeping tourist in a world full of chipper, energetic people that were way too well-rested and eager to talk.

When Jack and his friends got up from their seats to head towards their classes, Hiccup, Rapunzel and Fishlegs were already gone. Typical Ravenclaws. They obviously wanted to get to their classes early, so they were absolutely certain that they would be on time. Not like Gryffindors. They usually just went with the flow, getting to the classroom with a minute or two to spare.

Transfiguration was usually one of Jack's favourite classes, but he didn't appreciate it today because it was the first class of the morning and he was still feeling zombie-like. It helped a little to get some warm tea and pancakes in his belly and listening to Merida's and Flynn's banter about who was secretly sexually attracted to who, but he still didn't feel quite awake yet as he and Flynn made their way through the large old corridors brimming with busy students and their noisy chatter.

When they walked into the large oval classroom and finding Hiccup already sitting there, next to his friend with the incredibly long, golden hair, Jack felt a little more revitalized.

"Morning, Hiccy. Morning, Rapunzel," he said with a cheerful smile as he slumped down on a chair next to Hiccup.

Hiccup's green eyes widened for a few seconds, and Jack's face instantly split into a bright grin. His shocked expression was truly hilarious.

Hiccup lifted his hand and pointed a determined finger straight at Jack.

"No" Hiccup said firmly, not wanting to leave room for discussion. "No. Just no. No."

"What?" Jack asked innocently, his eyebrows raised.

"No, Jack. That's not going to be a whole thing now," Hiccup said, shaking his head.

"You don't like your new nickname?"

"Oh, Hel no," Hiccup said and crossed his arms.

That outburst made Jack grin and Rapunzel giggled next to Hiccup, who shot her a silencing glare.

"Fine, Hic. But only because I'm such a terribly nice guy," Jack said and pulled his textbook out of his backpack.

Hiccup scoffed and uncrossed his arms again. "You're devil spawn."

"Only when I want to have some fun," Jack said with an evil smile.

Hiccup shook his head and Flynn and Rapunzel chuckled.

"So, anyway, my mum and dad told me they've actually hung up the painting you did for them in the living room," Rapunzel told Hiccup with bright eyes, getting back to the conversation they were apparently having before Jack and Flynn arrived. "They really love it."

Hiccup's eyes softened at the news. "That's great. I'm glad they like it."

"What's this about a painting?" Jack interrupted. He didn't like not knowing exactly what other people were talking about. It was a slightly childish trait of his, but he kind of appreciated his natural curiosity, even if some people claimed it was impatient or rude.

"Hiccup and Fishlegs spent some time at my house in the summer and Hiccup did a beautiful painting of me and Pascal watching the sunset," Rapunzel explained and squeezed Hiccup's shoulder.

"Pascal?" Jack said.

"My chameleon," she said and reached into her bag. A small green reptile sat gently in one of her palms.

Jack and Flynn eyed the animal with genuine interest. Jack had seen the chameleon a few times, but never up close like this.

"Wow, he's cute," Flynn said, earning him a warm smile from Rapunzel.

"Yeah," Jack said, nodding. "Hey, little guy, how are you doing this fine morning?" Jack asked softly to not somehow scare him. He slowly reached a finger towards the little lizard to see if he could touch him.

"It's okay, Pascal, he's friendly," Rapunzel said, as Pascal had eyed Jack with suspicion. But he seemed to relax at Rapunzel's comment. Jack found himself thinking how strange it was that a chameleon could seem almost human in its expressions, the way Pascal did right now.

Pascal let Jack stroke him softly with a finger, feeling the rough scales underneath his soft skin. Pascal closed his eyes at the touch.

"He likes you," Rapunzel said with joyful eyes.

"Well, I like him too. He seems… almost human?" Jack said and wrinkled his forehead.

Hiccup snorted. "You have no idea."

"What?"

"Sometimes we've seriously wondered if Pascal is actually an Animagus, because he's so intelligent and seems to understand everything that goes on. He's also fiercely protective of Rapunzel, and don't be fooled by his small size… He can bite pretty hard."

Huh. There was definitely a story behind that comment.

"Sounds like you speak from experience?" Jack told him with a smile, encouraging Hiccup to tell him more.

"Oh yes… When we were in our first year and just getting to know each other, I stumbled on a tree root and took Rapunzel down with me. Apparently, Pascal thought I was some psychopath attacking her, so he bit my finger really hard. It was blue for like a week."

Rapunzel giggled at the memory, and Jack and Flynn both grinned.

"No way… the Viking was defeated by a chameleon?" Jack said. He was definitely filing that information away in his brain for later use. He would find some way to throw it in Hiccup's face in one of their banter battles.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Hiccup objected, holding up a hand in protest. "First of all, I was 11. Second of all, a blue finger hardly counts as defeat."

"Sounds to me like the reptile got you pretty good," Flynn said.

"Yeah, what do you know, Flynn? Vikings can be taken down by small, scaly animals. Definitely something to keep in mind," Jack said with a teasing smile, trying to push Hiccup's buttons.

"No, we can't," Hiccup said and rolled his eyes, a ghost of a smile turning the corners of his lips upwards. Jack had come to really enjoy those tiny signs of Hiccup's amusement.

"Oh yes, you can… and now, we know your weakness," Jack said, making his voice low and dark, rubbing his hands together in an I'm-an-evil-genius-putting-together-a-horrifying-scheme gesture.

Hiccup scoffed. "I have no weaknesses. I'm a perfect example of raw, brutal Vikingness that can never be contained," he said in mock arrogance.

Rapunzel shook her head slowly in amusement, a small giggle escaping her lips.

"Now that's just not true. I'm obviously your weakness with my terribly good looks and amazing personality," Jack said and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, trying to get Hiccup to become awkward.

Hiccup shook his head. Damn it, it didn't work.

"Well, if you're my weakness, then I should get you out of the way, shouldn't I?" he said and gave Jack an evil half-smile.

"As if the world would keep spinning without all of this," Jack said and gestured to himself. He heard Flynn snicker next to him.

"We'll just have to wait and see when I end you."

"You would never do that."

"Oh, wouldn't I?"

"Nope, you'd never have the guts to do something like that."

"You use the word 'never' quite insistently," Hiccup said with amusement, eyebrows raised.
"You don't know what I'm capable of," he said and narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner. It was seriously too amusing to watch Hiccup, when he was trying to be dark, as it was so out of character for him.

Jack was about to throw a clever retort back in Hiccup's face, when two Ravenclaw girls that Jack didn't know but vaguely recognized walked past their table.

"Hi, Hiccup" they said in unison, the adoration evident in their eyes.

Jack watched as Hiccup mumbled an unenthusiastic "Hi" in response, not meeting the two girls' eyes.

Jack felt an amused smile grace his lips.

The girls giggled and walked away with their arms linked. They slumped down on some seats a couple of tables in front of them.

Jack nudged Hiccup's shoulder teasingly. "What's up, Hic? Can't handle the fangirls?"

Hiccup groaned, which only widened Jack's grin. "I don't want fangirls."

"Well, too bad, because you've got 'em. No getting rid of them now," Jack said and patted his back a few times.

"Don't they have like a nest somewhere, so you can take them all out at once?" Hiccup said with a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Aww, that's cold, Hic. I kind of like them…"

"Of course you do, Jack."

Transfiguration was essentially a dull affair, except for the friendly banter between the four of them. Professor Hyde did a brief introduction to the spell they were going to practice today, while Jack glanced at the notes Hiccup was eagerly scribbling down on a piece of parchment, his quill tracing smooth, steady lines.

Huh. He was left-handed. Jack hadn't noticed that before. He took a closer look at the notes and realized they were written in runes. It put a smile on his lips. Well, that was interesting. It was actually kind of fascinating watching Hiccup write the strange markings.

After the basic introduction, they had to apply the spell practically. Avis was a spell used to conjure birds but it was a difficult spell to get right, as conjuring living creatures from thin air was one of the most advanced things to learn in Transfiguration.

During their practicing, Jack found that Rapunzel was actually quite fun to tease as well, and she managed to throw some pretty witty replies back in his face, earning her several chuckles from Flynn and Hiccup. As they chatted between taking turns on trying to conjure the little feathery creatures, he also came to know that Rapunzel was adopted just like himself, which had taken him by surprise.

She seemed to be just as relaxed and open about it as he was, which was a relief, as the subject could definitely be a touchy affair for some people. He learned that she was an only child just like Hiccup, and that her parents had become very fond of her two friends, insisting that they visited a couple of days every year during the summer and the Christmas holidays.

Hiccup explained that it was the only experience that he and Fishlegs really had with the modern muggle world and how Rapunzel had introduced them to TV and movies, the internet, modern music and so on. Jack found it quite amusing to consider them experiencing these things for the first time ever. When he asked if Rapunzel had been to Berk, Hiccup explained that she hadn't but that they wanted her to come visit in December, if the time was right. What that meant, Jack had no idea but he didn't question it.

After class, Rapunzel went to her Magical History class, while the rest of them had Potions next.

When they made their way through one of the old stone corridors towards the dungeons, Jack casually swung his arm around Hiccup's shoulder and rested it there, feeling the soft black fabric of the robes against his hand. It was just a simple friendly gesture, but for some reason he got a surge of warmth in his chest that he couldn't explain. It was nice though… in a strange way.

At the first touch, Hiccup flinched a little, obviously not expecting that kind of familiarity. His eyes turned towards Jack, questioning him silently, his brow furrowed, as they continued to stroll down the passageway.

Jack flashed him a bright grin in response, wanting to ease Hiccup's awkwardness with the situation.

He was just being friendly with Hiccup, but he was well aware that he was a guarded person, so he needed to make him comfortable. His own casualness regarding the sudden closeness seemed to work. Hiccup appeared to relax, his shoulders becoming less tense and his eyes not analyzing Jack anymore.

If Hiccup had seemed to genuinely mind the friendly gesture, he would respect that and back off, but Hiccup didn't ask him to remove his arm or slipped out of his grasp, so he just continued to walk beside him, one arm casually slung around the guy's shoulder.

Jack made eye contact with Flynn, who shot him a curious look, his eyes questioning what Jack was doing and why. Not that Jack could blame him. He wasn't completely certain of his motivations himself. With the exception of Flynn, he didn't usually become all touchy with guy friends and acquaintances.

Somehow though, he hadn't even thought about it. It had just been instinctual and it wasn't until Hiccup was observing him with those green eyes that he thought he might have done something that could be considered weird. Not that he cared too much about that kind of thing. He usually just went with his gut. Being weird was fun and interesting anyway. Maybe that was why he had taken such an immediate liking to Hiccup. He was pretty much anything but ordinary.

As the three of them continued towards their destination through the old stone halls full of other students on their way to classes, Jack noticed the curious glances others were throwing their way. Not that he was surprised. He and Hiccup didn't usually hang out, and right now they were walking closely together with Jack's arm slung around Hiccup's shoulder like they'd been friends for a long time. It probably looked very strange to everyone else.

---

Jack could tell that Merida was already close to being at the end of her rope. This was a double Potions class, and she looked like she was seriously considering writing a suicide note.

She smacked her face straight unto the workstation, completely ignoring the shot of pain that was sure to follow that kind of impact, and now she was unmoving, keeping her face down, her wild red hair covering any sign it.

Jack smiled softly and reached out and rubbed some soothing circles on her back, feeling the soft black fabric of her robes and the warmth from her body beneath his fingertips.

"Come on, Mer. It's not that bad. We'll get through it together like always," he told her gently, while Mavis and Flynn observed him with sympathetic eyes. They all knew just how much Merida hated Potions and how quick she was to give up on it. She'd never been a patient person, and she definitely had a dramatic flair that she liked to use, whenever she was frustrated.

Merida let out a deep sigh underneath that massive mane of curly, untamed hair, before she slowly lifted her face off the table and stood up again, meeting his eyes.

He gave her a bright grin and she rewarded him with a small, strained smile that actually showed a flicker of hope. Well, that was better than having her face planted on the workstation. This was progress.

"Come on… When we find out whatever we're brewing today, we'll do our usual split. I get the ingredients, you prepare the utensils," he said and Merida nodded mutely in acceptance. He patted her on the back a few times for extra reassurance.

He shot a quick glance towards Hiccup and Fishlegs at the workstation next to his. Hiccup had apparently been observing him and Merida and his eyes were full of empathy towards her. Jack's lips curved into a smile from Hiccup's concern for a person he barely knew, and Hiccup responded with a small smile of his own before he turned his attention towards Fishlegs again.

Luckily, they were not sharing a workstation with McGowan and Levin today but with two Ravenclaw girls that Jack recognized but couldn't remember the names of. One of them, a pretty girl with a blonde ponytail waved at him and gave him a shy smile. As soon as he waved back and smiled, she turned away, blushing. He smiled to himself in amusement. He was used to it, but it never ceased to be a source of entertainment.

Another frustrated groan left Merida's mouth. Professor Creek walked into the old, gloomy classroom, one hand carrying an antique looking cobber cauldron, the other carrying a black box. The air of casual chatter that had enveloped the dark, dusty room dissipated, as the professor approached his wooden desk and set down the cauldron and the box with slight thuds.

Professor Creek directed his attention to his students, his observing eyes scanning their faces.

"Good morning class," he began with a cheerful smile gracing his lips, as he spoke in his usual mild tone that conveyed a certain kind of friendliness despite his status as their professor. "Open your books to page 78. Today you'll be brewing Hiccoughing Solution."

The rustling sounds of students flicking through the pages of their textbooks immediately invaded the room.

Jack's gaze found Hiccup and he shot him bright grin. Hiccup just rolled his eyes in reply, but the hint of a smile on his lips revealed his amusement. Jack's grin widened even more. As he slowly began to get to know Hiccup, he discovered so many oddly fascinating quirks.

He'd found out, how Hiccup rarely showed his amusement openly through laughter. When he and Hiccup bantered, Hiccup would often hide his amusement behind signs of annoyance, like rolling his eyes or scoffing. But Jack could always tell when he was genuinely amused. He had quickly learned to read those small, almost invisible signs, like the faint smiles that made Hiccup's lips twitch ever so slightly and the subtle gleam in his green eyes. However, Jack found that this only made the times when Hiccup openly laughed much more special. Those few times he had heard him genuinely laugh without restraint, it'd been a pleasant warm sound that made him feel curiously content.

Everyone busied themselves with the preparation needed for brewing their batches. Merida started to locate the needed utensils and lay them out neatly.

When Jack had gathered all the ingredients the two of them needed for the Hiccoughing Solution, they began working on their batches in comfortable silence.

Jack kept an eye on Merida the whole way through as usual, holding back once in a while to not get ahead of her. When she struggled with juicing the beans properly, he showed her an easier way to get all the liquid out without squashing the bean or cutting herself. When she was about to add the peppermint before she had stirred the potion a few times, he made sure to tell her. By the end of the first class, Merida had produced a nicely looking Hiccoughing Solution, and she shot Jack a bright grin at the result.

"Thanks for helping me survive this… again," she told him, hugging herself, like it was a little difficult for her to accept that she needed help. Which it was. Jack knew her so well, and she was not only stubborn but proud. That was why – despite her immediate dislike of Potions in their first year at Hogwarts – it had actually taken her a few years to agree to let him help her.

"Anytime, Mer," he said softly and gave her a warm smile.

They were given a short break of 15 minutes before the second part of the class began, and Jack and his friends hung out at their workstation, not wanting to waste precious break time.

Jack motioned to Hiccup and Fishlegs to join them.

Merida, Flynn and Mavis all greeted them with inviting smiles and Jack found himself appreciating his friends' outgoing, open natures. They would never be rude or reject anyone, unless that person was a twat.

Hiccup shot Jack a brief but honest smile, but Fishlegs shuffled his legs a little and his eyes darted from one person to another.

Jack decided to defuse the slight tension that almost always emerged when others joined a close group of friends.

"So, how were you guys getting on with the Hiccoughing Solution?" Jack asked Hiccup with a grin.

"Yes, Jack, we all get the connection between this potion and my name, and I'm sure we all think it's hilarious," Hiccup said with no emotion in his eyes.

"I'm glad we agree on that," he said, ignoring Hiccup's sarcasm. "But seriously how did it go with it?"

"Fine. It's not that difficult a potion, although I really don't see the purpose of making a potion that causes hiccoughs," Hiccup said and shrugged. Fishlegs nodded beside him.

"That's where you and I differ. I can definitely see that as part of a genius prank," Jack said and grinned.

"Oh, that's where you and I differ? On the use of Hiccoughing Solution?" Hiccup said, lifting his eyebrows.

Jack heard his friends' chuckle at that and Fishlegs' lips curved into a smile.

"Among other things," Jack said with a little smile. "How about you, Fishlegs? You like Potions?"

"Yeah. Well, it's not my favourite class, but I don't mind it," Fishlegs said, the words tumbling out with a speed that suggested he was nervous.

"What's your favourite class then?" Mavis said with a soft smile, clearly wanting to make Fishlegs feel more comfortable. Typical Mavis. She was the best.

"Oh, definitely Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes," Fishlegs said, his eyes growing wide and excited, as he gestured with his hands to underline his words, his previous awkwardness suddenly forgotten.

Jack briefly wondered if Vikings in general gestured a lot, since Hiccup also liked to use his hands while he spoke.

"You two should have an advantage in Ancient Runes," Mavis said with a knowing smile on her lips. She tucked a lock of black hair behind one of her ears.

Hiccup and Fishlegs hummed in agreement.

"Why?" Merida asked, her brow furrowed.

"Because they're Vikings, duh," Jack said and nudged her shoulder. "Vikings write in runes".

Jack briefly thought of Hiccup's Transfiguration notes. He had scribbled down the strange markings with an ease and fluidity that only came with strong familiarity, so Jack suspected that he wrote all his notes in runes. Maybe it was to keep some kind of connection to his culture. Jack actually found it quite fascinating to look at the ancient letters.

"Right. I knew that," Merida said, glaring daggers at him.

Jack smiled. Yeah, right. She hadn't thought of that at all but she would never admit that.

"Yeah. I don't take Ancient Runes though," Hiccup said and shrugged.

"Why not?" Jack said. It seemed like such an obvious class to take for a Viking, didn't it?

Hiccup shrugged again. "I considered it, but I ended up taking Art instead."

"Good choice," Mavis said with a nod of approval.

"I know, right?" Hiccup said with a smile.

"By the way, that drawing you did for the last class was incredible," Mavis told Hiccup, her black lips splitting into a bright smile.

Hiccup ducked his head immediately and stared at the floor. Jack found himself grinning. This was another thing he had quickly discovered about Hiccup: He would become self-conscious every time someone who wasn't a close friend paid him a compliment. It was positively hilarious most of the time.

Hiccup met Mavis' eyes again. "Thanks, that's nice of you to say. I didn't see your drawing last time, but I know you're really talented," Hiccup said and there was nothing but honesty in his green eyes.

"Thank you, Hiccup, I really appreciate that. See, these guys here…" Mavis said and gestured to Jack, Flynn and Merida. "They're not artistic at all. I'm pretty much alone in that."

"Well, thank you for that compliment, Dracula," Flynn said and crossed his arms, pretending to be offended.

"Oh please…" Mavis said, waving her hand dismissively. "Do you want me to remind you of that drawing contest you and Merida had the other day?"

"No, not really" Flynn said and wrinkled his nose. The sting of losing was probably not completely gone yet.

"What about you, Fishlegs? Do you do any creative stuff?" Jack asked.

"No, not really. I leave that to Hiccup and Rapunzel. They're always doing some kind of creative project," Fishlegs said, gesturing with his hands. He was beginning to seem comfortable now, much to Jack's satisfaction.

"Well, we can't all be artists," Jack said with a smile.

"No, just look at you," Flynn said and poked his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm not the one who lost a drawing contest recently," Jack said and stuck his tongue out.

He was pleased to hear the indignant huff that escaped Flynn's mouth. "Of course, you weren't. No one challenged you."

"And thank goodness for that," Mavis said and wiped away some imaginary sweat from her forehead.

Wait, wait… What was that supposed to mean? He wasn't that bad. Damn cheeky Dracula.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked her, tilting his head.

"Oh, don't ever challenge Jack. He has no shame. He'll do anything," Mavis told Hiccup with a certainness only a best friend could have.

Jack scowled at her. He most definitely wouldn't do anything. He'd do a lot. A lot more than most people. A lot more than most people would probably even think of. But not anything.

"Hey, I can't exactly back down when someone challenges my manhood. It's a matter of honor," he said, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. It really was though. He felt an almost child-like defiance whenever someone told him he couldn't do something or extended a challenge to him.

"Jack, I doubt anyone wants to deal with your manhood," Hiccup deadpanned, making Jack's friends and Fishlegs chuckle at his expense.

That sneaky Viking.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong Hiccup," Flynn said. "Jack, I challenge you to eat this piece of boomslang skin," Flynn said, holding out a tiny piece of the snake skin in his palm.

"Done!" Jack said, took the piece of skin and quickly swallowed it down. Sure, it wasn't exactly delicious, but it didn't make him want to vomit either. It was sort of like eating a dried leaf.

"Gross!" Mavis said, her face contorted in a disgusted expression.

Merida roared with laughter. Hiccup and Fishlegs watched him with grins on their faces.

Jack's lips crept into an evil smile. "I did what you said, Rider. Now it's time for you to be challenged," he said and picked up one of the ingredients lying on his side of the table. "Eat this Flitterby wing," Jack said and passed the dried insect wing to Flynn.

Flynn quickly threw it into his mouth. A soft, crunching sound emerged, while Flynn chewed the dried insect remnant and swallowed it.

"Eww," Mavis said, while Merida slammed her fist on the table and grinned.

Damn, he actually did it. Jack wasn't sure if Flynn would actually play along, but now that he had, Jack wasn't about to back down. He wanted to win this competition, earning him the right to gloat. In his circle of friends that right should never be underestimated.

"Your move, Frosty," Flynn said with a confident smile, as he reached out his hand, opened his palm and revealed a small black egg that Jack instantly recognized as a doxy egg.

Oh great. Those were supposed to be really nasty. He grabbed the egg and watched it lie on his own palm for a few moments.

"What's the matter, Jack?" Hiccup said and shot him a smile. "Is your manhood in trouble?"

Jack's friends chuckled.

Oh hell no.

Flynn was not going to best him at this and Hiccup was not going to get away with making fun of him.

He grabbed the egg and shoved it into his mouth, crushing it with his teeth. It released its juice and coated his taste buds with an incredibly bitter taste. Jack grimaced, making the others laugh at his expression.

"Wow, that was rough," Jack said, when he'd swallowed the last of the disgusting egg.

Hiccup grinned at him and Jack couldn't help the bright smile that spread across his face.

"Well, prepare to go down, Rider," Jack said, looking over the ingredients lying scattered on his side of the workstation. "Hmm…." he said and decided on a particularly nasty item.

He passed the pufferfish eye to Flynn, who took it but looked a bit paler now.

"Eww, Flynn, you're not seriously going to eat that are you?" Mavis said, her face scrunched in disgust.

What was she doing? She shouldn't talk Flynn out of this. It'd be too amusing to watch him eat that gross eye. Jack decided to rile his friend up a little to ensure he would continue.

"Are you going to get on with it, Rider? Or do you surrender to my superiority?" he said and gave him an arrogant smile.

Flynn responded by throwing the pufferfish eye into his mouth. As soon as he chewed on the soft, squishy substance, he made a face of pure disgust.

Jack and the others laughed at him. Flynn looked even paler now, like the fish eye had sucked all the blood out of his face.

"Wow… That was disgusting," Flynn said, holding a hand over his stomach, like he was about to be sick. He took a few moments to regain his composure, before eagerly grabbing an ingredient and handing it to Jack.

"No, wait, Jack, don't," Hiccup said, but it was too late. He had already swallowed the berry. Man, it tasted disgusting.

"Aaaand you ate it," Hiccup drawled.

"What?" Jack said. He knew it was a berry, but he hadn't taken a proper look at it. Judging by Hiccup's expression that had definitely been a mistake.

"That was a baneberry. They're extremely poisonous," Hiccup said and shook his head.

Crap. Well, that wasn't a very smart move then.

"Oh, Jack… Look what you've gotten yourself into," Mavis said with worried eyes.

Flynn and Merida both eyed him like he would suddenly drop to the floor in agonizing spasms. Not that that was very likely. There was still plenty of time to do something.

"Yeah… My tongue's actually going numb now. Call Poison Control," Jack said to lighten the mood, but there was truth behind the words. His tongue was actually going numb.

"You're an idiot," Hiccup said.

"Jack, we should do something," Mavis said and looked around them.

Hiccup walked away from the table and towards the shelves with all the jars of ingredients. Jack and the others watched him, while he found a container, propped the lid open and grabbed something from it. What was he taking?

Hiccup quickly made it back to the workstation, reached out his hand and placed something small in Jack's palm. Jack's fingers tingled from the brief brush of skin. He observed the stone-like mass in his hand and instantly recognized it as a bezoar. Of course. Bezoars are effective against most poisons, everyone who has paid attention in Potions knows that. Jack would probably have thought of that himself, if he hadn't been too busy with the surprise of eating something poisonous and his tongue going numb.

He swallowed the bezoar and gave the others a bright grin.

"There. Now I'm not going to die," he said and lifted his hands into the air.

"You're an idiot," Hiccup repeated his words and rolled his eyes, but the faint smile on his lips told Jack that he wasn't serious this time. It actually seemed more like an affectionate scolding, which made him feel delighted. It definitely seemed like Hiccup was opening up to him slowly.

"I just put on a dramatic display, so you could be the hero and save me," he said and gave Hiccup a challenging half-smile.

"Riiiiight," Hiccup drawled. "Because as you have so ingeniously deduced, I have a desperate, urgent need to play the hero," he said, every word dripping with sharp sarcasm.

Jack noticed Fishlegs' lips splitting into a bright grin as soon as the words left Hiccup's mouth.

"Oh, I know you do. You hide it behind that wall of sarcasm, but you desperately want to save the day and seduce everyone in sight with your dorky awkwardness," Jack said and grinned.

Hiccup genuinely laughed at that and the sound sent a tingle down Jack's spine. He found himself beaming. Mavis, Merida and Flynn all chuckled.

"Oh, you know me so well already," Hiccup said, shaking his head. "All of this" he said and gestured to himself, "is clearly just a front."

"Definitely is," Jack said with a knowing smile.

It was true though. Not that Hiccup wasn't a sarcastic, brainy, awkward introvert. He definitely was… but there was much more to him than that. Hiccup liked to pretend to the other students that there wasn't, and it was clearly to keep people at arm's length. He wouldn't get rid of Jack that easily though.

The more he got to know Hiccup, the more he liked him, and he decided then and there that he'd like to be his friend. Hopefully that would actually be possible. But even if it was going to be difficult, Jack was never one to avoid a challenge.

---

"For this second class, you'll be brewing Amortentia," Professor Creek said and wrote the name on the blackboard. "Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world and therefore also one of the most dangerous potions in existence."

Several students giggled and whispered to each other conspiratorially. Some of them were definitely scheming.

Hiccup drummed on the workstation with his fingers. Why in Odin's name was the school willingly handing over that kind of ammunition to teenagers? It shouldn't even be legal to make love potions at all, nevermind at a school.

He was definitely not going to be accepting anything edible or drinkable from anyone for the rest of his time here. He exchanged a brief look with Jack, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing, blue eyes narrowed in a skeptical way. Hiccup smiled and was rewarded with a bright grin and somehow it warmed him to know that he and Jack were getting along so well.

Professor Creek started talking about what the potion should look like, when it was made correctly. Hiccup found himself looking at Jack and thinking about that stupid let's-eat-gross-potions-ingredients contest he just had with Flynn. He smiled. Jack was entertaining to be around. He was so upbeat and carefree, and he obviously didn't mind making a completely fool of himself, if it could make his friends laugh. Hiccup found himself admiring him in that sense. Jack genuinely wanted to make the people around him happy and that was a heartwarming character trait.

"One of the most interesting aspects of this potion is that it smells differently to every person, depending on which scents are attractive to them," Professor Creek said.

Hiccup shared a look with Fishlegs, who seemed concerned by this. Well, it would certainly be... interesting.

"Turn to page 87," Professor Creek said. "You'll find the needed instructions and list of ingredients. This is the most advanced potion you've encountered so far, so don't hesitate to ask me for help, if you need it. You may begin now."

Hiccup opened his textbook and found the page. Yeah… Their professor wasn't kidding. The instructions were longer than anyone he'd ever seen for a potion. Well, at least that was something. Maybe it would deter some of the lovestruck students from trying it out on their poor unsuspecting crushes.

"This looks a bit complicated" he told Fishlegs.

"Yeah, take a look at this list of ingredients," Fishlegs said and pointed a finger on the page next to the instructions. Hiccup looked it over and had to agree that that was indeed a very long list. This batch was going to require a lot of concentration.

"Yeah… We better get started," he told Fishlegs and motioned for him to follow him towards the many shelves.

The two of them began gathering the ingredients from the large containers on the dusty bookshelves and despite the long list, they managed to collect everything fairly quickly. Jack walked past him and nudged him playfully on the shoulder, making him drop a few star thistles. Hiccup couldn't stop his amused smile, when Jack scurried away to avoid retribution.

When Hiccup and Fishlegs had brought the ingredients back to the workstation and laid out the utensils they needed for brewing this particular potion, they set to work separately next to each other. Neither one of them had a problem with Potions, so usually the brewing process was a quiet, peaceful affair without any bumps in the road. They did, however, both regularly lean over to check on each other's potions, just to make sure it looked identical to their own batch.

Hiccup began working meticulously. He chopped and ground the ingredients with a quick and steady hand, before adding them in the correct order. He let his potion simmer for a few minutes, and quickly threw a glance at Jack, who was in the middle of helping Merida with her potion, showing her an effective way of cutting the star thistles without getting prickled.

He smiled to himself. Jack really did seem like a great friend to those he cared about. He'd noticed before how he'd always help Merida during Potions, as she apparently hated the class with a passion. Many people in their school didn't get the chance to see this side of Jack. Most students just knew him as a popular, carefree prankster, but there was definitely a lot more to him than that. Hiccup thought about the morning where he had been tired from his nightly flight with Toothless, where Jack had seemed genuinely concerned with his sleep deprived state.

Hiccup leaned in to look at Fishlegs' potion that looked identical to his own. Fishlegs gave him a nod in understanding, before continuing working on his batch. They were usually on the same steps in the brewing process as they had a similar way of working. Their Viking background definitely helped them in classes such as this, as they'd learned to handle different kinds of tools when they were very young.

The two of them continued to work in comfortable silence, checking in on each other once in a while. In the end, Hiccup's potion had taken on a mother-of-pearl sheen, gleaming in the depths of his black cauldron. It seemed like it had turned out quite well.

Fishlegs finished his batch a few minutes after him.

"Well, that's done then," Fishlegs said and let out a tired sigh.

"Yeah. That was definitely one of the harder batches we've ever had to make," Hiccup said and closed his textbook.

"True… Better hope no one uses it on you," Fishlegs said and nudged his shoulder.

Hiccup scoffed. "They won't get the chance. I'm not taking anything edible or drinkable from anyone."

"Probably a smart move. I definitely saw some of the girls in here eying you carefully… and Jack and Flynn too."

Hiccup sighed. "I think Jack's on the same page as me. He definitely looked a bit disturbed as well, when Professor Creek mentioned what we'd be brewing."

"Well, I would be too if I was him. He's always been popular. Did you see how Rebecca was waving at him and blushing earlier?" Fishlegs said.

"No, not really, but that's not much of a surprise," Hiccup said with a shrug. Jack was a popular guy, and he'd heard Rebecca talk fondly about him before in the Ravenclaw common room with some of the other girls.

"Anyway… Should we try smelling the potions?" Fishlegs said, eying the two batches with curiosity.

"Oh right… Let's do that," Hiccup said. It'd be quite interesting to find out which scents he apparently found attractive, as it definitely had some sort of psychological aspect to it. Hopefully, it wouldn't be something creepy or too strange. That would definitely make him analyze himself in depth.

He watched his potion for a few moments, before carefully leaning in over the cauldron and letting the steam seep into his nose, spreading its scent.

He instantly recognized the first smell as peppermint, the sharp, refreshing scent making his nose twitch. A brief flashback of being back on Berk, gathering herbs, came to the forefront of his mind. He recalled the coarse feel and the bright green colour of the peppermint leaves.

The scent dissipated, leaving him with his thoughts of Berk for a moment, before a new scent reached him.

Images of late nights working in Gobber's workshop, of saddling Toothless for the first time, of constructing his armor, of being free in the sky with his best friend all came rushing through his mind. He felt a tug of nostalgia and affection in his heart. This was the smell of fresh leather. Definitely something that was connected to many great memories that meant a lot to him, so it made sense that he would smell it in this potion.

The scent slowly subsided. It was incredible that scents could produce that sort of emotional response. Everyone has probably experienced smelling something that suddenly made all kinds of pleasant memories come streaming back, but it was still interesting how it could unlock a rush of thoughts and feelings like that.

As he breathed in again, memories of drawing and sketching, of mapping out the archipelago with Toothless, of writing eagerly in his notebook when he'd seen a new dragon species or had an idea for a new invention flashed in his mind. This was definitely charcoal, like the charcoal pencil he always had stored in a small compartment in his armor.

He was momentarily confused, when the last scent reached his nostrils, as he didn't quite realize why it appeared.

It was smoke… His brain began to flip through memories based on the smell and he immediately understood.

He thought of dragons roaring happily and firing flames in the air, defending dragons against trappers with the other dragon riders, his flame sword, falling into a sea of flames when he and Toothless had defeated the dragon queen. Not that that last memory was pleasant as such, but it strengthened his and Toothless' friendship. Made it unbreakable. Fire and smoke had become such a central part of his life due to Toothless and the other dragons, so in his mind, it was no longer connected to danger and uncertainty but adventure, excitement and his best friend.

He pulled away from the cauldron and met Fishleg's curious gaze observing him. Apparently, he was already done smelling his Amortentia batch.

"So… What did you smell, Fish?" Hiccup said with genuine curiosity. Probably Meatlug.

"Umm… Well… Ocean breeze, wet wood, old books and fresh Icelandic cod," Fishlegs listed, his eyes gleaming like he was somehow still wondering if there was a deeper meaning to it.

"Are you some kind of academic pirate now?" Hiccup said, earning him a quick but amusing scowl from his friend.

"Come on, you know I've always loved the ocean," Fishlegs said and Hiccup definitely couldn't disagree with that. For some reason Fishlegs had always been fascinated with the sea, and he loved watching the sunsets over the ocean with Meatlug or go swimming by one of the beaches in the summer. Just flying across the ocean on the backs of their dragons put Fishlegs in a good mood.

"What did you smell?" Fishlegs asked with eager eyes, like he was hoping it would be something particularly weird that he could throw back in his face. Well… Some of the things were kind of weird, so his friend got his wish there.

"Uh… Peppermint, fresh leather, charcoal and… smoke."

"And you're giving me shit?" Fishlegs said with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

Hiccup chuckled at that. It was so rare to hear Fishlegs swear, and whenever he did, it just became evident that it was a huge contrast to his usual mild-mannered self, which only made it more hilarious.

"What?" he asked innocently and held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. He knew it must sound weird to others that he smelled smoke from this kind of potion, but… there was a meaning behind it, as the unlocking of memories had revealed.

"Hiccup seriously… smoke?" Fishlegs asked incredulously.

"Yeah, seriously. What's wrong with that?" Well, to be honest, he already knew. It totally made him sound like some kind of mad, disturbed arsonist who was desperately setting fires all around him because he needed to inhale it. Psychopath alert, much?

"You're just… Could you not be like completely intertwined with Toothless for just one second of your life?" Fishlegs asked, shaking his head with a fond smile.

"No, of course not," Hiccup said and crossed his arms. Why would he ever do that? Toothless was the best thing that ever happened to him, so it only made sense that this potion would make that connection.

Fishlegs just shook his head slowly with a small smile. "You're like… one being, aren't you?"

"Definitely," Hiccup said and beamed at his friend, who gave him a wide grin in response.

Naturally, he and Toothless weren't one being, but it certainly felt like it sometimes. When they would practically work as one in the air, and when they understood each other perfectly without needing words, it was almost like they were connected by more than just friendship, like they had some sort of spiritual link. He could never fully explain the depth of his connection with his beloved best friend to others, but it didn't matter as long as he and Toothless understood it.

---

Jack had to pay extra attention to Merida during this second Potions class, as Amortentia was a lot more advanced than the Hiccoughing Solution. To his surprise though, she did manage to brew an acceptable batch of the love potion with his assistance. He had expected some problems because of the lengthy instructions, but as long as they were making sure to stay on the same steps of the brewing process, everything went off without a hitch.

They had been told that the love potion smelled differently to each individual according to what attracted them. Jack immediately found himself curious as to what he was going to smell from the potion, and what his friends would smell. Hopefully, there would be some nice teasing material to be found there somewhere.

After his potion was done simmering and was shining with that mother-of-pearl look, he leaned in over the freshly brewed batch and breathed in.

The smell of fresh pine invaded his nostrils and made him feel oddly content, as he pictured himself walking through a thick forest, pine cones and dried fallen pine needles cracking under his feet, watching the calming, green surroundings and inhaling the clean, fresh air.

Suddenly a new scent chased away the pine and Jack instantly recognized it as freshly baked pancakes, his favourite treat in the early, tired mornings, where it would fill his belly with a comforting, satisfying warmth. He felt his stomach growl at the smell, like it wanted him to down the potion in the hopes of it tasting like pancakes. Memories of many happy lazy Sunday mornings with Emma and early mornings with his friends in the Great Hall popped into his mind.

The nice, familiar smell gave way to a faint, crisp, airy scent. It was delicate and almost non-existent, but the memories in Jack's mind told him it was freshly fallen snow. He thought of him and Emma playing in the snow and building snowmen, the snowball fights he always started at Hogwarts, and the gentle soothing of his mind as the first thin layer of sparkling white covered the landscape.

Jack smiled. Of course, it would be snow. He was Jack Frost. What else would it be?

After Jack and his friends all took in the aromas of their freshly brewed potions, they started to question each other on what it smelled like.

He and Flynn shared an amused laugh, as Merida explained that she smelled sweet red apples, freshly baked raisin cookies, horse hair and a newly made Quidditch broom.

Mavis told them she could smell lilies, cream cheese, ink and cinnamon, while Flynn's aromas of attraction were apparently vanilla, coffee, fresh sawdust and newly chopped lumber.

"Damn, that's some manly smells... except the first one," Jack said and grinned.

"Yeah. Smells like gettin' shit done," Flynn said in a deep macho tone while puffing his chest out.

They all chuckled at his comment. Sure, Flynn was no wuss, but he wasn't some kind of macho guy either and that only made that combination of scents even stranger. Well, actually, the lumber part made perfect sense since Flynn's dad owned a lumbermill so he was obviously fond of that scent, having grown up with it, but the others weren't quite so obvious.

"What about you, Snowflake?" Merida asked him, lifting her red eyebrows.

"Pine, pancakes and freshly fallen snow," Jack said, earning him several hearty laughs from his friends.

"Of course," Mavis said fondly, like she was recalling how excited Jack got whenever the first snow would appear and gracefully coat the earth in a crisp, layer of white.

He did always feel more comfortable during the winter. Somehow, the delicate snow and the unyielding ice eased his mind in ways that he couldn't explain. He just felt more at home, whenever that soft, white blanket of gleaming snow would appear. He'd probably never be able to fully explain the feeling to others, but there was never a doubt that he was a winter child and always would be.

After Potions, they made their way towards their next classes. Hiccup and Fishlegs had Herbology, while he and Mavis had Arithmancy.

They walked up the old stone staircase that led towards the corridors from the dungeon, and Jack felt more comfortable when they'd finally left the gloomy surroundings and were strolling through the familiar passageways. Even though he liked Potions, the classroom was definitely way too depressing.

"Oh gods no," Hiccup suddenly said, his eyes widening for a few seconds, as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Jack and the others stopped and looked at him.

"What?" Jack asked, his brow furrowing. He really didn't like that look of concern on Hiccup's face.

"Those two Hufflepuff girls constantly want to talk to me," Hiccup said and motioned further down the corridor with his head.

Jack felt a grin spread across his face. He spotted the girls in question, and his grin only widened. He immediately recognized Sarah Hudson and Jessica Joyce, and he was in no way surprised that they'd taken a liking to Hiccup. They were both the kind of girl to harbor some hopeless puppy dog crush on whoever was good-looking or popular.

"Well," Jack said, still unable to wipe the grin off his face. "Let's just go down this way instead," he finished and slung his arm around Hiccup, guiding him down another corridor, shielding him from the potential awkward encounter of interacting with the girls.

Mavis and Merida shot Jack some curious looks, like Flynn had done earlier, but he just grinned at them.

Hiccup let out a sigh of relief, when they made their way down the other passageway.

"You almost had to socialize there, Hic," Jack said and nudged Hiccup's side, still having his arm around him.

"I know right? Phew, dodged a bullet," Hiccup said, making Jack chuckle.

Hiccup's reluctance regarding his sudden popularity and his social awkwardness in general was actually pretty endearing. Jack couldn't really relate to it, but he found that he felt a combination of wanting to shield the guy from his own awkwardness and wanting to tease him about it, finding it hilarious at times.

Jack ruffled Hiccup's brown hair in a slightly teasing gesture, feeling the soft locks against his fingertips. A tingling sensation spread through his fingers, before he let his arm rest on Hiccup's shoulder again. He could feel the warmth from Hiccup's body as they walked closely, shoulder to shoulder.

Mavis and Merida quickly became engulfed in a discussion of their own, while Flynn began regaling Hiccup with what their potions had all smelled like. Hiccup let out small chuckles, when some of the more unusual smells were mentioned. Jack found himself wanting to know, what Hiccup had experienced.

"So, what did your potion smell like?" he asked, his arm still slung around Hiccup's shoulder.

Hiccup seemed to hesitate for a few moments, but Jack had expected that. He was guarded, so he would naturally be considering whether or not to admit to his scents of attraction. Jack was secretly hoping it would be something that he could use to get a blush out of him.

"Uhmm… Peppermint, fresh leather, charcoal… and well… smoke," Hiccup said sheepishly and looked away from Jack, like he was expecting the outburst.

"Smoke? You're attracted to smoke?" he asked in disbelief and let out a bubbly laugh. That was just too entertaining.

"I'm not attracted to smoke, just as I assume you're not attracted to pancakes, you dumbass," Hiccup said with a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

Flynn chuckled at that. Jack grinned at Hiccup calling him a dumbass. It was so out of character for him, which only made it more hilarious, and it was great that he was already comfortable enough to call him something like that.

"It's like… the faint smell of fire and smoke in the air after a bonfire," Hiccup said, gesturing eagerly with his hands.

"Well, that's not too creepy, Mr. Arsonist," Jack said with a smile. He briefly wondered if Hiccup would smell smoke from the potion because of the dragons, but quickly pushed the thought away.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you, Snow Cone," Hiccup deadpanned and nudged Jack's shoulder.

"Be nice or I'll blab to your fangirls," he threatened with an evil smile. He heard his friends chuckle at that comment.

Hiccup's eyes widened for a few seconds. "No… You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would," he said in a low voice and narrowed his eyes.

"Stupid, pale, snow-loving Gryffindors…" Hiccup mumbled under his breath.

Jack laughed loudly, not being able to restrain himself. He ruffled Hiccup's soft brown hair again.

---

"He did not!" Rapunzel said, eyes growing large, when Hiccup told her the story of Jack and Flynn's little competition.

The three of them had arrived early for their Herbology class and were spending the remaining time catching up on how their classes had been. They were currently all alone in the large, bright greenhouse.

"Oh, yeah, he did," Hiccup said with a smile tugging on his lips. Fishlegs snickered next to him.

The musty smell of soil and the fresh scent of leaves and flowers were always pungent in the greenhouses of Hogwarts, but Hiccup didn't mind at all. He found the earthy scents soothing, because he liked being outdoors and in contact with nature. It made a certain calmness wash over him, the same way the scent of pine did, when he was walking through the forests back at Berk or spent time with Toothless in the little forest here at Hogwarts. And to get your hands in the dirt, to learn how to tend to the magical plants and make them grow, to find out how to process the plants to get potions ingredients out of them, all of these things were nice variations from the classic way of teaching classes at Hogwarts.

"Wow, that sounds gross… A doxy egg? Boomslang skin? Eww," Rapunzel said with a wrinkled nose.

"Yeah, it definitely wasn't a gourmet meal, that's for sure," Fishlegs said, eyes bright.

"Wait… You said the potion you had to make smelled differently to each person. What did you smell then?" Rapunzel said, tilting her head.

"Well, Fishlegs' apparently a pirate now, since he's attracted to the smells of wet wood, the sea and Icelandic cod," Hiccup said and chuckled.

"Wow, Fish. Are you going to commandeer a ship and sail around the world in search of booty?" Rapunzel asked with a teasing smile and poked Fishlegs' shoulder.

"Hey, at least I'm not attracted to smoke and fire," Fishlegs said, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

Great, this again. Hiccup chuckled on the inside.

"Hiccup… Seriously?" Rapunzel said, watching him with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, seriously. It's not like I can control what that potion smelled like, you know," Hiccup said with a twitch of his lips, as his other best friend was now apparently questioning his sanity too.

Rapunzel shook her head with an amused smile. "You really are something else…"

"Why, thank you," he said and bowed his head to her. "You're… kind of okay too," he finished hesitantly, like Rapunzel was actually a chore to be around.

Rapunzel punched his arm in protest. "Hey! I'm more than okay," she said, narrowing her green eyes.

Ouch. She may be sweet and innocent, but that punch was definitely going to leave a bruise.

Hiccup shrugged. "Well… I tolerate you. Let's leave it at that," he said, making Fishlegs snicker and Rapunzel narrow her eyes in hostility before she burst into a bright grin.

Their conversation was interrupted, when other students started coming into the greenhouse and found their places around the huge, rectangular workstation full of different plants and gardening tools.

A relaxed atmosphere of casual chatter filled the bright greenhouse, while they all waited for their professor to arrive. Hiccup felt a pang of annoyance when he spotted three familiar Slytherin guys. Luckily, they stayed a good distance from Rapunzel. At least for now.

Professor Cherry appeared and the casual buzzing of conversation died down. Their professor was a young woman in her late 20's, who had begun teaching at Hogwarts just last year. She had warm brown eyes, blonde hair down to her shoulders and an affinity for colourful clothing. Today, her robes were a rich, purple colour.

Hiccup, Fishlegs and Rapunzel had immediately taken a liking to her, because she was not just a competent teacher but also kind and compassionate, always willing to help anyone who had problems in class.

Professor Cherry clapped her hands together. "So, today we're going to handle Venomous Tentaculas!" she said, a bright grin taking over her face.

A mix of excitement and nervous anticipation rushed through the students, hushed whispers erupting everywhere.

Fishlegs visibly paled next to him and Hiccup patted his friend on the back a few times in a reassuring gesture.

Well, this was going to be… interesting. Venomous Tentaculas were very dangerous. Apparently, Professor Cherry wasn't kidding, when she'd said at the end of last year that this year was going to be a lot more challenging.

Professor Cherry left the room shortly and came back with a large example of the nasty plant inside a transparent box. She put it on the workstation. It was green and spiky with strong vines that swung around menacingly in seemingly angry gestures.

Could plants even be angry? Hiccup definitely felt like it had an air about it that seemed to be seriously pissed off at the universe. And they were going to handle its probably-just-as-pissed-off brothers and sisters? Wonderful.

"Now," Professor Cherry said and gestured to the plant with a joyful smile. "There are many ways a Venomous Tentacula can kill you."

Hiccup shook his head and couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm for murderous plant life. He was going to be seriously pissed off, if he was killed by a plant though… That was an uneventful death, if he ever heard of one. If that happened, he would definitely be coming back to haunt the greenhouses.

"They have incredibly strong vines that can grab you and strangle you," she said and pointed at some of the moving vines. "The spikes on the vines are deadly, if they break your skin and spread their venom. And it can also spray venom from its shoots."

"Oh no," he heard Rapunzel whisper.

He glanced at his friends. Fishlegs was staring at their professor with wide eyes. Rapunzel fidgeted with her hands.

Hiccup sighed. All in all, it was a fully developed killing machine.

"And the last thing," Professor Cherry said. "It has a mouth that can bite you, which is also fatal."

Hiccup shared a disturbed look with Rapunzel.

A mouth? Well, that wasn't creepy at all.

Professor Cherry used the first 15 minutes explaining how to tend to a Venomous Tentacula, so it would grow quickly and develop a lot of leaves and thorns, which were important ingredients for potions. However, the venom itself was also an important ingredient, and their suicidal task today was to extract a vial of it.

She moved on to tell them about the plant's abilities and dangers, as well as different methods to handle these risks, when you needed to pick certain areas of the plant.

"Diffindo and stunning spells are the most effective spells against Venomous Tentaculas," Professor Cherry said. "You'll need to work in teams of three to be able to handle one plant properly. And of course, I'll provide you with safety gear. Now, I'll be right back, I just need to help get all the plants inside."

Fishlegs stared at the plant already on the workstation.

"Don't worry, Fish. We're going to get through it together, okay?" Hiccup told him in a confident tone that he hoped would lessen his friend's anxiety.

"Uhh, Hiccup… Do you know how dangerous Venomous Tentaculas are?" Fishlegs said, still not looking at him.

"Well, yeah? But like I said, we'll do it together. Nothing bad's going to happen," he said, doing his best to sound calm, determined to ease some of Fishlegs' troubles.

He glanced at Rapunzel, whose eyes darted back and forth from the plant to him and Fishlegs.

He definitely couldn't blame them for being nervous. It would be risky dealing with those particularly diabolical plants.

"But… It's deadly," Fishlegs said and wrung his hands.

"Yeah, but you heard the professor. We're going to be working in teams of three, so, you, me and Rapunzel can be a team. Look, I'll deal with the plant, and you and Rapunzel be ready to attack it if it tries anything, okay?" Hiccup said.

Fishlegs sighed in relief and Rapunzel stopped fidgeting.

"Really?" Fishlegs said, like Hiccup's offer was too good to be true.

"Sure, don't worry about it, Fish," he said and smiled fondly.

Fishlegs beamed at him in response, a sudden transformation from the anxiety on his face only a few moments ago.

It was a strange balance with Fishlegs sometimes. He was a big, strong guy and Hiccup knew he could defend himself if he needed to. He'd seen Fishlegs fight plenty of times back on Berk during training sessions. Somehow though, those experiences and skills didn't lessen Fishlegs' nervous nature.

Right now though, Hiccup was just glad he could calm his friends down by volunteering to handle the murderous, psychopathic plant.

"Just be careful, okay, Hiccup? This will be more dangerous than anything we've done before in this class," Rapunzel said, watching him with those big, concerned eyes. She always worried so much about him and Fishlegs. Although in this particular situation, her concern might be justified.

"Of course. I'm always careful, right?" he said with a smile.

Rapunzel scoffed. "Try "no"? You're definitely more reckless than you should be."

He grinned at her. Somehow, he'd known Rapunzel would say something like that. She wasn't a fan of anything that put him in any kind of danger, like some of his more… experimental drills with Toothless or potentially dangerous inventions or fighting sessions that could cause serious injuries.

Hiccup waved one of his hands in a dismissive gesture. "Come on, I'm not that bad."

He was though. They both knew it. But he wasn't about to admit that.

"Yeah, you are," Rapunzel said and ruffled his hair in a teasing gesture.

"Aww, how cute," he heard a familiar voice say.

Oh, great.

Hiccup sighed before looking at the Slytherin.

Jarvis, Know and Kinney were standing on the other side of the workstation.

Jarvis leaned against the edge and watched Hiccup and his friends with a self-satisfied smile. "The ugly nerd falls for the stupid little girl. I didn't know you two were a thing now, Haddock. A bit of a surprise I must say. Who knew you liked slow children? But I guess everyone has their type."

Rapunzel's face fell. She wasn't good at handling bullies. Usually, she tried to ignore them, but that wasn't always possible.

Hiccup's patience was running out. They'd thrown their condescending comments at her since their very first year at Hogwarts.

"It's interesting that you're always paying so much attention to us. Are you into one of us? Do you think about us all the time? Do we make your stomach feel all fluttery?" Hiccup said and tilted his head in a mock curious way.

"You think you're so clever, don't you? Listen here, you little shit. No one actually likes you. Everyone's just stupid enough to believe your lies about the dragons and all they want from you is information. Without that, you're utterly worthless to everyone just like you've always been," Jarvis said. His two friends snickered from behind him.

Hostile words always stung, especially when a small part of them were true, but the best strategy was to try to stay calm.

"Oh no. You've seen right through me," Hiccup said in the most monotone voice he could muster. "All these years, I've been building my web of lies, so I could finally get what we all want in life: notes and intrusive questions. At last, my life is brilliant."

"You can hide behind that sarcasm shit all you want. It doesn't change that you're still the same pathetic loser as before those ridiculous rumors started," Jarvis said, his nose wrinkled.

"Oh, you don't like my sarcasm? Wankers like you make excellent practice," Hiccup said, his face in perfectly neutral folds.

Jarvis took a few moments to observe Hiccup with narrowed eyes, like he was considering whether or not to continue this.

Good. Hiccup wasn't going to back down, so he was hoping Jarvis would. Being in conflict with twats was always exhausting and every year he had more and more trouble keeping his cool.

Professor Cherry and the caretaker entered the greenhouse, hauling a cart each filled with the menacing, twisting venomous plants. Each plant was contained inside a see-through box, most likely to avoid any students being attacked when they would carry it to their side of the greenhouse.

The three Slytherins sent him some withering glares before going back to their place on the further end of the greenhouse.

Hiccup took a deep breath.

Professor Cherry and the caretaker began to place one box after another on the large workstation. A few of the plants swung their vines against the sides of the boxes.

Hiccup met Fishlegs' gaze and he seemed to have relaxed now that the conflict was over.

Rapunzel was still looking at the ground. Hiccup took a few steps closer and squeezed her shoulder, letting his hand rest on it afterwards.

"Are you okay?" he said, his voice quiet.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks for sticking up for me… again," she said and didn't meet his eyes. That wasn't unusual after an encounter like this. She always felt vulnerable and exposed after being the subject of cold, harsh words and Hiccup couldn't blame her. He'd seen her stand up for herself several times, but she struggled to handle actual bully types who didn't hesitate to fight dirty, using every single low blow they could possibly think of.

"Any time. I'm always here for you," Hiccup said and guided her into a warm, comforting hug.

She wrapped her arms around him, and he squeezed her for reassurance and stroked her soft hair.

"I know," Rapunzel said into his chest.

In moments like this, Hiccup thought about how much like a sister she was to him, and as her 'big brother', he'd never hesitate in defending her against anything. Much like Jack, Rapunzel had that child-like personality that made her embrace things like imagination, playfulness and wonder. But unlike Jack, she was also vulnerable to other people's words. The two were very different in that way. Jack appeared to be the kind of person, who could handle almost anything.

When they pulled apart, Rapunzel gave him a small but genuine smile. Good. She shouldn't spend time or energy worrying about those twats. He hated seeing that defeated look on her face.

He smiled at her and had to look down to meet her eyes. It still hit him sometimes how strange it was that he was so much taller than her now. For many years, he'd been the shortest in their little friend group.

"Every team grab three sets of protective gear and put them on before coming back to take a plant," Professor Cherry's light and eager voice said.

Fishlegs took three sets of safety gear for them and Hiccup grabbed one of the large boxes containing a Venomous Tentacula and lifted it up into his arms. As he approached Fishlegs and Rapunzel with the dangerous cargo safely nestled in his grip, his two friends were eying the plant with suspicion and anticipation. They both moved a few feet away, when he made it to their spot and put the box down with a thud on the workstation.

"So… What do we do then?" Rapunzel said.

"Well… I guess there's nothing left to do but let the beast out," Hiccup said, and opened the box, stepping a few feet back in case this plant was as temperamental as the professor's example.

"Wands ready," Hiccup told Fishlegs and Rapunzel. They pulled out their wands and directed them at the spiky plant with matching looks of uncertainty.

Hiccup was definitely expecting an ambush, when he reached out his leather-gloved arms towards the plant. The anticipation made his senses hyperaware of any potential movement.

"Okay, stun it," he said and they both complied instantly.

The plant seemed to remain still as he came nearer, effectively stunned. A little unease crept into his stomach about the unpredictability of this situation. Sure, the killing machine seemed to be still right now, but it could definitely be scheming something diabolical, while it waited for its chance to pounce.

He picked up one of the vials and set to extract some of the bright green venom from the plant. It suddenly sprang to life, its thorny vines shooting through the air at an amazing speed. It wrapped itself tightly around his arm. Despite the protective gloves, he could feel it claw at his skin.

He held the vial tightly in his hand, not wanting to drop it and remained calm, not trying to yank his arm away or yell.

Fishlegs and Rapunzel moved quickly and both cast a Diffindo spell on the plant, severing the vine that had its firm painful grip on Hiccup.

The scorched vine landed gently on the greenhouse floor among specks of dirt and scattered leaves, and Hiccup stepped a few feet away from his attacker.

"Are you okay?" Fishlegs asked, looking him over, like he had some kind of serious injury.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hiccup said with a nod.

He could still feel several stinging jabs, where the plant had stabbed him with its spikes, but luckily, the gloves prevented it from breaking the skin and poisoning him.

He glanced around the greenhouse, where loud noises of panicky shouts, spell casting and angry outbursts had suddenly filled the usually peaceful atmosphere of Herbology class. Apparently, Hiccup wasn't the only one being attacked by the moody plants.

"Help! Get it off!" a Slytherin girl with short black hair screamed. This seemed to only make the situation worse as two more vines seized her arm. Professor Cherry had to help the girl's teammates in getting the angry plant to release their friend.

The rest of the class passed in the same state of chaos. Hiccup approached the temperamental Venomous Tentacula several times after it had been stunned and he was attacked each time, until he had a clear idea of how it preferred to move and strike.

He used this to his advantage the next time he came near it, and finally managed to be two steps ahead of it, grabbing several of its striking vines in a tight fist before it managed to curl around his arm, and used his other hand to quickly put the vial over to it and extract the remaining venom. He passed the last vial of green venom to Fishlegs, who planted it on the rack with the other vials.

"Stun it again" Hiccup told Rapunzel, who obliged instantly, causing the vines to droop and stop fighting him. He released his grip on them and quickly closed the box around it.

"We're done," he said and his friends smiled in relief. This whole thing had been pretty stressful, he had to admit. Wrestling with an angry plant that could potentially kill him put him a little on edge.

Hiccup removed the long leather gloves and a bunch of long marks from the spikes were revealed, standing out on his skin with their angry red colour.

"Wow… You look like you've been wrestling with a tiger or something," Rapunzel said in amusement as she examined his arms.

Hiccup chuckled. It was damn close to the truth. That moody, scheming plant was practically as angry as any fierce tiger. At least tigers only attack you from behind, so you can prevent it a lot more efficiently, than with this piece of diabolical flora that had no hesitations in lunging right at you.

Thank the gods that this class was finally over.

Hopefully, they would be dealing with something a little more docile next time.

---

Arithmancy was a drag today, and Jack found his thoughts wandering, not being able to concentrate. He usually didn't mind the subject, but today he couldn't focus at all on the complex number charts that Professor Keller was currently droning on about and illustrating on the blackboard.

He drummed on the table with his fingers. Why had he let Mavis talk him into taking this class again? He hadn't had a problem with it in earlier years, but it definitely seemed to have become a lot more advanced this year.

He shot a brief look at Mavis who was eagerly scribbling notes while glancing back and forth from her notebook and the professor. He was definitely going to ask for a copy of her notes afterwards, because he hadn't written down a single thing.

While he wasn't one of those types that wrote everything down the professors said, he usually did make a few notes on important things. Today though, he couldn't take in anything Professor Keller was saying. It was like he understood the words, but they formed no coherent meaning in his brain, and right after the professor had finished a sentence, Jack had already forgotten what it was.

He sighed. He definitely should have taken Divination or Herbology instead. Hell, even that dorky Building and Repairing Magical Objects class that Hiccup seemed so fond of would be better than this. Jack might have no experience at all in building anything but snow forts and snowmen, but at least he would be able to joke around with Hiccup, if he'd taken that class.

He suddenly felt eyes burning into his skin and turned his head quickly to spot the culprit. A familiar face with blonde hair and blue eyes was watching him from a few rows of tables back. What was going on with Astrid right now? Had he done something to annoy her?

He turned his attention back to Professor Keller and desperately tried to focus on the words that were leaving the professor's mouth in hasty, complicated sentences that still made no sense to his distracted mind. He could feel Astrid's eyes lingering on him, but he deliberately ignored her.

He was beyond relieved, when Professor Keller finally dismissed them. He threw his stuff into his grey backpack and slung it over one shoulder. Mavis carefully packed her own supplies into her brown leather satchel, being much more delicate and patient than Jack. As usual.

They walked together down one of the corridors, Jack whining about how much this class sucked and Mavis trying to reassure him that he would survive. He had a brief dejá vu to him and Merida in Potions.

They soon had to part, because Mavis had to go to her Muggle Studies class and he had Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Mavis was from a long line of pureblood witches and wizards, so she found the muggle world fascinating. When they'd first started at Hogwarts and became friends, Mavis would often look completely clueless when a reference to something from the muggle world was made, such as movie quotes or famous songs. Through the years though, she had become very well-versed in such things, because she had spent so much time with him, Flynn and Merida.

Jack strolled casually through the old stone passageway towards the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. He saw Liam pass him by and Jack nudged his shoulder playfully and threw him a "Hey, man," which was warmly returned with a toothy grin.

Liam was one of his and Flynn's dormmates. He was a genuinely nice but shy guy with an affinity for Astronomy and Divination. He was tall and lanky with black hair and tan skin. Unfortunately, Jack didn't share many classes with him, but at least they managed to hang out once in a while in the common room and the dormitory.

Jack continued on his way through the sea of students brimming through the halls towards their classes. Olivia Davies, a Ravenclaw in the year below Jack, quickly handed him a note and scurried away, barely looking at him at all.

An amused smile curved his lips, as he already knew what was happening. He unfolded the note as he continued to walk in a relaxed pace towards his destination, his eyes scanning the words on the crinkled piece of paper. The message was short and simple.

Hi, Jack. I really like you a lot, you're great. Just wanted to let you know. Olivia.

He smiled warmly. It was a nice, honest message. Not too sugary sweet or too vulgar and direct.

He folded the note and stuffed it into the pocket of his robes. He had a class to get to.

---

Defense Against the Dark Arts had been more demanding today than usual, because Professor Bunnymund had decided to give them a surprise test.

They'd only been back at Hogwarts for a little over a week, but the stern Australian professor wasted no time in examining their ability to pay attention in his class. He'd made it clear that now that they were N.E.W.T students, they needed to up their game and be prepared to do a lot more work.

Hiccup focused all his attention on the parchment with questions lying in front of him on the dark wooden table, scraping his quill across the paper. The test wasn't that bad as most of the questions were fairly easy, but there were a few questions where a little doubt snuck into his thoughts, and he found himself reconsidering his answers carefully.

Jack sat next to him, and Hiccup could practically feel the boredom radiate off him, as he twirled his quill incessantly, sighed deeply and ruffled his snow-white hair.

When a five minute break came along, Jack wasted no time in complaining. But instead of whining to Merida and Flynn, he turned his attention towards Hiccup.

"Hiccuuuuup," he whined pathetically, his eyes closed for a few seconds like he was in physical pain.

"Yeah, Jack?" he said, repressing a chuckle.

It was quite amusing to watch Jack be all whiny and frustrated like this. Somehow, his whole child-like demeanor really appealed to Hiccup. It was sort of liberating to be around someone who just embraced that side of themselves and protected it against the realities of growing up, without wondering if anyone found it strange.

"I'm not sure I'm going to survive this," Jack said, his whole body drooping, as he stared emptily at the table in front of him.

Jack definitely had dramatic flair. Not that he ever doubted that. He'd seen Jack do countless pranks through the years, start snowball fights, run and scream loudly through the hallways chasing people and so on. Jack had no problem putting on a show, no matter if it was just for a friend or the entire school to get some fun going.

"Can I have your stuff when you die?" Hiccup deadpanned, trying to get Jack to cheer up a little.

"Wow, that's cold… You don't even care that I'm going to die, Hic," Jack pouted and crossed his arms, reminding Hiccup of a child who wasn't allowed to get a lollipop.

"No, not really," he said, earning him a scowl from Jack.

"Pssh… You should be concerned too, you know. I'm pretty sure this test is an elaborate plot to murder us with boredom and frustration," Jack said, gesturing wildly with his hands.

There was that dramatic flair again. Hiccup smiled at him.

"Actually all the students here are in on it. You're the only one we're trying to murder," Hiccup said, hoping to get a reaction from Jack.

He heard Merida and Flynn snickering.

"What? How dare you stab me in the back like that!" Jack said, shaking a fist at him.

"Sheesh, relax. I was only trying to murder you. Don't be such a drama queen," Hiccup said and rolled his eyes.

"Well, maybe murder is an everyday thing for a Viking, but for a good-looking, intelligent, amazing guy like me, that level of brutality isn't normal," Jack said with that arrogant façade that Hiccup had already come to find familiar and highly amusing.

"Better get used to it then, Snowflake."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Hiccup said in an overly innocent fashion.

"It's always the quiet ones that turn out to be psychopaths that cut your hair off while you're sleeping and then wear it as a wig, isn't it?" Jack said, earning him chuckles from Merida and an amused "So true," from Flynn.

"Don't worry. I'm not like that," Hiccup said and waved a hand dismissively. "I mean, a wig, honestly? Total waste of hair. It would make nice pillow stuffing though," he said and watched Jack's hair in mock contemplation.

"What?! Don't you dare use these perfect white locks for a damn pillow, you stupid Viking!"

It was odd how their playful banter had already become so familiar to him. Even though they'd only hung out together for a few days, he found that it would be strange if their banter battles suddenly stopped and things went back to the way they were before. Hiccup had to admit that he really enjoyed spending time with Jack.

Hiccup scoffed, but the corners of his lips turned upwards. "Don't flatter yourself. There's plenty of yak hair that'd be softer and nicer than your frosty locks."

Merida chuckled. "He's got you there," she said.

"No, he hasn't," Jack said and gave her a disgusted look. "Are you honestly saying that my hair can be compared to bloody yak hair?"

"Well, maybe there are some differences," Hiccup said, wrinkling his forehead like he was thinking.

"That's better," Jack said with a confident smile and leaned back in his chair like he'd won this.

"I mean… yaks are brown after all, but maybe some kind of albino yak?" Hiccup said innocently with the tiniest of smiles.

Merida couldn't contain her laughter, while Jack looked baffled for a moment.

That was seriously a hilarious look on him. It wasn't often that he was left temporarily speechless. Hiccup found himself thinking that this should happen more often. Note to self: Work on doing more surprising retorts that can shut that Snowflake up.

"Damn Scots. Damn Vikings. Can't even appreciate a beautiful head of hair," Jack pouted and crossed his arms.

"Aww, are you pouting, big baby boo?" Hiccup cooed and he enjoyed the scowl he received. That was another really amusing look on Jack. It was such a big contrast to his usual, childish, carefree demeanor.

Jack scoffed. "You know, that wall of impenetrable sarcasm can't protect you forever from your obvious adoration of me."

Hiccup heard Merida snort.

"Riiiight," Hiccup said. "What do you suggest I do then, O Magnificent Jack?"

"Well… You need to move on and stop thinking about me. We can only be friends, Hiccup. You need to realize that," Jack said, his face in pained folds.

Oh, that cheeky Snowball. He was trying to get the upper hand.

"It's pretty difficult to stop thinking about you, when I constantly see things that remind me of you… like pet rats and owl shit," Hiccup deadpanned.

Merida and Flynn roared with laughter, and Jack couldn't contain his own sputtering either, which made Hiccup oddly satisfied. It was great to watch them laugh so hard and he felt a little closer to them than just a moment ago.

"Aww, you need some water for that burn, Jackie?" Flynn said, rubbing Jack's shoulder in a teasing gesture.

"No need, mate. I'll get back at him later," Jack said and narrowed his eyes.

Hiccup lifted his eyebrows as a silent challenge.

The second half of the test was uneventful, and Hiccup finished the questions before time ran out. The last part of the test had been standard questions on the basilisk and the acromantula, which he didn't have any problems with. Judging from Jack's less frequent sighs and impatient gestures, it seemed that he didn't struggle with this part either.

While he waited for class to be over, he continued working on the sketch that he had started a few days ago. It was a drawing of Fishlegs and Rapunzel studying in one of the courtyards. It was nowhere near finished, but he had a good feeling about it. He gently traced his pencil across the paper, creating the illusion of the soft texture of Rapunzel's long hair.

He suddenly felt eyes on him and turned his head to meet Jack's gaze. Jack looked at Hiccup's sketch and gave him a bright smile. Hiccup's lips twitched at the happy look on Jack's face. Apparently, he liked his sketch and it made Hiccup feel oddly warm and content.

---

In an unusual twist, the seven of them found themselves all hanging out together.

After class, Merida suggested they'd go relax by the lake to get some fresh air after a whole day of being indoors, and Jack couldn't have agreed more. His head was throbbing from the lack of clean, cool air and the exposure to the suffocating, clingy warmth that always appeared when many students were in the same room together.

He had decided to ask Hiccup, if they could ditch their planned study session today, and if he and Fishlegs and Rapunzel wanted to join them. He made sure to whisper to his friends that they shouldn't ask Hiccup anything dragon related, and they agreed without complaints. They understood it was a sensitive topic for him and they didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

They agreed to do a quick change of clothes in their respective dormitories. After a long, hard day of school, it was always such a pleasant feeling get out of the school uniform and throw on something more comfortable. Jack had chosen to wear his favourite blue hoodie with the frost pattern.

They found a nice spot by the water's edge and spread out warm, thick blankets on the ground. Sure, there were benches and tables several places by the lake, but the four of them had always preferred sitting on the ground on a nice, soft blanket. They felt more relaxed that way.

Jack spotted three familiar Ravenclaws walking towards them. Just like Jack, neither Hiccup nor Fishlegs wore jackets, and Jack briefly remembered when Hiccup told him that he was used to the cold, because Berk had chilly weather most of the year. Now that Jack knew they were Vikings, it was suddenly a bit strange to see them in modern clothes. Hiccup had a long sleeved shirt on with black and green stripes, dark brown jeans and a pair of green Converse, while Fishlegs had a dark brown knitted sweater on and grey trousers. Rapunzel looked very warm and comfy in a purple coat and white scarf.

To Jack's surprise there was no actual awkwardness between the seven of them. Sure, at first Fishlegs and Rapunzel were a bit hesitant to join in, but they quickly overcame that as Jack and his friends would ask them questions and direct friendly comments at them to get them to feel comfortable and also to learn more about them. Jack was pretty sure that it had become evident to his friends that he wanted to hang out with Hiccup on a regular basis, and that meant also getting to know Hiccup's friends a bit.

Jack wasn't sure how the conversation had ended up on weapons and violence, but he had a feeling that Merida had something to do with that. She was questioning Hiccup and Fishlegs on Viking weapons, and whether they had brought any to Hogwarts that she could see.

"No, Hogwarts is pretty strict about bringing weapons to school. They made sure to mention that several times in our acceptance letters," Hiccup said and grinned at the memory.

"Yeah," Fishlegs said. "They must have been scared to death that the terrible Vikings would come to the castle with our trunks packed full of battle axes and swords."

Jack imagined older, bigger Vikings chucking all kinds of weapons into Hiccup's and Fishlegs' bags, thinking they'd never need anything else. He smiled at the thought.

"They were probably right to be," Rapunzel said. "Knowing you two… You," she pointed at Fishlegs, "would have brought your favourite dagger and mace, probably ending up accidentally mutilating someone in a paranoia fit… and you," she pointed at Hiccup, "would have brought that crossbow shield and probably several other inventions that would have ended up poking someone's eye out or setting the dormitory on fire," she said with a twinkle in her eyes, crossing her arms.

Jack and his friends chuckled. He could definitely see one of Hiccup's inventions having an unexpected outcome and even though he didn't know Fishlegs very well, he could also definitely imagine him causing some kind of accident due to his nervous nature.

"Sure, just make us sound like stupid, reckless barbarians," Hiccup deadpanned.

Jack wouldn't ever admit it to Hiccup or Fishlegs, but that was how he typically imagined Vikings, before he got to know them. Now though, the idea seemed ridiculous.

"Aren't all Vikings?" Rapunzel said and stuck her tongue out.

"No!" Hiccup and Fishlegs said in unison, both looking offended.

Jack and the others laughed at their expressions. Rapunzel hit a nerve there.

"Calm down, you two. You know I was only kidding," Rapunzel said and smiled.

"Well, when you come to Berk, you should probably keep those sorts of comments to yourself," Fishlegs said with amusement in his eyes.

Rapunzel was going to Berk? Hiccup and Rapunzel had told him that it was a possibility in December, if the time was right. Apparently, they'd decided that it was.

"Of course, Fish! Come on, you know me. I'm not socially inept. I'm not… Hiccup," she said and motioned to Hiccup with her head.

"What!? Oh, come on," Hiccup said, while the others burst out laughing. "I'm not totally hopeless, you know."

Jack grinned at his reaction. Hiccup was definitely a bit socially challenged, except with people he felt comfortable with. Somehow, it just made him even more interesting. Maybe it was because Hiccup didn't just open up to anyone. It would take time to get to know him, gain his trust and see all the layers beneath the sarcastic exterior.

Rapunzel scooted closer to Hiccup and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him from behind.

"No. You. Are. Not," she said, smiling. "But I still like to mess with you." She ruffled his hair.

Hiccup smiled fondly, as they parted again and Rapunzel grinned. Jack could almost feel the tender friendship radiate off them in that moment.

"So, you're going to Berk?" Jack said. He already felt a tad envious, even though he would never admit it. He definitely wanted to go to Berk, even though it wasn't possible. It would be so brilliant to see the Vikings and the dragons, experience the traditions and the harsh weather. Everything. Rapunzel was lucky.

"Yeah, Fishlegs and Hiccup invited me to Berk for Christmas," she said, wriggling, seeming almost ready to burst with joy.

Jack smiled at her. Her bubbly nature was infectious.

"Jól*" Hiccup corrected her with a smile.

"Oh right, sorry," Rapunzel said.

"What?" Jack said.

"These guys don't celebrate Christmas," she said and pointed at Fishlegs and Hiccup.

"You don't?" Flynn asked, like the idea of not celebrating Christmas was almost unfathomable.

"No, why would we? We're Vikings, and Christmas is a Christian tradition," Hiccup said. "But jól is similar in some ways."

"Yeah," Fishlegs chimed in. "There's a huge feast with a whole smörgåsbord* of food and all the mead you can drink! And then we do the blót*, pray to the gods and then drink the night away, celebrating!"

Jack had to admit that that sounded like a lot of fun, even though he would never give up Christmas.

"That sounds great!" Flynn said with a grin. "Except for the parts I didn't understand at all."

"Don't worry," Rapunzel said. "You get used to it."

"What are you celebrating then?" Mavis said and leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her knees.

"That the worst of winter is over, so the days will be lighter and the weather milder. Although it's also a celebration of peace and fertility," Fishlegs said in an over-excited tone that he seemed to get, whenever he had to explain something he cared about to someone.

Jack chuckled. "Well, Rapunzel, you're going to fit in great among a large group of burly, bearded, drunk Vikings."

Rapunzel just smiled. "It sounds fun doesn't it?" she asked, and he quickly agreed. They all did actually.

Hiccup and Fishlegs smiled with pride.

"Well, even if you don't celebrate Christmas, you should see Christmas at Jack's house," Flynn said with a bright smile.

"What's it like?" Hiccup asked, tilting his head.

"Oh, it's great!" Merida said, throwing her hands up. "There's lights and decorations everywhere! There's always Christmas music playing, there's a huge beautiful tree in the living room, freshly baked cookies and other goodies, and Jack's dad always arranges a bunch of fun things for us to do!"

Mavis nodded and joined in. "Yeah, and don't tell anyone, but Jack's dad is actually Santa Claus," she whispered, while looking from side to side like she was revealing some great secret.

"He totally is!" Merida agreed and Flynn nodded.

"Uh, okay…" Rapunzel said, while Hiccup smiled knowingly.

Jack grinned. "They're just kidding."

"No, we're not… He's huge, he's jolly, he loves everything about Christmas, he owns a toy factory for crying out loud!" Flynn said, earning him several chuckles from Hiccup, Fishlegs and Rapunzel.

"And he's Russian," Mavis said and was about to elaborate, when their conversation was interrupted by two girls approaching them.

Jack observed them, frowning. He knew one of them, Jane Glass, a fifth year from Hufflepuff with long, smooth brown hair and a pretty face with a narrow nose, full lips and perfectly sculpted eyebrows. Jack didn't recognize the other girl, but she was pretty as well. She seemed to be a fifth year too, with smooth pale skin and thick black hair that was pulled back in a loose braid.

The two girls stopped giggling when they reached Hiccup, who looked at them with wary eyes.

"Hi, Hiccup" the girls both said, smiling brightly at him.

Hiccup gave them a small smile and said hi back, but he was definitely already a little uncomfortable with this situation.

The two girls handed him a small note each before scurrying away, giggling and linking their arms together.

Jack felt a knot form in his stomach and irritation seemed to infect his thoughts, as he looked at the two girls' backs. He didn't know Jane well and he didn't know the other girl at all, and yet he strongly disliked them now. Where were these negative feelings coming from? Maybe it was simply because he wanted to protect Hiccup? He didn't like that kind of attention. Couldn't they see that?

Hiccup handed the notes to Fishlegs, who took them and unfolded them. Rapunzel scooted closer Fishlegs and leaned in to observe the notes, their eyes scanning across the words.

"You're not going to read them"? Flynn asked.

Hiccup shook his head.

"No" he simply said, not offering any explanation.

Jack was confused by this too. Why wouldn't he want to know what the notes said? Jack always read the notes he got, not being able to contain his curiosity. Sometimes the notes would give him a nice ego boost, other times they would make him cringe. Still though… He couldn't imagine not reading them at all. His natural curiosity would definitely get the better of him.

"Why not?" Flynn said.

"I don't need to know what it says. Fishlegs and Rapunzel take the notes, read them, and let me know if there's anything important in there. If not, they throw them out," Hiccup said and shrugged.

Jack felt slightly smug at those words, though he wasn't sure where it was coming from. Hiccup's method of dealing with notes definitely made sense now though. He was the type of person who would feel uneasy by strangers hitting on him, so it seemed better to just avoid it.

Fishlegs began coughing, a flush appearing on his face, while Rapunzel chuckled. Fishlegs slowly lowered the notes, looking flustered.

Flynn burst out laughing. "It's that juicy, huh?" he asked Hiccup's two friends, as his lips changed into a knowing smile.

Jack frowned. He had recognized Fishlegs' and Rapunzel's reactions as well. Both he and Flynn knew what kind of things could be in that kind of note. He didn't like the thought of it now though.

Hiccup groaned, putting his face in his hands for a few seconds, making everyone chuckle.

He was seriously way too uncomfortable in his own skin, Jack thought with a smile on his face.

Fishlegs crumbled the notes and put them in his pocket, not having a bin around.

Rapunzel put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder and Hiccup stopped hiding his face in his hands.

"Come on, Hiccup, you should be thrilled that pretty girls like that are finding you irresistible," Flynn said and waggled his eyebrows, making Merida and Mavis roll their eyes.

Jack felt a slight annoyance at Flynn's words. He knew Hiccup better than that now. He didn't like that kind of attention.

"Yeah, well, I'm not," Hiccup said, crossing his arms.

Jack felt satisfied with that answer for some reason and like his earlier dislike for the girls that approached Hiccup, it confused him. He tried to push these thoughts away like he had done previously. He liked Hiccup, and he obviously didn't want him to be distressed, which he quickly became whenever strangers approached him this way. He wanted to somehow shield him from the self-consciousness and awkwardness that followed these encounters.

"Those girls didn't care about Hiccup before," Rapunzel said softly. "All they're interested in is getting close to the famous dragon trainer." She sighed in annoyance.

Jack definitely agreed with that observation. It was pretty obvious that Hiccup's new fangirls had some kind of agenda.

"Yeah, they clearly have motives that are… less than genuine," Fishlegs said, looking at Hiccup with sympathy.

Hiccup nodded in response. "Yeah, I kind of wish they'd stop and just go back to ignoring me," he said almost longingly, focusing his eyes on the blue surface of the lake.

"Well… Fangirls can be kind of intimidating sometimes," Flynn said and Jack quickly hummed in agreement.

He clearly remembered a few years ago when a Hufflepuff named Amanda constantly followed him around, put tons of notes in his bag and even took pictures of him. That was slightly disturbing. Luckily for him, she transferred to Beauxbatons.

"All girls are intimidating to Hiccup," Fishlegs said with a grin.

Rapunzel squeezed Hiccup's shoulder in a teasing manner, smiling brightly at him.

"Hardy har har, laugh it up, Lǫngubak*" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, I will, Burlufotr*" Fishlegs responded with a toothy smile.

While Hiccup and Fishlegs were grinning at each other, Jack's and the others' confused expressions didn't go unnoticed by Rapunzel, who took it upon herself to offer an explanation.

"They like to offend each other in Old Norse as some kind of show of affection," she said. "Fishlegs likes to call Hiccup clumsy foot and Hiccup calls him fishbelly."

"Wait, so you guys actually speak Old Norse?" Jack said. Well, now that he thought about it, he should have realized that, since Hiccup wrote in runes. Somehow though, he hadn't even thought about it that way. He smiled as he thought about Hiccup's nickname. Clumsy foot. Well, it definitely fit in a friendly, teasing way.

"Well, yeah. All the Vikings in the archipelago do... Although there are different dialects," Hiccup said with a small smile. Fishlegs nodded next to him.

"That's awesome," Jack said and Flynn hummed in agreement. It really was though. How many people could speak Old Norse? Almost no one. Outside the archipelago, it was probably limited to academic scholars.

"Yeah, I wish I could speak an ancient language," Mavis said.

"So, do you speak it when you're back home?" Jack said, wanting to know more about this.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah… We mostly speak English but with a mix of Old Norse amongst ourselves. Knowing the language isn't really for any practical purpose, but it's deeply ingrained in our culture."

"Yeah, it's important to all Vikings to preserve our traditions and language, so we need to make sure to use it once in a while, so we get our practice," Fishlegs said.

"That makes sense," Mavis said and nodded.

"Do you guys learn how to fight?" Merida asked, her eyes shining with interest.

Jack chuckled mentally. Typical Merida. Although he had to admit that he was also interested in the answer to that question.

"Yeah, fighting skills are a pretty essential part of Viking culture, so we begin training when we're very young," Hiccup explained and Fishlegs nodded.

Jack wondered how good Hiccup and Fishlegs were with weapons. It'd be pretty cool if they had serious skills.

"I wish my mum would let me learn how to fight, but she doesn't think it's appropriate for a girl to learn stuff like that," Merida said and pouted. "I'm already taking archery classes during the summer holidays, but that's difficult enough to hide from her. She's like a hawk sometimes," she said and groaned, earning her sympathetic smiles from the rest of them.

"Sounds like you'd be happy on Berk," Hiccup said with a fond smile on his lips. "Everyone are expected to learn how to fight."

"Yeah," Fishlegs added eagerly. "And not just with swords either but axes, shields, daggers and bows too."

Jack smiled. Wow, that sounded really cool. So, the two of them actually knew how to use all of those weapons? He would love to see them in action some time.

"I wish it was like that back home," Merida said, almost longingly.

"You know... I could make you a bow and some arrows, if you'd like? Then you could practice while you're here too," Hiccup offered with a warm smile.

Jack immediately felt his opinion of the guy skyrocket. Hiccup was offering to spend his time and energy crafting a bow for Merida, who he barely knew, so she could satisfy her urge to get better. Jack already knew that Hiccup was a nice guy, but this just illustrated it further. That was a really heartwarming gesture.

Merida's whole face lit up. "Really?" she asked with a mix of giddiness and uncertainty, like she thought it was too good to be true.

"Yeah, sure. I wouldn't take me more than a week or so. Two weeks if you want some kind of special design on it," Hiccup said and grinned at her joyful reaction.

"Thank you, Hiccup," Merida said with appreciation in her eyes. "That's so nice of you to offer."

Jack smiled softly at his friend and Hiccup.

"It's fine," Hiccup said and waved his hand dismissively.

Typical Hiccup. Jack snorted mentally. He hadn't known him for long, but he already knew that the guy was very dismissive when it came to himself, like he wasn't anything special.

"I'll show you some sketches of some different bows tomorrow and you can tell me which kind you'd like," Hiccup said and Merida nodded eagerly with a bright grin on her face.

"How are you going to make it?" Jack said. He briefly wondered where in the castle it was possible to work on something like that.

"Well… I'm taking Building, Managing and Repairing Magical Objects and there's a huge workshop available for that, so I can use it to work on the bow," Hiccup said.

Jack nodded. He had never actually seen the workshop, so he had no idea what it looked like or what kind of tools and materials you could find there, but Hiccup seemed confident that he could make a bow there.

"Thank you," Merida said again, her voice lower and gentler, and Jack knew it was because she was touched.

Hiccup just smiled at her.

"So, you're finally getting a bow, Red. Just make sure not to aim it at me," Flynn said and nudged Merida's shoulder.

"I can't make any promises, Rider," she shot back with glee in her eyes.

Flynn held up his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, no need to get all aggressive just because you want a piece of this," he said and gestured to his body.

Merida snorted. "Oh, please. I wouldn't want 'a piece' of you, if you were the last guy on earth."

"In denial, are we?" Flynn said and waggled his eyebrows.

Merida scoffed. "You wish"

Jack suddenly noticed Hiccup scratching his arm, and his sleeve was accidentally rolled up a little by the action, revealing some angry red marks on his skin.

What was going on there? It looked like he'd been attacked by something very angry.

"What the hell happened to you? Were you mauled by a honey badger or something?" Jack said in a combination of curiosity and concern, observing the damaged skin.

Hiccup rolled up his sleeve further, revealing more of those angry looking scratches. They looked very unpleasant.

"Might as well have been. We had to deal with Venomous Tentaculas in Herbology," Hiccup said and shook his head. "They were not too agreeable."

Jack smiled at that. He'd heard of those horrible plants before, and they were not something to take lightly.

"Oh no, me and Mavis have Herbology tomorrow… We're definitely going to have to do the same thing," Flynn said and rubbed his forehead.

"Got any tips?" Mavis said and shot a concerned look at Flynn.

"Well… Stun it before you try to extract the venom, but be careful, because the stunning effect only lasts a little while. It helps if you can figure out how it prefers to move, so you can predict its attacks," Hiccup said calmly, gesturing with his hands in that way of his that had already become familiar to Jack.

"It sounds like a peachy little plant," Jack said with an amused half-smile.

"It's a diabolical devourer of souls," Hiccup deadpanned, making the rest of them chuckle except for Flynn, who seemed worried that he would be dealing with this apparent killing machine tomorrow.

"Great… I'm really looking forward to that," Flynn said and sighed.

"Come on, Flynn. It won't be so bad. We'll handle it," Mavis reassured him.

Jack scoffed. "Don't trust anything that vampire says. She's the one who talked me into taking Arithmancy again this year," he said and shook his head.

Mavis smiled at the nickname. Due to her pale skin, black hair and very unusual last name, she had quickly been dubbed 'the vampire' in their little group.

"Aww, are you still whining about that?" she asked in a combination of amusement and affectionate scolding.

"Ugh… There's just nothing worse than being forced to study something you're not interested in," Jack said. He had actually found Arithmancy interesting in previous years, but now it had become too abstract.

"Oh, really?" Hiccup said. "There's nothing worse? How about getting electrocuted? Or having your head held underwater by a Grindylow? Or being wrongfully accused of killing someone with a spoon and being thrown in Azkaban? Or all of these things put together plus getting pecked in the groin by an angry owl?" Hiccup asked him, eyebrows raised in an obvious challenge, as he picked apart Jack's words with that sharp logic of his.

"You're like… permanently sarcastic, aren't you?" Jack said with a grin.

Hiccup waved a hand dismissively. "I'm permanently awesome, Snowflake."

Even though Jack knew Hiccup was kidding, it was still nice to hear him say things like that. Things that almost seemed confident.

"You should be nicer to me, now that I know what your Amortentia potion smelled like," Jack said.

"Well, my sarcasm is my way of saying I like tolerating you," Hiccup said with a spark in his eyes.

A huge grin spread across Jack's face, while the others smiled or chuckled at the comment. Especially Rapunzel and Fishlegs were amused and that made it seem like there was more to the words than Jack could understand.

Jack kicked off his blue Converse shoes and pulled off his striped socks. He wiggled his toes a couple of times and immensely enjoyed the cool wind that caressed the sensitive skin, chasing away that suffocating warmth that would always occur, when your feet were imprisoned in shoes.

Hiccup gave him a curious look and Jack sent him a grin.

"What's going on there?" Hiccup said and nodded towards his bare feet.

"I'm not a big fan of shoes… or socks… or anything that restricts my feet in any way. It's too confining," he said, watching his feet for a moment as he wiggled his toes again. It really was nice feeling the chilly autumn wind on his bare skin.

"No kidding… If there wasn't a dresscode inside the castle, you'd pad around on bare feet all day long," Flynn teased him. It was true though.

"Of course, I would," Jack said. "Who wouldn't?"

"Uh… Me, for example?" Hiccup deadpanned.

"Well, you're already confined in that sarcastic bubble of yours, so a few more restrictions shouldn't matter to you," Jack said and stuck his tongue out.

"Tell me... What's the opposite of 'thank you'?" Hiccup said, holding a finger on his chin, like he was deep in thought.

They all stayed by the lake for two hours, before they'd had to head back to the castle for dinner. It was slowly getting dark outside and a crisp evening chill was in the air, much to Jack's delight, as the seven of them walked together towards the Great Hall, all in friendly conversation with each other.

He and Hiccup briefly agreed to meet up tomorrow after classes to continue working on their Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment, before Flynn, Merida and Hiccup began discussing ideas for Merida's bow, while Mavis, Rapunzel and Fishlegs were engulfed in a discussion about their homework for Magical History.

As Jack and his friends sat by the Gryffindor table, enjoying their nice, hot meals, he found himself thinking that he'd really enjoyed Hiccup's, Fishlegs, and Rapunzel's company and it seemed that his friends had as well.

As he listened with one ear to Merida's and Mavis' discreet discussion on whether Jim and Hayley had broken up, he cast a quick glance at the Ravenclaw table, where Hiccup was telling Fishlegs and Rapunzel something, his eyes wide with excitement and his hands gesturing eagerly, like he had too much energy in his body right now.

Jack smiled to himself, until he noticed how several Ravenclaws were keeping an eye on Hiccup, the girls with obvious interest and the boys with curiosity. They were all trying to be discreet but definitely failing.

Wow, they were like sharks. No wonder Hiccup was a little paranoid about all of this. He would probably be too, if he was in that situation.

Jack tore his eyes away from the Ravenclaw table and focused his attention on his friends, listening to their discussion, as he stabbed a roasted potato with his fork and brought it to his mouth, enjoying the salty taste spread on his tongue.

---

After dinner, Jack strolled towards the boy's bathroom closest to Gryffindor Tower. He was looking forward to hanging out with Jim in the common room afterwards, since they hadn't seen much of each other lately. It'd also be nice to catch up with some of the others.

As he walked down one of the old empty hallways and turned a corner, hands came out of nowhere, clenched onto his shoulders and pushed him against the wall.

Narrowed blue eyes gazed into his. Great. Somehow, he had pissed off Astrid. He wondered what he'd done now. He hadn't played any pranks on her for ages.

"What are you doing with Hiccup?" she said.

Okay, he'd definitely not been expecting that.

"What are you talking about?" he said.

Astrid's brow furrowed and her lips were a thin line. "Are you trying to get him to tell you about the dragons?" she said, staring into his eyes like she could determine whether he was lying.

"What? No!" said and his eyes widened.

So, that was it. She thought he might be using Hiccup to get information. And then what? Did she think he'd actually befriend someone and then betray their trust? She was too suspicious for her own good. On the other hand… He had noticed how people were throwing themselves at Hiccup, so maybe deep down he could understand her concern a little bit.

Astrid kept staring at him, not looking convinced. It was unsettling. What was her problem? She was protective of Hiccup, sure, but seriously… He didn't deserve this shit.

"Would you get off me," he snapped and pushed her away.

Finally. It was rare for him to lose his temper like this. His cheery and fun nature usually deflated conflicts, before they got too far, but this was too much. She'd invaded his personal space and accused him of being a two-faced, lying twat, just like that.

The two of them looked at each other in silence and the air was thick with tension. Astrid tapped the stone floor with her foot in an impatient gesture.

"If you're not trying to get information from him, what exactly are you doing?" she said and shoved her fists in the pockets of her red shirt, just to take them out again a few seconds later.

"Uh… Working on a project, joking around, talking?" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was to him.

"Right," she said. "Because that's what you always do. No, wait, it isn't. I get that you're working on a project, but why are you hanging out together outside of that?"

"Why is that any of your business?" Jack said and couldn't help the icy tone in his voice.

He was getting agitated. Hiccup was his own person, and he could decide for himself who he wanted to spend time with.

She took a few steps forward, closing in on him. She was intruding on his space again and the irritation swirled inside him. He wasn't like Hiccup who truly valued his personal space, but he also didn't like people being this close to him when the reason was agitation.

"It is my business. Hiccup is my… friend," Astrid said, her face not changing in the slightest. Her voice, however, had betrayed her. The last word and the way she said it… It sounded so hesitant? Like she'd wanted to say something else, but changed her mind at the last second. It was very out of character for Astrid. So, why now? Was she disappointed that she felt the need to protect Hiccup? Like a big sister who was sick of looking out for her little brother?

"Well, Hiccup is my friend too," he said, feeling childish from the stubbornness that snuck into his voice. If he was honest with himself, he had no idea if Hiccup even considered him a friend yet, but they were definitely getting there.

"He was never your friend before. You didn't bother getting to know him. So, why now, at the exact time his secret about the dragons has come out?" she said, stepping a few feet back, creating some space between them.

He could finally breathe comfortably again. He observed her for a moment, while she ran her hand quickly through her blonde bangs.

She'd hit a nerve with her comment. Of course, she was right. He and Hiccup hadn't been friends before, and if Jack was honest with himself, he felt guilty about that. He'd only started paying more attention to Hiccup after the whole dragon thing was pulled out into the light.

He took a deep breath and decided to be the peacemaker. It wouldn't do any good to keep pushing her buttons and Astrid was Hiccup's friend. He didn't want to create tension between the three of them.

"Look... I get that you're trying to protect Hiccup, but I just like hanging out with him," he said, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

She chewed on her lip, watching him for a moment. "I hope you mean that."

"I do. But you know, Hiccup's old enough to take care of himself. He doesn't need you watching over him all the time," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral to avoid provoking her.

Her face fell for the tiniest of moments before she regained her composure. It happened so quickly that Jack almost missed it. What was that about? If she was disappointed by the thought that Hiccup didn't need her protection, Jack's idea of her being a tired big sister went out the window.

"Just remember," Astrid said, sounding more tired than angry now. "If you stab him in the back, you'll regret it."

She didn't give Jack time to answer. A second later, she headed down the corridor with tense steps, her blonde braid swaying from side to side on her back.

He watched her disappear around a corner. She was clearly looking out for Hiccup, trying to make sure no one would hurt him, but he didn't deserve being ambushed like that. He decided not to tell Hiccup about it. This was between him and Astrid. She would probably soften up when she realized he wasn't a threat to Hiccup's wellbeing.

Jack headed into the bathroom, went for the sinks and splashed some cold water on his face. The chilly drops were refreshing on his heated cheeks.

It was strange... Hiccup was a dragon trainer and definitely an above average wizard and yet, he still awoke that protective streak in the people that cared about him.

He grabbed one of the soft towels and dried his face.

Maybe it had something to do with Hiccup's past, when he was short and scrawny, not able to properly defend himself. But now… Hiccup had grown up. He was tall, had gotten a lean rather than skinny build, had learned fighting skills, had a dragon and more magical knowledge than before. He hardly needed to be protected.

During the rest of the evening, Astrid frequently popped into his head, while he hung out with his friends and other Gryffindors in the common room. But luckily, she was nowhere to be seen, which he was grateful for.

When it was time for bed, he was actually relieved. It had been a long day. As he dropped onto his soft bed with a gentle plop and curled under the comforting, warm covers, he and Flynn said goodnight to each other and to their two dormmates, Harry and Liam.

When the lights went out, he closed his eyes and his body sunk comfortably into the mattres. His last thoughts before he fell into a deep slumber was how confusing Astrid had been today and how the pleasant taste of peppermint from his toothpaste lingered on his tongue.