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!

6. We're On Our Way

"And you just know he's going to mess everything up," Rapunzel said and sighed. She stabbed her fork into a piece of melon on her plate and shoved it into her mouth.

Hiccup and Fishlegs were listening attentively to her in the Great Hall, while she complained about her assigned partner for a new Care of Magical Creatures project. Professor Lucero had paired her with Neal Booker, a lazy Gryffindor who didn't bother putting any effort into his schoolwork.

"He's even refusing to meet up more than twice to get the report done," she said and almost knocked her mug over, when her hand shot out and grabbed a piece of toast from a tray.

The irritation stirred in Hiccup's gut. Over the years, he'd experienced a fair amount of selfish, lazy project partners, who didn't want to pull their own weight. As a result, he had a massive intolerance towards this particular kind of student. Not everyone enjoyed gathering knowledge through studying and that was more than fair. But when you're paired up with someone, you better do your part of the work.

"You need to set him straight. He's going to do his share of the project, whether he likes it or not," Hiccup said and gave Rapunzel a firm look that told her he wasn't kidding.

"I know, Hiccup. It's just… difficult. And what if he doesn't care what I say?" Rapunzel said, looking at her uneaten toast.

"Then you have two choices. Either you go to Professor Lucero or I talk with him," Hiccup said, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Definitely Professor Lucero then. I'm not setting my overprotective Viking "big brother" on him, no matter how much of a git he is," Rapunzel said and gave him a fond smile.

Fishlegs chuckled and took a sip from his mug.

Hiccup couldn't help the warm smile on his face, when she called him her big brother. She referred to him like that once in a while, and each time he was touched by the love behind her words.

"Come on, I'm not that bad" he said, waving one hand in a dismissive motion.

He was only a few months older than her, but her place in his heart had many characteristics in common with that of a younger sister. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe. That was never clearer to him than when others put her down and made her feel inferior or tried to use her for their own purposes.

"Yes, you are," she said, flashing that joyful grin that lit up her face.

Oh, how he enjoyed seeing that grin. He drank the last of the tea in his mug and savored the warmth.

"I agree," Fishlegs said, a hand in the air like he was trying to get a teacher to notice him.

"Is this a mutiny?" Hiccup said, narrowing his eyes. "Traitors."

"Are you implying that you're somehow our captain?" Fishlegs said with a gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, of course I am," he said. "Who else could keep you two in line? Without me, you'd clearly be lost with no sense of purpose in life."

Rapunzel and Fishlegs both chuckled.

"Of course, we would, oh captain, my captain," Rapunzel said with fake adoration, her eyes soft and her chin resting on her knuckles, like she was watching him with longing.

"Stop that, it's freaking me out," Hiccup said, his brow furrowed, much to the amusement of both his friends.

There was a certain truth in it though. If Rapunzel ever genuinely looked at him like that, he would be seriously disturbed and there would be a Hiccup-shaped hole in the nearest wall.

"The tough dragon rider can't handle a simple crush," Rapunzel teased him and poked him in the side with a finger.

He jumped at the sudden touch.

"Well, that's no surprise. He'd rather face The Red Death again than handle any girl's googly eyes," Fishlegs said and laughed, before grabbing another sausage from a tray with his fork.

"Ha ha, Hiccup's scared of girls. That's a new one," he said and shook his head.

Sure, he wasn't the most confident person around the opposite sex, but he wasn't completely hopeless either. He could handle polite conversation, even with flirty schoolgirls, who used any excuse to squeeze his arm or brush some imaginary dust off his shoulder. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

"But you so are!" Rapunzel said, her big eyes filled with triumphant teasing, a finger pointed directly at him.

He pressed his lips together to avoid smiling. Her playful nature was infectious. Damn those two and their mutiny. He'd obviously been too lenient a captain, since they now dared to rebel against him.

"I am not," he said. "My best friend is a Night Fury. I think I can handle a few girls."

"But you'd still rather put your good foot in a Gronckle trap than deal with flirty girls right?" Fishlegs said with a smile on his lips, twiddling his thumbs.

"Oh, definitely," he said and grinned at his two friends. "Always choose the least painful option, right?"

"You're unbelievable," Rapunzel said.

"Why, thank you," he said and did a little bow with his head, making her roll her eyes.

Their conversation was interrupted by a vast number of owls flying into the Hall. The familiar sounds of hooting from the birds and hushed noises of excitement from the students filled the air.

While Rapunzel often got letters and packages from her parents, Fishlegs and him didn't receive post that often. Hiccup was surprised to see his dad's black owl approaching with a letter gripped tightly in its talons, as well as the large white and brown owl that belonged to Fishlegs' parents, carrying a package.

The two owls flew over them and dropped the items into his and Fishlegs' hands.

Rapunzel eyed the package with a mix of curiosity and nervous anticipation like it might contain something dangerous or illegal.

Hiccup smiled to himself. He was fairly certain that it wouldn't. Fairly. After all, you never truly knew when it came to Viking parents.

Hiccup opened the letter, eager to find out what his father wanted, while Fishlegs started to rip open the package. His dad wrote him once in a while, updating him on how things were going at home, asking how he was doing and so on, but it wasn't that often.

He took in the words on the page and sighed to himself.

This wasn't good. Apparently, there had been more conflicts back home between Berk and their allies and the three hostile tribes, who didn't approve of their peace with the dragons. Some of the dragon riders had interfered and freed some dragons that one of those tribes had caught to kill and sell their parts to the highest paying wizards.

Everything else was good news. The Berkians had no problems preparing for a long harsh winter, Snotlout and the twins were doing fine… Well, still getting in trouble contantly, but they were happy and safe. Stormfly and Meatlug were spending their time with the other dragons and they seemed content despite missing their riders.

Well, at least that was something...

He grinded his teeth. The problems with the other tribes though… The Barbaric Archipelago was officially at peace, since Berk had peace treaties signed with all tribes except those three and since the hostile tribes hadn't declared war on anyone, despite the rise in conflicts. He truly hoped it would remain that way.

He could feel Fishlegs' and Rapunzel's concerned eyes on him. He put the letter down. Fishlegs had stopped opening his package.

"What's wrong?" Fishlegs said.

"More problems with the hostile tribes…" he said and Fishlegs sighed.

"You're worried it's going to escalate?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah… It's a possibility," he said. "But I really hope it won't come to that."

"You don't think it could turn into a war, do you?" Fishlegs said, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve.

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows at that thought and watched him with sudden anxiety in her eyes.

"It could, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. After all… it's been a long time since the last war."

"Yeah, that's true," Fishlegs said, sounding less worried than a moment ago.

"Yeah… So, let's not drive ourselves crazy over this," Hiccup said and meant it, even though he wasn't sure if he could just let it go himself. He was definitely going to be thinking and worrying about this for a while.

Fishlegs and Rapunzel nodded, and Fishlegs went back to opening the package.

Hiccup put a hand in one of the pockets in his robes and closed it around a familiar small object.

Ever since he and Toothless had become important in the defense of Berk, Hiccup needed a way for his dad to let him know, if there was an attack on their home. He'd enchanted the tiny box to open its lid and let out a very loud, screeching howl, if his dad opened the matching one back on Berk.

"Ooh, great!" Fishlegs said as he took in the contents from the package.

He pulled out several items: cheeses, dried and sweetened apple slices, some coarse loaves of rye bread and a couple of those delicious wheat flatbreads that Fishleg's mother was so good at making. Apparently, his mum had decided to send them some Viking food, and Hiccup found himself grateful for that. The food was delicious at Hogwarts, but it was always great to get something from home.

"That was nice of her," Hiccup said and Fishlegs nodded eagerly.

"Oooh," Fishlegs said with excitement in his eyes, as he pulled out the last items of the package, revealing two very familiar looking bottles.

"Hey, keep that down there," Hiccup quickly said, glancing around him.

Fishlegs instantly put the bottles back in the package with a flustered expression.

Alcohol was definitely not permitted on Hogwarts' grounds, and those bottles were full of mead.

Hiccup smiled to himself in amusement. Only Viking parents would send their teenage kids alcohol. Not that he was complaining. This was great.

"That's not allowed here," Rapunzel said, looking back and forth from Fishlegs to him.

"Oh, we know that," Hiccup said and smiled at her.

"You're still totally going to keep that and drink it, aren't you?" Rapunzel deadpanned.

"Oh yes, definitely," Fishlegs said and chuckled.

Hiccup hummed in agreement.

It wasn't like they were going to be drunk in class, so he didn't feel guilty at all about enjoying some mead with Fishlegs in the near future. He was actually really looking forward to it.

Mead was very central to bonding and enjoying the company of others in Viking culture, and even though Vikings often had parties, where they got drunk on the stuff, it wasn't only about that. Since he and Fishlegs were away from home most of the year, Hiccup found himself missing such familiar things.

---

Astrid made her way through the busy corridors that were filled with students on their way to classes, speaking excitedly and carrying books, bumping shoulders with other students.

Her friend Katie was by her side but they walked in comfortable silence. She knew Katie had already noticed at breakfast that she was distracted this morning, so she let her have her space. Astrid was grateful for that. She found herself in a rather pensive mood.

As they navigated through the sea of students, she thought about her encounter yesterday with Jack.

She sighed and tightened the grip on her satchel.

She had overreacted. Sure, she wanted to warn Jack not to mess with Hiccup, but even she had to admit that she'd gone too far by slamming him into the wall. She'd just been so bloody annoyed yesterday, not just by Jack, but by everyone, so she'd snapped.

She almost bumped into a first year Hufflepuff, who ran out in front of her. She stopped in her tracks and clenched her fists. Took a deep breath and carried on. Katie gave her a small smile and she returned it.

Since the secret about the dragons was pulled into the light, it was difficult for her and Hiccup to avoid people's curiosity and intrusions. At first, she'd been bombarded with questions from everyone who spotted her, regardless of whether they'd even talked to her before. Only her friends didn't ask. She'd explained the situation to them, how they needed to keep the secret due to the safety of the dragons and also in part the Vikings themselves.

She glanced at Katie, who was still walking closely to her on their way to Divination. She was lucky she had such understanding friends, who also knew how to keep a secret. Sure, she hadn't told them the details, since that wasn't her place, but she'd confirmed the story of how Hiccup saved them from The Red Death, how the Vikings had made peace with the dragons and why she'd needed to keep it secret from them.

They walked past a group of second years, watching her with big eyes.

She'd refused anyone else who wanted to know anything remotely dragon-related, and she'd tried to be polite at first, but the more people who approached her, the more annoyed she became. Yesterday had been a particularly bad day, as Julia, a fellow Gryffindor a year younger than her, had asked her if she could get her a date with Hiccup.

She grinded her teeth at the memory. Seriously… They'd only ever spoken a few times, and yet she thought it was appropriate to ask Astrid for a date with her friend. Besides that, she'd been approached by a small group of fourth years who wanted to question her on dragons and Hiccup, she'd overheard two Hufflepuff guys talking horribly about Hiccup and been subjected to an acquaintance who was acting like they'd been best friends forever, but in reality, she just wanted to know about the dragons.

She'd been ready to explode at the end of the day, and her bad mood was topped off during dinner in the Great Hall, when she noticed how the Ravenclaws were watching Hiccup intently. In that moment, they reminded her of vultures. Not that Hiccup couldn't handle himself. He could. She just worried about him.

They climbed up the long, spiral stairwell to the Divination classroom. The light streamed through the stained glass windows in the stone walls.

Of course, Jack had been right, when he'd said that Hiccup was his own person. She really shouldn't meddle like she'd done last night, but she was just sick of dealing with all of this. She briefly considered apologizing to Jack for being so aggressive, when she could have warned him in a much more tactful manner, but she pushed the thought away. She would need to do something though.

As the two of them reached the Divination classroom, they quickly took their seats and pulled out their heavy textbooks. Katie still didn't try to strike up conversation, which Astrid appreciated.

She found herself hoping Jack was being honest, when he said that he just liked Hiccup's company. She'd never been completely sure what to think of him. He was a nice guy, she knew that from playing Quidditch with him and spending time around him in class and in the common room. And sure, his pranks were pretty funny sometimes. But his carefree, reckless nature was worrying her right now. She wouldn't actually mind Jack and Hiccup being friends, if Jack's motives were innocent. Hiccup could use more good friends.

A tug of guilt made her chest ache and she sighed deeply to herself. Katie shot her a concerned look. She gave her friend a small smile to let her know that she was okay.

Astrid knew that her protectiveness of Hiccup was not just because of her affection for him, but also because she was trying to purge herself of her remorse. She hadn't been kind or understanding of Hiccup in the past. She'd gone along with the other Vikings in their assessment of him as weak, cowardly and useless. Every time she thought back to that, she couldn't believe how blind they'd all been.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed again.

She knew that her overprotectiveness had become worse in time. Hiccup was safe here at Hogwarts because it was protected by such powerful magic, but back home he had become a target in several ways.

While most of the tribes were content with the peace, three were openly unhappy with the development and had refused to sign the agreement that outlawed the killing and export of dragon parts in the whole archipelago. They definitely wouldn't mind hurting Hiccup and getting him out of the way. He and Toothless had become a symbol of peace and the bond between dragons and Vikings, and everyone in the entire archipelago knew who they were.

Shew flipped open her textbook and glanced at the pages needed for today's lesson. She was well aware that her feelings towards Hiccup had somehow changed in the last two years, but he really didn't need more people trying to lay claim to his time and attention.

She would be there for him as a friend for as long as she could. Hopefully, these feelings would either subside by themselves or Hiccup would find that he felt the same and initiate something. For now though, she'd be patient and supportive. That's what Hiccup needed.

---

When Jack, Merida and Flynn arrived at their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Jack spotted a familiar head of blonde hair next to Hiccup.

That was weird.

Astrid usually sat with her closest friends, Katie and Megan, in almost every class.

He found himself frowning, while he and his friends approached Hiccup and Astrid, who seemed to be engulfed in a hushed conversation. They stopped talking, when they spotted him and the others, but Jack had definitely heard the word "dragons" being mentioned.

It was stupid and childish, but it somehow bothered him that Astrid knew so much about Hiccup and his secrets, while Jack didn't know anything at all.

He slumped down in a chair next to Hiccup.

"Good morning, guys," Hiccup said with a warm smile.

"Morning, Hic," Jack said and smiled back.

Astrid seemed to be in a better mood today than yesterday, giving them a polite smile and a wave.

"So, Hiccup… Are you going to show me some bows today?" Merida said, a gleeful smile spreading across her face. Jack knew she couldn't wait to practice her archery skills again.

"Yeah, sure," Hiccup said and reached into his black satchel and rummaged around a little, before pulling out a sketchbook. It was another one than his usual worn one.

While they waited for Professor Bunnymund to arrive, Hiccup flicked through the pages, showing Merida detailed drawings of different kinds of bows. The sketchbook was also filled with drawings of other kinds of weapons and inventions. Jack found it fascinating to watch.

There were different kinds of small catapults, bows, swords with weird functions, axes, armor and a lot of drawings of what appeared to be some sort of saddle connected with a lot of different straps, levers and metal rods. It looked very complex and Jack wondered what on earth Hiccup would need something like that for. He chose not to ask though. Everything dragon related was still very sensitive.

Merida had ended up picking the same kind of bow that she had back home. Hiccup called it a "recurve bow" and at Jack's and Flynn's confused expressions, Hiccup explained that that kind of bow was a good choice to use in forest terrain and on horseback, because it could be made smaller than other bows but still retain a high level of speed and force.

Well, that would definitely suit Merida. She'd told Jack how she sometimes rode away from home for the day on Angus and practiced shooting her bow in the forest, away from the prying eyes of her mother.

Astrid seemed to know exactly what Hiccup was talking about, when he explained the details of that particular kind of bow. Jack found that a little annoying for reasons unknown to him. Maybe it was because he was still a little irritated with her after their encounter last night.

"And remember: Keep the bow and the arrows hidden somewhere outside at all times," Hiccup said. "I'm not interested in any of us getting expelled."

"Of course!" she said. "No problem."

"Great," Hiccup said and closed the sketchbook. "I'll start working on it later today."

Merida's face split into a huge grin. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she said and clapped her hands together.

Jack was all fuzzy inside, watching his dear friend and Hiccup getting along so well.

"So… How did you get on with that Herbology assignment?" Hiccup said, turning to Astrid, while Merida and Flynn started throwing amusing insults at each other.

"It was okay, actually. Not nearly as difficult as I'd imagined. What about you and your project for Magical Objects?" Astrid said and tucked a blonde lock behind one ear.

"Yeah, it was fine. Turned out much better than I'd expected actually," Hiccup said, sounding genuinely happy.

Jack had no idea what project they were talking about and his childish curiosity kicked in. He pushed it down though. He didn't want to interrupt their conversation. Things were already tense between him and Astrid. No need to make it escalate.

"Great. It's too bad I have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, or we could work on some of the assignments together once in a while," Astrid said and pulled out her textbook from her satchel.

"Yeah, that would be great. You've always been better at Herbology than me anyway, but apparently, the school decided that I need to enjoy the company of the Slytherins."

"But at least you don't have that many classes with them this year," Astrid said with a smile.

"True. I actually only have Herbology with them. Professor Lunar wasn't kidding when he let us know that Ravenclaw and Slytherin would be spending less time together this year. Not that I'm complaining. It's nice to avoid… certain people," Hiccup told Astrid and shrugged.

Jack bit his lip. Okay, what was that all about? Who did Hiccup want to avoid? Sure, there were some twats in Slytherin, but it sounded like he was talking about someone specific. Jack's curiosity was telling him to ask but his conscience knew he shouldn't. He had a pang of annoyance in his chest. No one should be messing with Hiccup.

"Yeah, I know," Astrid said softly and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

It was strange to see her be this gentle. It was a side of her that he rarely got to see. Right now there was a soft calmness about her, as she spoke with Hiccup. It was almost like his company made her relax and forget about her whole tough exterior.

"So, Hic… Are we meeting up later to work on our assignment?" Jack said, when there was a pause in Hiccup's and Astrid's conversation.

"Yeah, sure," Hiccup said. "Uhh… I have Building, Managing and Repairing Magical Objects as my last class and it ends at three. How about you?"

"Care of Magical Creatures. Ends at two, but then I have Quidditch practice, so I'm probably done around four."

"Great, so let's just meet up at… Four thirty? Then we still have a little time to work before dinner," Hiccup suggested.

"Yeah, that's fine," Jack said and found himself looking forward to spending some more time with him, even though it would consist of studying.

"We'll probably need to meet up somewhere else than the lake though. It'll be dark around five."

"Oh, right… Hmm, how about the library then?"

"Yeah, sure," Hiccup said and nodded eagerly.

"Great," he said and gave Hiccup a bright grin. Hiccup smiled back at him.

Professor Bunnymund told them they'd be practicing non-verbal spells and today it was expelliarmus, the disarming spell. Astrid and Hiccup had quickly paired up, and Jack couldn't help the frown on his face, but he was fine with getting Merida as his partner, while Flynn and Jim paired up together.

Since they were only going to practice disarming spells today, there was no need for Professor Bunnymund to pad the walls, like he did when they practiced more violent spells. The tables and chairs were once again moved and stacked in one of the corners of the old classroom with a single flick of their Australian professor's wrist, so there would be enough room for the students to spread out.

He and the other students all placed themselves across from their partners. The sounds of spell casting, laughter and curses created a familiar, comfortable blanket of sound in the old classroom.

Jack waited for Merida to find her wand. She was rummaging through her bag, her wild hair getting in the way.

Hiccup and Astrid stood in front of each other with an appropriate distance.

"Ready, Meinfretr*?" Astrid asked Hiccup with challenging smile on her lips.

"Bring it on, Vitskertr*" Hiccup said and grinned.

"Baulufotr*" Astrid shot back, her eyes shining.

"Kerling*" Hiccup said, pretending to be angry.

Astrid laughed. She seemed so different when she was this open and let her guarded demeanor fade away.

Jack glanced at Merida, still going through her bag. Once again, he wished he could understand Old Norse. Hiccup and Astrid communicated… affectionately and completely incomprehensibly to him. He tried to push the faint irritation in his gut away. It was probably a combination of his natural curiosity and his tense encounter with Astrid that made him think these thoughts. After all, he wasn't irritated when Hiccup and Fishlegs spoke to each other like that.

"So, Frosty, I found my wand. Are we going to get on with it or what?" Merida said.

He tore his eyes off Hiccup and Astrid. Merida had her hands on her hips, clearly waiting for them to get started.

"Sure thing, Simba," he said with a cheeky grin.

She narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you'll regret that, Snow Queen."

"Well, are you going to do something, or are you going to talk about it?" Jack said and tilted his head.

Merida lifted her arm, wand clutched firmly in her hand. With a swift movement of her wrist, Jack's wand flew out of his grasp and into the air. Merida reacted quickly and jumped up and grabbed it.

"Yes!" she said triumphantly and held both her hands in the air, a wand in each of them.

"Well done… for a Scot," Jack said.

Merida stuck her tongue out. "Sore loser," she said with amusement and quickly covered the distance between them and held out Jack's wand to him. He grabbed it and enjoyed feeling the wand in his hand again. A person's wand was like an extension of themself, and without it, Jack felt naked and defenseless.

Merida created some space between them again and Jack lifted his wand and thought of the disarming spell. Merida's wand was slung into the air and he was quick to catch it in one hand.

"Look who's defeated the evil Scot!" he said and winked at her.

"No one defeats a Scot, Snowflake!" Merida said. "Prepare for war!"

For the rest of the class, he and Merida amused themselves by having a competition about who could disarm the other perfectly the most times. He won without much of a challenge, because despite Merida's confidence, she wasn't as good in Defense Against the Dark Arts as he was.

When class ended, Merida headed towards her Earth Magic class, and Astrid apparently had Astronomy, which suited Jack just fine, as he found it pretty awkward to be around her at the moment.

That left him, Flynn and Hiccup walking down one of the massive stone passageways of the castle to get to their Transfiguration class. He casually slung his arm around Hiccup's shoulder. He had already gotten used to doing that once in a while, and he enjoyed the familiar warmth.

It was weird how quickly he'd gotten used to being around Hiccup and apparently, the feeling was mutual. Hiccup seemed to have already grown accustomed to his friendly touches. He didn't flinch or seem confused by it any longer.

Jack smiled to himself. Well, that was definitely progress.

---

While Hiccup continued to head towards the Transfiguration classroom through the corridors alongside Jack and Flynn, he found himself reflecting on how on earth he had become used to Jack invading his personal bubble in such a short time.

It was strange, but somehow he didn't mind it. Sure, the first few times had been awkward for him and he'd been unsure of how to react, but now it was becoming familiar.

He had no doubt that Jack was used to being all touchy with people, but he certainly wasn't. Hiccup liked his personal space but in a weird way, it didn't seem to matter that much with Jack. His initial awkwardness had quickly disappeared and now he just felt a familiar, friendly warmth, whenever Jack slung his arm around his shoulder or ruffled his hair. It had actually become nice and comforting instead of tense and awkward.

There weren't many students yet in the old classroom with the high stone ceiling and the many cages full of various animals. Hiccup spotted Rapunzel sitting by one of the tables with her nose in a book.

"Hi, guys," she said with happiness in her eyes and put down the book.

Hiccup sat down next to Rapunzel, while Jack placed himself on his other side.

"So, how was class?" Hiccup asked her, while he pulled out his textbook from his black satchel and placed it on the table, alongside some parchment and a quill.

"Uhm… It was okay, but I was a bit distracted," Rapunzel said hesitantly and shrugged.

"Oh? Why's that?" he said. Rapunzel was rarely distracted in class. She was incredibly good at focusing on the task at hand, so something had obviously been out of the ordinary.

"Well, I was just sort of thinking about what to tell Booker," she said, picking at her nails.

Ah… He should probably have figured that out.

"Okay… Well, it's probably best to just put it as simply as possible. Just keep it short and polite but with no room for discussion," he said, trying to give some sound advice that could get Booker to comply without creating any hostility between them.

"Yeah, I know. It's just always so… unpleasant and awkward doing something like that," Rapunzel said and started biting her lip.

"Yeah, it is… But it needs to be done."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jack said, interrupting their conversation.

Hiccup smiled. Jack was incredibly curious. It was another trait that made Jack seem so child-like but it was also entertaining and even sweet sometimes. Hiccup didn't mind when Jack would ask all kinds of questions. As long as he didn't ask about dragons.

"Well… Rapunzel has been paired up with Neal Booker for a Care of Magical Creatures assignment and he's too lazy to do his part of the work," Hiccup said, doing his best to sound calm despite the irritation inside him.

Jack rolled his eyes. "He's always been such a slacker."

"Definitely. It's not the first time he's done something like that," Flynn said and shook his head.

"Yeah, well… He needs to realize that he has to pull his own weight," Hiccup said and picked at the corner of his textbook.

"Definitely. Ugh… It's so annoying when people think they can just get others to do their work for them," Jack agreed in a frustrated tone of voice that Hiccup wasn't used to hearing from him.

"Yeah, it is," he said and nodded slowly.

"I hope he get's his act together," Jack said and observed Rapunzel with genuine concern. Hiccup found himself appreciating Jack even more now.

"He better… or I'll definitely have a talk with him," Hiccup said and crossed his arms.

Rapunzel groaned. "Hiccuuuuup… I told you, I'm going to talk with Professor Lucero, if Booker doesn't listen to me. There's no need for you to do anything."

"I know that, but you don't have that much time to do the assignment, so the sooner he pulls himself together, the better," he argued. It was true, and they both knew it, so Rapunzel didn't have long to get Booker to focus.

"Wow, Hic, am I sensing some protectiveness there?" Jack said with a smile, nudging his shoulder playfully.

Rapunzel snorted. " Some? Try a whole lot."

"You're exaggerating now," Hiccup said and suppressed a smile.

"Oh no, I'm not," she said and pointed at him. "I'd never set you on anyone, unless I had a serious problem."

Hiccup heard Jack and Flynn chuckle.

"You make him sound like some kind of deadly weapon," Jack said.

"He definitely is in his own way. You try getting on the bad side of someone's protective Viking big brother and see what happens," Rapunzel said and laughed.

"Huh… protective Viking big brother… That does sound a little intimidating," Jack said and grinned. "Especially now that dear Hic here has had that crazy growth spurt."

"That's right, Frosty, so you better make sure I'm happy. I can't be held responsible for the devastation of unleashing my uncontainable Viking wrath," Hiccup said, making sure to shake one of his fists in a threatening manner.

Jack, Flynn and Rapunzel all grinned at his comment.

"Right," Jack said and smiled. "So, how do you keep an awkward, brainy Viking happy, exactly?"

"Oh, that's easy…" Rapunzel said. "Keep him supplied with books, paper and pencils, give him some fish to eat, a workshop to tinker in, some weapons training once in a while and shield him from any kind of social interaction that could potentially trigger a massive fit of pure awkwardness."

"Oh, ha ha," Hiccup said and rolled his eyes.

Of course, Rapunzel was spot on, except for deliberately avoiding mentioning Toothless, since that wasn't something Jack or Flynn should know.

"Well, those things I can definitely do," Jack said and grinned brightly. "Well… except for the weapons training… thing."

"Then what good are you, Snow Cone? I need to practice how to control that destructive force within," Hiccup said and puffed out his chest a little for emphasis.

"Well, you could always use Jackie as a practice dummy?" Flynn said, shooting Jack a teasing grin.

"Heey! Someone this beautiful and amazing shouldn't go to waste being a damn practice dummy," Jack said and nudged Flynn's shoulder.

Hiccup felt an amused smile creep onto his lips.

"At least you'd have some kind of practical purpose then," Flynn said and nudged Jack's shoulder back.

"Oh, I have a purpose all right… Spreading cheer and awesomeness everywhere I go!"

"Wauw, Jack, aren't you the humble one?" Hiccup said, unable to hold back a smile.

"Well, I don't need to be. You're plenty humble for the both of us, Hic."

"Hey, don't use me as some kind of compensation for your inflated ego. Get your own humbleness," Hiccup said and wrinkled his forehead, pretending to disapprove.

"Don't be such a humbleness hog, Hic. You need to learn how to share. What's yours is obviously mine," Jack said and beamed at him. Somehow, it made Hiccup feel delighted. A happy grin spread across his face, before he put his face in neutral folds.

"Do you have any sense of boundaries?" he deadpanned.

Flynn scoffed. "No… That doesn't exist. It's like Merida's manners… or your confidence."

"Heey!" Hiccup said, while Jack and Rapunzel snickered at Flynn's comment.

Transfiguration ended up being very entertaining. The four of them attempted to transfigure rats into badgers and Hiccup had one of those rare surges of pride, when he managed to do a full transfiguration as the first person in class.

Rapunzel wasn't that far behind though, and after about half an hour Jack and Flynn had both managed to do it as well, unlike several other students in the room.

Some of the first attempts by all of them had been hilarious though. At Hiccup's first try, the rat had become as big as a badger and the same colouration, but besides that… it was still just a large mutant rat. At Jack's first attempt, the back end of the rat had turned into a badger, while the front end remained as it was, making the four of them to break into a laughter fit.

---

Jack and Merida were both excited to start Quidditch practice again, having been away from the sport for the whole summer. They definitely shared an intense love of flying. Somehow, it just felt like freedom. The wind on your skin, the speed that could sometimes cause great surges of adrenaline, the view… Everything about it.

After Care of Magical Creatures, Jack met up with Merida in the common room. After the two of them had gone to their dormitories and donned the usual red and yellow Quidditch uniforms, they walked together towards the Quidditch pitch, broomsticks in hand, discussing the newest Quidditch broom model.

There was a slight crisp chill in the air, and it was raining softly, delicate sprinkles of drops flowing from the grey, cloudy skies, leaving its cold touches on Jack's skin. It wasn't the best weather for Quidditch practice, but they never cancelled it, unless there was a serious storm or something like that. Jack didn't really mind though. He kind of liked the rain.

When they reached the Quidditch pitch, Jack spotted Astrid among the other members of their team, standing in the middle of them, explaining something. He felt slightly irritated at the sight of her.

Sure, he'd seen her in several classes today and she'd even said good morning to him during Defense Against the Dark Arts, but now they actually had to interact after their little encounter in the hallways.

Well, this was going to be… interesting.

When the two of them approached their fellow teammates and Astrid spotted them, she gave him a nod and a small, strained smile. He chose to ignore her, even though it was childish. Right now, he just didn't feel like pretending.

He and Merida had been the last ones to arrive, and Astrid didn't waste time in getting them all started. She informed them of the drills, they were going to be practicing today, and they all listened attentively as she spoke. Jack had to admit that Astrid definitely possessed a natural air of authority that made people pay attention to her. He sighed to himself and felt a little relaxed at the feel of droplets sliding down the soft skin on his face. Even though it was only raining a little, he noticed how his clothes were already feeling clingy from the invading dampness of the raindrops.

It turned out that Quidditch practice wasn't such an awkward, tense experience as Jack had thought it would be. Yes, he'd been looking forward to being in the air on his broom again, doing intricate maneuvers, working on developing his skills, teasing Merida by yelling cheeky things to her that riled her up, but he'd worried a little about being around Astrid.

When they began practicing though, his hesitations melted away and he simply enjoyed the fun in flying and being around his teammates. He threw a particularly teasing comment in Merida's face, when he flew past her in his search for the Snitch, and she'd made use of her Beater's bat to smack him on the back with an evil grin.

Jack was surprised to find that Astrid had been less of a slavedriver and more patient, instructive and calm than usual today. She'd even complimented Jack a few times, when he'd done a particularly swift or complicated maneuver. It wasn't unusual that she complimented him or the others when they'd done well, but after yesterday's encounter, Jack definitely hadn't expected her to do that. Maybe she felt guilty?

When practice was over, he and Merida were both drenched from being out in the rain for so long. His clothes felt heavy on his body and they clinged to his skin in a sticky, unpleasant way. His white locks drooped from the water, and even though he didn't feel cold, the tips of his fingers had taken on a strong pink colour.

Merida was definitely freezing now though. She hugged herself in an attempt to get warm, and her teeth were clattering a little. He smiled warmly at her and had a tug of empathy, when they walked away from the pitch in silence. They both really wanted to get back to the dormitories to get a shower and a change of clothes. Right now, the thought of dry, clean clothes was heavenly.

"Jack," he heard a familiar voice say, but the use of his first name caught him off guard. Astrid never called him Jack. He turned around to see her standing behind him, watching him intently with those piercing eyes.

"Just go on, Mer," he told Merida, who eyed Astrid with curiosity, before she nodded and walked away. She didn't need much convincing. She was probably looking forward to taking a hot shower.

"Yes?" he said, voice cold. What did she want? He had no interest in being around her more than he needed to right now.

"Look… I know, I shouldn't have done, what I did yesterday," Astrid said, her brow furrowed.

Okay, this was definitely interesting. He hadn't been expecting that.

"No, you shouldn't have," he said and crossed his arms. His soaked uniform was disgusting against his skin.

"I know that. I snapped, because everyone had been constantly trying to get information out of me about Hiccup and the dragons. Like I said… I shouldn't have done it. I still mean every word I said, but I shouldn't have been so aggressive, and I definitely shouldn't have pushed you," she said and watched him with those piercing eyes that seemed very tired all of the sudden. It sounded like the whole dragon thing hadn't been too easy for Astrid either, even if Hiccup got the worst of it.

"Well, we agree on that," Jack said and shrugged, before letting his arms drop to his sides. This was probably as close as he was going to get to an apology from Astrid. Even saying those words to him must have been difficult for her.

"Look, like I said yesterday… I get that you're trying to protect Hiccup, but I'm not going to do anything to him," Jack said.

Astrid nodded a few times. Her eyes seemed to analyze him, but there was no anger in them.

"Okay, Jack. I hope you mean that," she said with a flicker of a smile. Her eyes softened. It was a glimpse of that gentle demeanor she had around Hiccup, which surprised him. A blink of another side of Astrid that Jack wasn't too familiar with.

"I mean it," he said and gave her a small smile. The fact that she'd regretted being so aggressive with him calmed the annoyance inside him. He still didn't appreciate her trying to warn him, but somehow, he also understood her need to shield Hiccup.

Astrid nodded again. "Good…" she said softly. "I'll see you around, Jack," she finished with a tiny smile and walked away briskly, leaving him in the light, gentle rain.

---

It was such a great feeling to take a shower and wash away the sweat, dirt and rainwater from the intense Quidditch raining. Jack's overworked muscles instantly relaxed, as the hot water trickled down his pale skin, soothing the aches in his body with its warm touch.

When he put on some clean, dry clothes, relishing the clean feeling, he briefly thought about Astrid. She was confusing, at least to him. And what about her and Hiccup? Were they more than friends? Or maybe heading there? He hoped not. Hiccup should be with someone a little more… carefree than Astrid. Someone that Jack could easier get along with.

He walked down the old stone corridors on his way to the library, savoring that crisp and cool feeling, when air brushed through his damp white hair. It was a refreshing sensation that tingled the skin on his head and he found himself feeling revitalized.

When he spotted Hiccup waiting for him outside the library, he smiled. He'd really been looking forward to meeting up with him, even though they would be studying. There'd probably be some time for friendly conversation though, which was what Jack really wanted to do.

As Hiccup spotted him approaching, a small smile curved his lips and he gave Jack a friendly wave.

"Hi, Hic!" Jack said.

"Hey, Jack" Hiccup said.

"Let's find a place to sit, shall we?" he said and motioned towards the entrance to the library with his head.

They looked around the library to find somewhere fairly private and quiet to sit. Hiccup motioned for Jack to follow him and he did, as they made their way past bookshelf after bookshelf of the huge old library, until they reached one of the farthest corners from the entrance. A small square table and four chairs were placed in the corner with bookshelves all around it, except for a small opening. This made the corner pretty isolated from the rest of the library.

"Is this where you usually sit, or?" Jack said and plopped his backpack on the floor.

"Yup. I like my privacy," Hiccup said and sat down.

"No kidding. I hadn't even noticed that," Jack said and slumped into a chair.

"How could you? I'm practically a ray of social sunshine," Hiccup said.

Jack chuckled. That was so not what Hiccup was.

Hiccup placed his black satchel on the table, quickly rummaging through it, and pulling out his textbook, some parchment and his quill.

Jack stretched out his legs. It was really nice to sit down after almost two hours of Quidditch practice. His entire body was tired and sore, so rest was definitely appreciated.

They quickly picked up, where they'd left off the last time, eagerly discussing the various strategies for defending yourself against the basilisk, and briefly taking a slight detour from the assignment, when they began talking about, how there had once been a basilisk at Hogwarts in the Chamber of Secrets.

After working for about an hour, shooting sarcastic remarks at each other in between discussing, reading and Hiccup eagerly writing, they agreed to take a break. Rightly so, in Jack's opinion. They'd been working hard and both been very focused, so they deserved to relax a little.

They began discussing movies and found out they had quite similar tastes. Jack learned about Hiccup's, Fishlegs' and Rapunzel's movie marathon nights at Rapunzel's house, and he told Hiccup about how confused Mavis had been in their first couple of years about anything muggle related, like the movie quotes he and Flynn would sometimes throw out in the middle of a conversation.

Hiccup definitely seemed to relate to that, as he and Fishlegs had been completely oblivious about such things, until Rapunzel took it upon herself to educate them on these matters.

Hiccup also told him that he had begun working on Merida's bow, and that he was really hoping she'd like it. Jack's heart softened at that. He still couldn't believe Hiccup had actually offered to make a bow for her.

As the conversation carried on, Hiccup told Jack more about Viking culture, explaining some of the competitive sports and games, they dabbled in on Berk, most of which sounded completely awesome, such as mountain climbing, fist fighting and oar jumping.

"What the hell is oar jumping?" he said. It sounded dangerous, but he would definitely need an explanation.

Hiccup smiled. "Well… It's a competitive sport, where you jump from oar to oar on the outside of a ship's railings as its being rowed, so it requires immense balance and agility."

Jack was silent for a few moments. Hiccup was kidding, right? No one would actually do something like that?

"That's… You're not serious?"

Hiccup's face split into a huge grin. "I'm very serious."

"What? How does someone come up with that?"

"I have no idea. It's a very ancient sport," Hiccup said and shrugged.

"Have you ever done it?" Jack found himself asking.

"Oh gods, no. Even if I wanted to, I doubt I could do it with my prosthetic," Hiccup said.

Well that made sense… Even though Hiccup didn't seem too bothered with his fake limb on a daily basis, extreme sports was another matter entirely.

"Oh, right… Man, I wish I could see someone do some oar jumping," Jack said.

"It's pretty fun to watch, but it often ends in injuries, as most Viking sports do."

"No kidding," Jack said and grinned. It sounded like Vikings really enjoyed risky, dangerous pastimes. "What about games? Do you have a lot of those too?"

"Oh, yeah. We have a lot of different board games and dice games, not to mention drinking games," Hiccup said and Jack gave him a bright grin at that last example. "What the board games and dice games usually have in common is that you can only win by thinking strategically."

"Huh. That sounds interesting. Why do they have that in common?"

"Being able to solve strategic problems is something Vikings value a lot. The reason we're good warriors is not just because of strength, battle training and familiarity with pain, but also because we train our ability to think strategically, so we can plan out our moves and be able to stay two steps ahead of any enemies," Hiccup said. "It's too bad a lot of people seem to think Vikings are kind of stupid. If we were actually unintelligent, we wouldn't be able to be great warriors at all," Hiccup said, gesturing eagerly with his hands.

"Well, you're right about that. It doesn't really matter, how strong you are, if you're too stupid to predict your enemies' moves and use their weaknesses against them," he said and leaned back in his chair.

"Very true," Hiccup said and a small smile curved his lips.

"What about the drinking games?"

"Well… Vikings drink. A lot," Hiccup said and chuckled.

"Yeah, I can imagine. That's definitely one thing that's well-known about you guys," Jack said and grinned.

"It really is. Anyway, there are lots of different kinds, but they usually stretch on for looong periods of time."

"Why?"

"Because most Vikings have a seriously high tolerance of alcohol, so it takes a lot to get them really drunk."

Jack laughed at that, as he imagined Vikings sitting through the entire night with a table full of empty mugs, trying desperately to get the other one to cave in first.

"Well, except for you," he said and shot him a teasing grin. Hiccup didn't seem like the type, who could handle huge amounts of alcohol.

"That used to be true, but not anymore," Hiccup said and smiled with a certain self-satisfaction.

Jack tilted his head. "You're able to hold your liquor now?"

"Definitely," Hiccup said. "In the last couple of years, I've had a lot more practice back home, since I'm considered an adult now."

"Those wild Viking parties sound like so much fun," Jack said.

He briefly imagined himself being tipsy with a huge mug of mead in his hand, dancing some old-timey rhythmic dance on the large wooden tables with a bunch of huge, drunk Vikings with mead in their beards. Bloody hell, that would be awesome.

Hiccup laughed at that, and Jack once again found himself thinking that Hiccup should laugh more. His whole face lit up and his laugh was such a pleasant sound.

"They really are," Hiccup said and nodded. "No one can party like Vikings."

As the conversation carried on and moved towards other topics, Jack ended up telling Hiccup a lot more about his family, like how close he and Emma was, what happened when he and his family found out that he was a wizard and how his family had become quite attached to his Hogwarts friends over the years, basically seeing them as family members now. Hiccup listened patiently and asked some clarifying questions once in a while, seeming genuinely interested to know more about his background. Jack was delighted about that. After all… If they were going to be friends, they needed to know more about each other.

"So… You guys actually spend time at all of your houses every holiday? That sounds pretty time consuming," Hiccup asked, as he twirled his quill in his hand.

"Yeah, we do that most years, but we only spend a few days each place, so it's not too bad. And then we spend the rest of the holidays in our own homes. But it's really nice to have them around, and we've come to know each other's parents and siblings really well too, so I always look forward to visiting all of them," Jack said, gesturing with his hands. He'd been doing that more than usual lately. Maybe that was Hiccup's doing?

"That sounds nice. I really like visiting Rapunzel's family too… So, there are no strict parents or annoying siblings at all?" Hiccup said with an amused smile on his lips.

"Well… Merida has three younger brothers, who are identical triplets, and they get into all sorts of trouble constantly. They're definitely the menace of the whole neighborhood. Personally, I think it's hilarious, but Merida's parents don't always agree. Don't tell anyone, but I actually help them with their pranks once in a while," he said and waggled his eyebrows.

Hiccup chuckled. "Of course, you do."

"Hey, someone needs to pass the torch and teach them the ancient, sacred art of pranking," Jack said, grinned and held up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Ahh, yes… The ancient, sacred art of pranking," Hiccup said and shook his head.

"Yeah, that's what it is! Anyway, there's also Mavis' dad. He used to be really paranoid that me and Flynn were trying to date her behind his back, so he watched us constantly, like a hawk, whenever we visited her. He even made us sleep in a room in the other end of their huge manor, because he was so worried that her virtue was in danger. And we weren't allowed to do anything remotely fun. He made us play bingo and do water aerobics for crying out loud!" Jack said and chuckled.

Her dad had been way too suspicious, but luckily, he'd managed to relax during the years. Now, it was actually a pleasant experience to visit Mavis' house.

Hiccup's face lit up in a huge grin. "Seriously?"

When Jack nodded, Hiccup laughed… A lot. His sides were practically splitting. Jack found himself beaming at Hiccup, who had trouble breathing now.

"Well, I'm glad you're amused," Jack said sarcastically, although he really meant it. It was so nice, when Hiccup loosened up.

Hiccup got his breathing under control again and chuckled. "It's just… the image of Jack Frost and Flynn Rider doing water aerobics is now burned into my brain forever."

"Oh, ha ha," Jack said, but was unable to hide his own amused grin. "Haven't you ever been forced to do something like that?"

"Gods, no!" Hiccup said, his eyes widening, like that idea was truly horrifying.

"Well, you're lucky then… Better hope you never meet Mavis' dad."

"Definitely. Paranoid, overprotective parent? No thank you," Hiccup said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, we definitely agree on that one… When we met him the first time, somehow the sentence: "Dad, these are my friends, Jack and Flynn," got all scrambled in his brain to mean: "Dad, this is Jack and Flynn, even though they're only 12 years old, they won't hesitate to jump anything with a pulse," Jack said and grinned, vividly recalling the first time he met her overprotective dad.

Hiccup chuckled at that. "Wow, he saw right through you two, didn't he?"

"Oh, laugh it up, Viking Boy," Jack said and shot Hiccup an evil glare. "What about your dad… Is he like that?"

"No, not in any way. It's pretty rare to find an overprotective Viking parent. They want their children to learn how to be independent and be able to survive and that means getting hurt once in a while… Sure, my dad worries about me sometimes, and he wants me to be safe, but he's not suspicious of the people I spend time with, and he doesn't treat me like a child," Hiccup said and twirled his quill.

"Well, that's nice. North and Anna are like that too, actually… They know I can handle myself and they've always welcomed any friends of mine with open arms."

Hiccup nodded. "They sound great."

"They really are," Jack said and sent him a warm smile.

As the two of them carried on their conversation, Jack quickly found out, that Hiccup didn't like talking about his past back home. He didn't mind telling Jack trivia about Vikings and their culture, the archipelago and such, but whenever they brushed the subject of how Hiccup's childhood had been, his green eyes would darken and then he would subtly steer the conversation in another direction. Jack didn't know, what had happened to him in the past, but it was obviously still painful for him to think about.

He really didn't like that look on Hiccup's face. It spoke of someone, who had experienced too much, too young, and although he was damn curious about what had happened, they didn't know each other well enough for that. Maybe one day Hiccup would trust him enough to share those troublesome fragments of his past.

After getting back to work for a while, Jack found his thoughts wandering again. It must be very strange for Hiccup to be so far away from home. Sure, everyone here at Hogwarts were away from home, but almost everyone was at least from Britain. This led him to a brief reflection.

"Hey, Hic?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to disturb him, since he was still writing down the last thing, they had agreed to add to their assignment.

"Yeah?" Hiccup said, not pausing from scribbling down letters on the parchment.

"I've been thinking…"

"Be careful with that. You might hurt yourself," Hiccup deadpanned, still observing the paper in his lap and continuing his steady fluid movements with his quill.

"Oh, ha ha, you lowly Viking… But seriously, I was thinking… Why aren't you, Fishlegs and Astrid at Durmstrang? That's in Scandinavia, right?" Jack said.

It seemed like the obvious choice for three Vikings. So, how had they ended up here? Not that Jack minded… The more he got to know Hiccup, the more he appreciated him, and the more he realized just how interesting a person he really was.

"Yup, it is. There's a very simple reason though," Hiccup said, still slightly absent-minded as he continued to write.

"Oh?"

"They don't accept Muggleborns. So, we're really not welcome there," Hiccup said without much emotion in his voice, his eyes still focused on the paper.

"You're serious?" Jack said.

He had no idea things were still like that at Durmstrang. He honestly thought that muggleborns were now welcome at all magical schools, since Voldemort was no longer a threat.

"Very," Hiccup said.

"That's just… pathetic. I mean, since Voldemort was defeated many years ago, you'd think those thoughts would have slowly been eradicated," Jack said and clenched his jaw.

How could anyone still seriously believe in that sort of thing? Jack was muggleborn himself and he definitely didn't feel inferior to pure-bloods or half-bloods. Why should he? They all had equal rights to study magic.

"They won't ever be eradicated, Jack. They've become less common, luckily, and they might continue to subside, but they'll always be there lurking somewhere in the background," Hiccup said, mumbling slightly, his eyes still trained on the paper and his quill.

It was actually impressive that he managed to have this conversation, while thinking about the assignment and writing things down simultaneously. Jack wasn't much of a multi-tasker himself. He got way too distracted and just ended up writing down whatever he was talking with that person about.

"What do you mean?" Jack said, tilting his head of white hair slightly. He found that he really liked hearing Hiccup's thoughts on deeper subjects, like when he'd talked about, how it was natural to make assumptions based on shallow observations and form an entire opinion of someone, but that underneath the surface everyone had traits, secrets, values, that could shake people's entire view of them in a heartbeat.

Hiccup stopped writing and lowered his quill, focusing his analyzing eyes on Jack. He remained silent for a few moments, seemingly contemplating something.

"Well… There's no easier way to form a bond between people than to create a common enemy that unites them. Muggle-hating pure-bloods all see muggle-borns as identical. We're all low, filthy creatures without any individuality, and that's what makes it so easy for them to hate us. It's difficult to hate someone, the more you know about them, because that makes them more human in your mind... So, they all label us as the same from the beginning. They can see us as the enemy, and creating an enemy strengthens the bonds between them and their sense of identity and belonging, because they all agree on what they are not… They're not the filthy, lowly mud-bloods, They agree that they're much better than that," Hiccup said with a calm voice.

Jack was silent for a few moments, as he took in Hiccups words.

Hiccup trained his eyes on one of the bookshelves and appeared to be thinking.

Hiccup seemed to have a pretty good understanding of how people think and the motivations behind their actions, and Jack wondered if it had something to do with Hiccup's own troubled past.

"You seem like you have experience with this kind of thing," Jack said and watched Hiccup intently. But his face didn't give anything away.

Hiccup shrugged and his green eyes met Jack's. "Not muggle-hating pure-bloods, but… I've seen other examples of it… here, at home, out in the world. It happens everywhere and all the time. It's human nature."

"It is," Jack agreed. "We want to find out who we are, and we think we know that, when we believe we've found out what makes us different from others, but… we just haven't. I could easily watch a Slytherin and think: "Oh, you're just so bloody manipulative and untrustworthy, and that's what makes you different from me," but first of all, that might not be true at all about that particular Slytherin, even if I was sure that it applies to all of them and second of all, if I got to know him or her… I might find that we have all kinds of other things in common. Maybe that Slytherin has a little sister that they love more than anything too. Maybe they really enjoy snowball fights. Maybe they also hate Arithmancy. It's just… quite unbelievable how dense we are sometimes and don't even question, how we see others at all, but just accept the first, shallow thoughts as the truth," Jack said and hoped that Hiccup would understand what he meant. It wasn't often he found himself in discussions like this, but he found that he enjoyed it.

Hiccup's eyes softened and a ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, as he observed him for a few silent moments with that piercing gaze.

Jack felt like he had passed some kind of test, and he was genuinely happy that Hiccup seemed to approve of his opinions on the subject. Hiccup was obviously very intelligent. Jack had always known this, but these conversations they'd had lately just confirmed that his intelligence wasn't limited to school-related topics. He seemed to be one of those people, who could figure out, what made people tick simply through observation, and that was a rare gift in Jack's opinion.

"Well said," Hiccup said and nodded slowly. "And that's why, I don't think those kinds of thoughts will ever disappear completely."

"That makes sense… Since they come from people's search for identity," Jack said and thought about that for a few moments. It was sort of depressing, really.

"You can be quite philosophical, when you want to be, Jack," Hiccup said, his green eyes showing a genuine warmth.

A soft, tingling sensation spread inside Jack's stomach, like he had achieved something special.

"Thanks, I know I'm awesome," he said and lifted his head, that air of superiority in place.

Hiccup shook his head. "Sure, you are… Anyway, breaktime's over."

Jack couldn't hold back the whine that escaped his lips.

---

Hiccup held his quill firmly in his hand, forming neat, orderly letters to add the latest thing, he and Jack had agreed should be in the assignment.

He enjoyed spending time with Jack. He'd been worrying several times during the day, since he read the troublesome news from his dad, but being around Jack, who was so carefree and entertaining, managed to quell his concerns for a while. They hadn't known each other for long, but Hiccup found himself thinking they could actually be friends, when they got to know each other better. They definitely had a lot of fun together.

He dipped his quill in the ink and threw a glance at Jack, whose eyes were roaming over one of the bookcases, taking in the different titles on the shelves.

Hiccup enjoyed learning more about Jack and his background. It was too bad that he wasn't in any way ready to share things about his own childhood. Jack meant well and just wanted to get to know him better, but his past as an outcast and a disappointment had left some emotional scars that he preferred to keep to himself and his closest friends. Jack had definitely picked up on his discomfort and his discreet ways of changing the direction of the conversation, but he was nice enough not to mention it, which Hiccup was grateful for.

When he finished writing the page, he began rummaging through his satchel looking for more parchment. He furrowed his brow in confusion, when he spotted a folded note inside the bag and took it out.

He sighed to himself. He didn't have to read it to know what it was. He put it back into the satchel without unfolding it, not wanting anything to do with it, and found the parchment he was looking for.

"Fangirl mail, Hic?" Jack asked with a grin on his face.

Great.

Jack seemed to enjoy teasing him about his new popularity with the girls at the castle, and how awkward it made him feel. Somehow, it amused him and slightly frustrated him at the same time. He knew that Jack's teasing was entirely friendly, but sometimes he wished that he wasn't so easy to embarrass.

"Seems like it," he said and shrugged. He'd give the note to Rapunzel and Fishlegs later and let them read it. After all… If it wasn't a flirty note but maybe a death threat or something else important, he'd want to know about it. If it was some girl, who'd never given him the time of day before though, he wasn't interested and didn't want to waste time and energy becoming all flustered by reading a strange girl's flirty words.

"Still not going to read it?" Jack asked and tilted his head.

Jack seemed to do that a lot, he'd noticed. It suited him well though, seeming curious and child-like.

"Nope." There was no way, he'd ever do that. His current system worked just fine, and he intended to keep it that way.

"They just want you to give them a smooch, you know," Jack said and grinned widely, his eyes sparkling with entertainment, as he leaned back in his chair.

Damn that snow-loving idiot. Jack was clearly loving this.

"Well… Not going to happen," he said and turned his gaze towards the opening of the bookcases surrounding their little corner. He could see some young Hufflepuffs joking around with each other, laughing and talking excitedly in the distance.

"Too scared to get your first kiss?" he heard Jack say teasingly.

Hiccup wasn't sure, if Jack actually believed, he was completely inexperienced, or if he was just joking around with him.

Hiccup scoffed. "I've kissed girls before, Jack."

And a boy once… but he'd never told anyone that. Not even Rapunzel, Fishlegs or Astrid knew, so he wasn't about to share that little secret with Jack. He kept watching the Hufflepuffs, who were saying goodbye to each other before splitting up in two groups and walking their separate ways.

"Really?" he heard Jack's voice say and it sounded like he had once again surprised him.

It was strange, how people always seemed to assume that he was hopeless, when it came to romance. Sure, he'd never had an actual relationship, but he wasn't totally inexperienced either. People's assumptions probably had something to do with him being short and skinny in the past though. Apparently, no one had seemed to think that anyone would kiss him.

He tore his eyes away from the retreating forms of the Hufflepuffs and focused on Jack, who was watching him with genuine interest in his blue eyes and something else that Hiccup couldn't figure out.

"Uh, yeah? I'm not completely inexperienced, you know," he said and shrugged.

"Interesting… So, who was it? Spill!" Jack sounded way too excited now, and Hiccup didn't like where this was going.

Why did he tell Jack that he had kissed someone, again? It would probably have been a smarter move to just say that he was as innocent as a fanatic nun, handle the teasing comments that would follow and then leave it at that. Now, Jack was definitely going to try and get him to tell him all about it. Well… shit.

"How about "no?" he deadpanned in an attempt to get Jack to drop it. Somehow though, he already knew that it would be a futile effort.

"Come on, Hic. Was it someone here at Hogwarts?" Jack said and leaned forward in his chair in anticipation.

Hiccup remained silent, but immediately realized his mistake. By then it was too late though.

Jack's face split into a huge grin.

Great. He had read him like an open book.

"Oh, it totally was! Who?" Jack said. His face had practically lit up in curiosity, and Hiccup found himself thinking it was actually sort of sweet, how excited he got about seemingly small, trivial things like this.

"I'm not telling you anything, Snowflake," he said and crossed his arms. He pressed his lips together to avoid smiling. He wasn't giving up without a fight.

"Come on, Hic. Don't be such a grump. I'll tell you about my first kiss?"

"Jack, seriously…"

"Was it that bad, huh? Did she slap you? Or did you find out that you were actually related? Or was it interrupted by a crashing blimp that left her injured?" Jack said with wide, amused eyes, the words spilling from his lips at a rapid pace.

Oh gods, was Jack just going to continue like that until he caved?

"Did she transform into a unicorn? Did you pee your pants?"

Yes. He was in fact going to do just that.

"Were you struck by lightning? Did you find out that she was actually a guy?" Jack continued.

Hiccup snorted mentally at the last suggestion.

"Did an angry horse interrupt you? Did you accidentally burp in her mouth?"

This was some kind of weird torture. That bloody idiot was actually going to bug him to death, wasn't he? Hiccup was seriously going to die by being bombarded with surreal, embarrassing scenarios, until he lost the will to live. By Thor, that would be lame un-Vikingly death… Well, someone was definitely going to be seriously haunted by a ghost that kept signing him up for water aerobics classes every day for the rest of his life.

"Did you suddenly get explosive diarrhea, and it somehow spread to her so that-"

Okay, well this definitely needed to end.

"Here at the castle: Astrid and Rapunzel," Hiccup said to get Jack to shut up. Now. Somehow, the word "diarrhea" instantly made up his mind.

Jack's eyes widened in surprise and he became quiet, seemingly at a loss for words.

Well, that had apparently shut him up. Served him right. It was amusing to watch Jack become speechless.

"Rapunzel?" Jack repeated in a high-pitched voice. "Astrid?!" he said in utter disbelief, like Hiccup was trying to mess with him. Something briefly flickered in those blue eyes, but Hiccup couldn't decipher, what it was.

Hiccup smiled smugly in reply, crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Jack to accept the reality of his answer.

Jack picked up on his casual behavior and shook his head a few times. "Wha-… You're actually serious?"

"Yes," he said and continued to be amused by Jack's struggle to comprehend this.

"Oh, now you have to spill it," Jack said eagerly and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Hiccup said and gave Jack a skeptical look.

"Hell no, this sounds way too interesting."

Hiccup sighed. He might as well get this over with. If there was one thing, he already knew about Jack, it was that he didn't give up, when he wanted something.

"It's definitely not as interesting as it sounds. Astrid kissed me one time back on Berk about two years ago, after we survived the encounter with the dragon queen," he said, and at the mention of the dragon, Jack seemed to perk up even more. He hadn't been sure whether to mention the dragon queen or not, but he decided that since the secret was out anyway, it didn't really matter. It wasn't like he was going to tell Jack anything else about it.

Jack nodded, encouraging him to continue not asking him anything about dragons, which was a good sign. He briefly thought of the moment, when Astrid had kissed him. What he hadn't told Jack, was that she'd done it after he'd woken up from a coma. He'd been completely baffled by it, his mind going blank. They'd never really spoken of it since, and Hiccup just assumed the kiss had happened, because Astrid had been so relieved that he was alive and had woken up.

"With Rapunzel… It was after one of the few Ravenclaw parties that we'd actually gone to, a few years ago. Someone had snuck in some alcohol, so we got a bit drunk. At the end of the night, we were talking about crushes and first kisses and such, and she told me that she was so nervous about her first kiss. She was sure it was going to be horrible, because she'd be so anxious about it. Somehow, we ended up agreeing that I should kiss her, so her first kiss would be with someone she was comfortable with and trusted. I was drunk enough to think it was a good idea, so I did it," he said with a small smile.

"That's… really heartwarming, actually," Jack said, his blue eyes softening.

"Thanks… or whatever you might say to something like that."

"It sounds like something that'd be awkward in the morning though."

Hiccup shrugged. "Not really… We were both fine with it, but we agreed that it should never happen again." Sure, he'd kissed Rapunzel, and it hadn't been horrible or anything, but they would never think of each other in that way. It had just been a friendly gesture.

"Probably a good idea… Not great messing up a friendship over something like that," Jack said, drumming his fingers on the table, looking slightly pensive. Maybe he'd been in a similar situation.

"Exactly. So… Your turn. You said you'd tell me about your first kiss?"

"Well… I was 12 and back home for the summer after my first year here. One of North's old friends was visiting and brought her daughter, who was about my age. She was really pretty with blonde pigtails and brown eyes. Basically, I invited her into my treehouse, and after a lot of cups of imaginary tea, I manned up and gave her a peck on the lips," Jack said.

"That's cute," Hiccup said and found himself smiling genuinely, as he imagined a young Jack being all nervous in front of a girl, trying to find the courage to kiss her.

"It's bloody adorable," Jack said and beamed. Apparently, he was more than comfortable relaying his past romantic experiences. "Who else then?" Jack added and tilted his head in that way of his that had already become familiar to Hiccup.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Hiccup said. It was hopeless, because Jack would somehow manage to get it out of him, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He would at least pretend to resist a little.

"Come ooooon, Hic," Jack said and pouted.

Hiccup chuckled a little. Jack was seriously amusing to watch sometimes, especially when his child-like nature took over.

"Fine," Hiccup said, defeated. That childish pouting and whining was like a secret weapon. "There was a girl back home from another tribe, who'd come to visit Berk along with some representatives from her tribe. We were both 14, and I was given the job of keeping her occupied, while her father participated in some official matters."

"And you did… keep her occupied," Jack said, his face splitting into a huge grin. He waggled his eyebrows.

Hiccup groaned. "Could you not say stuff like that?" he said in equal amounts of awkwardness and amusement. That particularly annoying warmth crept into his cheeks.

"Ahh, two young Vikings sharing a kiss. C'est l'amour*!" Jack said in a thick, French accent, throwing his hands in the air.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Not really. More like some kissing and then never seeing each other again."

He briefly thought back to it. They'd both been nervous and inexperienced, but they'd ended up having quite the makeout session. It'd become a fond memory, since that was the first time, he was properly kissed, not just a quick, awkward kiss.

"Wow, that almost sounds like some kind of business transaction," Jack said and smiled in that smart-ass way of his.

Another memory flashed in Hiccup's mind. That boy who'd visited Berk with his father for a diplomatic meeting and ended up kissing Hiccup in the forest. They were both 12. That fairly innocent experience had left a major impression on him. As he got older, he realized that he didn't care much about gender, but more about the person within. That didn't mean he was fully comfortable with it though, because it made his future even more complicated than it already was.

"Call it what you want," Hiccup said with a shrug.

"That's pretty cold, Hic. You probably broke the girl's heart."

"I seriously doubt that." He was fairly certain there were no feelings whatsoever involved in their little kissing session.

"Come on, don't sell yourself short. She probably spent forever just pining for you and looking out at the ocean, remembering your kiss with longing," Jack said dramatically and clutched his chest in a pained gesture.

"Aww, come on," Hiccup said. "Don't say that."

He had the feeling that Jack was well aware of how awkward comments like that made him feel. That sneaky snow-loving Gryffindor…

"Have you considered getting cured of your awkwardness, Hic?" Jack said and chuckled.

"Social awkwardness is my superpower. Don't ever try to change that. The world would be missing out on all of this," Hiccup said and gestured to himself.

"Right… I can imagine you now in a nerdy superhero outfit, standing awkwardly on a rooftop, trying to avoid human contact at all costs."

Hiccup chuckled. "I'm not that bad. I actually like being social, but only with a few people at once. If I have to be around a lot of people for a long time, I get a social hangover."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "A social hangover?"

"Feeling exhausted and getting a severe headache," he said.

There were plenty of people he liked in one way or another, but he needed his space and his time alone.

Jack chuckled. "I'll never be able to relate to that."

"Well, you're used to being popular and around a lot of people."

Jack seemed like he wanted to be with people most of the time. In that aspect, they probably couldn't be more different.

"You'd be surprised…" Jack started and seemed to be contemplating something for a few moments, his eyes a little unfocused.

Huh. That was interesting. Where was he going with that? It was always fascinating to discover new hidden, unexpected sides of people and this was no exception.

"How so?" he said.

"Well… Before I came to Hogwarts, I only had two friends in my entire life: my best friend Jamie and my sister. The rest of the kids at school ignored me completely. It was like I didn't even exist. I never found out why they disliked me so much, but to them, I was pretty much invisible. They never included me in anything, they always gave me the cold shoulder and pretended they didn't hear me, when I asked them something … Yeah… I was just invisible to all of them."

"Really?" Hiccup said.

That seemed like such a huge contrast to how Jack's life was now. He briefly wondered if that experience of social exclusion had somehow made Jack this happy to be around people all the time now.

"Yeah… Not the best time in my life friend-wise," Jack said softly and it seemed out of character for him. Apparently, those kids had really wounded him. Jack's love of being the center of attention could definitely be related to how he'd practically been invisible to other kids his age.

"I can imagine… That sounds horrible," he said with a sad smile.

"It was… Surprised?"

"Definitely. I didn't see that one coming."

"There's always more," Jack said softly, a warm smile tugging at his lips.

There was a strange fluttering in Hiccup's stomach, when he heard Jack say that. It was… nice that Jack had actually remembered his words and found them interesting enough to reflect on. And of course, he was right… Hiccup hadn't been expecting a popular, social butterfly like Jack to have experienced a fairly friendless early childhood, but it just goes to show, how complex people really are.

"There's always more," Hiccup said, a small but genuine smile gracing his lips.

Jack's smile widened in response.

"What happened to Jamie?" Hiccup said, wondering if he and Jack were still friends. Sometimes people grew apart.

"He moved away. We still talk sometimes over the phone, when I'm back home, but it's not really the same anymore," Jack said, sounding disappointed, but that was to be expected.

"Sorry," he said and meant it. Losing that special bond you had with someone couldn't be easy. Not that he knew too much about that. Not having any friends at all, until the age of 11, and then not having lost any of them, he didn't have any experience with it. But he could imagine.

"No worries. It happens," Jack said and shrugged.

"Yeah… I guess people sometimes grow apart or other circumstances get in the way."

"True," Jack said and seemed thoughtful for a few moments. "By the way, why don't you and Astrid hang out more? You seem like really close friends, but I rarely see you spend time together?"

Well, that was a surprising question. Hiccup had definitely picked up on the tension between Astrid and Jack, so he hadn't been expecting him to ask anything about her.

"Well… I guess it's just because we have completely different lives in many ways. She has friends and acquaintances that I don't really know, and she spends a lot of time with them and on Quidditch and other activities besides classes, while I tend to stick with Fishlegs and Rapunzel and have a few hobbies that I love, but that aren't as time-consuming, as what Astrid's constantly doing… We do spend a lot of time together back home though."

"Huh."

"You and Astrid really don't like each other, do you?"

Jack seemed surprised by his question, wrinkling his forehead. "I wouldn't exactly say that."

"Jack, come on. I have eyes, you know," Hiccup said. He'd definitely noticed the tense air between Astrid and Jack in Defense Against the Dark Arts, despite the fact that they'd both tried to hide it.

"Well, it's not that I actually dislike her, it's just… Sometimes, she can be bossy and way too serious," Jack said, his eyes looking thoughtful, like he was recalling some particular memories.

Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, she can, but she's a good person, and she can be fun too."

"I know, yeah. I just think our personalities clash a bit sometimes."

"Definitely… She's complained about you a few times over the years, when you've pissed her off with your pranks."

"Really?" Jack said, an amused smile on his lips.

"Oh yeah," Hiccup said.

"Well, I have to say that I'm a bit surprised things aren't more tense between us, after she was made captain of the Quidditch team," Jack said.

"I hope she's not too much of an evil dictator," Hiccup said and grinned. Astrid could be intense sometimes. He remembered that from the weapons training sessions back home, where she was put in charge.

"Oh, she definitely is, but she's a good captain too."

Well, that was something.

"That's good. She's actually not that uptight a person, you know. She just have no tolerance for bullshit," Hiccup said and laughed.

"Hey, it takes two people to form a… slightly-tense-but-somehow-civil-although-not-quite-friendly acquaintanceship," Jack said and chuckled at his own description.

"True," Hiccup said and smiled. "I know, she can be intense sometimes, but she means a lot to me," he finished and had a familiar tug of affection in his chest. He really did appreciate Astrid.

"I know," Jack said and smiled.

"How?"

"It's sort of obvious from the way you interact with each other that you're pretty close friends."

"Ah, I see," he said. It was probably obvious that he and Astrid were very comfortable around each other. After all, friends had very different ways of behaving around each other than mere acquaintances did.

"By the way… I was sort of wondering, if it's not too personal… How do you feel about the Norse gods?" Jack said with curiosity shining in his eyes.

Well, that was a strange question to throw out there. It needed some clarification.

"What do you mean by that?" Hiccup said. He wasn't entirely sure, where Jack was going with this.

"I mean… Do you believe in them?"

Huh. Interesting.

"It's kind of complicated… In a way I don't believe in any gods, but on the other hand, it's very deeply ingrained in Viking culture, and it's what I've grown up with and been told my entire life, so it's become a part of me. A significant part. So, I guess you could say that my sense of logic prevents me from believing, but I don't want to let the gods go completely either. It's sort of comforting and familiar to have them as a part of my culture," he said and hoped that Jack would understand what he meant.

Jack nodded eagerly and seemed to be perfectly satisfied with that answer.

"What about you?" Hiccup said. He really enjoyed discussing complicated topics and discovering other people's thoughts on the big questions in life.

"Well, I don't believe in the Norse gods," Jack said and stuck his tongue out.

"No shit, Sherlock. You know what I meant."

Jack grinned at him, before his features turned into a look of thoughtfulness. "Well… I'm not sure actually. How much do you know about the different religions?"

"I know quite a bit about the major ones."

Jack nodded in understanding. "I guess, I'm not certain what I believe, except that I don't think humans can ever know for sure. So, even if there is a god or gods, we can't ever be certain of it. It's too big for us to understand, so we won't ever find the definitive answers."

"So, you're pretty much an agnostic," Hiccup said.

"If that's what it's called," Jack said and shrugged.

"It is… I'm one too. I don't believe, but at the same time, I don't think we'll ever be able to find out for sure, if the gods actually exist, or if they're just our own creation," he said and gave Jack a sincere smile.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, before Hiccup decided that they should get on with the assignment again. He focused his attention on the parchment in his lap.

"We should get back to this" he told Jack, who seemed disappointed by that, but Hiccup had expected him to react that way. After all, it was Jack. He'd much rather talk and joke around than work on assigments. Not that Hiccup didn't agree with that, he totally did, but he also wanted to make sure that they got their assignment done on time.

He trained his eyes on the pages in his textbook and began reading more about the Basilisk's venom.

"Awww, come on, Hic," Jack said.

"No, Jack, seriously…."

"Hiccuuuuuuuup," Jack said, and Hiccup felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, as he kept his eyes focused on the book. It was actually a little difficult resisting that childish whining.

"Jack, no talking right now."

"Fine… Then I'll sing!" Jack said excitedly.

What the…?

Hiccup lifted his head and Jack instantly broke into song.

"Tell everybody, I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see," Jack began singing with a huge grin on his face, his pale fingers tapping eagerly on the table in the rhythm of the song.

Was that…? Yes, it was…

He definitely recognized that song. Jack really was a child at heart, he thought to himself.

"With blue skies ahead, yes, I'm on my way, and there's nowhere else that I'd rather beeeee," Jack sang.

What the Hel did he think he was doing? A grin spread across Hiccup's face. Jack really was one of those people, who just did whatever they felt like, without worrying about what others might think.

"Tell everybody, I'm on my way, and I'm lovin' every step I take," Jack continued to sing with joy evident on his face, fingers tapping on the table.

Hiccup had a thought, and when Jack continued the next sentence of the song, he joined in.

"With the sun beating down, yes, I'm on my way, and I can't keep this smile off my face," they sang together, and Jack's eyes widened in amusement and surprise. Sure, neither of them was a musical genius, but they did okay anyway in Hiccup's opinion. At least it was pretty funny.

"So, tell them all, I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see, and to sleep under the stars, who could ask for more, with the moon keeping watch over me?" they finished.

Jack instantly burst out laughing, making Hiccup's lips form a bright grin. Jack's laughter and smiles were really infectious.

"I can't believe that just happened!" Jack choked out, breathless from the laughter fit. "I actually just had a Disney duet with a Viking!"

"I know, right? Cherish it for the rest of your life, Snowball," Hiccup said.

"How do you even know that song?" Jack asked in disbelief, unable to remove the grin from his face.

"I've seen plenty of Disney films with Rapunzel," he said and smiled. Rapunzel absolutely adored Disney films, so, they sometimes watched them, when they spent time at Rapunzel's house.

"Well, it's good to know she's been educating you and Fishlegs' properly… You must have seen that one a lot though to know the lyrics."

"Not that many times. I just have a very good memory," Hiccup said and shrugged.

"You must have to remember something like that… Although it is a good song."

"It is," Hiccup agreed.

He managed to convince Jack to get back to working on their assignment for the 30 minutes that were left before dinner, and they actually succeeded in working efficiently without goofing off even more, which was somewhat of a triumph. After all, they really enjoyed talking with each other and joking around, so it was easier to just do that than focus on homework. Right now though, it was necessary for the both of them to concentrate on this.

When it was time for dinner, they quickly packed their stuff and headed towards the Great Hall, shooting sarcastic remarks at each other and nudging each other's shoulders playfully. When they reached the massive entrance to the familiar Hall, they looked at each other with genuine smiles.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Hic," Jack said and his face lit up in a bright grin, flashing those incredibly white teeth.

"I know… I'll never get rid of you, Snærflekkr [Snowflake]" he said teasingly and walked towards the Ravenclaw table, before Jack could manage to throw some clever retort back at him.

He spotted Fishlegs and Rapunzel sitting by their House table. Rapunzel was in the middle of a laughter fit, the corner of her eyes crinkling and a hand over her mouth, while Fishlegs was watching her with amusement. Hiccup had a familiar surge of warmth in his heart.

He sat down next to Fishlegs, who'd poured a mountain of mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"Hi, guys," he said and smiled.

"Hey, Hiccup," Fishlegs greeted him and Rapunzel smiled.

"How did it go with Booker in Care of Magical Creatures?" Hiccup asked Rapunzel straight away, eager to know what had happened. He reached out and grabbed a pitcher of water.

"Uhm…" Rapunzel started.

Well, that wasn't good. He poured water into his cup and put the pitcher down.

"Well… I sort of told him that he needs to do more work for this assignment, but he wasn't too receptive…" she said and waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"I'll talk to him then," Hiccup said, even though he knew Rapunzel wouldn't enjoy that. Well… He wasn't looking forward to it either, but it obviously had to be done now.

"Actually, you don't have to… Jack has kind of already taken care of it," she said hesitantly.

"What?"

Well, now he was genuinely confused. Jack had talked to Booker?

"Well… Today at class, he pulled Booker aside and had a word with him. He thought, I didn't see it, but I did. I have no idea, what he said to him, but afterwards Booker apologized to me and promised to do his part of the work," Rapunzel said with a small smile curving her lips.

"Okay… That's interesting," he said.

What had Jack told Booker? And why had he chosen to interfere at all? Sure, Hiccup and Rapunzel had told him about her problems with the lazy guy, but why had Jack thought that somehow concerned him? Not that Hiccup minded… It was kind of sweet that Jack had chosen to put Booker in his place to make things easier for Rapunzel. It was just a bit strange at the same time.

Hiccup cast a glance at the Gryffindor table, where Jack was entertaining his close friends with some kind of funny story. Jack's eyes were wide in amusement and he gestured eagerly with his hands, while his friends smiled and chuckled at him. Hiccup smiled, as he continued to observe Jack for a few moments. He couldn't wait to spend more time with him.

There was definitely something about Jack that was drawing him in.

---

Jack enjoyed dinner as usual among his friends, and now that things were less tense between him and Astrid, he even shot her a smile, when he suddenly met her eyes from down the table, and she smiled back at him, before continuing her conversation with her friend Katie. It seemed like they had reached a kind of understanding. They both cared about Hiccup. Sure, Astrid had a history with him and knew him way better than Jack did, but still… Even though he hadn't known Hiccup for long, he definitely cared about him.

He reached out towards a tray and stabbed a piece of ham with his fork, before bringing it to his plate. He took a small bite, while listening to the conversation currently taking place between Mavis and Flynn about how that brunette girl, Flynn was after, was seemingly immune to his charms. He smiled to himself.

He took a sip of his pumpkin juice and thought about Hiccup and how they'd parted a little while ago.

Hiccup had quickly walked away, so he hadn't even seen the huge smile that had spread across Jack's face. Because Hiccup had given him an Old Norse nickname. Granted, he had no idea what it meant, but that didn't matter. It was a sign that Hiccup was opening up to him even more, and that was important progress. The nickname could mean "infected pile of dragon dung" for all he cared. It was another step towards a genuine friendship forming between them, and that thought made a powerful surge of warmth spread inside him and made him oddly content.

He put some more potatos on his plate and stabbed his fork into one. He glanced at Merida, who was busy stuffing her face full of pie.

He'd really enjoyed his study time with Hiccup, and he'd found out even more about him. It was sort of like collecting a lot of small puzzle pieces, and Jack was hoping that, in time, he would get to at least put most of the puzzle together.

Flynn said something about The Smolder being borderline magic and Mavis sighed deeply.

Jack shook his head and took another sip of his juice.

He was surprised that Hiccup had agreed to tell him about his previous romantic experiences. Sure, Jack didn't make it easy on the poor guy, but still… He could have refused, if he really wanted to. Jack hadn't been sure what to expect from Hiccup, when it came to romance. A part of him had kind of expected him to be inexperienced and another part had told him that Hiccup was full of surprises, so he should never make assumptions. And… Hiccup had kissed Astrid and Rapunzel. What was even weirder, was Jack's initial reaction to it. Somehow, he'd wanted to tease Hiccup about it, ask him more about it, and avoid talking about it, and ignore it completely all at the same time. It was confusing having contradictory feelings like that, and Jack had no idea what it meant, so he decided to push it down. It could just be his protective instinct messing with him again.

After dinner, he'd quickly gone to the owlery to send a letter to Emma and one to Anna and North as well. He'd made sure to ask Emma, why she had detention, and to his own surprise, he'd decided to tell her that he'd made a new friend. In his letter to Anna and North, he quickly updated them on the basics, like how he liked his classes and how his friends were doing. He also made sure to let them know that he missed them.

When he was back in the Gryffindor common room, he slumped down onto the comfortable red couch in front of the fireplace. He leaned against the back of it, enjoying his muscles immediately becoming less tense.

Merida and Mavis had not stayed up long to talk, as they were both exhausted and had chosen to go to bed early. Jack and Flynn had decided to stay up. They'd been joined by Liam and Jim, and Jack was more than happy to catch up with them on how everything was going. Apparently, Jim and Hayley had worked out their differences and were back together, which made Jack smile, as his friend was practically beaming with happiness.

As the hours went by, the four boys' conversation had somehow turned to the topic of Care of Magical Creatures, and the Gryffindor common room was almost deserted, except for a few other students lounging about.

They were joined by Brandon and Alan, two fellow Gryffindors a year younger than them. They didn't know them that well, but they seemed like nice guys.

"So, Jack... What are you doing with Haddock all of the sudden?" Brandon said, leaning back in the armchair.

"What do you mean?" Jack said. He had a bad feeling about this.

"I mean, what's the point of it?" Brandon said.

Jack frowned. Brandon clearly disliked Hiccup for some reason. He cast a quick glance at Flynn, whose eyes had turned wary.

"Uh… The point is that Hiccup's a great guy and he's fun to hang out with?" Jack said and shrugged like it was obvious.

Flynn hummed in agreement next to him.

"What? You're not trying to get him to spill something about dragons?" Brandon said, his eyes squinting.

"What? No!" Jack said. "I like hanging out with him, that's all."

Why did everyone seem to think he had some kind of ulterior motive for spending time with Hiccup? Was that really all that people cared about? Getting information about the dragons, and then it didn't matter that Hiccup might be bothered or hurt by it? Jack grinded his teeth. He could understand Hiccup's paranoia more and more.

"Seriously?" Brandon said and looked at him like he was a child that had just fucked up the most simple task.

"Yeah, why?" Jack said. He really didn't like the guy's tone of voice and his expression right now. Brandon didn't like Hiccup. That much was obvious. But why?

"He's just annoying, that's all," Brandon said and shrugged like it was no big deal.

'You're annoying', Jack was about to say.

"No, he isn't," he said instead and crossed his arms.

"Well, I think he is," Brandon shot back.

"Why?" Flynn said in a calm voice.

Jack shot a quick glance at Liam and Jim, who had both remained silent, observing the tension between Jack, Flynn and Brandon. They were frowning and Jack was pretty sure they were a little annoyed with Brandon right now too.

Brandon seemed to contemplate his answer for a few moments, staring into the fireplace. Jack really wasn't looking forward to this. He just knew he was going to be even more irritated.

"He's just such a damn know-it-all… and that sarcasm shit, he always pulls… like he's soooo funny," he said and scoffed.

Yup. Jack was definitely more annoyed now.

"Well, keep shit like that to yourself. I like Hiccup," Jack said and narrowed his eyes.

"Me too," Flynn said and gave Jack a pat on the back.

"Whatever," Brandon said and shot out of his chair, going towards the dormitories, apparently finished with this conversation.

Jack didn't mind that at all.

"What was his problem?" Flynn said to the others.

Alan shrugged. "I don't know… Apparently, he just doesn't like Haddock."

"Well, we do," Flynn said and Jack nodded.

"Hey, I don't mind him," Alan said and raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.

"Sorry, Alan. We're just pretty protective of our friends," Jack said and did his best to give him a genuine smile.

Alan smiled back. "That's all right. I do the same thing… and me and Brandon aren't really friends. He's a bit of a git to be honest."

"He sure is," Jack said. He hoped he wouldn't be hearing things like that from Brandon again. He liked Hiccup… a lot. He wouldn't stand for anyone talking badly about someone, who was quickly becoming very dear to him.