Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“HICCUP! WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE, SON, HURRY UP!”

Hiccup knew this wasn’t true. Stoick just wanted to show off his son to the other parents before their children got on the train. Now, this was not to say Hiccup was deliberately being slow, he was actually hurrying quite a bit, for he wasn’t one for disappointing his father. He checked his clock - he really, truly needed a watch - and he could see that he had about half-an-hour more. Well, technically he had an hour, but it took another half-an-hour to get to Kings Cross Station at the time Stoick preferred.

Hiccup’s trunk was packed to the brim with necessities (most of them books), including spare robes, spare clothes, Quidditch equipment (Hiccup didn’t see how this would help, he was only starting his first year and first years weren’t allowed to play Quidditch, or participate in Dragon Racing either for that matter), a list of important things for Toothless (his brand new dragon he’d found on the pre-school initiation, a requirement for all new students entering Hogwarts), a comb (not that it would be of any use with hair like his which stood up as if electrified no matter how much gel he’d used), etc, etc…

He was in typical first-year robes: fully black until given one’s house. He’d also bought a nice pointy hat and a new pair of shoes. Checking one more time that he had packed absolutely everything, he picked up his trunk, Toothless’s cage and the rest of his stuff. Looking back at his large sunlit room for the last time for what he felt would be ages, he took a deep breath.

He could do this. He repeated this to himself as he walked down the stairs. He wasn’t a wimp. He was ready…

...but was he prepared? Hiccup’s breath caught in his throat for a moment. In the previous year, during the dragon initiation ceremony (a six-month-long workshop in which young witches and wizards picked out a hunting dragon and trained it) Hiccup had gone through a rather harrowing experience that had involved a mountainous SeaDragon and a week-long coma. He’d received a lot of praise and worship from the other boys in his particular group for his bravery, as well as Toothless’s trust in him. His doctor had been hesitant about him going to Hogwarts only a short time after his experience but had eventually caved in (thanks to a lot of persuasion on Hiccup’s half).

He reached his grinning father downstairs. Stoick had made an effort to look presentable, but he still had a bit of porridge in his huge fiery beard. Woden help him.

“Need help carrying that, Son?” Stoick asked.

“No, father.”

“Sure?”

“Yes, father.”

“Alright, but if your arms are too full to show off your Horrendous Haddock muscles to the ladies then that’s your fault!”

Hiccup blushed and rolled his eyes. His father was a scary man, but so embarrassing sometimes! Hiccup heaved his trunk in front of his body to balance himself and looked around.

“We traveling by portkey, father?”

Stoick hummed. “No, son, We’ll be getting there in the car.”

Hiccup was surprised at this. Stoick wasn’t usually keen on Muggle transport. He was glad, too. He hated Portkeys. He knew Fishlegs had said he was going by Portkey, and he felt for his friend.

“Ready, son?” Stoick placed a hand as large as a saucer on his son’s bony shoulder. Hiccup nodded and stepped out the door.

The drive to the station was quite short and as they walked on, looking for Platform 9 ¾, the chilly September air nipped at his bare skin and he shivered, wishing he’d worn his scarf. He’d stashed Toothless away in his coat. The little green dragon knew not to stir around Muggles.

Speaking of Muggles, there seemed to be quite a lot today, although it would be difficult to tell muggle from wizard.

“Where’s Platform 10?” Stoick asked him, his beady eyes searching the area.

“Over there.” Hiccup pointed near him, where a sign read ‘Platform 10’. Platform 9 3/4 would be to his left.

They waited for the right moment before they ran through the wall to the platform. Hiccup could feel Toothless squirming inside his robes. It was uncomfortable, but the small dragon warmed his body and he was grateful.

Platform 9 ¾ was everything he remembered it to be, for he’d been here once two years ago with the rest of his family for his cousin Snotlout’s first year. Snotlout was extremely unpleasant and hated Hiccup’s guts, but the experience had been exhilarating nonetheless. Plus, Hiccup thought with a small ache, His mother had been home that day.

He shook his head, looking up and a couple of young hunting dragons flew past. Children of all ages were chattering amongst themselves and gathering their supplies. Hiccup could spot various other nervous-looking first years around him, and he felt more at ease. His father dragged him around for a while to speak (more like brag) to some of his friends: Tuffnut Senior and his family - his wife and children, one of whom was in fifth year already, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Junior, starting first year with him - as well and Aunt Glugga, who’d come with her boyfriend and his child.

Hiccup latched off from the awkward conversation and scanned the crowd for the familiar moody face of Fishlegs. He was probably late. Great. A shrill whistle sounded.

“Oh, son!” Stoick boomed, clapping Hiccup’s back, “That’s your cue! Do the Horrendous Haddocks proud, boy.”

“Goodbye, Father,” Hiccup smiled, waving as he ran for the train door, “I’ll write often!”

“You’d better!” Stoick answered.

Chapter Text

The carriage shook only slightly. It was either a well-engineered train or altered by magic in some way.  Hiccup leaned against the wall of his compartment. He’d chosen an empty one because he knew Fishlegs didn’t like crowded areas. Where was Fishlegs? They were already ten minutes into the trip.

He heard the bustling of students and dragons alike outside. Suddenly, his compartment door was being opened and he looked up to meet the familiar tall, spectacled figure of his best friend. They both broke into a wide smile upon seeing each other.

“Fishlegs!” Hiccup cried, “I thought you missed the train!”

Fishlegs snorted and pushed his glasses further up his nose. “Wouldn’t have been a surprise.” he said, plopping down opposite Hiccup and setting down his trunk.

“Don’t say that.” Hiccup mumbled, but he knew Fishlegs didn’t really believe that he was of value. Orphaned at birth, he had been found washed up on the shore by some fishermen. Hiccup’s father had found out about him and - not doubting for a moment that it had been magic that kept him alive on whatever perilous journey he had endured - had taken the babe in, sending him to a small orphanage not far from Hiccup’s own house. All Fishlegs had of his birth parents was the wicker basket he had laid in and the lobster-claw necklace that had been placed around his tiny neck, both of which he kept carefully and took with him everywhere as a lucky charm.

Fishlegs hummed in reply as he rummaged through his pockets for something.

“I wonder if we’ll make any friends here.” Hiccups mused, resting this cheek in his hand and watching the blur of scenery outside the window.

“With all the fans you have after what happened last year, I’d be surprised if you don’t.” Fishlegs joked. Hiccup gave a shy smile at this.

Fans.

He didn’t know what to feel about that.

“Aha! Found it!” Fishlegs held out a long, worn-out wand for Hiccup to see. “It’s second-hand, I didn’t have enough to get my own-” Hiccup felt guilty at this, “-but it’s alright, don’t you think?”

“I know.” Hiccup agreed, “I’m just super excited to even get a wand. I can’t wait to do magic.”  Fishlegs chuckled, then glanced at him tentatively.

“Um...By the way, What are we going to do about Snotlout?” he asked, his dread evident in his tone. Hiccup’s mood dropped. He hadn’t thought about Snotlout until now. Oh Thor, he was on this train with them at the moment, did he know they were here? Was he looking for them, Dogsbreath not far behind? It was no secret that Snotlout was popular, being a teacher’s pet and a remarkable wizard and Quidditch Player. He and Fishlegs were Snotlout’s favourite people to pick on and it wasn’t just verbal either, Snotlout often got Dogsbreath to actually beat them up. Hiccup was pretty sure that tormenting them was Snotlout’s favourite pastime. It made his life miserable, especially because Snotlout was his cousin, meaning that they saw him regularly.

“I...I don’t know.” Hiccup admitted, “Let’s just hide in here for the time being, they wouldn’t tolerate abuse of any kind on the Hogwarts Express, would they?”

“I sure hope not.” Fishlegs grumbled, “Thank Thor these compartment doors aren’t see-through.”

“They have a small window.” Hiccup pointed out.

“Still.” Fishlegs crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling.

Nearing the castle, Hiccup suddenly felt a rustling inside his cloak. He winced in pain as a pointy claw dug into his skin like a splinter, and he fished a hand inside only for his pinkie to be bitten by a pair of very sharp gums. A small snout poked out to sniff its surroundings, and out of Hiccup’s chest crawled the tiniest hunting dragon in Europe. The little creature was a beautiful shade of emerald, with a pearly white underbelly and bright red wings.

“T-t-Toothless awake!” he crowed proudly in Dragonese, and upon seeing the small pile of lollies next to Fishlegs that the boys had been sharing before, flapped over in awe and began tearing apart candy boxes with his gums. A card featuring an alarmed Humongously Hotshot flitted down to the floor.

“Don’t eat too many, Toothless,” Hiccup scolded in the dragon tongue, “You’ll get sick.” Knowing Toothless, this was in vain, for the little dragon gave no sign of listening to his master’s orders. Hiccup sighed as Toothless gobbled down a Bertie-Botts jelly bean and began chasing a small chocolate frog that had hopped out of its indigo container. When the little dragon finally caught it in his talons, he poked it with a single claw before gobbling it up. Fishlegs shuddered.

“I’ve always hated chocolate frogs, nasty things.” he complained.

“How could you hate chocolate frogs?” Hiccup asked him incredulously, “It’s just chocolate shaped like a frog.”

“Yes, but the frogs jump . It’s like they’re alive.”

Hiccup, though reluctant, couldn’t argue with that. “But don’t you like collecting the cards?” he asked, weakly. Fishlegs only snorted.

“What’s the use in getting the same cards of some famous people every time?”

Hiccup felt a sharp tug on his sleeve. It was Toothless, who had now finished the sweets, climbing up his thin frame. Hiccup resisted the sting of the dragon’s claws digging into his skin as Toothless tucked himself under his jumper. Fishlegs watched curiously.

“So he just...stays in there?” he asked. Hiccup shrugged.

“He thinks it’s warm.”

“Don’t you mind? Does it, like, itch?”

“Not really. It’s freezing cold out anyway so it helps a bit.”

“I know.” Fishlegs shivered, “My fingers felt like they were about to fall off at the station. Horrorcow’s just asleep in my trunk. You won’t believe this, Hiccup, she’s actually vegetarian.”

“A vegetarian dragon?” Hiccup’s eyes brightened, “You’re not joking? That’s so cool!”

“Cool? Cool? Merlin’s beard...”

The boys talked for a bit as the train slowed down. The trees in the forest they’d been passing weren’t whizzing past in a blur, and Hiccup could make out the light of a window. The dim light of a few stars could be seen in the darkening blue sky. Hiccup stood up - careful not to shake the sleeping body of Toothless - and peered out their compartment door. A couple of rowdy young second-year girls were chasing each other and some irresponsible student had accidentally let their Deadly Nadder fly free. One of the girls brushed against the shoulder of Tuffnut Junior, who was also strolling down the corridor with another boy whom Hiccup recognised to be Speedifist,  and he scowled.

“I wish they’d stop,” he grumbled to Speedifist. Catching Hiccup’s eye, his brow lifted, “Oh, Hi Hiccup.”

“Hiccup?” Speedifist turned to him as well and his eyes brightened, “Oh! You’re the kid who killed that Seadragon last year! That was wicked.!” Tuffnut nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, um, that’s me.” Hiccup was beginning to regret opening the door.

“We were just up to see the conductor,” Speedifist informed him. “He says we’re nearly there. You should probably get ready or something.” He was a young boy with deep brown skin and black curls brushed back into a ponytail, around about Hiccup’s height and in first year as well, if his memory served him correctly. He had seen him before briefly at the dragon initiation. Speedifist had been considerably nicer than some of the other boys, but had a slight air of pride to him and was a bit of a nerd sometimes. Tuffnut Junior was quieter but equally as athletic, with long dark bangs and a tanned complexion. He couldn’t insult for toffee but had impeccable hand-eye coordination and a worrying infatuation with heavy medieval weaponry. Their instructor for initiation, Gobber the Belch, couldn’t stand him. 

Hiccup nodded. “Thank you,” he smiled, before shutting the door and turning back to Fishlegs.

“Who was that?”

“Speedifist and Tuffnut Junior. They’re in first year too, we met them at initiation.” Hiccup replied, picking up his robes and pulling them over himself. He looked at the messy collection of chocolate frog boxes and pastry wrappers, unsure of what to do with them, as Fishlegs heaved a sleepy Horrorcow out of his worn trunk.

It was good timing, for just then a voice boomed through the Hogwarts Express. “We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.” Hiccup breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his anxiety. Fishlegs was as white as a sheet.

They blended into the crowd clamoring for the exit. Hiccup quickly scanned his surroundings for any sign of Snotlout or his goons and was relieved to discover they were not present.

Must be in another compartment, that’s good, Hiccup thought, Well, here we go, then.

Chapter Text

Now that all the first-years were alone in the chamber off the entrance hall of Hogwarts with Professor Belch, Hiccup could see everyone who'd be with him for the next 7 or so years. It was quite a large cohort, with over 40 students. Gobber the Belch looked excited at the prospect of another year at Hogwarts but scowled a bit when he laid eyes on the sheer amount of 11-year-olds he'd have to put up with.

"All right, you lot," he yelled (for this seemed to be the only volume Gobber the Belch ever spoke at), and a couple of jittery young boys jumped at the sound, "Welcome to Hogwarts, the finest school there is in Britain for young witches and wizards like you," his broad chest puffed out in proud, "We'll be celebrating the start-of-term with a banquet, which will begin shortly. But don't look too excited! You've all got to get sorted first. That's what the Sorting Ceremony is for. During your time here, your house will be like your family. Understood?" The students nodded frantically. Hiccup realised with a jolt that he probably wasn't supposed to have his dragon in here with him. He swallowed and shifted closer to the cluster of students, grateful for Toothless's small size.

"You'll have your classes with 'em, share rooms with 'em and eat your meals with 'em." Gobber continued, "You can also spend your free time in your house common room. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you're all at Hogwarts, you can either gain house points or lose 'em based on your behaviour. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup." A wave of excited chatter rose up among the group of 11-year-olds. ("Gryffindor's won the house cup every time, I think! That's where I want to be." - "Don't be silly, Speedifist, it can't possibly rain inside the great hall." - "I'm telling you, it's true! It's enchanted to look like the sky. My sibling told me-")

"Excuse me." A voice broke through the chatter, close enough for him to assume it was directed at him. Hiccup turned around to meet the eyes of a tall girl with sharp eyes, ochre-brown skin and a black braid that swung down to her waist. 

"Yes?" he asked tentatively.

"Are you really the kid who killed that Seadragon last year?" she asked him. Her voice wasn't unkind, by any means, but it had an edge of impatience to it. A little like she was ready to judge him if he gave the wrong answer. He felt his anxiety build further, if that were possible. Socialisation wasn't his strong suit and paired with the stress of the impending Sorting he was centimetres away from full-blown panic. He also didn't want to appear haughty or boastful and briefly considered lying, but what good would that do?

"Um...yeah." Hiccup replied.

Her demeanour seemed to change in an instant. "That's amazing!" Eyes shining with delight, she grinned from ear to ear. "I'm Astrid, Astrid de Silva. My parents are muggles, you know, so I didn't really know about any of this stuff before I got my letter. When I heard dragons were real and there was a kid in our grade who'd killed one I swore it couldn't be true, so I just had to be sure. You know what I mean? Hey, do you reckon they explain everything to Muggleborns?"

Fishlegs, who'd been listening in, piped up, "Yeah, of course they do. There's plenty of other Muggleborns like you here."

Astrid pursed her lips and scratched at her hairline. "I hope so. Who are you?"

"Fishlegs." he replied, "And that's Hiccup."

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Hold on," she said, before immediately striking up a different conversation with Ruffnut Thorston, who'd left her brother with Speedifist and a stocky blond boy.

"Chatty," Fishlegs remarked. Hiccup nodded.

"The Sorting Ceremony will start in a few minutes," Gobber's booming voice drowned out all other sounds, and the students straightened up, "I suggest you all fix yourself up, the whole school will have their attention on you. I'll be back for you shortly." he started towards the door but stopped to shake a finger at a group of kids who'd started giggling the moment he'd made to leave, "Wait. Quietly." Their mouths snapped shut almost immediately.

He then left the chamber and Hiccup exhaled loudly. Fishlegs was visibly nauseous.

"He's all about the rules, isn't he?" Tuffnut Jr scoffed, "I don't want any lessons with him."

"I don't think he's particularly keen on having you, either," Ruffnut teased. He scowled and punched her in the arm, causing her to yelp. Astrid looked on in interest.

"How do you think they sort people?" Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup, who racked his brain for any tips his family would have given him.

"Um...I think Grandfather said something about a hat?" he tried, "I'm not sure."

"A hat?"

"I told you, I don't-"

"All right!" Several people jumped at the sudden reappearance of Gobber, "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start. Get in a line, in a line," he ushered each of them into a long, straight line, "Right, now follow me."

Hiccup swallowed as he got into line behind a girl named Typhoon, with Fishlegs behind him. Gobber led them back through the hall and pushed open a pair of double doors that led to the Great Hall.

Hiccup's heart stopped.

The Great Hall was beautiful, to say the least. It was lit up by thousands of floating candles that bobbed up and down above four long, wooden tables, where the rest of the school was seated. Hiccup noticed they were separated by house. At the front, there was another, equally long table where the teachers were sitting, set horizontally and facing the entrance as opposed to the vertical layout of the student tables. The other students observed them with interest, keen to see who would end up in which house. Astrid - as well as a few other possible muggleborns - took a few steps back in fright upon seeing the silvery forms of the ghosts of Hogwarts, dotted here and there among the students. Hiccup heard Speedifist yell "Oh!" and shake a gaping Tuffnut. They were both looking up.

"See! I told you. It's enchanted to look like the sky!"

Hiccup let his eyes travel upwards and he too gasped in wonder. His classmate was right; the roof of Hogwarts was a dark blue that sparkled with thousands of bright stars. It was like looking up at the night sky. You couldn't even tell there was a ceiling at all.

Gobber set down a small, four-legged stool in front of them. Placed upon it was a tattered, dirty old wizard hat. The sight of it triggered an old memory in Hiccup's mind. One of many nights as a child with only his father to read to him and kiss him good night, his mother away so often as her job demanded. 

"Your mother and I were both in Gryffindor," Stoick chuckled, ruffling the hair of a tiny Hiccup as he lay covered in his blanket. 

"What's that?" Hiccup asked him.

"Only the best house in Hogwarts, my boy," Stoick said, proudly.

"Will I go there?" Hiccup asked, looking up, "When I go to Hog-Hog," he tested the name on his tongue, "Hogwatts?"

"Warts, Hiccup, Hogwarts," Stoick corrected, "And of course you will! A respectable Hooligan has never ended up anywhere else!"

Hiccup thought about his father's words. A respectable Hooligan. What would happen if he ended up somewhere other than Gryffindor? Hiccup's stomach clenched, and he felt the sudden urge to throw up.

Before he could embarrass himself in front of the entire school, a rip near the Hat's brim opened up and it began to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The song ended with the entire hall in applause. Hiccup, too, clapped, impressed as the Hat bowed to each table and went still again.

"You were right," Fishlegs whispered, "I guess you just put on the hat, then."

"Yeah," Hiccup agreed, And let it decide your fate, he thought.

Chapter Text

"Abbott, Gustav!"

A pale boy with dark hair and eyes strode over to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. The entire hall went quiet. Gustav's brow furrowed as the Hat finally cried;

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table broke out into cheers and whistles as Gustav walked over and sat down. A few people got up to shake his hand as he joined them. The other tables finished clapping politely as Gobber cleared his throat for the next name.

"Aldridge, Wartihog!"

Wartihog was a pudgy, acne-ridden little boy shorter than Hiccup. He grinned goofily as he plopped onto the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The first Gryffindor! The table beside Hufflepuff on the left practically exploded with cheers, and Snotlout - smug-faced and proud as ever - promptly stood up to give a confused Wartihog a high-five. Hiccup looked away in a hurry as Snotlout caught his eye and sneered, cracking his knuckles.

"Allkins, Heftythighs!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

After Heftythighs came Typhoon Barratt in Slytherin, Bearhug Banks in Hufflepuff and later, Astrid De Silva whom, to her delight, ended up in Gryffindor. She was followed by a few others - Lovethug, Molly, Dragonfist, Valka - before finally;

"Horrendous Haddock, Hiccup,"

Hiccup's hands were sweating like crazy so he wiped them on his robes and tried to assure himself that everything would be all right. There were whispers from students regarding him with suspicion and curiosity as he went over to the stool, which seemed rather daunting now to him despite its simplicity. Professor Belch, ignorant to Hiccup's nervous state, placed the hat on his head as gently as possible (which for Gobber, meant that he jammed it on). It fell over his head, shielding him from the stares of everyone around him, as the hat began to speak.

"Well, well, well...another Hiccup. The latest of three," it said in a voice soft and ancient that reminded him of his grandfather, Old Wrinkly, "I notice you have a dragon hidden in your robes."

Hiccup inhaled sharply. How did it know?

"Oh, I can hear everything you think, boy, but do not be alarmed. I'm here to sort, not to snitch. Now, let's see.."

Hiccup's hands clenched around the seat of the stool.

"Oh! Well, isn't this interesting?"

What was interesting?

"You, young man. You are interesting. You have an equal chance of getting into each house. Cunning, ambitious...you'd do well in Slytherin. And your intelligence! Your wit! Ravenclaw would be lucky to have a boy with a mind like yours. Oh! And bravery, loyalty...qualities of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in there. This is more difficult than I thought it would be."

Unbeknownst to Hiccup as the hat continued to mutter, the Hall was beginning to become impatient. It had been a full five minutes since Hiccup sat down. A short time it may seem, but it was unusually long for a single sorting. This automatically labelled Hiccup as being what the Hogwarts community referred to as a 'hatstall'. Such a term carries intrigue and hope, though some find it strange how hatstalls are uncommon at all, given the complexity of the human mind.

"Well, now isn't that sweet. Ah! Yes, yes I know. I know where you belong, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. You would prosper in any house, but there can only be one. I suppose it better be…"

Please, please, please...

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hiccup froze. Thoughts of dread and hopelessness swirled around his head like an elixir in a cauldron, growing louder and louder until they were the only things he could hear.

"No, no, no…" he kept muttering, still fixed in his seat even as an exasperated Gobber the belch lifted the now-quiet hat from his head.

"Oi, Hiccup," he told him sternly but not unkindly, "You heard that? Off to the Hufflepuff table, now."

Shakily, Hiccup rose from his seat. His anxiety had settled to make way for a feeling so empty he'd rather go back to the way it was before. Hogwarts was supposed to make everything right, Hogwarts was supposed to prove to his ancestors that he was just as brave as them despite being a Hiccup. He knew he must have done something by killing that Seadragon last year and almost dying, but it was easy for his father to forget improvement if it wasn't consistent.

Snotlout is a Gryffindor.

Yes, Snotlout, the family's golden boy. He was the ideal heir, nothing short of perfect. Hiccup was just, well, Hiccup.

Slowly, he sat down at the Hufflepuff table, which immediately perked up at his arrival although some of them frowned at him. Whether this was due to him being related to a bully like Snotlout or house pride dampened by his clear distaste of getting into Hufflepuff, Hiccup wasn't sure, but he didn't care either way. All he could think about now was his father and how he was going to react to the news that his son was not, in fact, a brave Gryffindor, but forever a member of the most overlooked house in Hogwarts.

As Hiccup stressed out in his seat, murmuring a few 'thank you's to some older students who congratulated him, a few more people were called out and sorted.

Then, "No-Name, Fishlegs!"

A wave of murmurs rose up at the shout of Fishlegs's 'surname'. "No-name, did he say?" the student next to Hiccup whispered to the person beside him, who shrugged. Hiccup prickled at their reaction to his best friend's name. Fishlegs couldn't help what happened to him as a baby, who were they to judge?

Poor Fishlegs was shaking, it was obvious even from afar. His skin had paled a few shades to a sickly beige and he'd begun itching himself as he slowly made his way to the seat, Gobber waiting impatiently.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hiccup clapped alongside his new house-mates, happier now that he knew he wasn't without his best friend.

Fishlegs smiled - although it was more like a grimace - at Hiccup as he sat down on his left side. "Well, that wasn't unexpected. You, though, you were a hatstall."

Hiccup shrugged awkwardly, "Yeah, I suppose."

"He's right!" an older student piped up, alarming the two boys. The mousy-brown haired girl sitting across from them chuckled, "Sorry. I'm Doris, one of your prefects this year. You can come to me if you need anything," Sure enough, a shiny prefect's badge glinted from her chest, "So, a hatstall, huh? Longest one in centuries, I bet!"

As usual, Hiccup felt awkward at the sudden attention. Although he guessed it wasn't too bad, getting to know your prefect's early. "Maybe, there must've been people longer than me, though."

"You never know!" Doris said enthusiastically, "Read Hogwarts: a History, that might have something."

"Yeah." As another first-year joined their table, he turned his attention back to the Sorting.

"Thorston, Ruffnut!" The hat had barely touched the sullen girl's head before it yelled "SLYTHERIN!" Hiccup blinked. It seemed he wouldn't be the only one disappointing his parents, after all.

"Thorston, Tuffnut!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Tuffnut Jr bounded up to join them, but not before sending a sorrowful glance his sister's way.

"Valencia, Tori!"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Yver, Speedifist!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Varangot, Clueless!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bloody hell, he got into Gryffindor?" Fishlegs groaned. Hiccup had to agree. Clueless was, well, clueless. How could the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor?

Hiccup let his hand brush over where Toothless was asleep. He hoped the dragon would be too tired to fly on the first day, he needed an excuse not to send a letter to his father.

Chapter Text

Hiccup had learned a few things that night. Once he’d somewhat gotten over the shock of getting into Hufflepuff, he had tried to get to know the people at his table. He’d met the Fat Friar, a chubby ghost who’d been delighted that Hiccup had gotten into his house. There had also been some talk about families among the first years (a conversation Fishlegs had been quiet all throughout). Bearhug - a stocky blond who came off as intimidating but was really just a nervous wreck - gloomily told them about how his father had threatened to disown him if he didn’t get into Gryffindor, and Hiccup had felt for him. Although Stoick had never explicitly stated Hiccup had to get into Gryffindor, he’d implied it more that enough. A kind girl named Talia assured Bearhug that Hufflepuff was just as good and that his father should “shove off”.

“Yeah, he probably didn’t mean it, mate,” Speedifist told him awkwardly as Bearhug flushed at Talia’s words, “My dad was kind of the same, but he was just joking. I mean, my older sibling’s in Ravenclaw and he thinks they’re great.”

“I guess…” Bearhug replied, although he didn’t look very convinced.

“Mine too.” Hiccup blurted out. Fishlegs sent him a weird look and he regretted butting in as their eyes turned to him.

“Really?” Tuffnut Jr asked, “You know, I could’ve sworn you’d have ended up in Gryffindor.”

“Well, I didn’t, did I?” Hiccup snapped. Tuffnut was a little taken back, but he shrugged.

“Well, I mean, my twin sister ended up in Slytherin. Papa’s gonna have a fit about that, I reckon, but I doubt she’ll care. Tallon, that’s my oldest sister, she’s in Ravenclaw. She’s a prefect, you know, so my parents love her. Sharpnut’s still only nine, though.” Hiccup blinked. He’d thought Tuffnut was a quiet boy. He’d guessed wrong, then.

“How many sisters do you have?” Fishlegs asked incredulously.

“Just those three.” Tuffnut replied and he shoved a whole boiled potato into his mouth, “These are good.”

“Do you think they magic them up?” Talia asked, excited. She was a shorter girl with two dimples and golden skin, and she wore a pretty orange headscarf that matched well with her house colours, “All the food, I mean?”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Hiccup asked.

“Illegal? Really?”

“Yeah, I read about it.”

“That sucks,” she said, somewhat dejected.

“I guess so,” Hiccup shrugged. 

As Talia turned back to her food, Hiccup looked over at the teachers. There was the headmaster at the center of the table, a thin, frail stick of a man with a long silvery beard and tired but twinkling old eyes. Most knew him as Vraud Jorgenson, but Hiccup knew him better as Old Wrinkly, his grandfather. The man was just about the only family member who really believed in Hiccup as a person, and Hiccup liked being around him. He wasn’t exactly sure most people really knew the headmaster was his grandfather, and he didn’t really think he wanted them to.

The adults beside him on the high table were far younger. In fact, to his right was a teacher so youthful that Hiccup could have sworn was he in his teens if it weren’t for the smart, black mustache he was supporting. He seemed pleasant too, for he was talking to Professor Gobber - who’d gone and sat down next to the Headmaster as the feast began - with a charming smile, but Hiccup’s eyes widened as the man raised his knife to cut his food.

Instead of a hand, he had the knife screwed onto a metal piece on his wrist.

“Hey,” he whispered to Fishlegs, “Who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” Fishlegs asked, his voice a little muffled. He still had steak in his mouth.

“The teacher talking to Gobber.”

“Oh! He’s so young. I dunno.”

Hiccup still wanted to know who it was, but he decided to leave it for then. He stared at the remains of his meal. What was he supposed to do with it? He craned his neck to see what everyone else was doing. Most others were also finished, and they seemed to just be sitting there and talking. He suddenly remembered Toothless. Cursing under his breath, he looked around for something that could hold food without spilling or getting too dirty. In the end, he just decided to use his napkin.

Discreetly, he piled some solid, dry food onto his plate, keeping an eye on Doris in particular. She turned around to yell something to one of her Gryffindor friends and Hiccup, quick as lightning, placed the food onto the napkin on his lap. He hastily tied it up into a makeshift bag and hit it in the wand pocket of his robes. He’d give it to Toothless when he went to bed.

It didn’t take long for everyone to eat their fill, and soon the remains all faded from the plates, leaving them shiny and golden as if they’d just been washed. Hiccup blinked. Surely someone had to clean them? Moments later, their place on the table was replaced by puddings of all kind. Hiccup had never seen so many desserts in his life and he’d grown up around Snotlout.

There were cupcakes, eclairs, mince pies, apple pies, treacle tarts, pumpkin pasties, flan, ice-creams of every flavour. There was even a large chocolate cake. He felt a little sick looking at all of them.

“Oh, why’d I have to eat so much dinner ?” Fishlegs moaned.

“I know. I want to try all of these.” Hiccup agreed sadly.

“It’s our first Hogwarts feast. Treat yourselves!” Talia said, raising a strawberry to her mouth. Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at each other, shrugged, and each grabbed a piece of the chocolate cake that was quickly disappearing.

Eventually, the puddings too disappeared. Old Wrinkly - for there was no way Hiccup was calling him Headmaster Jorgenson - stood up once more, silencing everyone. He smiled.

“Now that we are all filled up and ready for our first term, I have a few notices to give you; I’d like to give a warm introduction to our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Mr. Alvin Ogglebert. I do hope you enjoy your time here,” The handsome teacher with the prosthetic stood up and smiled at them all before sitting down again.

“Now to establish some rules. First years, I must let you know that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. We also have a strict rule of no magic in the corridors, one our school caretaker, Mr. Redbeard, has kindly asked me to remind some of our older students of as well,” his eyes flickered over to the Gryffindor table, “Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in trying out for their house teams should contact Madam Rugged, their year-level coordinator or their Head of House. That should be all.

“Now!” he cried, more cheerfully, “Time for us to sing our school song!”

With a flick of his wand, a golden ribbon shot out. Hiccup gaped as it twirled high above them before twisting itself into shiny words.

“Everyone sing at their favourite tune!” Old Wrinkly smiled, “Without further ado…”

Everyone’s voice rose up, each singing the verses in their own way. It was rather chaotic.

‘Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they’re bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we’ve forgot,

Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot.’

Hiccup grimaced as they all finished at a different time. His eyes flitted over to the rest of his classmates, who looked stuck between amusement and confusion. Old Wrinkly grinned widely as the last student finally ran out of breath to carry their last note even further.

“I will never tire of the true magic of Hogwarts: Music!” the old headmaster declared as the verses disappeared, “Now I must let you all go off to bed. First years, pay attention to your prefects! Goodnight and Good luck!”

Hiccup had been a little less grumpy about sleep when Doris told them she’d be leading them to the Hufflepuff common room, which was apparently near the kitchens. A part of him worried what this would mean with a disobedient and greedy dragon like Toothless, but he dismissed the thought out of anger. Why wasn’t he allowed to feel good about things without thinking about other people? He could figure all the bad stuff out in the morning. He was sickeningly full from dinner and both he and Fishlegs were in dire need of a good night’s sleep.

On their way to the common room, they passed a large still-life painting of fruit, which Doris explained led to the kitchens, although she didn’t tell them how. They eventually stopped in front of a large stack of weirdly large barrels. Doris showed them how to get inside by tapping the correct barrel in the correct rhythm.

“If you tap this one here,” she instructed, pointing at the second barrel from the bottom, “In the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’, it’ll let you in.”

“What if you do it wrong?” a thin, soft-voiced girl named Valka asked her.

“Oh, you don’t want to do that,” she shuddered, “Unless you want to get drenched in vinegar.” They must have appeared horrified because she looked a bit guilty.

“It’s okay, though!” she assured them, “It’s really very easy. Here.”

She tapped the barrel five times, slowly, “Hel-ga Huff-le-puff. There you go.” The lid opened to reveal a round, earthy pathway large enough to fit a person.

“Don’t worry about getting dirty! That’s really just there for show. Now, you’ve got to crawl up a little bit - there’s plenty of room - and you should get to a little red trapdoor-like thing. Open that and you’ll get inside the common room. Follow me.”

She crouched down and disappeared inside. The first-years looked at each other, uncertain, before Valka slowly went after her, followed by Molly, then Tuffnut. One by one, they all went in on their hands and knees. Hiccup went third-to-last and was pleasantly surprised when he realised that the space was larger than he’d thought.

He emerged through a round, wooden door behind Bearhug, and ‘oohed’ with everyone else. The Hufflepuff common room was like a large den, with a low ceiling and decorated in the cheerful colours of yellow and orange and black. There were round tables set up in several places as well as a built-in bookshelf that held some board games on its lowest rack. The room was also covered in various plants. Some dangled from the roof as others were placed on furniture and along the walls.

“This isn’t bad, you know,” Fishlegs leaned over and whispered. Hiccup nodded. It really was quite cosy.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Doris asked them happily, “I’m never tired of it. Over there we have a portrait of our founder, Helga Hufflepuff. Can you see?”

“She’s moving! ” Molly gasped. Doris nodded with a small smile.

“She is.” she said, “You a Muggleborn? So am I. I understand how you’re feeling. You’ll get used to all this, you know. Don’t worry.”

Molly went pink and looked down at her feet. “Thanks.”

Doris gave them a moment to look around before clearing her throat. “Now,” she said, “It’s getting late and I bet you’re all tired. Through those doors are your dormitories." She explained the layout of them quickly, an eye on the clock in the wall, "The door should be open and your trunks should be inside. Good night. Oh! Here come the rest of the students. Better get in there now before you get lost between bodies.”

The noise in the room grew from the chatter of previous students and the first years hurried to their beds. Hiccup and his roommates had no trouble finding their dorms. Their dragons had all been taken to their own area and the room was to themselves. Fishlegs didn’t even bother changing as he was asleep and snoring as soon as the hangers were shut. Hiccup managed to put on pyjamas and hide a still-sleeping Toothless under his bed before going out the moment his head hit the pillow, nice and warm in his patchwork quilt.

Chapter Text

Hiccup rose much earlier than the others the next morning. Toothless had woken up overnight and clawed his master awake. This annoyed Hiccup, who’d already been dreading the next day. He didn’t want a lack of sleep to add to his burdens.

“What is it, Toothless?” he croaked in Dragonese, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He felt his dragon crawl under his pyjama top and poke his head out from the collar, making Hiccup feel a bit uncomfortable.

“F-f-feed Toothless!” he demanded, “Can smell H-Hiccup’s been eating, f-f-forgotten about p-poor Toothless! T-t-tired!” he nipped his master’s chin and Hiccup had to restrain himself from crying out. It woke him up a bit, at least.

“Keep your voice down! He scolded in a furious whisper. Scrambling out from under his covers, he leaned over the side of his bed and pulled out his trunk from under it. Toothless, meanwhile, rolled around in Hiccup’s blanket, whining.

To Hiccup’s relief, he didn’t have to rummage around for long to find the napkin he’d hidden food in. He took it out and held it at arm’s length. Toothless eyed it greedily.

“W-what’s that?” he asked. Hiccup laid it on the covers and carefully untied the knot to reveal two slightly soggy pumpkin pasties and a mint humbug. Toothless sniffed at it before daintily nibbling at the edge of one of the pasties. Liking the taste, he practically inhaled the rest as Hiccup watched, his own stomach mourning the loss of the food, as unappealing as it was.

He wondered what classes he’d have as light slowly flooded the room and the other boys woke up one-by-one.

“You awake, Hiccup?” he heard Fishlegs ask him drowsily. He instructed Toothless to hide before opening the curtains. Fishlegs was sitting on his bed cross-legged, with his back to their other three dorm-mates.

“Yeah, have been since 5 am.” Hiccup replied. Realising that his trunk was still open, he quickly hid it from the view of the others after pulling out a fresh pair of robes and a school shirt to change into. His pants were folded a bit more neatly than the robes, so they weren’t as ruffled.

‘’What made you wake up at 5?” Fishlegs asked him. His glasses sat beside his lobster claw necklace on the dresser, and his curly mop of hair was even more of a mess than usual.

Hiccup snuck a glance at the others - who were chattering amongst themselves as they got ready - and beckoned Fishlegs closer. “Toothless woke me up.”

His best friend seemed confused at first. “Why-Oh! You kept him when we got off the Express!” Hiccup nodded. Fishlegs sighed before dragging himself closer to his dresser and pushing his glasses onto his nose. He heaved out his battered trunk and opened it to find his own robes, neatly folded under a bag of medication.

“You’d better take him up to the Dragons’ Tower as soon as you can,” he told Hiccup as he unbuttoned his top from last night. Hiccup looked regretfully at Toothless, who was now gnawing on his bedspread.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Fishlegs! Hiccup! You guys are up too?” Speedifist asked them brightly. Fishlegs - who’d been in the middle of fastening the necklace around his neck - jumped at the sound of his voice.

Hiccup leaned over to meet their eyes. “Yeah.”

“Have been for a bit now,” Fishlegs grumbled, struggling to untangle a stray curl from the chain around his neck. Speedifist stood up and shrugged on his own robes, which now had yellow lining where it had once been grey. 

“I can’t wait to start classes. I’ve never done magic before,” he said. Tuffnut Jr, who’d taken the bed next to him, bent down to tie his shoelaces.

“I dunno. It’s weird to see people so amazed by it.”

“You’re a half-blood, you’ve grown up around this stuff.” Speedifist huffed.

“So are you!” Tuffnut said, offended.

“Yeah, well, one of my parents was all Muggle. Yours are both magical.”

“Still..”

Hiccup tuned them out as they began to argue.

Fishlegs rolled his eyes. “This is going to be such fun. ” he said lowly, voice exaggeratedly chipper.

To Hiccup’s relief, the rest of the day didn't go too bad at all. After quickly dropping a disgruntled Toothless off at the Dragon’s Tower, they had a hearty breakfast back at the Great Hall. As for classrooms, Doris was more than happy to give them the locations.

“Most teachers don't expect you to find all your classes easily in the first two weeks, don't worry.” she assured them, “In my first year, I got lost about five times on my way to Transfiguration. It's those stupid stairs.”

He and Fishlegs shared most of the same classes, so they would walk together. If not, Hiccup would just follow some of his other classmates, who were more than happy to help him.

First up, he had double Potions with the slow but kind Professor Stump, who had a beard longer than his arms and most likely wore fake teeth. Hiccup suspected the man was over the age of 100. They were joined by the Gryffindor first years, and Astrid must have recognised them because she waved at them merrily. Next was Transfiguration with the Slytherins, taught by Professor Rita Rugged.

“I’d prefer if you were to call me Professor Rita,” she huffed, when Ruffnut asked if she could go to the bathroom, “But yes, you can go. Be quick!”

He found out in third period - also with the Slytherins - that Professor Ogglebert was as exceptional at teaching as he was self-grooming. Charming and attractive, he won the whole class over in one lesson. Everyone except for Fishlegs, that was.

“It’s just something about him,” Fishlegs explained to Hiccup as they followed the others up to the Great Hall for lunch, “I don’t trust him. You should never trust someone that...charming.” he wrinkled his nose. Hiccup disagreed.

“It’s just our first lesson with him, you’ll warm up to him soon enough.”

Fishlegs hummed in response and Hiccup felt as if there was something he was keeping from him. He didn’t press, his friend would tell him in time, surely.

They sat down at their usual spot on the Hufflepuff table - between Talia and Bearhug. As Hiccup lifted a forkful of pasta to his mouth, he paused to say, “Today hasn’t been so bad, don’t you think?”

“Oi, cousin!”

He’d spoken too soon.

He and Fishlegs swivelled around, their mood dropping quicker than Hiccup’s fork. Snotlout sauntered up to their table, flanked by his second-in-hand Dogsbreath the Duhbrain (as Fishlegs dubbed him). He wore a nasty smirk on his face. Hiccup shrank down, noticing the sudden quiet around him as his housemates ceased their chatter in curiosity.

“So...Hufflepuff, eh?” Snotface Snotlout asked with fake cheer, “Well done, Useless, always knew it was the perfect place for you. Has your dear father heard yet?”

Hiccup shook his head.

“Such a shame. Haven’t had the time, have you? Not a problem, I’ll write to Uncle. I bet he’ll be thrilled to hear the news.”

“It’s not your news to deliver, Snotlout.” Fishlegs snapped.

“Shut it, runt,” he snapped, his voice low and dangerous. He didn’t even spare Fishlegs a glace. Suddenly, Doris - who had apparently heard the word ‘runt’ - spoke up.

“What are you doing at the Hufflepuff table, no one gave you the right to bully them!” she cried.

Snotlout looked as if he were about to retort, but upon seeing the glares from the rest of the Hufflepuffs he merely rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in the pockets of his robes.

“Have a nice day, Hiccup,” he spat, before leaving them.

“Unpleasant cousin you’ve got there,” Talia whispered when Snotlout was out of earshot, “Is he usually like that?”

“You’ve no idea.” Hiccup said gloomily. He pushed his food away from him, his appetite lost. 

So much for a good day. 

Chapter Text

Dear Father,

Sorry for not writing to you until now. I’ve been very busy with work and settling in. Hogwarts is just as wonderful as you told me it would be.

I haven’t had a chance to talk to O̶l̶d̶ ̶W̶r̶i̶n̶k̶l̶y̶ Grandfather yet. He’s probably very busy with managing the school, so I doubt he has the time to talk to me. I haven’t talked to Snotlout yet, either.

I̶’̶m̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶H̶u̶f̶f̶

̶I̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶r̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶

̶M̶y̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶

I thought I should also let you know that I got into Hufflepuff. I think it was because The Sorting hat told me I would be great for any house so they put me there. The kids in my dorm are very cool people. Your friend Tuffnut’s son is here too, and so is Fishlegs. I’ve been approached by some people who heard of what happened last year and I handled them quite well. I t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ ̶I̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶  am making some friends. My classmates and I get along well.

Toothless has been behaving so far, thanks to your advice I think.

I promise I’ll do our family proud.

Your son,

Hiccup

For the most part, Hiccup and Fishlegs steered clear from Snotlout and any of his friends. It wasn’t hard to tell who they were; the biggest, meanest-looking older Gryffindors, who constantly sent him and other younger students condescending sneers and occasional taunts. No-one really tried to hurt them, though, so that was all right.

Hiccup got through his classes with the thought of his father lingering in his mind. What if his father didn’t even bother to write back, what if he just sent him a Howler and the whole Great Hall would hear Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III being stripped of his family name? Hiccup’s mind cooked up images of Stoick telling his friends just how useless his son really was, and how his wonderful nephew Snotlout had been made the Hooligan heir instead.

“Haddock! Pass on the trimmer,” Professor Lopez - a wiry young witch with a keen eye and sharp tongue - snapped at him, “People are waiting.”

Hiccup handed the tool to Ruffnut with an apologetic smile that went ignored by the taller girl.  It was Friday of their first week, and their last class was Herbology. They were starting off with simple, docile plants today, and trimming their leaves. Not particularly fun, but much better than Magical History.

Fishlegs glanced up at Hiccup from his own work. His nose was red, and he sniffed. Fishlegs was allergic to a concerning number of things, this plant apparently being one of them.

“You all right, Hiccup?” he asked. Hiccup shrugged.

“Maybe. I just told him, you know.”

“Told who...Wait, your dad? You wrote to him?”

“Yeah. Hopefully he doesn’t freak out and sent me a Howler.”

Fishlegs grimaced, “Well, you had to tell him sooner or later. It’s not like you could avoid it forever.”

“I know.”

“I hope you’re all concentrating,” Lopez broke their conversation in a singsong voice, “Time’s almost up.”

“I’ll tell you what I said at dinner,” Hiccup whispered to Fishlegs, who nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

“You’ll be all right.” he mouthed.

Stoick’s response arrived that Sunday, much sooner than expected. The day started off as normally as any other, but with the excited buzz of their first weekend. Many of them, including Hiccup, slept in until noon and missed breakfast, so Tuffnut Junior - being the only one brave and stupid enough to risk losing points on their first week - took the liberty of raiding the kitchen to get them all some food.

Bearcub eyed the muffin Tuffnut Jr held in his outstretched palm warily.

“Don’t worry ,” Tuffnut pressed, “If we lose points, Slytherin will too!”

Bearcub’s eyes shot up to meet the other boy’s ones, confused. “Why?”

“My sister helped. Said she was charismatic enough to convince the house elves to give us something.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it isn't.”

Tuffnut had given up then, and handed the muffin a surprised Hiccup instead, “Here, you have it. Sorry, Bearcub.”

Bearcub huffed and scratched the small scar on his chin. “Whatever. I’m gonna go see Talia.”

He swept past Speedifist, who was fixing the tape on one of his comics posters, and disappeared out the door. Speedifist raised an eyebrow.

“Going to go see Talia, did he say?”

“I didn’t even know they were friends,” Tuffnut said thoughtfully, eyes narrowing. He and Speedifist shared a look and promptly left the room, most likely in search of Bearcub.

That left Hiccup and Fishlegs alone. Hiccup glanced at the muffin in his hand, then at the rest of the food left in a small pile on the bed.

“We didn’t plan anything for today, did we? Do you want to go to the Lake and eat?”

Fishlegs shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Nothing better to do on a Sunday, is there?”

“We could study in the-”

“No, let’s go to the Lake.” Fishlegs interrupted him hurriedly, “Come on, while the food’s still fresh.” He grabbed the food on the bed as well as his robe from where he’d hung it on the bed frame, and he was out the door before Hiccup could let him know he’d forgotten to brush his hair.

Hiccup grinned and followed suit. “All right.”

Dear Hiccup,

Gobber has been writing to me and tells me you are doing well in classes, but you need to be a little less of a know-it-all and give other people a chance. I say he must of gotten hit on the head, does’nt he know Haddock’s take what’s theirs?

As for your house, I am sorry to say I am very dissapointed in you Hiccup. I am determined to give that sorting hat a piece of my mind. But rules are rules no matter how stupid they are. Show those hufflepuffs your true spirit, boy. Remember, only the strong can belong.

Make me proud, son.

From

Your father, Stoick

P.S. Your mother sent a letter  ̶r̶e̶s̶c̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶e̶s̶e̶n̶t̶l̶y̶  a short while ago. She will unfortunatly not be coming home this year, not even for the holidays.

Hiccup swallowed the last of his muffin, an oily wrapper in one hand and his father’s letter in the other. Toothless was nearby, gnawing on the root of the oak tree they were sitting under.

“You okay?” Fishlegs asked softly from beside him, as Hiccup folded the parchment and pushed it back into the envelope, “Hiccup?”

“I’m…” he stopped himself before saying ‘fine’, and instead settled for, “I’ll be all right.”

His heart felt like a sudden weight in his chest. He barely registered Fishlegs’s hand slowly reaching out and picking up the yellowed envelope. For a moment, the only noise around them came from the oblivious Toothless, and the distant cries of other children messing about not far off.

He heard the rustling of paper as Fishlegs gently placed the envelope back down.

“He seems okay with it. A little confused, but…”

Hiccup shook his head. “It’s not that. Well, not fully. When my mother goes travelling for her 'job', we never know where or why. She just gets up and leaves, and we don’t see her for another three years or so.”

He fiddled with a small pebble that had found its way between his fingers. Feeling a sudden burst of anger, he stood up abruptly. In one aggressive motion, Hiccup’s arm swung and he let go of the stone, which sailed through the air and made a small splash in the water. His rage was gone as soon as had come, and he watched the ripples emerge one-by-one from the disturbance.

Fishlegs’s eyebrows were furrowed as he observed him. Toothless was also quiet now, and staring at his master with a strange look. The tiny dragon carefully took a chocolate bar between his claws and flapped over to where Hiccup was standing alone. Slowly, as if fighting with himself, the dragon offered it to him. Fishlegs quickly looked away.

Hiccup blinked. “T-thank you, Toothless,” he managed, taking the bar. The little green dragon huffed and crawled down Hiccup’s thin frame and into his robe pocket.

Feeling a little lighter, Hiccup tore the cellophane wrapping of the chocolate bar and sat back down to eat.

Chapter Text

“Winter,” Fishlegs said through gritted teeth, wrapping his scarf more firmly around him, “wasn’t supposed to be here for another week.”

Hiccup nodded miserably as he rubbed his hands together. Even with mittens on, his fingers felt near frozen. It was a shame they still had classes, all he wanted to do right now was run up to his dorm, cover himself in his blankets and read.

They turned the corner and joined the throng of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs headed towards the DADA room. Hiccup noticed some students shivering in their normal robes, and felt a stab of pity. He looked away.

They approached the open door. Molly stood fidgeting at the entrance, looking at everyone with an uncertain expression on her pale, freckled face. “Are we allowed inside?” she asked Valka as they caught up.

“Oh! Do come in, all of you!” came Professor Ogglebert’s voice. Valka looked at Molly pointedly as they all began to clamour inside the classroom. Their teacher emerged from a little storeroom in the back, rubbing his hook on a tattered cloth. He wore sleek, modern robes that shone with the light of a blue flame which sat bottled on a table nearby.

“Yes, to your desks now, go,” He adjusted his moustache, “Alright! Do you remember what we learnt last week?”

To no one’s surprise, Hiccup’s hand shot up in the air. Professor Ogglebert smiled knowingly at him.

“Hiccup Haddock,” he said, “You seem eager, tell us.”

“Vampires, sir,” Hiccup grinned, “We learnt about their history with Wizarding society. Oh! Chapter seven, I think.”

For the past two weeks, between responding to Stoick’s countless letters, Hiccup had been burying his nose in his textbooks in his free time. This aggravated poor Fishlegs, who would much rather hang out at the Lake and talk with his friend.

“Very good!” Alvin stepped in front of his desk and surveyed the class, “Well, we’ll be moving on from that today, but I still expect homework to be returned complete . I’ll be checking that towards the end. This lesson, I have something quite exciting to tell you about.” His eyes shone and an expression Hiccup could not read overcame his face.

Murmurs rose up around him. Hiccup turned to Fishlegs, hoping to meet his eyes with a shared glance of anticipation, but his bespectacled friend’s jaw was set tightly and his eyes narrowed in distrust.

“Fishlegs?” Hiccup whispered, leaning towards him. At the sound of his voice, Fishlegs seemed to snap out of his thoughts. He blinked and tilted his head.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Hiccup bit his lip and returned his gaze to Professor Ogglebert, who was now furiously (yet elegantly) scribbling something on the board in chalk.

“And what is this exciting thing, you ask?” he finished the title with a flourish and swivelled around to meet the curious gazes of his students. He stepped to the side and their eyes were directed to the word he’d written.

“Legends?” Astrid DeSilva blurted out. She blushed and looked down as everyone’s eyes flitted to her. Professor Ogglebert’s smiled twitched a bit, but remained plastered on his face.

“Indeed, Miss DeSilva,” he said calmly, “Legends. Can someone tell me what a legend is, although I suspect you all already know? Yes, Hiccup.”

“A popular story thought by many to be true, but-” Hiccup racked his brain, “-it isn’t?”

“Close enough!” Professor Ogglebert shrugged, and Hiccup’s face fell, “You got the first part spot on. The thing is, though, just because legends aren’t authenticated, it does not mean they can’t be true.”

“For example,” he paused for a second, deep in thought, “I’m sure all the...muggleborns can attest to this. Us witches and wizards - and many other things about our world - were mere myths and legends to you until the last year, correct?” He received nods from many of the muggleborns in the room, “And there, that’s what I mean. Legends are hard to prove true, but it’s possible. And I...I hope the one I am soon to tell you about is one you’ll all find as interesting as I do.” Hiccup noticed that at that moment, his teacher moved his hook behind his back and out of their line of sight.

“I’m going to tell you all a little story. It’s a very gory little anecdote, so I wouldn’t say it’s for the faint-hearted, but I’d love you all to listen just the same,” He brought his hook out and sat down on his desk, “Earlier this year, before I had the fortune of coming to Hogwarts, I was just a poor but honest farmer earning my keep on a little island off the coast of Scotland. Doing muggle work really put those with the misfortune of being born without magic in a quite sympathetic light, but that’s unimportant. Anyway, eleven years I worked that gruelling job - many of you must not have been born when I began - and I was living in utter misery before I came across the most peculiar thing.”

His eyes were lost for just a moment, as if he had forgotten he was in a classroom, “It was a casket, and when I opened it I found no body, but I knew - I knew - it belonged to a wizard.”

“However did you find that out, sir?” Astrid breathed, engrossed in his story as many others were.

Astrid’s voice broke the man out of his trance, and he blinked at her. “I-well...The inside had been enlarged with Engorgio,” he stuttered, before clearing his throat to continue, “I was just about to venture inside when…” he paused, and looked up at them, “Oh dear, what I am about to tell you may be a bit much for you to stomach, but that casket must have been cursed. Its lid snapped shut, cutting off my hand in the process.” The children hissed as he held up his hook for them all to see. It glinted in the rays of the evening sun. Hiccup clenched his fist just to make sure his right hand was still there.

“Don’t worry, it feels perfectly fine now, if not a little itchy,” Professor Ogglebert chuckled, “The next time I opened that chest,” he ignored the surprised gasps at this, “I made sure to rid it of any unpleasant curses. Inside the chest that I lost my right hand for , I found no treasure, nothing of use or value, nothing but…” He paused for what appeared to be dramatic effect, and from the top drawer of his desk he pulled out an old sheet of parchment with what looked like a map. He held it out for the whole class to see.

“This.” he finished.

Chapter Text

A map?

Hiccup turned his head and shared a glance with Fishlegs. Both wondered the same thing; What was so important about this map that it had to be kept in a cursed casket?

“Disappointing, isn’t it?” Professor Ogglebert sighed dramatically, “I thought so too, but little did I know that this map - this map - was the key to finding the lost treasure of the one and only Grimbeard the Ghastly!”

Hiccup froze upon hearing this, and many others gasped. Grimbeard the Ghastly was one of the most legendary wizards of all time. Once the king of all wizards, he’d been fierce, strong and unrelenting, but after the death of his traitorous son he’d left their world behind, never to be seen again. Hiccup’s family descended from Grimbeard the Ghastly through the one family member the great wizard hadn’t lost: Chucklehead, Hiccup’s great-grandfather.

“That’s right, Grimbeard the Ghastly. In fact,” the professor slowly stepped towards Hiccup’s desk, catching his eye, “One of us is descended from him, isn’t that right?”

Hiccup, stunned, forgot to respond until Fishlegs sharply nudged him. “Oh! Y-yes, sir!” he stammered, “He’s um...my great-great-grandfather.”

“Is that so?” Professor Ogglebert asked, interested, “My, my. You must know more about him than anyone in this room!”

“He kept secrets from them too,” Fishlegs grumbled, “They know as much about him as the rest of us do.”

The raven-haired teacher’s eyes snapped to him in mild annoyance. “Very well, then,” he said, and sauntered back to his desk, “As much as I’m sure Hiccup would love to tell us more, we have a class to get on with. What do any of you know about Grimbeard the Ghastly’s treasure?”

Several hesitant hands went up, all of them belonging to purebloods or half-bloods. Professor Ogglebert’s eyes scanned the room before landing on Valka’s raised hand. He nodded at her. She made a gesture as if to ask ‘me?’ and received affirmation. She cleared her throat and stood up.

“They say that only the true heir of Grimbeard the Ghastly will be able to find the treasure. Some people say this could mean people in his family are the only ones able, but others say it could refer to anyone strong enough to carry on his name and legacy,” she told them in a confident tone.

“Very good, Valka!” their professor cried, “You may sit.”

Hiccup felt his heart sink. Why exactly was Professor Ogglebert so caught up with telling them about this? What was his ulterior motive? He glanced at his professor again. The older man must have noticed, because he caught the boy’s eye and winked.

“I had a chat with the headmaster recently,” his professional tone returned, “As I am the new head of Defense Against the Dark Arts-” Hiccup hadn’t known this, “-I thought about having a fun little competition. A treasure hunt, if you will,” Many of his classmates perked up in their seats. Hiccup’s heart raced. This wasn’t just any treasure! This was Grimbeard the Ghastly’s treasure which would most likely cause a great divide in the Horrendous Haddock family if found. It wasn’t just something to be used for a ‘fun little treasure hunt’. Hiccup scowled, but the fanatic teacher didn’t notice.

“Unfortunately, we inspected the map and found that it was located on the Isle of the Scullions. For those who don’t know, that is a very dangerous place, far too dangerous for little children. Headmaster Jorgenson forbade me from taking you on this excursion,” he watched, satisfied, as the excited children visibly deflated, “But he didn’t say anything about encouraging you to do your own research on the subject!”

Hiccup’s breathed a sigh of relief that went unnoticed by everyone except Fishlegs.

“So today, we are going to learn all about Grimbeard the Ghastly’s infamous treasure. Let’s start from the beginning. In the beginning, Grimbeard the Ghastly was a fearsome wizard…”

For the rest of the lesson, Professor Ogglebert told the tale of Grimbeard the Ghastly. What he told them wasn’t news to anyone but the muggleborn children, so Hiccup tuned him out with ease and decided to doodle in his exercise book instead.

After about twenty minutes - which felt more like twenty hours to Hiccup - the lesson ended. He piled his books into his bag and was out of the classroom within minutes. He hadn’t remembered being this bored at a Defense Against the Dark Arts class before and hoped it wouldn’t be a recurring thing. Fishlegs followed him as he swerved past groups of students, some of which were annoyingly clustered around doorways, chatting.

When they got to their common room, Hiccup sank down on the soft cushions stuffed in a corner and was joined by Fishlegs, who was looking at him strangely for some reason.

“What is it?” Hiccup asked, “Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Fishlegs shook his head, “It’s just...Are you okay?”

“Fine. Why?”

“The treasure’s important to your family, right?” Fishlegs asked tentatively, “I mean... You must be feeling threatened, if not a little worried.”

Hiccup looked down. Did he feel threatened? He had to admit, his warm feelings towards Astrid and the other children had somewhat cooled when seeing the way they were so excited to go find the treasure.

“I suppose I am a little...scared,” he said quietly. Fishlegs seemed satisfied with this answer.

“I thought you’d be,” he took off his glasses and rubbed at them, “You know, you can tell me when anything’s bothering you. I’m not gonna judge. I am your only friend, after all.” he joked.

The corner of Hiccup’s mouth twisted into a smile. “Oh, shut up.”

They laid in companionable silence for a moment, surrounded by the white noise of the other children.

“It goes both ways,” Hiccup said suddenly, “You can tell me anything, too. You will, won’t you?”

When Fishlegs smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

Everyone was pleasantly surprised when the holidays came about. The school term had gone quicker than they’d expected, and they - the older students in particular - were relieved that end-of-term assessments were now over and done with.

“Whew!” Fishlegs rested his head on the hard mahogany of the study table, “That’s four weeks of studying over and done with, finally! No more assignments, no more exams, no more libraries –”

“What?” asked Hiccup.

“–And most importantly, no more Professor Ogglebert!”

Hiccup raised his eyes off of the interesting paragraph on Hungarian Horntails and onto the exhausted form of his friend. “I don’t understand why you dislike the guy so much.”

“Hiccup,” Fishlegs sighed, “He tried to make our entire grade – of eleven-year-olds! – go after a hidden treasure that is your family’s by right and would have threatened literally everyone in said family if it hadn’t been found by you. Not to mention how much of a creep he is! With that twirly moustache and that stupid drawl…” he shuddered, “No thank you.”

Hiccup did have to agree with that first part.

“And the dragons hate him too.”

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Volume 1 fell down onto the table with a thud. “The dragons what?”

Fishlegs looked up at him quizzically. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Haven’t I noticed what?”

“That he doesn’t have a hunting dragon, or a riding dragon,”

“Or any animal, for that matter,” Hiccup reminded him, though he didn’t really agree of the classification of dragons as ‘animals’. They were far too advanced for that term. Fishlegs rolled his eyes.

“Hiccup, even I have a dragon, and I’m deathly allergic,” he stressed, “And what’s more, no other dragon ever goes near him. It’s like he’s sprayed himself with dragon repellent or something, I dunno.”

“Maybe it’s just his cologne?”

“If a cologne strong enough to repel dragons exists, it would be illegal.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Fishlegs straightened his robes. “Listen. Hiccup, Alvin Ogglebert is a creep. Mark my words, he’s gonna end up getting fired for something really weird one of these days.”

Hiccup, eager to change the topic, glanced at the large clock on the wall above their heads. “It’s almost lunch. Do you want to eat in the hall or take it outside?”

“Let’s eat in our dorms,” Fishlegs said, “Then maybe Snotlout won’t terrorise us.”

“Unless he bullies another Hufflepuff into telling him,” said Hiccup gloomily.

“He wouldn’t do that…”

“Would you really put it past him?”

“Good point,” Fishlegs pushed himself off his seat with a heavy sigh, “Let’s go.”

Hiccup nodded and picked up the book he’d been reading not long before. “You go, I’ll just put this back.”

“All right.”

As Fishlegs left, Hiccup searched the many large shelves for the one he’d gotten the book from.

“Newt Scamander, Scamander, S,” he muttered, “Ah! Here.”

Newt Scamander’s smiling face winked at him from the spine of an older edition of his textbook. Hiccup pushed the volume into the empty space behind it and made to go, but his eye caught onto something glinting at him from the opposite shelf.

‘The Life and Times of Grimbeard the Ghastly’, it read in embellished golden letters.

Hiccup reached for it.

His fingers slid over the thick binding.

“Light reading, cousin?”

If Hiccup were one of his aunt’s little Puggles, he would have jumped 10 feet and set off flying. He wished he were a dragon right now, because the sight of his cousin Snotlout smirking at him in the half-abandoned library made his heart plummet to the bottom of his chest.

“Snotlout,” he greeted curtly, begging Merlin and Thor and all the old gods for a way out of the situation.

“You should be at lunch, Useless,” Snorlout admonished with mock cheer, “Tut tut, what would the professors say if they saw you wandering the castle by yourself? As a prefect, I’d say it’s my job to turn you in. Or, if you prefer, I could punish you myself. Your choice.” He cracked his knuckles and grinned wickedly. Hiccup gulped.

“If they see you, Snotlout, it won’t be me getting in trouble,” he said defiantly. The prayers were getting louder now, more desperate.

“Good thing they won’t see me, eh Hiccup?” Snotlout spat out his name like a curse, advancing on his younger cousin, his fist held high and aimed right at Hiccup’s forehead, his eyes glimmering-

Thud.

“Oh, shit!” Snotlout cursed loudly and rubbed the part of his head which the book had hit. Hiccup caught a glimpse of scarlet trickling down his temple as he slipped away, running as far from the shelf and then the library as possible.

Through the pounding in the ear, he could make out the Hairy Scary Librarian’s angry howling.

When Snotlout saw him again, he was going to kill him.

 Fishlegs rubbed at his cheeks, his chest heaving with silent laughter.

“Right on the head, you say? Oh, that had to have hurt!”

“It’s not funny!” Hiccup hissed, a hysterical edge to his voice, “He’s going to murder me! I need to write my will!”

“If these are my last moments, I’m going to spend them laughing at Snotlout’s expense,” Fishlegs said smoothly, leaning back against the frame of his bed, his arm’s clutching his aching sides, “Nabbed on the noggin by a book! Oh, that is good!” He collapsed into a second peal of laughter that caused his glasses to slip haphazardly down his long nose.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, it’s hilarious. But seriously, Fishlegs, what are we going to do?”

“Dunno,” said Fishlegs, the laughter fading from his eyes as his body slumped, “Guess we’ll just have to stay out of his way for, well, forever. Stick to crowds.” Both of them frowned at the thought, but they had no other options.

Hiccup shivered as the wind blew in from the window of the tower. Their dormmates were off somewhere in the common room, most likely, so he and Fishlegs had the room to themselves to talk about whatever they pleased.

“I might go and get Toothless,” Hiccup declared, standing, “Are you coming?”

Fishlegs hesitated. “Uh…I might stay and write a bit, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure.”

It didn’t occur to him until he crawled back out of the barrel that he’d completely forgotten about their idea to avoid Snotlout and stick to crowds.

“Oh no.”

He lifted his knuckles to tap on the barrel but was interrupted by a whirlwind of green and red flying straight into his face.

“Ack! Toothless?” he shifted to Dragonese, holding the little reptile at arm’s length. Toothless trembled with wicked excitement, his gums baring delightedly in a dragon-y smile.

“Oh dear, what did you do?”

“T-t-t-taught that o-outcast just how n-n-nasty Toothless could be!” Toothless said, impressed. Hiccup wrinkled his nose.

“What outcast? What did you do?”

“D-did a kak-kak in the h-hat of that s-skinny human with the f-f-f-fancy moustache!” the little green dragon cackled in glee. Hiccup pursed his lips.

Skinny human with the fancy moustache? Professor Alvin Ogglebert for sure.

“Oh Toothless,” Hiccup groaned, “Why on Earth would you do something like that? Wait…why did you call him ‘outcast’?”

His dragon huffed and crawled into his usual spot.

“Th-th-this issa nice spot,” he said appreciatively, “B-better than stupid sweater master wears sometimes.”

“Toothless.”

“All right, all right,” Hiccup could hear the eye-roll in the common-or-garden’s muffled voice, “Methinks Moustachio issa o-o-outcast. N-n-no, not thinks, Toothless knows.”

A shiver went down his spine. Outcasts were one of the nastiest mobs in the Wizarding World. They had been around since as early as Grimbeard the Ghastly, and they’d been just as nasty for just as long. Many of them were criminals on the run; murderers, fanatics, blood supremacists, the list went on. It was said that they were so devoted to their group that they were their own wizarding family at this point. You could tell an Outcast on sight by their unique tattoo pattern. 

Which is why Hiccup was pretty sure that Alvin Ogglebert was not an Outcast.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Toothless,” he admonished, “Here, let’s go into the common room.”

“T-t-toothless hungry. Kitchen?”

“I’m not sneaking into to kitchen just to get you food.”

“M-m-meanie.”

Chapter Text

Hiccup saw Snotlout again the next week during lunch, his forehead head restored to its usual, blemished but not wounded condition. When he made the mistake of locking eyes, his cousin sent him a glare so severe and murderous he almost felt like he'd been decapitated right then and there. Fishlegs was quick to put an arm around his back and pull his attention away from the homicidal third-year Gryffindor.

"They're fiercer if you maintain eye contact," he hissed. Hiccup knew. They'd learnt that in their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson (Hiccup's favourite class, now that Professor Ogglebert had unfortunately stepped on thin ice).

"It can't get any worse than this, can it?" he asked.

One day, Hiccup would learn not to say things like this as to not jinx himself. But these were the early stages, and there was still a lot he had yet to discover.

For in that moment, in the boys' dorms of the Hufflepuff Common Room down in the dungeons, a little green dragon slid out from his master's bed and yawned. Toothless stretched his wings and opened his gummy mouth to demand to be fed (Toothless Daydreams are very imperial dragons, you see. Sometimes their noble, royal, arrogant DNA just takes over) when he realised with a start that there was no one there. He zipped through the door, left ajar by the absentminded Bearhug. Cross and hungry, the dragon scanned around for an exit before finding one in the window. Smiling mischievously, he opened it and flew through.

His ears perked up at the faint sound of hundreds of adolescents' voices coming straight from above. He sniffed, and his pupils dilated.

"F-food!"

Hiccup was eating peacefully (but also a little petrified because he could feel Snotlout's steely glare on his back) when the fish was snatched from his fork. He spun around in shock, only to come face to face with his own hunting dragon, gobbling down the morsel of food like a ravenous carnivore.

Which, to be honest, he kind of was.

"Toothless!" Hiccup gasped. The other children around him glanced annoyedly at Toothless but otherwise paid him no mind. Hiccup tried to pull him under the table, but it was too late, Doris had seen him. She looked up at Hiccup sharply.

"He's yours?"

"I'm sorry!" Hiccup evaded her question and grabbed Toothless quickly, "I'll go take him back."

"To the Dragon's Tower, yeah?" She said sternly. He nodded and got up, looking mournfully at the remains on his plate. "And Hiccup?"

He was halfway through coaxing Toothless back into his 'special spot' when he turned to her. "Yes?"

"You'd better hurry. Class starts in five minutes."

He glanced at Fishlegs, who inclined his head as if to say, 'Go on.'

He nodded at him and exited in a jog.

Truth be told, Hiccup didn't really believe in locking dragons up unless you needed them. To him, it was immoral and cruel. Dragons were born and raised to be free, to populate the skies and grounds and seas, whooping and hunting in bliss. Not shackled and kept captive in some silly tower, following the biddings of silly children. Plus, Toothless was extremely claustrophobic.

So, Hiccup headed down to the Hufflepuff side of the dungeons instead and opened his palm to reveal three crispy (but now crumbled) cuts of bacon. He tried to feed them to Toothless one by one, but the greedy little reptile wolfed them all down at once and demanded more.

"I didn't have time to snag any more than that, Toothless," Hiccup said wearily, his voice bordering on frustration, "If you'd – I don't know – come a little quieter? Maybe snuck into my robes instead of bounding onto the table where you're not allowed to be?"

Toothless huffed in response. "And w-w-what about it? S-stupid school with s-s-stupid rules. D-dragons like Toothless don't need to be in c-c-cages," A pause, "B-b-but okay if issa m-meanies like Fireworm."

Hiccup suddenly felt a little guilty.

"That's not what I meant, Toothless. But you see, if you do something like that, I'm going to be made to put you in the Tower. I won't, of course!" he said hurriedly at the dragon's alarmed expression, "But they might try to make me."

Toothless sulked the rest of the way, only perking up when they passed the kitchen ("Toothless go? P-please?"- "Not a chance."). Hiccup gave the dragon a stern talking to and put him back in the litter box he'd made under his bead using an empty Honeydukes tin an older student had thrown out earlier.

He was halfway back to the Great Hall when he realised the time.

"Oh no."

It was as he was hurrying along and sprinting up the annoying expanse of stairs when Hiccup realised just how inconvenient the placement of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom was. By the time he reached the hallway with the painting of the sleeping maiden and the hum of protection charms his chest was aflame with pain and he was finding it hard to breathe, heaving for air.

His sneakers skidded as he bound for the open doorway, and his heart only sank further as twenty-four pairs of eyes turned to him. He looked Professor Ogglebert in the eye and silently begged him not to make a big deal. The teacher in question frowned at him, gestured to his seat.

"To your desk, my boy," he said gravely, and clicked his tongue in disappointment, "My, my… See me after class, will you?"

Hiccup nodded miserably. That seemed to be one of his top ten emotions those days. He scuttled over to his desk as quickly as possible, his face burning, and plopped down next to Fishlegs, who took one look at him and grimaced.

He concentrated extra hard that lesson as to somehow drive the embarrassment from his mind as well as the impending doom of being called after class. The lesson seemed to go on forever – his stress building as a result – but eventually Professor Ogglebert called for them to pack up their books.

Fishlegs took hold of Hiccup's arm as he left.

"I'll be standing outside." He said. Hiccup managed a smile, feeling encouraged by his support.

"Thanks."

Typhoon was the last to leave, having taken a while to pack up her things. As the door shut behind her, the professor beckoned Hiccup to the front. He obeyed, keeping his gaze on the floor and not his teacher.

"I'm not going to ask you to tell me why you were late. I'm well aware,"

Hiccup bit his bottom lip hard and his eyes watered as he felt a tang of iron. Ouch. A furtive glance upwards showed Professor Ogglebert holding his chin up high, black goatee wavering accusingly at the student in front of him.

"You know it is against several school rules to let your dragon out of the Tower when you don't have a use for it, and to let it roam free unsupervised," he reprimanded.

Hiccup gulped in some air and thought about what he'd said. But something didn't add up.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you hear about it, sir?" he asked as politely as possible.

Professor Ogglebert crossed his arms over his chest. "That would have been one of your classmates, Mr Haddock. They said they saw the thing fly into the Great Hall and into your lap. Is this true?"

"Yes," There was no point in lying.

"And did you put him in the Dragon Tower?"

"Of course," Hiccup lied.

"Good, good," his frown vanished, replaced by his charming smile. He patted Hiccup on the shoulder. "I'll still have to write to your parents about it. I'm sure you understand."

He didn't. It honestly didn't seem that huge of an offence, but he wasn't keen on getting in even further trouble. "Yeah."

"I am sorry," his professor said regretfully, "You're usually such a good student! But then again, even the best of us stumble sometimes." He pulled out a slip of paper and a quill, scribbling down a message for the next teacher.

Hiccup took it as it was handed to him, "Do you, sir?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I never stumble," he laughed, "Better run along, now!"

Hiccup nodded. He was relieved that Professor Ogglebert wasn't angry at him, but he now had another thing to worry about. There was no telling how Stoick would react to Hiccup's shortcomings. Certainly not well. An what about his mother? What would she be thinking of him if she heard about it? He tried so hard to be reason enough for her to stay, but it was impossible. Now, the chances were even lower. Who'd want to leave their globe-trotting adventures for a failure son?

To quell the searing emotions bubbling up in his stomach, he stopped in front of the painting of the sleeping maiden and admired the backdrop. Snowy mountains forever cloaked in evening orange and rivers snaking and cutting through fields of peonies. The subject herself was quite boring. The maiden was always sleeping, her dark curls shrouding her face like a hanging plant. It would be nice to live in a painting, he thought. No real troubles.

It was time for his next lesson, though, and Hiccup was already late enough. As he bounded off to Charms, the sleeping lady lifted her head just a little and listened to the boy's receding footsteps.

"Another mistake," she yawned, "It's only been 200 years."

As this was all unfolding, something even more sinister was occurring deeper underground, miles and miles away from Hogwarts Castle.

Above ground, Wild Dragon Cliff loomed tall over the clouds, humming like a beehive with the combined activity of thousands of wild dragons. Clustered below it in a group were a shivering pack of young children, each just over ten years old and each having been preparing for this moment for as long as they had known they were wizards. For some, that had been their whole lives, like the short chubby girl with a roguish glint to her eye and a shock of un-brushed blond hair that looked like it had been used as a birds' nest more than once. For others, it had only been about four months. The children chatted excitedly as their instructor looked longingly at his tomato sandwich, then at the cavern in the mountain, and sighed.

Inside the cavern, a young Nadder woke up earlier than anticipated from his long sleep and quietly untangled himself from his mother's touch. His nostrils largened in alarm as he caught the whiff of something he'd only thought about in nightmares.

Humans.

The baby dragon yelped and got his wings flapping faster than ever, rocketing down further into the stony tunnels he called home. Deeper and deeper he went, with no regard for leaving a trail, his only goal to get away before he would have to live in captivity with a horrible grubby child for the rest of his life.

He didn't seem to notice his fellow dragons' sounds getting quieter and quieter until he slowed down, tired, and realised with a jolt that he couldn't hear anything at all.

That was never a good sign.

Whimpering, the baby Nadder wandered backwards and evaluated the two tunnels in his path. Unable to remember where he'd come from, he disappeared through the one on the left, crying out for his mother. He was only met with the echoes of his own calls.

It wasn't long before he came across somewhere open. If he cocked his ear just right, he could hear the sounds of water. He whined miserably. That was not the sound of home, but perhaps he could swim up and out and make it back to his mother? It would be risking being captured by humans, but his gut was warning him there was something else he needed to worry about more.

Creeping further in, he looked around. Unbeknownst to him, a creature felt his presence. An ancient being hidden in that very cavern for over a century, old and miserly and forever, mercilessly hungry. Slowly, a tentacle reached out to curl around the dragon's midriff.

The baby Nadder squawked in pure horror before the creature killed it in a most unpleasant fashion. His sounds bounced off the chamber for a bit before fading into oblivion.

Silence settled once more.

Chapter Text

As the year progressed, Hiccup and Fishlegs were fairly content. That is, until the snow melted and Winter blossomed into Spring, and Toothless zipped past Hiccup as he was reading up on Herbology, dropping a note into his lap.

A letter from Stoick was completely normal, of course. It was the contents of the letter that shocked Hiccup into a sitting position, book laying forgotten beside him. It read as such:

'Deer Hiccup,

A very Happy New Year to you too. I hope you liked the choclate I sent you last time for Christmas. I would of brought you a book but I did not know what books you liked. Also, reading is for sissies.

I actually have some very eckciting news to tell you this time. I did not tell you erlier because I thought it wasn't important. Do you remember when your Professor  Oggleborn  Ogglebert wrote to me about your bad behaviour? Well me and him have been talking about stuff and he is a very intresting person! He admires our family a lot and gave me the idea for a brilliant plan of mine. I want to get the whole Hooligan clan together and look for Grimbeard the Ghastly's secret tresure once and for all. We are thinking of going on your Spring holidays to the Isle of the Scullions so that we can find it. Your uncle has already told Snotlout. You also have to bring your dragon so that they can sniff the tresure out and maybe a friend if you like. Get prepared after your exams are finished. Go talk to Alvin if you want to know more.

Sinceerly,

Stoik the Vast, O hear my name and tremble ugh ugh."

Toothless peeked over Hiccup's shoulder to see what had shocked him. He scoffed at Stoick's familiar scrawl, and smoke huffed out of his nostrils to warm Hiccup's cheek. "W-what's this, then?"

"My father wants me and Snotlout to go to the Isle of the Scullions to find Grimbeard the Ghastly's treasure," Hiccup explained in Dragonese, his voice on edge, "He's been talking to Professor Ogglebert since he wrote to him back when I got in trouble for keeping you here and being late."

"O-oh," said Toothless, now disinterested, "S-so yer all going to d-die."

"Don't be silly, Toothless!" Hiccup reprimanded, "I'll just go chat with Professor Ogglebert to tell him why this is a bad idea. They'd have to call it off then."

Toothless looked unconvinced. "R-right."

"They will," said Hiccup resolutely, "He's the one that started the whole thing."

Toothless dragged his claws down one of the four wooden posters on his bed, ruining the polish. "Toothless t-told you this a million times," he sniffed, "Issa O-outcast and that's w-why this all happening in the f-first place."

Hiccup could only glare at his dragon's wings and pick up his comb to finish detangling his hair. It was a peculiar thing. The red strands had a bad habit of sticking up no matter what product Hiccup used to flatten it. Fortunately for him, the crisp air gave him the opportunity to wear a beanie to keep it out of view if he was feeling particularly self-conscious, which he did now.

"Stay here, Toothless," he warned his dragon as he slipped off the bed, "I mean it."

Toothless waved a wing, disinterested. "Y-yes, yes, Toothless know."

Alvin Ogglebert was definitely in a bad mood. The man's moustache drooped, and his eyes held not a sliver of warmth for his students as he strode through the halls wearing a brand-new hat, the old one out of order due to a small, stinky problem. The eyes of those he passed followed him, puzzled at his unusual demeanour.

He stopped in front of his classroom and pulled out his wand. He usually locked the door after leaving and put a hair to ensure it wasn't breached by anyone else.

"Professor! Professor!"

Hiccup came running up to him, the soles of his sneakers squeaking on the floor and one sock pulled higher than the other. Alvin plastered a wide, fake smile upon his face.

"Well, if it isn't Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!" he said wearily, "Did you leave something in the classroom?"

"No, sir," said Hiccup, a little out of breath, "I was wondering if I could speak to you about something?"

The professor opened the door and gestured for Hiccup to enter. "I suppose this is about my correspondence with your father? I'm surprised he didn't tell you about it sooner."

"He must have forgotten, Professor," Hiccup stood patiently as to allow the man to take a seat behind his desk, "But yes, that's what I came to you for."

He studied his teacher's face and felt regretful that he'd chosen such a moment to come in and take his time. Professor Ogglebert looked in great need of some time to cool down. "I can come later, Professor - "

"No, no, now is fine," Professor Ogglebert waved a hand at him, "I'm just a little miffed because of an incident regarding my old hat. I went to my room and discovered some…curious stuff in it, so unfortunately it had to be replaced."

Hiccup winced. He had a good idea of what that 'curious stuff' was, and how it came to be there. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Not your problem. Now, where were we? Oh, yes! Did you have some questions about the trip?"

Pursing his lips, Hiccup tensely sat down on the edge of one of the seats. "Well, sort of. I just wanted to know why you suggested it. No offence to you, sir!" he hastily added, "It's a genuine question, I was just confused."

Professor Ogglebert hesitated, before rising from his seat to stand in front of Hiccup. He put a hand on the child's shoulder and squeezed. "I understand," he said, voice dripping with theatrical remorse, "I must confess, Hiccup. I did it because I was feeling ever so guilty about spoiling your time in this class by spiking the interest in the other children about your family's treasure. It must have been a distressing moment for you, and I imagine you resented me for it."

Hiccup blinked. He hadn't expected the professor to notice, let alone apologise. He couldn't be so bad after all, in this case!

"I wasn't intending for this all to happen, of course. I mentioned the treasure to your father in passing because it intrigued me so much. Then lo and behold! He wants to search for it, with my help! I then thought 'Well! If anyone should be looking for it, it must be the true heirs of Grimbeard the Ghastly.' I thought it the perfect opportunity to apologise to you."

The glint returned to Alvin's eyes, and he stared down at Hiccup with a grin. Hiccup thought about it. On one hand, he definitely thought the treasure hunt was a horrible idea. On the other hand, it seemed that Professor Ogglebert didn't really have that much control over the whole thing, and Hiccup thought it was really very kind of him to try and make things right.

"…That's nice of you, professor," he said slowly, "Thanks."

"Not at all, not at all," Professor Ogglebert laughed and ushered Hiccup to the door, "Now, what are you doing, spending your Saturday afternoon in a classroom? Run along now!"

Despite himself, the corner of Hiccup's mouth lifted. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest, he joked, "You know, my family's very driven. Now that my father has the thought of treasure in his head, he'd do anything to get it!"

Professor Ogglebert laughed and waved him goodbye. He stood for a moment at the doorway, listening to the boy's footfalls get softer and softer, before shutting the door hard.

"Trust me," Alvin muttered, "I'm counting on it."

On his way back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, Hiccup ran into his grandfather. It appeared Old Wrinkly had also heard of the treasure news.

"A load of codswallop, if you ask me," he declared, "A very bad idea, but unfortunately the whole family seems to believe it is and they're dead set on going. Nothing I said could have swayed them. They don't listen to reason like you or me."

Hiccup confessed he agreed with him. "It's just a week, though, isn't it?"

Old Wrinkly gave him a look. "That's what they all say."

When Hiccup made it back to the dormitory, Fishlegs was sitting on the side of his bed and pulling at his damp, dark curls with a towel. Toothless had apparently fallen asleep after gorging himself on whatever had been in the greasy paper bag beside him.

"Bout time you showed up," Fishlegs said, "Where were you?"

"Having a chat with Professor Ogglebert," Hiccup answered, "He apologised for bringing up the treasure."

Fishlegs looked sceptical. "Sure."

"And speaking of treasure," carefully, Hiccup nudged Toothless's snoring body over to the side to give himself room to sit, "My father wrote to me and told me the Hooligan clan are going to the Isle of the Scullions with our dragons to look for the treasure during Spring hols."

"What?"

"I know!" Hiccup fell back into his mattress, staring up at the wall gloomily, "I have to go, and so does Snotlout. And we all know what's going to happen if he comes. If I'm back for next term at all, consider it a miracle."

"Did he send you a letter?" Fishlegs draped the towel over the edge of his bed and crossed his legs.

Hiccup fumbled for the paper and tossed it to his friend, "Here, read it."

After a few moments of silence, in which Hiccup assumed his friend was reading the letter, Fishlegs spoke up.

"Well, that's just ridiculous! It's a death wish!"

"It's so dumb."

A beat. "It says here you can bring a friend."

Hiccup smiled. "Oh, yeah?"

"I hope you know I'm coming with you."

Hiccup propped himself up on his elbows so that he could smile at Fishlegs, who was staring defiantly at him. "I know, Fishlegs."

"Good."

His eyes flitted to the paper bag. "What was Toothless eating, by the way?"

Fishlegs groaned. "You don't need to know Dragonese to know what your dragon needs for him to be quiet. I gave him the brownie I got from Talia."

Hiccup noted the little smoke rings floating up from Toothless' nostrils. He picked his dragon up and placed him gently underneath his bed, praying to whichever God was listening for the bed not to catch on fire.

Chapter Text

No matter how hard Tuffnut Junior tried, the feather on his desk did not respond to his demands. Hiccup had already managed to get his in the air several times and was now watching Tuffnut's futile attempt with mild interest.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Tuffnut cried. The feather wriggled a bit, but otherwise remained on the desk surface. Speedifist took pity and offered to help.

"Tuff, try saying it like this; WinGARdium LeviOsa."

"I did say that!

"Well, then. Maybe you're swishing your wand wrong?"

Tuffnut sighed loudly and tried again. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said blankly in the way Speedifist had instructed him. The feather lifted finally, rising about half a metre or so. "There. So I wasn't swishing it wrong." The feather dropped immediately and Tuffnut's face went red with either fury or embarrassment or both. The teacher must have noticed, because he went over to help him. His large patched coat blocked the scene from Hiccup's view and he turned, bored, to doodle in the margins of his book again. By now, the lines were overtaken by stick figures and swords and dragons.

He was nearly done perfecting the shading on the sword a smiling 'Me' held at Snotlout's chest when Fishlegs dropped his wand and there was a boom of a knock on the door.

"Oh! Come in, come in." Their professor tweaked Tuffnut's grip on his wand again and went back down to the front of the classroom to meet Gobber, who stood with a vicious-looking Snotlout by his arm.

"I'm here to collect Hiccup," Gobber said gruffly, planting his hand on Snotlout's shoulder.

"For?" their professor inquired, but answered his own question just as Gobber opened his mouth to respond, "Oh! That er…the family thing, correct? I forgot, silly me. Hiccup?"

Hiccup honestly felt as if all his organs had suddenly grown heavier and drooped inside him. Nevertheless, he swallowed and closed his book, the shading on the figure of himself half-finished. He could just not get up, couldn't he? But what would that mean for him? He'd be a disgrace; the fame he earned would disappear instantly. He distinctly heard his book plop into his bag. As he descended, he didn't dare look up at his classmates' faces. He wondered if he was shaking. Must be a sight.

Shame swirled like a snake in his gut. How pathetic he was.

And then there was the screech of wood against polished wood. "I'm coming too," said Fishlegs. Hiccup looked up to meet the eyes of his friend. Fishlegs looked very uncomfortable and positively terrified, but he was determined.

"Oh, all right," sighed Gobber, "But we need to go now. I've interrupted Ludwig enough."

"Thank you Gobber," he replied as Gobber herded the three boys out of the room, "All right, class. Now – "

And the door shut.

The hall was quiet for the most part. Only the faint voices of teachers from various classrooms could be heard. Hiccup's breathing was panicked as if his lungs would burst from overexertion. He avoided Snotlout's gaze and instead focused on Fishlegs' comforting presence beside him. Gobber paid no mind to the state of the two boys as he led them down, muttering about how he was sorry he couldn't go with them.

"A shame," he said to Snotlout, "A damn shame. Heaven knows how dedicated to you lots' family I am. Stoick asked me to come, you know, but I got responsibilities here. Can't leave me job at this time, sadly."

"It is a shame, professor," Snotlout agreed mournfully, "We could do with your expertise on that island. It's our loss."

Hiccup bristled. There was a reason his cousin was the unspoken favourite in the family. Snotlout had a silver tongue; whether he used it with malice or eloquence, it was almost always effective. The only people who knew him for what he was, Hiccup could count on one hand. Himself, Fishlegs and maybe Adelaide, but Hiccup didn't know Adelaide well enough.

Fishlegs grabbed onto his arm suddenly, and he turned to see his friend looking like he was about to break down. He let his own nerves clam for just a moment to loop his arm around Fishlegs, rubbing his back to calm him down.

"Breathe," he whispered, "Just breathe, Fishlegs."

His grip on Hiccup's arm went lax, and he sent a thankful glance his way and drew-himself up. His face gained colour.

"It'll all be done before we know it," Hiccup promised, then felt guilty. He couldn't quite believe that himself.

"We'll head to your dorms to grab your dragons before we leave," Gobber let them know, "You'll need 'em."

"It's a bit cold," Gobber observed, "Well, we're almost at Hogsmeade. No doubt you'll warm yourself up with a nice Butterbeer before we leave."

Well, that was some good news. Hiccup had never had a Butterbeer before and had always looked forward to trying one. He just hadn't anticipated such a dire day to be the day he would do that.

"You two haven't had the chance to visit Hogsmeade, now, have you?" Gobber turned his attention onto Hiccup and Fishlegs, "Snotlout's been there before, haven't you?"

"Of course," said Snotlout.

"Ah, you could show 'em around!"

"That-" Hiccup cried just as a horrifying look began to spread across Snotlout's face, "Won't be necessary, sir. I've been there before with Father. I can show Fishlegs around before we meet up."

Gobber looked a little miffed that he'd been interrupted. "Oh. Fine, then," he said, "And get that dragon of yours awake, Fishlegs! What use is a sleeping dragon when you're trying to sniff out treasure? Honestly…" He walked on, mumbling.

Fishlegs sighed and looked down at Horrorcow, who was blissfully unaware of anything happening around her, curled up into a ball in her master's arms.

"She looks like a cow," Hiccup remarked as they followed through past the school limits, "No offence, I think it's cute."

"I think it's terribly inconvenient," grumbled Fishlegs, adjusting his hold on her for the eleventh time that day, "But thanks, I guess. I can see how that could be a compliment."

Hiccup looked up at the grey-blue sky. Every few minutes, the dark outline of a hunting dragon zoomed up above in directions to-and-from Hogwarts. "I should be thanking you. You didn't have to come with me."

"Yes, I did."

"You really didn't, but I appreciate it anyway," Hiccup swallowed, and his throat felt dry as concrete, "It's nice to know I'm not alone."

"Well," Fishlegs said, "You've got Snotlout's comforting presence anyway, don't you? I'm sure he'd be up to protecting his little cousin from Scullions any day."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "More like actively trying to put me in the way of a Scullion for homicidal reasons."

"I still think it's ridiculous," Fishleg's voice grew angry, "We're eleven years old, and sure, we're wizards, but all this stuff we have to do would be most definitely illegal if we were Muggles."

"But we're not."

"But we treat them like they're so beneath us," Fishlegs huffed, "Well, at least they think twice about putting untrained kids into the path of certain doom."

Hiccup hummed in agreement. "That's food for thought. Though, Father's going to be supervising us while we're on the island, and I read up on it. The island's actually more of a Scullion conservation site, now. Doesn't mean it's not still dangerous, but there'll be wards put up around the place for sure."

"But what if they're broken?"

"I doubt they would be. I mean, Scullions are a public hazard. Apparently we had to get a permit just to explore the island at all."

Fishlegs paused, and then let out a pained sigh. "Hiccup, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Hiccup went a little red. "I forgot."

"You forgot?"

"Sorry."

Fishlegs became resigned. "No, it's fine. I'm just…Of course there are wards. I'm stupid."

"Hey," Hiccup squeezed his hand earnestly, "It's fine. I thought the same thing, didn't I?"

A delicious smell wafted their way. Hiccup's immediately perked up. It was a sweet aroma, and warm. Inviting it felt now, but it was that kind of smell that would make you sick if there was too much of it. The accumulated scent of multiple food vendors. They had reached Hogsmeade.

Gobber fell back a couple of steps to reach them and nudged them forward. Hiccup winced a little, the man didn't know his own strength or chose to ignore it. "We're almost there. Hurry up, would you? Can't afford to lose you."

Hiccup noticed he hadn't said 'you two'. He frowned and opened his mouth to politely remind Gobber of Fishlegs's presence, but was interrupted by a loud guffaw.

"If it ain't Gobber the Belch! Made it, did you? Didn't think I'd see you here!" A well-built wizard of generous size with a broad smile and round cheeks strode towards them with his arms outstretched.

Gobber guffawed. "Old Baggybum! Haven't seen you in ages!"

"You should visit sometime!" Baggybum the Beerbelly slapped his son's shoulder in acknowledgement and brought Gobber in for a short hug. He made no sign of having noticed the other two boys. "I don't even think Ade's met you yet. Can't allow that!"

"We can't!"

Hiccup took the chance to break away from the group. Hogsmeade was bustling with wizards from the area going about their business: commuting with friends, hitting the pub, buying food and gifts. It was a lovely place, filled with relics from days long past.

He searched for a familiar face among the crowd. He saw one of his aunts here, an uncle there. Aunt Freya recognised his face and came towards them, little Adelaide clutching her hand. Freya was pale and spindly, with thin dark hair and large eyes. She stood out among the Hooligans like a sore thumb, or a toothpick. Adelaide had inherited her colour, and also, unfortunately, her nostrils.

"Hiccup," she smiled wearily, "Long time, no see." Her voice was faint and held a haunting ring to it. Together with her frail appearance, she reminded him of a ghost. But still, she was kind to him, and he was fond of her for it.

"Hello, Aunt Freya," he smiled, and crouched down just a fraction to look his four-year-old cousin in the eye, "And hi, Adelaide!"

Adelaide narrowed her eyes at him and wriggled her fingers in what he assumed was a wave.

"Say 'Hello, Hiccup," said Freya softly.

"Allo Iccub," Adelaide repeated while biting her thumb and not looking at him.

"Are you excited for the hunt?" asked Freya with a conversational tone, "Your uncle hasn't stopped talking about it."

"Um, yes," he bit his lip, "It's really huge."

"Such a big moment for your family!" she swatted Ade's hand from her mouth, "I'm just surprised it took this long!"

"We didn't really know where it was until now," Hiccup explained, "And Professor Ogglebert only discovered it by chance when he got his hand snapped off my Grimbeard's coffin."

Adelaide widened her eyes and Freya sent him a warning look. "How unfortunate for him."

"Yeah."

He stood there fumblingly as his aunt lifted Adelaide up into her arms with difficultly and stood there fussing over her for a second. Adelaide began to grow restless, wriggling in her mother's grasp and saying "Down, down!" and Freya glanced at him pointedly as if to say, "Children!"

Fishlegs must have left Gobber's company as well, and he approached them slowly. He eyed Adelaide and then shifted his gaze to Hiccup questioningly. Hiccup shrugged.

"And who's this young man?" Freya asked brightly, setting a disgruntled Adelaide down again and grabbing her hand to stop her from running off.

"Fishlegs, Nice to meet you," said Fishlegs quietly.

"Mum! Dad wants to introduce Ade to Gobber," Snotlout called over, "Can you bring her?"

"Can you bring her, 'Please', Snotlout!" Freya scolded, but she led Adelaide down to her husband and a growing get-together of old friends. Snotlout sauntered towards Hiccup and Fishlegs, eyes gleaming. Hiccup gulped. At least they had safety in numbers.

"You seriously bringing Fishface along, cousin?" he snorted, "Fat lot of good he's going to do. He's even more pathetic than you are!"

"No, he's not!" Hiccup snapped.

Snotlout's mace morphed into one of mock pity. "Oooh, I'm so sorry, Hiccup," he crooned, his pitch raised an octave, "How could I have forgotten! Friendship is the most sacred thing of all!"

Hiccup breathed in deep to stop himself from blowing up. He glanced at Fishlegs, whose face was reddening in rage. Finding his friend's hand, he squeezed it reassuringly which made him seem to calm down a smidge. The nerves returned, however, when he felt Toothless's weight in his jumper pocket suddenly shift. He stepped back in surprise, which was a mistake because Snotlout took it as a chance to push him roughly so that he fell onto the hard brick floor.

"I'll be finding that treasure, do you hear me?" he snarled, "You might have won those idiots' respect with that stunt you pulled last year, but this time I'll show them all what a failure you really are."

Hiccup could only wince as Snotlout glowered at him, then stalked off in the direction of his parents and Gobber. Fishlegs offered to pull him back up and he accepted his hand gladly.

"Stupid old prick," Fishlegs spat at Snotlout's retreating back.

Hiccup eventually learned that the official meeting place was meant to have been at The Three Broomsticks. Indeed, as his uncle led them there, he could make out many more familiar faces surrounding the area. Gobber left at the door, regretfully shaking hands and butting heads with his old friends who made him promise to visit them that Summer.

Inside had been mostly cleared of non-Haddocks. A couple of hunting dragons brawled in the corner – one of them a huge, gnarled Gronkle and the other a ferocious but tiny Puggle, one of his Aunt Gladioli's 'little darlings' (presumably Tinkle). He found his father very quickly, and the elated old man laughed and patted him on the back and bought both of the boys large Butterbeers. Soon Hiccup found himself and Fishlegs a window seat as far away from most of the relatives as possible and sat down to sip their drinks. They would have been heavenly had it not been for the pit of pure dread in his stomach.

Some would describe it as that feeling of home. Hiccup's right arm curled around his left. But it wasn't exactly his home. Home was his house in Berk, with its old-fashioned wood fire and too-cold winters. The valley across the stream that belonged to no one, and so belonged to everyone. Dizzyingly high clifftops that elevated him to the clouds. A wind that felt like it was out to get him, pushing so hard he was sure he'd fall off if he got too close to the edge, down into the crashing waves that were deep in more ways than one, it seemed. Butterbeer smelled like none of those things. It smelled like home in the sense that it made you feel safe and comfortable. It was the temporary feeling of belonging, of gathering yourself together and feel not-so-broken for a moment. It was nice, but it wasn't home to him. Not really.

He glanced out the window, hoping for some solace. Instead, his view was soured by the figures of his extended family, rearing their hunting dragons and reminding him once again of why he was here. Great. Now he was homesick as well as the three-thousand other negative emotions he was feeling. So much for a 'good year', he thought cynically.

There was a sudden hush, alerting both the boys. Hiccup looked up towards the bar and sighed. His father's arm was looped around a smiling Alvin Ogglebert, who cleared his throat delicately as all eyes fell upon him.

"Hello and welcome, dear Haddock family! How wonderful it is to see you all here looking so eager! It is truly more than I could have hoped, truly!"

This earned grunts of approval from the crowd.

Stoick began to explain their plan. "We got the permission sorted out weeks ago and everything else is sorted. The Scullions aren't able to lay a finger on us 'cause of the wards and my friend Alvin here has set us up a Portkey which we'll be heading over to in about ten minutes! Finish yer drinks, ready your dragons and prepare yourselves! Remember, we're making history today!"

A triumphant roar rose up among the crowd.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Hiccup mumbled.

"You and me both," agreed Fishlegs.

Chapter Text

Hey, everyone. I'm not entirely sure if everyone reads the author's notes and since this is a unique 'chapter', I'm going to put this here. 

I've been working on 'How to be a Wizard' since 2018, and although I'm very proud of how my writing has progressed, there are still parts of it that are less than good. A part of me wants to continue with this, just so I can say that I've finally gotten around to finishing a multi-chapter fanfiction, but I know that I can't keep going with this fanfiction.

What are the reasons? Well, I still love the Hiccup series as much as ever (and I want to continue writing for it!) but I haven't reread the books in a while and I don't have time to in the near future, so I don't want to veer off too far from canon characterisations, important plot points, etc. Secondly, I noticed there was a sheer number of plot holes as I was writing this, plot holes that I really don't have the time to fix but I don't want to stretch open wider, either. 

Finally - and this is probably my biggest reason for dropping this fanfiction - I no longer want to associate with Harry Potter. I've tried to separate the art from the artist in the past but recently, the author has gone way too far for me to continue supporting her series. I have become much more aware of the horrible things in those books, and I find no joy in them any more. Harry Potter was a big part of my childhood, but now it's time to let it go. 

However, I am aware that there are a lot of you who like this fic and I don't want to disappoint you with a cliffhanger. I have written the first part of Chapter 14 as well as snippets from later chapters and I shall post those below in an...organised mess. 

***

Chapter 14: A Revelation 

With each step, Hiccup’s sense of dread grew deeper. He couldn’t think why. Everyone around him seemed perfectly calm, excited even in that very Haddock way. Even Fishlegs looked calmer now that he knew about the wards around the Scullions. He shuffled a little closer to him, patting the bump on his chest where Toothless slept in his pocket. His father was flanked by Professor Ogglebert and Baggybum, his uncle. Ogglebert was waving his hands about, occasionally pointing in the direction they needed to go.

They had left the densely populated part of the village when he announced that they had reached their destination.

“Now just give me a moment,” he said, stepping ahead of the group and looking about him, “I’ve got to find it.”

“The Portkey?” Stoick asked.

“Correct, dear friend.”

Dear friend?

After some shuffling about, in which some of the group grew noticeably restless, Ogglebert let out a cry of triumph.

“Here it is! So irresponsible of me to have forgotten where it was.”

“Tell me about it,” Fishlegs muttered so that only Hiccup could hear.

Stoick turned around to face them and yelled loudly, “Now listen here, you lot!” He sounded an awful lot like Gobber. They had grown up together. “This Portkey is too small for everyone to use it at once, so we’ll be doing this smartly, you hear? Ten of us will go through the Portkey each time and I’ll come back to let the other ten through. Got it?”

There were several yells of affirmation, and people began to sort themselves into groups of ten. Stoick ushered Snotlout, Hiccup and Fishlegs to him and surrounded the Portkey with Ogglebert, Baggybum and two of Hiccup’s aunts; Egginbreeza and Burly Sweet. The Portkey appeared to be a small wooden bowl their professor had laid on the ground. Hiccup decided not to point out that it was just eight of them.

He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. The island was dull and sandy, void of any plant life and surrounded by a vast expanse of sea. Hiccup could make out the faint outlines of mountains in the far east, but that was the only part of the mainland visible from where they were. He wished then that he had packed better shoes. The boots he had on felt uncomfortable in the wet sand, ugly squelches following his every step. Toothless sat alert on his shoulder with his wings tucked, sniffing hard at something in the air.

Professor Ogglebert approached him as his father disappeared in a flash to get the second group of people. As the man drew near, Toothless hissed loudly and made him spring back with distaste colouring his features. Still, his voice was pleasant when he greeted him.

“Are you excited for the trip?” he asked Hiccup, who pressed his lips together in what he hoped was a smile in response. He shifted uncomfortably as Toothless clawed his way down his back and to his jacket pocket once more, where he poked his head out from and peered suspiciously at the man.

“Um, yeah,” Hiccup replied. He shared a look with Fishlegs, and both of them seemed to agree that they were the furthest from excited.

Aunt Egginbreeza gave a yell then as Aunt Burly Sweet, whom she’d been arguing with, punched her in the arm. They got into a scuffle before his father returned with the next group of people; the rest of his Aunts (excluding Aunt Freya who had just been there for moral support) and their plus-ones.

As more and more people began to stream in, Hiccup drifted towards the edges of the wards. He squinted, evaluating every sharp stone and dark shape in the visible distance. None of them looked like it could be a Scullion. Perhaps they were all hiding? The noise around him grew and he heard Snotlout brag about Fireworm’s sense of smell behind him. He looked back and saw that the large red dragon in question was perched smugly on her master’s shoulder, flexing her muscles as if to say ‘Really, it’s nothing at all.’

“When do you think it’ll start?” Fishlegs asked him, holding Horrorcow in his arms like a parent would a baby, “This suspense is killing me. I want to get this over and done with. If we die, I’d rather we do it quickly, you know?”

Hiccup knew Fishlegs was joking. Or at least, he thought he did. “Any moment now, I guess,”

“Head count!” came Stoick’s thunderous voice from the front of the group. The two of them stood to the outskirts of the larger crowd as Stoick flitted from one member to the other, counting heads. Professor Ogglebert followed quietly.

“Looks like everyone’s here!” he grunted, ending the count by poking Fishleg’s head, “Alvin, better start now!”

“Of course, of course,” their teacher smiled at Fishlegs, who drew back, before turning to Stoick, “Would you call their attention, my good sir? I’ve a map of Scullion sites given by the conservationists. We should start where we are now and spread across, and if we disturb the beasts at all the wards around them should keep them at bay.”

The search began without much fanfare. They were simply told to explore and let their dragons make their path for them, and to stay in open spaces. Fireworm lifted off Snotlout’s shoulder and flew Westwards as soon as the order was given, and Snotlout followed proudly at a jogging pace, a shovel handed out by Aunt Burly Sweet slung over his shoulder. Hiccup and Fishlegs were two of the last to leave, because Horrorcow was still slumbering and Hiccup had to bargain with Toothless to get him to even leave his coat. The green dragon flapped off lazily, sniffing and zipping from one side to the other. Hiccup highly suspected that finding treasure was his very least priority.

It was a small island, so occasionally they crossed paths with one of his aunts, and Stoick too on one occasion, clapping his great hands to get his Gronkle and Monstrous Nightmare to move faster. Toothless was like an insect compared to the two gnarled beasts.

Time moved slowly and the tide drew out, and they had nearly given up when Toothless let out a cry of triumph, descending to a patch of sand and pawing at it. Hiccup stuck in his shovel and began to dig as Fishlegs watched. Horrorcow was awake now and blinked at them tiredly from her master’s shoulder.

“What if no one finds the treasure?” Fishlegs asked, “I mean, what with the wards up, we can’t really search all of the island. He must have hidden it in a Scullion-infested spot, if it still hasn’t been found.”

“Well, no one’s really tried to find it until now, and Alvin only just found the map that said it was here at all,” Hiccup countered, wiping sweat from his brow, “But you’re right. It could be anywhere. How much further do I have to dig? My arms are killing me.”

A sharp clang answered his question. He stopped and scraped the sand away from the find. He almost felt excited, and it was outlandish, but he couldn’t help it. The chances were far too slim, but they weren’t zero. What if-

“Oh! Look at that!” Fishlegs peered into the hole, glasses almost slipping off his face, “That’s massive, that is!”

Hiccup stared glumly, a sour feeling simmering in his stomach. It was no chest, no gold. Just a giant, empty, limpet shell. Larger even than Horrorcow and deteriorated at the edges, white marks indicating a long life at sea before being swept up to the shore and stuck on land. He kicked the sand angrily, and it collapsed back into the hole he had dug.

“What’s the use?” he said bitterly, “As if I’m ever going to find that treasure. As if anything I do could make me a true Hooligan. I don’t know why I hoped in the first place.”

“Well…” Fishlegs looked worried and awkward at his little outburst and didn’t finish his sentence. Hiccup softened.

“Sorry.”

“Look on the bright side. You might have found a whole new species,”

Hiccup snorted. “That’s useful.”

“You’re being sarcastic? Strange. That’s usually my thing.”

Hiccup’s response was interrupted by a yell that rose up from up ahead. Shortly after, it was followed by a beam of green light. He and Fishlegs shared a look, and he heaved up his shovel to make his way towards the direction from which the light had come. Toothless followed in the air for a short distance before feigning tiredness and snuggling back into Hiccup’s jacket.

The treasure had been found, but by whom?

Please don’t be Snotlout, Hiccup pleaded, and the thought repeated itself the entire way.

Of course it was Snotlout.

He stood leaning on his shovel with his chest puffed out as everyone approached the surprisingly empty space on the island upon which an ornate, sand-covered treasure chest carrying centuries-old designs lay closed. Fireworm sat on it, catlike, licking her arms clean.

“I’d say I’m surprised,” Snotlout bragged to his father when Baggybum whooped in delight and clapped him on the back, “But I know myself and Fireworm well enough to know there’s no point doubting myself.”

Stoick had envy pooling in his eyes, but his voice was jolly when he patted Hiccup on the shoulder and told him “Bad luck.”

Hiccup knew what disappointment sounded like, and that was it. Stoick had been expecting him to find their family’s birthright and he had failed. His shoulders drooped and his mood worsened, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. He was just…depressed.

Baggybum opened the chest, stepping back to reveal to the whole group the sheer multitude of coins and jewelled goblets and treasures. An image straight out of the muggle movies he was occasionally allowed to watch.

“And it’s all ours, Snotlout!” He and his son embraced, and Stoick tensed up immediately.

“What on Earth is that supposed to mean?” he snapped, stomping towards them. Snotlout rolled his eyes, but Baggybum scowled at his brother. “That treasure is for all of us. And as the head of this family, I should get the larger share!”

“Are you out of your damned mind?” Baggybum shouted.

“Hey,” Fishlegs nudged him. Hiccup turned, expecting pity, but found only suspicion blooming on his face. “Hey, do you smell something?”

He sniffed the air. Sure enough, a stink was wafting through the air. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, but it was far too strong to be someone’s fart. Alarmed, he whirled back to the arguing Haddock brothers, and most importantly the open chest. The smell was growing stronger and a couple of other family members were pinching their noses, but Stoick and Baggybum were oblivious to all but the re-emergence of their sibling rivalry.

“My son found it. It belongs to us! Who decided you were the head just because you’re older, anyway?”

“Our father’s WILL, you bloody nitwit!”

“Father!” Hiccup interjected worriedly, his mind and body suddenly alert.

“Not now, Hiccup.” Stoick swiped at the chest and sparked a full brawl between the two brothers. A couple of their aunts dove to break it up. Snotlout was still smugly leaning on the chest, indifferent to the fight between his father and uncle, but his head snapped up like everybody else’s when a deep rumble reverberated through the island. As horned heads of deep black appeared over the dunes, everyone began to run. Fishlegs released a shrill scream that awoke Horrorcow, who flew from his grasp off into the sky. Hiccup could only stare, stunned.

The Scullions couldn’t possibly get them. There were wards.

As Hiccup found out very soon, he had been wrong about that.

“To the Portkey, to the Portkey!” yelled Aunt Egginbreeza, waving her enormous arms in the correct direction. The few people who could Apparate did so, presumably appearing near the Portkey.

Hiccup ran as fast as his aching legs could carry him, whipping up clouds of dust and sand behind him. They nipped at his bare calves, but he couldn’t afford to pay them any attention. Fishlegs sprinted alongside him, and Toothless zipped along at their pace.

When at last they reached the Portkey, Hiccup almost dove for it, but was held back by the inkling that something else was very, very wrong. The Portkey was right there. It was right there and no one was going near it, looking back and forth with panicked, confused faces. But why?

He weaved through the arms of his family members, heart dropping immediately when he reached the front of the crowd.

Yes, the Portkey was right there. Right there surrounded by the protective stances of extremely muscular wizards with an array of weapons and potions sticking out of their belts. These were not Haddocks. Judging by the enormous blue skull and crossbones on their arms, these were Outcasts.

But why were they here? And how did they know to be here? Why were they trying to prevent them from leaving?

Oh. The wards hadn’t malfunctioned. Someone had disabled them.

“Bravo, Bravo!” There was a slow clapping from inside the huddle of Outcasts.

His heart sank further.

The burly men parted to make way for Alvin Ogglebert. The professor was wholly unaffected by the fierce winds of the island, moustache and raven hair as well-coiffed as ever. His robes billowed behind him, and in that moment he exuded pure power and malice.

Outcasts only answered to one person: their boss.

“Very sorry for the inconvenience,” Alvin says to them, voice dripping with fake regret. He brightens up then with a sharp grin. “Not! Oh, how gullible you all are!” He clasped his hands together, surveying them like they were merely cattle. Toothless’ claws dug into Hiccup’s shoulder, but he didn’t register the pain.

Stoick was the first one to get over his speechlessness. “Ogglebert, what is the meaning of this?” he yelled.

The man in question rolled his eyes. “Do I really have to explain that to you? Well, hm, I do like monologues. Isn’t that right, gentlemen?”

A couple of grunts from the nearest henchmen.

“Let us go this instant!” thundered Stoick, stepping forward with a clenched fist, “Before the Scullions kill us all!”

“Oh, no, no, they can’t get to us in here. I put up another ward to replace the ones I, er, disabled,” he smiled apologetically, “Sorry about that. Again, not really. I thought it the best method of herding you all here.

“But, Oh!” Alvin strode forward with his arms outstretched, “I still need to give that monologue, don’t I? You must all be so terribly confused. All right. I’ve been bending the truth a little during my time at Hogwarts. Let me introduce myself again: My name is Alvin the Treacherous, chief of the Outcasts and aspiring world conqueror. Pleased to really meet you.”

Hiccup risked a glance at the shore. There were several boats bobbing in the near water, the Outcast symbol blazing from their sails.

“I believe that, as your motivator for this trip, I’m entitled to a share of the treasure. Don’t you?”

Summary for rest of Chapter 14: Alvin puts up a ward around them so he can continue with his dramatic monologue and reveals the truth about him being the leader of the Outcasts There is a huge fight, in which the ward goes down and the Scullions reach them, so the group quickly scrambles to the Portkey and leaves after taking a few said Scullions down. However, Alvin doesn’t go with them all, instead heading towards the water to his waiting ship where he’s followed by Fishlegs. Hiccup follows, not wanting Fishlegs to die.

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Chapter summaries for following chapters

Chapter 15: They board the ship just as the Scullions reach them, and one Scullion actually follows onto the ship before Alvin manages to manoeuvre it into the water and they fight it. It tears the hull and the ship quickly sinks. The Scullion flies off but the three humans are stuck in an airtight compartment. Hiccup casts a bubble spell to keep them breathing for some time and reluctantly puts it on Alvin as well, and then asks Toothless to go down and see if there’s any way they can find air because his spell is failing.

Chapter 16: Toothless finds the cavern opening and brings them to it. They find the treasure. Alvin tries to kill Hiccup using one of the swords, as his wand got lost while he was in the water. Fishlegs attempts to help him, but Alvin slams the blunt side of his sword into his and dizzies him out. Enraged, Hiccup tries to blind him using Lumos, but fails as Alvin knocks the wand out of his right arm, cutting his hand and breaking the wand. Hiccup, desperate to save himself, yells for Toothless to bring him his own sword and Toothless does so. He’s amazed to find that he can deflect Alvin’s blows quite easily. Fishlegs wakes up, dazed during this ordeal and exclaims that Hiccup is left-handed. 

Chapter 17: They continue to fight. They stir the creature. The rest is the same as in the book. 

Chapter 18: They find the letter from Grimbeard the Ghastly and leave it down there. They return to the surface where they find out that Stoick got Aurors out there looking for Hiccup and Fishlegs, with orders to stun Alvin on sight. Hiccup informs Stoick that Alvin is unfortunately already dead, as he got eaten by the creature.

Chapter 19: Hiccup and Fishlegs return to Hogwarts, where they are clamoured by friends and acquaintances asking if they are doing all right. Snotlout is extremely jealous. They leave Hogwarts for the holidays and Hiccup and Fishlegs farewell one another. 

Chapter 20: Epilogue where Alvin comes out gasping from the creature’s stomach. He declares revenge on Hiccup.

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Excerpt from Chapter 16: The fight between Hiccup and Alvin (unedited)