Chapter Text
Darkness.
It was the first thing he remembered. It was dark and it was cold.
And he was so, so scared.
Jack woke up with a start. His heaving breaths was fogging because of the cold air. He had frozen his room again, the House-Elves would have so much fun cleaning it. And he was pretty sure he wasn’t being sarcastic.
He dropped his head to the pillow and made a strangled frustrated noise as he grabbed his hair. He was twelve now, how long he would still be afraid? Tooth would’ve probably patted him on the head, telling him that it was okay. Bunny would scoff at him, telling him to man up. Pitch always looked at him with that ‘look’, as if the man was trying to decipher a puzzle. Uncle Sandy would smile a knowing smile, which comforted him; the man never said anything and that was a welcome relief.
And North, his dad, when he found out he froze the room again he would probably give a jolly laugh, invite him down for breakfast and Jack would forget. He liked forgetting, because every time he remembered... “I’m not scared.” Jack mumbled to himself, “I’m not.”
He was twelve now.
He won’t be scared anymore.
“Morning Jack!” Tooth greeted him chipperly. Jack grinned back at her. Toothiana was of Veela’s descent with a bit of Occamy’s blood in her (don’t ask how, nobody really wanted to talk about it). She used to go to Hogwarts for almost three years, but when she lost all her baby teeth, she started to sprout feathers and wings. The Ministry, being their usual dick selves, kicked her out of school. Thankfully some of the Professors sympathized with her plight, and gave her lots of materials for self-study.
She came to North when she was only fifteen. She had heard about the powerful wizard who did not tolerate prejudice, who was rumored to have given works to half-breeds and werewolves. Jack didn’t know the rest of the story, it all happened before he was adopted. “Morning Tooth!” Jack slid down the fireman’s pole, something North made for him near his room so he could get downstairs easily. Also, stairs were overrated anyway. He landed gracefully with his staff still in hand. The House-Elves who were milling around stopped whatever they were doing to gave a hearty applause as Jack bowed. “Thank you, thank you.” He then turned to Jingle. “What’s for breakfast?”
Before coming to Hogwarts, Jack didn’t know that the way they treated their House-Elves were different than the other wizards. He knew that you couldn’t give new clothes for them unless you wanted to fire them, so North always gave them wool and knitting materials instead so they could make their own. Apparently, with the others, they just gave the elves one rag that they have to wear forever. That couldn’t be hygienic.
“Flapjacks sir Jack!” Jingle answered before rolling on the floor, laughing. Jack rolled his eyes at the pun. Oh, and another thing, other House-Elves were so afraid of offending their masters, while Jingle and the others made trouble and silly puns wherever they went. Maybe that was why they were here. They didn’t fit in too.
Jack walked together with Toothiana to the dining room (more like FEASTING room) and chattered along the way. “Tomorrow is the first day of September! Are you excited?” Tooth smiled at the beam on his face.
“Yes!” Oh Merlin, he missed Hiccup and Rapunzel, and Merida, and being troublemakers together. They sent letters to each other of course, but Hiccup stopped writing after a while, and it got him worried. The last letter he got from the Hufflepuff wasn’t exactly comforting either.
It was dark, and it was cold.
And he was scared.
“Jack!” A booming voice greeted him, snapping him from his darker thoughts. “You like some flapjacks?”
Jack grinned, “Sure Dad!”
And he forgot.
The train station was still barren of people when they arrived. Jack woke up North in an ungodly hour to get him there early. When the Russian man kept falling asleep while eating their impromptu breakfast, Jack would send ice chills on his toes to keep him up. North cussed in his mother language with every surprised yelp. It usually meant the start of a prank war but Jack was too excited to meet his friends that he didn’t mind when his hair started to glow like a christmas tree.
“Where are they?” Jack scanned the station, searching for any sign of The Study Group.
“Maybe they haven’t arrived, yes?” North looked amused. He never seen the boy this worked up before.
“But they promiiiiiiiiised.” Jack whined. “We were supposed to get here before anybody else took the good seats!”
North chuckled heartily, ruffling his son’s still glowing hair. “Be patient, Jack. Not everyone has enchanted sleigh!”
Jack leered at his dad, “I still don’t believe you when you say you are not Santa.” North laughed even louder.
“Jaaaack!”
Jack’s face brightened when he saw one of his friends, “Punzie!” The boy ran up to her and gave a friendly hug, which she returned with a laugh.
“How have you been? Your hair is so festive!” Rapunzel commented about his enchanted hair. They laughed some more, enjoying their reunion.
“Goldie! Don’t suddenly run away like that!” A boy, no older than fifteen, with broad shoulder and dark hair, hurriedly approached them. Jack recognized him as Eugene immediately. Rapunzel talked about him a lot. “You know, by the time you were eleven I thought I would get used to you running off, but nooooo.”
The girl rolled her eyes, “I’m fiiiiine.” She said, mimicking his word.
“And who is this?” Eugene stared down at Jack who was a lot shorter than him.
“Oh! This is Jack! Jack, this is Eugene!” Rapunzel introduced them to each other.
Eugene looked surprised, “I thought he had white hair?”
“Prank wars with dad.” Jack piped in. “Nice to finally meet you. Punzie here talked about you alot. I think she has a crush on you.”
“Jack!” The Ravenclaw blushed, “That’s not true!”
“What? So I’m not good enough for you?” The older teen looked dejected, which made Rapunzel felt guilty.
“No! That’s not what I meant! It’s just I’m too young to think about marriage and--.” She stopped babbling when she heard snickers. “That wasn’t funny you two.” She huffed.
“Merlin! No one even said anything about marriage!” Jack guffawed.
“You should have seen your face!” Eugene gave Jack a hi-five while laughing uncontrollably.
“So glad that you two clicked.” Rapunzel muttered sardonically.
“Oh no, those two met already?”
“Merida!” Rapunzel cheered up immediately, jumping to give a hug. “I missed you!”
“Hehe, I missed you too.” The girls gave a warm embrace before letting go.
“What, no hug for me?” Jack spreaded his arms.
“Let me think about--no.” Merida deadpanned but the laughter in her eyes ruined the effect. “Yeow!” She yelped in surprise and disgust when Eugene put a drool coated finger in her ear. “Didjoo jus’ wet willy meh?!” She exclaimed covering the abused ear.
“Uuuh, I did gave you a fair warning in the letter.” The dark haired teen put on his innocent face. “After all, Blondie got lost in the forest because of you.”
“But you wrote a death threat!” Merida complained.
Jack turned around in confusion, “You’d rather be dead?”
“Shut up Jack.” the redhead grumbled.
Eugene looked at Jack appreciatively, “Huh, I like this guy.”
Merida groaned, “Oh no...”
“Well Eugene, I think this is a start of a beautiful friendship.” Jack sang-song the last two words. Merida groaned even longer. “Speaking of beautiful friendship...” The Slytherin looked around the station, “Hiccup still not here.”
“I hope he’s okay.” Rapunzel was worried, “I still haven’t received his reply letter...” The Study Group went quiet. It was true, Hiccup didn’t talk a lot in his messages, and tend to only answer with short, clipped words as if he was holding something back.
Eugene could feel the anxiety in the air and decided to cheer them, “Hey! Relax! He might be trapped in a traffic or something! You know, muggle streets and all?” The students tried to smile.
“Yeah, that must be it.” Jack said softly, his voice still laced with worry.
Rapunzel quickly changed the subject, “Did you come alone Jack?”
“Huh? No, I came with my dad. The old coot is probably flirting with some lady right now.” It wouldn’t be the first time North did that, although, sometimes he would ask for Jack’s help to charm the ‘beautiful flowers’. Women likes men with kids, he’d say. “What about you Red? Did you ditch your mother?”
“Ssshh! You’ll jinx it!” Merida eyed her surrounding warily as if afraid her mother would suddenly jump out (gracefully) from the shadows. “She didn’t approve of my new hobby...” She looked mournfully at her bow.
“Jack! Look who I found!” A voice boomed, gaining their attention.
“North! You bumbling old fool! Put me down this instance!”
“Sir... I can walk by my own, really.” Another voice nervously piped in.
There he was, Jack’s father, Nicholas North Frost, with two extra baggages on his arms.
“I am a Professor! The students can’t see me like this!” Pitch hissed as he struggled to break free.
“Hah! Is just Jack and friends!” North said in his booming voice.
The Professor’s body tensed and he turned his head slowly to see behind him. “No...” He mouthed soullessly. The three students plus Eugene were not only awestruck by North’s strength, but also with the ridiculousness of the situation.
“Did anyone bring a camera?” Jack whispered as if afraid speaking too loudly would break the trance. Eugene handed him one without tearing his gaze from North and with mouth still hung open. Jack snapped a picture and sighed in content as he saw the result.
Pitch thrashed even more and North rolled his eyes as if he was handling a childish, tantrum throwing boy. He put down the pale man gently and patted his head. Pitch slapped his hand away in irritation and glared at Jack, his finger pointing threateningly. “Boy, don’t you dare.”
“Don’t worry, this is going to my private collection.” Which actually meant Jack’s collection of blackmail materials, but no one needed to know that.
Pitch snarled and North held him back from advancing forward. “Now, now! Jack wouldn’t share it with anyone else, wouldn’t you Jack?”
“Of course!” Jack gasped, looking very abashed by the idea.
“That’s a load of--.”
“Yeah, not wanting to ruin the moment here, but my back is starting to hurt so can you put me down please?” Everyone turned their attention to the poor boy North was still carrying.
Jack couldn’t believe he didn’t recognize him sooner (Although, in his defense, he only had a picture to cherish). “Hiccup!” He rushed to the boy who had just landed on the floor, arching his aching back. He hugged his friend who immediately yelped at the contact. Jack let go, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”
“No, it’s fine.” Hiccup smiled, still rubbing his sore spot. The girls patted him instead of giving a hug because they were afraid of making his back felt worse.
Jack turned his father, his eyes were sparkling. “Dad! Where did you find him?”
“He was struggling with his luggage, so I helped him!” North answered, “Is okay to ask for help, Hiccup.”
The Hufflepuff looked down, his face was red in embarrassment. “Thank you Mr. Frost.”
North gave a jolly ‘ho ho ho’ laugh, “Just North is fine!”
Hiccup whispered to Jack, “Is your dad The Santa Clause?”
“He denies it.” Jack whispered back. A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and he tensed. It was Pitch.
“The picture.” he said in a clipped tone.
“Pitch! You have to go to to the teacher’s compartment, yes? Here, let me take you!” North picked up his friend again on his shoulder. The pale professor could only struggled helplessly as he was being whisked away. Before leaving, North gave a wink to the children and then hummed some Christmas song as if to drown out Pitch’s protests.
Still awestruck by the fact that The Greatest Head Auror Ever was being carried like a child with ease, Merida confessed. “Jack, your dad is my new hero.”
They got into the train together after saying goodbye to Eugene. The older teen made them promise to write to him, and that was how Jack and Hiccup got a new pen pal. “Oh, your hair is turning back to white.” Rapunzel commented. They finally found their compartment, Jack was really picky and wanted to sit where the candy trolley would visit first.
“What a shame, you looked good with glowing hair.” Merida snorted.
“Why, thank you Sunshine. I never thought you care.” Jack put both of his hand on his face as if he was embarrassed and fluttered his eyes. Rapunzel couldn’t help but to laugh.
Slowly, the train was beginning to be filled by the other students. They talked about pretty much everything while waiting for the train to start its engine. Hiccup kept quiet the whole time and only talked when being addressed. Jack didn’t like it, at all. “You know that if there’s anything bothering you, we can help right?”
“I know.” Hiccup answered, but his heart was not in it.
Jack frowned, “Hiccup, seriously, what’s wrong?”
“S’nothing, really. You worry too much.” Hiccup grinned. Everyone in the compartment knew that it was strained. Rapunzel gave Jack and Merida a look, as if saying to leave him alone until he was ready to talk.
“Alright.” Jack backed down. Something happened with Hiccup. He wished that he could help his friend, but how could he do that if he didn’t know what the problem was? Jack leaned on his seat when the train started to move. Eventually, he drifted to sleep.
It was dark and it was cold.
The same pattern that kept on repeating like a broken record. The same pattern that would swallow him whole and left him awake with ice covering his room and the memory of fear. But this time, something was different.
“You promised me your everything!” It was a woman’s voice. Jack turned his head away from the darkness and saw the cold behind him. There was a woman, her robes were tattered and bloodied, her long sandy locks were covering her face. In front of her was a man, holding two handed swords and pointing them at the woman.
North. The man was his father. Sure he looked younger and his hair wasn’t white like he was now, but Jack would recognized him anywhere. What was happening? Why would North used swords?
“It was a mistake.” His voice dripped like a poison, “I shouldn’t have let you.”
“Why? Why did you betray me?! You promised me you would help change the world!”
Instead of an answer, all North gave her was a slash. Jack felt a wave of nausea attacked him as her blood sprayed and her body went limp to the ground. North didn’t even look back at her as he cleaned the blood from his sword, as he walked away.
“Jack...”
Someone was calling him.
“I’m sorry Jack...”
Someone was apologizing to him.
“He betrayed me... but I won’t let him betray you.”
Jack woke up when something warm touched his forehead. For a moment he felt disoriented because a) he was no longer on the train and b) he was lying down. The nurse withdrew her hand and gave Jack a relieved smile. She then moved back to give the boy some air while Jack took in his surroundings. He was in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
The boy groaned as he tried to sit up. “What happened?”
“Now, now, you can’t sit up yet.” The nurse gently pushed him back onto his pillow. “We still don’t really know what happened to you.” She pursed her lips together. “Is this the first time this happened?”
“Did I freeze the train?” Jack ignored the question. He was more afraid of what he might have done rather than what might happened to him.
“No? I don’t think so?” The young woman looked confused and worried. “Do you have a condition that I should know?”
Jack flinched at the word ‘condition’ and shifted to avoid her eyes, “No, not really.”
“Mr. Frost, it’s okay, no one will judge you for something out of your control.” She said gently. “And I need to know if something is wrong with you before I can release you.”
“I’m fine...” He mumbled.
“No you are not. You didn’t respond at all when we tried to wake you up. And I think your friends will feel more at ease if you tell us what’s wrong.”
Jack scowled at her. It was obvious that she wouldn’t let him go without being a nag about it. What should he say? What could he say? It wasn’t like he was going to announce to the world that he had a dream of his father being a cold blooded killer! Beside, it was just a dream. The nurse seemed to get impatient by his silence and sighed deeply. “Fine, I already checked your health and it seems that nothing is wrong at the moment. You are free to go.” Jack almost cheered. “But! If something like this happens again, I doubt you will ever get out of Hospital Wing without explaining some things.”
“Did you just threaten me?” The Slytherin looked amused.
“Don’t be silly.” She said as she ushered him out of the room. “Stay healt--.” She paused. Jack followed her stare and saw what she was looking at.
“Guys?” The other three from The Study Group were soundly asleep in front of The Hospital Wing’s door, huddled together and was covered in a thick blanket.
The nurse was irritated. Last night, those three kept sneaking inside (she still didn’t know how they could do that) and refused to leave the room without knowing what was happening with their friend. After a quiet argument (in fear of disturbing Mr. Frost) and a threat of calling Professor Black, they finally agreed to leave. But of course they didn’t get back to their own dorm. She would dread it if they ended up with a fever or a flu because of the cold.
Rapunzel’s eyes fluttered open as she woke up. Yawning and stretching her arms in a ladylike manner. She scratched her hair, still not fully awake. Jack grinned, “Morning Princess.” Rapunzel blinked and turned her head around, searching for the source of the voice. “I’m here!” He chuckled, apparently, Rapunzel was not a morning person. Or it might be because she was spending her night sleeping on a hallway.
The Ravenclaw tilted her head again and narrowed her eyes as if trying to make sense what she was seeing. Finally, her eyes widened in recognition and she was fully awake. “Jack!” She jumped from her sitting position, which was between Hiccup and Merida. That left the two waking up in surprise and hitting each others’ head. “You are okay!”
“Yep!” Jack smiled widely. Were they waiting for him?
“Ouch...” Hiccup groaned and Merida was rubbing her sore head beside him. The Hufflepuff soon forgot his hurting spot when he saw his friend was okay. “Hey Jack.” He waved lazily.
“Blimey... Hiccup, how hard is your head?” The archer complained.
“Pot calling the kettle black.” Hiccup snorted. Merida grinned and punched his shoulder playfully. They both shrugged off the blanket, standing up and stretching their sore body. Sleeping on a hard floor wasn’t comfortable at all. “Where did we get this blanket?”
“I thought you transfigured it?” Merida was confused.
“From what?”
Rapunzel rolled her eyes, “Guys! Jack is awake now and you are wondering about a blanket?” Jack felt flattered by the fact that the three was waiting for him and even slept outside their dorm just to make sure he was okay. Not that he was going to tell them that. They might get the wrong impression.
The nurse, while she looked amused by their interaction, was still going to give them a stern lecture. “Children, I thought I told you to go back to your dorm?”
“Yeah, it’s a little too late for that now.” Hiccup shrugged. “I think it’s already time for breakfast?”
Jack was surprised, “How long was I out?”
“We are not sure? You just kind of fell asleep in the train and didn’t wake up at all until now...” Rapunzel bit her lower lip, “But you are okay now, right?”
The staff wielder gave his best smile. “Of course! She even said I am free to go!” He pointed to the nurse with his thumb.
“She has a name, you know.” The nurse grumbled, “My name is Lillia Maxim, remember that.” Her expression softened as she patted his head affectionately. “Now go get your breakfast, you can’t function without having a hearty meal!”
Jack snorted. That sounded like something North would say. “Good idea, I’m starving.” Merida patted her stomach to emphasize.
“When are you not?” Jack snarked at her.
“Watch it Frost.” The redhead pointed her finger threateningly, although everyone in the vicinity could see that it wasn’t serious.
“Whatever you pig.” Jack cackled as Merida chased him all the way to the Great Hall. Hiccup and Rapunzel just sighed and shook their heads, following their friends at a reasonable pace.
They arrived in the middle of breakfast, where everyone was already eating the main course. They chose their usual spot at the Hufflepuff table and while the second years moved willingly a few first years stared at the group with some confusion. “Um... Can they do that?” A first year girl whispered to Hannah.
“Apparently” Hannah muttered taking a sip of her pumpkin juice before giving Hiccup a warm smile. “Welcome back Hiccup, did you have a good summer?”
Hiccup twitched slightly before piling his plate with Flapjacks and sausages. “It was ok” He shrugged, “The usual.”
Feeling a bit awkward by Hiccup’s short answer Hannah simply nodded before turning back to the first year explaining the ins and outs of Hogwarts.
“How do you like that, how come she didn’t ask me about my summer?” Jack frowned piling his plate high with waffles and drenching them with syrup. Another Hufflepuff looked on in disgust.
“She just wants to get on our Lord’s good side.” Merida pointed out before pointing her fork at Jack’s plate. “And you called me a pig.”
“I haven’t eaten in 24 hours” Jack said before motioning to her plate with about three different styles of pork product, ham, sausage and bacon, all piled up. “What’s your excuse? I’d call you a pig but that would be cannibalism.”
Merida huffed before digging in. “I’m beefing up for Quidditch try outs.”
“Don’t you mean porking up.” Rapunzel added causing Jack to nearly choke on his waffle.
“Rapunzel!” Merida exclaimed looking betrayed “Not you too!”
“I’m sorry! It was too perfect” Rapunzel apologized with a sheepish smile.
“Good one.” Jack grinned, giving Rapunzel a high-five.
“Traitor.” Merida grumbled but she had on a good natured smile.
“I’m thinking of trying out too” Hiccup added in piling a bit more meat on his plate. “For Quidditch, I mean.”
Jack who was drinking apple cider spit it back into the cup coughing slightly. Merida was full out laughing while Rapunzel chuckled slightly. “Now that’s a good one!” Merida chortled holding her sides. “Almost killed Jack with that one.”
Hiccup gave a glare at his friends before turning to his plate, his fists and jaw clenched “I’m serious.” He said in that tone that left no room for argument.
At once they all stopped laughing, looking at one another before looking at Hiccup.
“Oh, I-I’m sorry Hiccup it’s just, you really don’t seem like a jock type.” Rapunzel explained lightly touching his shoulder.
“A thinker and inventive yes, but Quidditch?” Merida asked a bit concerned “Are you sure?”
“Quite sure.” Hiccup nodded before chowing down on his sausage like he was fighting a battle.
They wondered if maybe this sudden interest in sports had something to do with the problem from earlier but decided not to say anything more about it. If Hiccup wanted to talk, then he would talk.
“I think it’s great that you want to try out Hiccup” Hannah said with a kind smile, the nosy little eavesdropper she was. “The Hufflepuff team isn’t very competitive we are all about giving everyone a fair shot at playing. I’m not on the team personally but I know someone who is and they will gladly give you a chance to play.” Hiccup nodded with a shaky half smile before going back to his food. Hannah gave a frustrated huff before going back to people who appreciated her kindness, like the wide eyed adorable first years.
From the Slytherin table, Pucey sauntered over to where they were eating. “Hey Rapunzel,” He waved almost a little shy. “How was your summer?”
Rapunzel glanced up and gave her bright sunshine smile “Oh it was great, Eugene took me to this muggle theme park and he won me a stuffed animal.”
Pucey’s face visibly fell causing Jack to snigger. Pucey turned a glare down at Jack and sneered. “What’s so funny Frost?”
“Aren’t you going to ask me how my summer went Pucey-kins?” Jack asked fluttering his eyelashes, Hiccup snorted and rolled his eyes while Merida chuckled.
Pucey sputtered, his face a notable shade of red. “I-I... Oh, bugger off Frost!” He said before stomping away. Once he was out of earshot both Merida and Jack roared with laughter.
“Well that made my morning!” Jack beamed continuing with his meal.
“You are the worst.” Hiccup sighed but there was a smile on his face.
“What is so funny?” Rapunzel asked with a confused look. “I don’t know why you guys tease him, he’s really a sweet boy.”
“Never would have pegged you for a heartbreaker Punz,” Jack grinned.
“Yeah that sounds like something you would do once you hit puberty.” Hiccup pointed at Jack with his fork.
“Shut up and eat your bacon” Jack said with a smirk.
Of course no day would be complete without the Gryffindor siblings making an appearance at their table.
“Well if it isn’t the snake, the rat and their little friends” Martha sneered. “Didn’t see you at the Feast last night, don’t tell me you already got a detention on your first day.”
Merida rolled her eyes. “Jack was sick so we were being good friends, something you probably aren’t familiar with.”
“Why am I always ‘and friends?’ I have a name you know,” Hiccup glared at Luke. “One you should be very familiar with.”
“We didn’t come here to pick a fight, we are not the type to sink to your level.” Luke glared back.
Jack let out a sarcastic laugh at that, before going back to his waffles.
“We just wanted you to know that the Gryffindor sign-up sheet will be posted on Wednesday and tryouts are this Friday. We are going to be needing a Beater, a Seeker and some replacement players. As much as I hate talking to a rat like you, I’m obligated to let you know.” Luke said not looking at all pleased.
“How kind of you” Merida said with a roll of her eyes. “I suppose I should thank you for being a good upper classmen.”
“As the new team Captain and Keeper, I’m just doing my job.”
“But don’t think for one second that I’m going to let you take the Beater position” Martha smirked placing a thumb to her chest. “That’s mine”
“Not on your life you pretentious little-”
“Merida!” Rapunzel scolded before fixing Martha with her best sunshine smile. “Best of luck to you then, the team will need plenty of replacements.”
Jack let out a choked laugh before reaching under the table and lifting up his staff. “You need some ice for that burn?” Martha let out an angry huff before turning and storming away her brother in tow.
“Rapunzel you are on a roll today” Hiccup commented with a smile.
Rapunzel smiled shyly before turning to Merida placing a hand over hers. “Don’t listen to her, you’ll get that Beater spot for sure.”
“Not if her brother is the team Captain” Merida groaned her head hitting the table. “He’ll give it to her for sure.”
“Well, good I hope a Bludger hits her in the nose.”
“Jack!” Rapunzel gasped.
“What!? We’re all thinking it!” Jack threw his hand in defense.
“Yeah we kind of were.” Hiccup nodded finishing his meal. “What classes do you have today?”
“I think I have Potions with you” Rapunzel beamed “You better be my partner, I’m terrible at potions.”
“Lucky you Merida, you have Charms with me today,” Jack grinned.
“Ugh kill me now...” Merida groaned but she had a small smile on her face.
The four friends finished up their meals talking about their summer break, (except for Hiccup but clearly summer was a sore subject so they didn’t ask) and soon they filed out of the Great Hall with the rest of their Houses to their morning classes.
Professor Joyce was late like usual, and Jack spent his time trying to rile Merida. It was good to have her distracted from the leers her housemates gave her. He knew that some of the Gryffindors didn’t actually hate Merida, but they were still wary. Especially with the label ‘rat’ being stapled to her person. Sometimes he wondered if it was his fault, since he was the one who threatened Martha. But the Combe girl needed a reminder, and Merida needed protection. “Aaaaah, I’m booooooored.” Jack whined as he rested his chin on the desk.
“Do something productive then.” Merida rolled her eyes.
“Like...” Jack reached out to his pocket and pulled out something. “A game of Exploding Snaps?”
The redhead deadpanned at her friend, “Right before class?”
“Oh, come on. This won’t be the first time we’ve gotten into trouble.” Jack pleaded. “Beside, it’s Professor Joyce, he would probably gives us cookies instead of detention!” Merida chew her lip, thinking it over. And Jack could just feel her joining the dark side (Mwahahahaha!). Unfortunately, the Ravenclaw Head of House arrived the moment Merida was about to give her answer. “Oh man...”
Merida smirked as if it was her victory. Even though she was clearly about to say yes. “Class, today we will learn the Skurge spell. Can anyone tell me what it is?” Since the class was consisted of Gryffindors, who leaned more on Spartan side of learning, and Slytherins, who usually only learned stuff they thought was going to be useful and/or powerful, not many people raised their hand. And by not many people it meant only Jack raised his hand. “Mr. Frost?”
“It’s a variation of the Scouring Charm, used to clean ectoplasm ghosts left behind. Oh, and it’s also good for hurting obnoxious poltergeists.” He ended with a grin.
“Correct, 10 points to Slytherin.” Professor Joyce sighed, “And Mr. Frost? Since we are going to work with the school’s poltergeist, I would suggest you don’t use it to hurt him, alright?”
The white haired boy nodded before whispering to Merida, “Do I look that eager to cause trouble?”
“Considering you just asked me to play Exploding Snaps...” She let her sentence hung. Jack stuck out his tongue childishly.
The old professor led the class to a previously unused classroom, which he reserved for today’s study. There was a ghost hanging there, he looked mellow and was wearing a medieval clothing like the rest of Hogwarts’ ghosts. “Oh, you are here.” The ghost said in an almost mechanical tone.
“Students, this is Harness, our resident poltergeist. He is going to help us with today’s lesson.” Harness nodded solemnly when Joyce introduced him.
“What a ray of sunshine.” Pucey muttered behind Jack.
After Professor Joyce made them practice the pronunciation (which Merida almost failed at because Jack kept trying to make her say it in her ‘special accent’) it didn’t take long until he asked Harness to spread some ghost goo around the room. Several disgusted ‘yuck’ and ‘eeewww’ were expressed. The ghost looked even more miserable than before. The Professor gave them a warning glare to shut them up. Harness gave him a grateful look and left.
“This is how this lesson is going to work. For every successful attempt at cleaning the ectoplasm, I will reward you a box of candies from Honeydukes.” Several cheered while a couple of others muttered something about ‘too childish’. “Not to worry, I won’t give you any penalty for a failed attempt. Except if you blow the ectoplasm, then we will have a problem.” Joyce chuckled lightly at his own inside joke. “Now make a line! We will do this in turns.”
It was a good day at Hogwarts. No pranks, no accidents, no students trying to sneak outside to the Forbidden Forest--What was this? Murdoch opened the letter he just received carefully. It was from the The Hogwarts Express’ Conductor, the man rarely sent him a letter unless there was an emergency. Oh boy, this wasn’t going to be good, was it? Murdoch gulped and read it. Apparently, one of the trolley ladies went missing. They couldn’t find her anywhere. Murdoch gulped, feeling the cold sweat trailing down his cheek. This wasn’t good.
Immediately, The Headmaster exited his office to find Professor Black. He tried to look as natural as possible. He was sure he looked convincing but the students gave him weird stares and were asking him if he was okay. “Me? Haha, of course I’m okay! Now, could you tell me where Professor Black is?”
The Ex-Head Auror was in his own office, of course. He was preparing for his class when Murdoch came in. “Oh, Headmaster, are you alright? You look a little pale...”
Murdoch couldn’t handle the pressure anymore and broke down. “Merlin’s pants! Black, you have to help me!”
The younger man was surprised to see his employer shaking like a leaf. “Headmaster? Please, sit down.” He gestured to a chair. Murdoch nodded and sat. “Tell me, what is wrong?”
“One of the trolley ladies from our train went missing! Oh, imagine the scandal if she cannot be found!” Murdoch panicked. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw Black rolling his eyes.
“I doubt there would be a scandal--.”
“You have to help me Black! You are an ex-Auror, you are good at finding people right?”
“Yes but--.”
“I will fill in on your class while you are away!”
That made Pitch thought twice. He wanted to avoid the second years today, considering that his class involved Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Don’t get him wrong, he liked the Corona Heiress, one of his favorite students even. But he couldn’t say the same about his nephew and without the Hufflepuff boy to prevent Jack’s prankster gambit, he might found himself covered something slimy upon entering the class.
“Jack, what are you doing?” Merida hissed.
“I’m taking some ectoplasm for my dear uncle, why?”
“Alright, don’t worry Headmaster, I will find the woman.” Pitch agreed.
“Oh thank you Black!” The color was returning to Murdoch’s face. “I will give you the coordinates for the train station’s fireplace, let’s go.”
The DADA Professor raised an eyebrow, “Now?”
“Well of course! The sooner we find her the better right?” Murdoch looked confused.
Pitch felt like sighing. How could this man be a Headmaster? “Very well, I have a class in five minutes. You will fill my role, yes?”
“I did say that.” Murdoch nodded.
“My syllabus is in my desk, I think it would be most helpful.”
“Right, right, now let’s go. You have a lady to save.”