The Big Four Of Hogwarts: Uniting The Houses Ch7

Ch7 Friends Or Foes?

The day after all the new Hogwarts students were sorted and comfortable in their common rooms, the day for their first lessons has finally come and everyone in the school were getting ready and waking up for the day.

In the Ravenclaw common room, in one of the girl’s dorms, Rapunzel was the first up and was brushing her hair as the other Ravenclaw girls in the room woke up.

“Morning fellow Ravenclaws!” Rapunzel smiled.

“Morning” one of them replied.

“Can one of you help me to braid my hair back, please?” Rapunzel asked.

“Sure, if you do the same with mine!” another Ravenclaw girl replied.

“Deal!”

In the Hufflepuff boy dorms, Toothless was trying to wake his trainer up by pulling the covers off of Hiccup.  But Hiccup pulled the covers back and continued to sleep; he was having too good a dream.  After a few attempts of pulling the covers off his trainer, Toothless had no choice but to use his plan B to wake Hiccup, like any other morning.  Toothless jumped on top of Hiccup, climbed over next to his head, took a deep breath and then roared into one of Hiccup’s ears.  Hiccup cried in shock and fell off his bed as he woke from his dragon’s roar!

“Toothless,” Hiccup glared back at his dragon, “Do you always have to wake me up like that when I’m having a good dream?”

Toothless sniggered a laugh at what just happened and to say ‘yes’.  Hiccup sniggered sarcastically back, before leaping back onto his bed to grab his dragon, but the Night Fury got out of the way in time.

“Must be painful to have a dragon, ah” one of the Hufflepuff boys’s in Hiccup’s room chuckled.

“Sometimes it is,” Hiccup replied, “But no matter how trouble, stubborn or reckless your dragon is, they’ll always be there for you and will never leave your side when you need them.  No matter what!”

Toothless licked Hiccup from what he said about him and other dragons always being loyal to their riders.  Toothless wished that he could go with Hiccup when he takes his first day of lessons, but pets and dragons aren’t allowed in class.  So he and the other Hufflepuff dragons and pets have the whole common room all to themselves until their owners and trainers get back.

In the Slytherin common room, Baby Tooth just woke Jack up.  The other Slytherin boys in Jack’s room thought that it was a little weird to share their room with a pixie; and a female one.  But Jack told them that it was okay and not to worry a bit about her.

“As long as she isn’t a Gryffindor pixie we’re okay with her” said one of the Slytherin boys.

The older Slytherins had told the first year Slytherins about their relationship with the Gryffindors and that they shouldn’t trust them, except the ones from Crystala.

“Even if she was a Gryffindor pixie, she’s still a part of Crystala!” Jack sounded like he cared for the Gryffindors, as well as standing up for his little friend.

“You aren’t standing up for the Gryffindors are you?” the Slytherin boy asked him with a mean look on his face.

“Haukafin, Crystala Gryffindor and Slytherins are an exception, remember!” another boy told him.

Jameson Haukafin looked like trouble and a person Jack didn’t want to be involved with, (one of Bunny’s order/advice was to stay out of trouble,) but he knew that he had to keep an eye on or to watch out for Haukafin.

Jack tried to not let Jameson get to him as he got out of bed and started to get his uniform ready.  As he got the last of his uniform out, Tuffnut and Snotlout came up to him.

“We have friends in other houses too” Snotlout told Jack, with his dragon, Hookfang on his shoulders.

“Yeah, he has a cousin in Hufflepuff and a girl he likes in Gryffindor!” Tuff added with smirk.

Snotlout blushed and then looked at Tuffnut with a look that is telling him, ‘not to say too much or anything that would make the other Slytherins hate him!’  Jack felt better to know that there are others that are not from Crystala who don’t want to get into any of the lion snake fights.

In the Gryffindor girl dorms, Merida was doing a secret pray to the spirits of her ancestors, before the girls in her room wake up.   She prayed to them to give her strength, power and knowledge over the Slytherins in her lessons with them, while holding a piece of green cloth with her family crest on it, before getting ready.

Merida had achieved becoming a Gryffindor; all she needs to do now is to do well in her lessons, show any Slytherins that come near her who’s boss, win the house cup and to do it all through this and her next years at Hogwarts before she can make up for showing fear in front of Mor’du all those years ago.

Once everyone house group in the school were ready and that their breakfast, they all started to head to their lessons.  The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs have Charm class together first thing, so Jack and Hiccup would see each other again, while the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws have history, so it is the same with Rapunzel and Merida.  But when both classes are finished the house groups will switch with another group, the Gryffindor and Slytherins weren’t happy about the idea, again.

As Jack was walking his way to class, he bumped into a Gryffindor girl with wild red hair.  She didn’t seemed happy to have a Slytherin bump into her or offering help from one.

“Sorry about that” as Jack tried to help the Gryffindor girl up.

“Let go!” she snapped, as she pulled her arm away from him.

Jack had a feeling that she didn’t know that he’s a Crystala wizard and isn’t involved in the rivalry between their two houses.  He already had trouble from someone in his house this morning and he didn’t want to have trouble with anyone else.

“I’m from Crystala” Jack tried to tell her that he won’t hurt or prank her.

“A Slytherin is a Slytherin!” she replied.  Merida DunBroch wasn’t taking any chances.

“Who told you that?”

“History!  Why?” Merida wanted to know.

“Because not all Slytherins are the same!  Not all Slytherins are bad, just like some Gryffindors aren’t good!”

That made Merida’s anger burn inside her even more.  “WHAT MAKES YOU SAY THAT????” she yelled.

“Because I have sibling friends in your house and they told me about them and what their hatred towards Slytherins has done to them!”

Merida didn’t want to hear another word from the white haired Slytherin boy and pushed past him to get to her class.  Jack had a feeling that he might have upset her, but he didn’t want to make it worse and he need to get to Charms with the Hufflepuffs and didn’t want to be late.  So without saying another word, he head down the corridor.

The professor hadn’t arrived yet as Jack walked into his class.  Baby Tooth stayed closely hidden in Jack’s hood of his robe, where no one could see her.  Even Jack didn’t know that he had a stowaway.  Some of the students were talking to each other and were fooling around as they waited for class to start and as Jack was looking for a seat, he spotted Hiccup sitting alone.

“Hiccup!” he called.

Hiccup looked up from his book and saw Jack walking up to him.

“Jack!” Hiccup smiled.  It was good to see him again.

The two boys sat together and started to talk about their morning as they waited for class to start.  Hiccup told Jack about the wakeup call he got from Toothless and Jack told him about Jameson Haukafin and the girl he bumped into on his way here.

“She really thinks that all Slytherins are bad?” Hiccup made sure he heard Jack right.

“Yes,” Jack replied, “I was warned about the fights and hatred the two houses have for each other and that I might be caught up in the middle of it.  I gave my family and carers my word that I wouldn’t get involved, but I have a feeling that she isn’t going to make it easy for me!”

Hiccup felt sorry for Jack, but before he could say anything, the professor had just arrived.  Everyone else that was talking to the other members in the class stopped and went to take their seats.  The Slytherins don’t mind the Hufflepuffs, their nothing like the Gryffindors.

The Hufflepuffs are known to be honest and truthful; they stay out of the Lion Snake fights and only interfere if they are crossing the line too far.  Many Gryffindor and Slytherins were saved from being expelled when the other two houses stopped them fighting in time.

The professor apologised for being late before starting the lesson, he had trouble along the way when two students started to fight and how he had to retrieve his things for the lesson.  The Hufflepuffs understood, but some of the Slytherins were like ‘what’ and wondered if the fight was between their house and the Gryffindor house.

So Charms was well on its way as the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins started to levitate some feathers.  While that was going on, the Gryffindor and Ravenclaws where having history with the only ghost teacher in the school, Professor Binns.  Rapunzel thought that a ghost is perfect for teaching history, for they have seen the world change from what it was in the past as they were endlessly wandering the world and she loved hearing how magic came to be from the ghost professor.  It really helped her to understand magic better.

Merida on the other hand wasn’t too interested in what the professor was saying, unless it was about her family’s history with the Demon Bear that could help her to find a way to stop Mor’du forever.  She was thinking about what had happened between her and the Frost boy, at least she thinks that it was Jack Frost that she bumped into.

Merida knew that the Frost family also have a history with a dark foe like hers, but their foe, the disappearance of a Frost, the Frost heir surviving a fire on his muggle home and hiding from all for two years has made them even more important than her family.  The DunBrochs had stopped a war between the wizards and muggles of Scotland by exposing Mor’du’s plans with the sword of Godric Gryffindor by her ancestor’s side and was crowned King of the Scottish Wizards after making peace between the two sides.  She needs to regain her family’s honour by doing better than the Frost boy in every lesson she has with the Slytherins.

“Miss DunBroch!” Professor Binns breaks Merida’s train of thought, “Can you tell us the ingredients and the length in inches that were used to made the first ever wand?”

Merida was given some early lessons from her mother back home, but she didn’t pay that much attention that day; she was thinking of ways to increase her archery skills.

“Um...” Merida started to think, “I believe that it was crafted well, wasn’t too long and it was unlike any other wand!”

“Close, but I asked you what was used to make it, not what it was like after it was made!  Two points taken from Gryffindor for not giving me what I asked for and one point given to Gryffindor for trying and getting half of it right!”

Merida wasn’t happy about having points taken away because of her, her house mates went easy on her for getting one point for Gryffindor back.  But some of their cold stares made Merida wonder if the Fro- Jack was right about not all Gryffindors giving a kind smile.

WAIT!?!?!?!?!?!?  What was she thinking, is she taking the Slytherins side because of one boy’s words?  Merida knew that she had to talk with Jack again, and why did she stop calling him Frost, it’s not like they are friends or anything?

“Are you okay?” Rapunzel asked her, after seeing how troubled she looked.

“Fine!” she lied.

Rapunzel knew that Merida lied to her, but she didn’t want to upset her further.  But what was troubling her anyway, is it having some of her house points taken away or the boy she told her about, the one who told her that she is wrong about both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors.

But class was soon ended and everyone headed to have their break before their next lesson.  Jack went to talk with his Crystala sibling friends, while Hiccup went to his friends from his home island.  Rapunzel wanted to get to know some of the Hufflepuffs before her next class, Merida is going to have her next class with the Slytherins and she would like to know someone to talk to in Defence against the dark arts.

Merida had planned to just keep to herself, but now she wasn’t so sure.  She doesn’t know that many members in her house.  Rapunzel is the only friend she has in Hogwarts and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to make anymore more friends after her encounter with Jack and the glares she got from some of her house mates.  She knew if people knew that she was a princess, she’ll be having everyone wanting to be her friend, but it wouldn’t be real and her mother told her that it would be best if only a few people knew about her royal Scottish blood.

As she kept on walking through the court yard and when she a passing a tree, she saw Jack talking to some older students from different houses; they must be his Crystala sibling friends.  They looked happy together, like a family and it made her think about her own.

It was true that some of these people have no parents, were abandoned, ran away from home or that their family’s couldn’t take care of them anymore and that they are not related and that they are all in the care of one man and his friends.  But if people didn’t know about their back story, they would think that they are related.

She saw a Gryffindor boy and a Slytherin girl holding hands in the group, like they were boyfriend and girlfriend and a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff who looked like they were brothers.  Can the whole school be like them, getting along despite their houses?

She started to wish that she was a bit nicer to Jack and was about to go and apologise to him, but two older Gryffindors came walking past her and were criticising the group.

“I think that Crystala Gryffindors bring shame to our house, befriending Slytherins like they care for them” the first Gryffindor boy spoke, like he was a snob.

“I know,” the other Gryffindor added, “All because they see themselves as siblings when they’re surely not!”

“If I was the Headmaster, I would ban their get-togethers and have the lessons without joining the other houses together.  We must keep to ourselves and not to others!”

The Crystalas over heard them, but they didn’t let it get to them.  Merida on the other hand felt like the two had spoiled her chance to say sorry to Jack.  They’ll think that she is a disgrace and the Crystalas might think that she is one of them.  So she just walked away and waited for her next lesson to start.

Break was soon over and the students started to head to their lessons.  The Defence Against the Dark Arts class room was packed with Slytherins and Gryffindors giving each-other the evil eye, but Jack didn’t and Merida wasn’t sure if she should join in or not.  Professor Arion was once an Aura who had taken down the darkest of wizards, but he retired after he lost half of his arm, from his left hand to right under his shoulder.  Even though the Professor has a prosthetic arm and can still use magic, he decided to stop hunting dark wizards and started to teach other people his skills at Hogwarts, hoping that they’ll help them to defend themselves against dark wizards.

The students were honoured to have a hero teaching them, even though he doesn’t see himself as one.  North had told Jack that people don’t let their fame get to their heads so they wouldn’t forget how they became a legacy and why they did it, so Jack understands why Avium Arion doesn’t see himself as a hero!

The class soon started after the professor finished writing on the blackboard.  He then turned to face the students and then fixed his glasses up with his prosthetic armed hand!

“Good afternoon first years!” he started, “I’m Professor Avium Arion, your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and I would like to remind you that I don’t accept fights in my class, no matter how strong the rivalry between the two houses are!  They may be a time when you have to rely on one another, no matter what house you are from.  Not all Slytherins turn out bad and not all Gryffindors turn out good!”

The students were shocked, everyone except Jack, who knew this long before any of the other first years.  Merida on the other hand was starting to think about what Jack had said to her this morning and what she heard from the two older Gryffindors at break.  So the only way for Merida to know that it is true, is to befriend a Slytherin, so she can get to know them better and the only one she knows and believes that she can trust is Jack.  The guy who was supposed to be her rival, but first she has to ask the professor something before she starts making friends!

“Sir!  I was wondering about spells and ways that can stop even the greatest of foes?”

Merida hopes for a straight answer like ‘yes’ or ‘later on’, but the professor just looked at her, like he knew that she was going to ask him that question.  After staring at her for a while, Arion turned his attention to Jack, who was staring into the distance.

“Mister Frost!” Arion got Jack’s attention, “I hope that you’ll do well in my class, as you are in the care of former Auras like myself!”

Jack knew about North’s days as a dark wizard catcher, but he hadn’t asked him about it that much.  Merida’s feelings of seeing Jack as her rival were starting to return, the professor had just asked him and ignored her question!

“They didn’t tell me too much about it!” Jack replied.

“Any reason why?” Arion asked.

“I didn’t ask them about it or what it was like, sir.”

“Did they even teach you and the others in their care their tricks?”

“A few, like the Patronus Charm.”

The students gasped at what they heard from Jack and that he can use the Patronus Charm, Merida was shocked too, but Arion just smiled, like he already knew.

“Then why don’t you show or tell us about it?”

Jack and the rest of the students weren’t expecting this.  Jack was quite good at it, but not as good as North; and how is Arion going to bring a Dementor into the room.  So he thought that it was best that he explains it as best as he can.

“From what I was told, sir” Jack replied, “The charm is a kind of shield that can be used for defence and offence!”

“That’s correct Frost!  Five points to Slytherin!”  The other Slytherins were happy with the points their professor gave them.  Merida stared at Jack, as Arion started to write on the board.  “The Patronus Charm protects us from the Guards of the Night and also weakens them!  Can anyone tell me the Night Guards real name?”

Merida stuck out her hand before anymore else can.  “Dementors, Sir.  They guard the prisoners of Azkaban and they also feed on our happiest memories until there is nothing left but sadness!”

“Correct Miss DunBroch!  Five points to Gryffindor!” then Arion went on to tell the class about the charm, “Which is why we need this charm and our most happiest memories to give it strength!  The happier the memory, the stronger the shield will be!”

For the rest of the lesson they talked about other charms and spells that can be used for offense and defence against other wizards.  Merida took notes, hoping that one of these spells would help her to free her homeland and people from Mor’du.  Jack finally noticed that he has a stowaway in his robes and did his best to make sure that no one else knew before the end of the day.

Soon class was over and it was time for the students to go to lunch, but Arion wanted to have a few words with Jack and Merida, in private and one at a time.  Merida was first to be spoken to, while Jack waited outside the door for his turn.

“I know about your family’s foe, Princess Merida DunBroch!”  Merida gasped at what she heard from him.  “Don’t worry, Miss DunBroch, only the teachers know of your royal blood” Arion reassured her, “But I’m the only one here who knows about Mor’du and I want to give you private lessons to help you fight him!”

“Really?!?!” Merida couldn’t believe her own ears.

“Yes!  But you must not tell anyone about this or they’ll want private lessons too!”

Merida wanted to ask more questions about the lessons she’ll have with the professor, but there is still one question that needs to be answered.

“Sir?” she asked, “Can I ask you about.....  Well back when I was planning and dreaming about coming here and becoming a Gryffindor, I thought that I’d be the best and beat the ‘dark’ Slytherins in all my lessons.  But after meeting one, hearing two of my housemates saying cold things and the things you said, I’m just not so sure anymore.”

“Why did you what to be a Gryffindor, Miss DunBroch, and did you think that all Slytherins are bad?”

“My whole family were Gryffindors and I was told that Slytherins are bad!”

“That’s the problem with history; people want to be like those before them and those who have done bad things are still blamed for the deeds that they have done, even when they regret it and hope that no one else would follow them!”

“So things are not always the same as they were before, Sir?”

“Yes.”  Arion let out a little chuckle.  “You’re a bright girl; normally students have no idea what I’m talking about, Miss DunBroch.  Do not be afraid to make friends in Slytherin and if anyone in your house gives you trouble for that, just let me know and I’ll take care of it!”

Merida felt more reassured with herself now and knows that she still can be a DunBroch Gryffindor without following the paths of those before her.  She had wanted to talk to Jack; but she was still a little jealous about a few things about him and his family, so she just walked past him without making eye contact when he re-entered the class room.

Arion told Jack the same things and that he’ll help him to learn the things he needs to know to fight Pitch.  Jack wasn’t sure that he needed to learn that stuff when his family’s foe is imprisoned.

“Things are not as they seem, Jack” Arion told him like they were friends, “North is a good friend of mine and he speaks often of you and that he hopes I can help you!”

“But why?” Jack asked, “Pitch is gone!”

“But he may not be the only one out there, Jack.  There may be a time when you have to use one of these spells.  You are a Frost after all and your family’s spells and skills may help you to find your father!”

Jack gasped and looked at the professor.  It is true that he wants to find him, but will his ancestor’s skills really help him?  His father did leave him some books about the ice arts, but thought that they were given to him to help him master his ice abilities.

“I’m in” he replied under his breath.

“There is no shame in these skills you have Jack,” Arion smiled, “North also told me about the few accidents you have with your powers, but I can help you to control it, so you can use them to help others!”

Through the next few days Arion taught Jack and Merida in private.  He sends them a letter to let them know when they are having their lesson with him, if they had them on consecutive days, people would get suspicious.  But the two always had theirs on different times and days and they didn’t even know that they were being taught to fight their family’s foes and to master their abilities.

Jack only told Baby Tooth of his lessons with Arion, while Merida told her family in her letters.  The two have great potential and they both have something in common, but the question still remains.  Will they ever be friends or remain as foes?