Epilogue

What happened to the big four?

Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel finished their Hogwarts education mainly to distance themselves from the tragedy. The school held a memorial ceremony for Jack, which he attended. He attended all his classes at Hogwarts, too. He was never accounted for, but he was there.

He was also there the following summer, when Merida and Hiccup got married at DunBroch. It was decided that Berk would become a tribal colony underneath the reign of Merida's kingdom- or rather, Hiccup and Merida's kingdom. Hiccup, closer than ever to Toothless since both had lost a left foot/tail wing, was able to establish a coexisting community between dragons and humans, with much help from Astrid, who finally began to understand his peaceful dragon approach. Astrid ended up moving to Berk and becoming the new tribal head underneath Merida and Hiccup after Stoic the Vast retired. Hiccup never showed his father the Resurrection Stone. Even though Stoic knew his wife had been a witch, Hiccup didn't want to burden his father with the knowledge that his wife was a stone-turn away, but never truly there. Hiccup, after he smithed himself a more suitable prosthetic limb, found a way to safely embed the stone on the inside of his Viking helmet, another part of his mother.

Merida's reign was noble and fair, and she led responsibly, but she never lost her adventurous flare. Since she had the Elder Wand, Merida didn't bother fixing her old wand. Not that she forgot it either. Merida could often be found riding her horse, Angus, through the woods with her bow, pieces of her cherry-wood wand still fastened into the arrows. On nights Hiccup took Toothless out for flight, Merida would usually take her broomstick from playing Quidditch in the good ole days and fly side-by-side. On some nights, the wind would seem faster and chillier, and that's when Jack would join as a third party in the races, but Merida and Hiccup would never see him.

The two had twin boys. Malcolm had Merida's hair but Hiccup's eyes and personality, while Lachlan had Hiccup's hair with Merida's eyes and personality. A year later, Hiccup wanted a daughter, and Merida thought it was a great idea. The two adopted a baby girl named Anoka from Berk, who was abandoned by her parents with a note explaining the child "was a freak". When her Hogwarts letter came years later, Merida and Hiccup's suspicions of Anoka being Muggle-born were confirmed.

Malcolm and Lachlan, who'd been sorted as Hufflepuff and Gryffindor respectively, were only a year above Anoka, who'd been sorted into Slytherin. But she wasn't alone in her house.

When Rapunzel returned to Corona, she found Eugene where she'd left him: under the care of her parents, slowly nursed back to the spirited young man he was. Eugene had reunited with Papa and was told his true biological father- the man who'd risen to be Captain of the Guard at Corona. The man didn't know he was Eugene's father, and Eugene decided he really didn't deserve to know. Eugene was cleared from all criminal charges to begin a fresh life as a shopkeeper. Eugene was learning to do things without magic, even though Rapunzel had given him Jack's old wand. Jack connected Eugene and Rapunzel stronger than anything else.

After just a year in the business, Eugene passed ownership of his shop to one of his most trusted employees to marry Rapunzel and become king of Corona. Just as he didn't miss Merida and Hiccup's ceremony, Jack was at their wedding, too. It hurt him to see Rapunzel walking down the aisle to give her hand not to Jack but to Eugene, who'd given up the old moniker "Flynn Rider". Regardless, Jack saw Rapunzel was happy. Nothing could've made him happier. Eugene and Rapunzel had two children together: a son named Flynn, who bore an uncanny resemblance to his father, and a daughter named Anna, who only had reddish-brown hair to distinguish herself from her mother. Rapunzel also had an older daughter that wasn't Eugene's, even though he was a great father to her and treated his stepdaughter like his own. The daughter was Jack's. Eugene never had to ask. Her white blond hair and stunning blue eyes told the story clear enough. Elsa also inherited Jack's powers, without the need of a staff to channel through. When she was younger, Elsa would always steal her mother's Cloak of Invisibility and sit underneath the fabric, creating miniature snowstorms to entertain herself.

When they went to Hogwarts, Elsa and Anna, three years apart, were both sorted into Ravenclaw; both eventually rose to Head Girl in their years. Flynn started a year before Anna and was in Anoka's year, Hiccup and Merida's adopted daughter. Just like Anoka, Flynn was put into Slytherin, and the two became very close. Eventually, they got married, and Flynn, the crown prince of Corona, became king, with Anoka ruling gracefully at his side.

Years passed. In his seventies, Hiccup was flying Toothless over the Norwegian Sea. Toothless suffered a fatal heart attack in midair, and the two plunged into the waters together. The Resurrection Stone is still embedded in Hiccup's Viking helmet, but no one knows exactly where the helmet is.

When Merida got the news, she only lived for another week after dying of a broken heart. Since she was royalty, her final will would be addressed to the general public, including the Muggles, so it failed to mention who would inherit the Elder Wand. Since Anoka was off in Corona, Malcolm and Lachlan had to decide between themselves who would receive the Death Stick. Both highly opposed to taking the Wand from each other, the two took their broomsticks from their Quidditch days as Beaters at Hogwarts and flew to a high, rocky point of Crone's Tooth. They hid the Wand near Fire Falls, putting special spells on its hiding place so only a worthy and noble witch or wizard could find it. The Elder Wand remains well hidden.

Eugene and Rapunzel lived for a while longer. Eventually, sickness took over Rapunzel, and she passed as well, leaving the Cloak of Invisibility to Eugene. Eugene, older than Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel, lived right into his early nineties before peacefully and mysteriously passing in his sleep. The Cloak of Invisibility was left to Flynn, who passed it onto his son… and his son… and his son… The family line has been obscured by this myriad of years, but legend has it that Rapunzel's descendants still hold the Cloak.

No one ever saw Jack. But Jack always saw his friends. And technically, since Elsa was his daughter, and Elsa's brother, Flynn, married Merida and Hiccup's daughter, Anoka, they were all his family. Technically. As for Jack's Muggle parents and sister, they never saw him again, either. They were told the whole story of Jack's bravery, but were too deeply scarred to ever interact with the wizarding world again. In fact, when Rapunzel tried to contact them to tell them about Elsa, they were appalled and thought it was all lie, something to get them killed, too. Still, Jack looked after them as well. Flying back and forth from his Muggle family in America back across Europe to all his Hogwarts friends was hard work, but all worth it for Jack. He had to keep his mind busy. If he ever stopped working, that would mean he had to reflect and think. Reflecting and thinking hurt too much.

Finally, the twenty-first century came around. Jack decided to join a league called the Guardians, which included Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Sandman. They each protected the children and their innocence, faith, and hearts. They each had their own little "center"; wonder, memories, hope, and dreams, respectively. This was how Jack found who he really was: his center was joy.

At first, Jack thought his center was fun. Happiness, amusement, laughter, playtime… but there was something more powerful than that. Jack felt his presence strong around children who would laugh and play in the snow. He also felt moved when he saw a child engrossed in a book, reading by a rainy window. When a child hugged his or her parents, or when they cuddled with a pet, Jack felt content. Jack realized that "fun" was only a product of his real center: joy.

Joy was contentment. When things around weren't troubling or dangerous. When there was freedom. When children could be themselves and make those memories Tooth so carefully guarded. A sense of happiness that never really went away. It was only Jack's responsibility to bring it out in the hearts of children, so that they realize that there is joy inside each and every one of them.

Jack guarded this joy with his life. Which says a lot, because his life couldn't end. Or could it?

The year was 2541. Jack had been a Guardian for over five hundred years. He'd been alive for… for… heck, Jack was the Guardian of Joy, not mathematics. And math certainly isn't joyful. He was flying around the world, looking at what it had become. Happy, for the most part. Content. Of course, chaos was inevitable, but Jack had done a pretty good job while he was on earth. He expected nothing less of himself. He'd been here forever.

Jack had long lost the descendants of his friends and even that of his own daughter, Elsa. That was way before he'd even become a Guardian. But life on earth had mingled so much, everybody was related to everybody by this point, and Jack could probably pick anybody on earth and trace lineage back to Rapunzel, Merida, or Hiccup. But no one could see him. A boy named Jamie and his friends came to know him, but that faded quickly. Jack became invisible, again, for a very long time.

He wasn't depressed. He wasn't upset. He wasn't miserable. But Jack was done. He felt a sense of completion for what he'd done on this earth. Jack slowed down his flight patterns a little bit and looked down to find himself soaring over a Quidditch Pitch. Hogwarts's Quidditch Pitch. The silver tiles of Slytherin's green-and-silver viewing tower reflected the silver glow of a full moon.

The moon seemed brighter than usual that night. Jack squinted into the distance. It was almost like a distinct beam of light was shining down into the Forbidden Forest.

Jack followed it.

He wasn't surprised when he saw it was shining over the lake in which he'd drowned for Rapunzel so many years ago. He wasn't surprised when he saw a perfect circular hole in the center of the ice into the still chilly waters. He wasn't surprised that the moon's beam of light shone right into that hole. The light probably made that hole in the first place. Jack landed onto the edge of the icy lake, walking slowly. He felt the ice clinging onto his heels and toes, holding him down in one last embrace before pushing his long strides forward. Staring up into the big full moon, Jack smiled one last time. "I've done my best," Jack whispered. "It may've not been enough. But I learned along the way. Seriously, though, even if I screwed something up, I just want to say… thank-you. I cursed you so many times for the hand I've been dealt, but I've done so much good for other people. And now you free me. I'm going to miss it, I guess… but I'm ready." Jack looked down at the hole, and he felt a burden lift.

Jack closed his eyes and held his staff in both hands in front of him, right hand on top of left. He didn't hold his breath. He didn't hesitate. He took one more stride and plunged straight into the icy waters.

Jack expected himself to feel that first plunge and then just float after sinking a couple feet. But Jack still remained in an upright position as he fell downward. Lower. Lower. Jack's ears popped and rang as he clutched his staff closer to him. Wait… his staff. It was gone. Jack was surprised to find he didn't care. He laughed. Merida's Elder Wand, Hiccup's Resurrection Stone, Rapunzel's Cloak of Invisibility, and his staff. All relics that just went away in the end.

Suddenly, a paper flapped in his face. Jack opened his eyes, since they'd been shut since he'd been plowing into the water. He found he could open them and see easily. Jack grabbed the paper and gasped. Wait, he could breathe, too. But that wasn't as shocking as what he held in his hand. The Marauder's Map. It fell out of his sweatshirt pocket that night he drowned.

At least, Jack thought it was the Marauder's Map. It read one single message: Mischief Managed. When he turned it over, the top of the paper was labeled "HOME". There were four people drawn underneath it. Rather, four stick figures. Two boys and two girls. One girl had crazy ringlets flying everywhere, and the other had long flowing hair that trailed behind her for quite a distance. All four were standing in a boat.

Suddenly, Jack's head burst out of the surface of the warm water. Wait. His head burst out of the water? Apparently, he'd been floating upward for quite a while. And the water was warm. Jack surprisingly liked the feel of it, floating up and down his bare arms. Jack realized he wasn't wearing his hoodie. He was wearing a white cotton t-shirt and these comfortable white pants. Almost like pajama pants, but more elegant. He looked into the surface of the water and saw his white hair and blue eyes still, but the color had returned to his cheeks from back when he had dark hair and dark eyes. He wasn't so pale anymore. Water stretched forever in every direction.

"Jack!" A voice called. No one had called Jack in a while. He turned around to see a canoe. Hiccup was standing in the canoe, with two good legs and the post-puberty handsomeness of his seventh-year, waving Jack over. "We've been waiting for you!"

Jack swam like crazy.

When he got to the canoe, Merida, looking just like she did in seventh-year, pulled him up into the boat. "Ye bloody idiot! We thought ye'd come sooner. We've been waitin' for an eternity. That's alright, though." She smiled wickedly. "We've got another eternity together, and then some."

Hiccup was in the same white cotton outfit as Jack, and Merida was wearing a sleeveless knee-length dress of the same material. A white cotton headband pulled her curls back to reveal her face clearer than ever. They were sitting at one end of the canoe together, smiling. "Well," a tiny voice squeaked, "aren't you going to turn around?"

Jack spun faster than any winds he'd ever conjured. Rapunzel was sitting on the other end of the canoe, patting the seat next to her. She was wearing the same white cotton dress as Merida, and her hair was as long and blond as ever, packed into its tidy little braid. White flowers decorated the braid up and down, and Jack realized she was barefoot. As usual. In fact, they were all barefoot.

Rapunzel blushed, and Jack realized he wasn't saying anything. He ran to her and nearly tipped the boat, enveloping her in a hug. Human touch. He craved it. As he loosened his embrace, he cradled her face affectionately. "Do you know how much I missed you?" she whispered.

Jack bit his lip. "I'm guessing about as much as I love you." He kissed her for the first time in what seemed like, and probably actually was, a thousand years. The warm pink sunset provided the perfect dramatic backdrop, and Jack felt like he could never get enough.

Finally coming up, he took Rapunzel's hands and looked at Merida and Hiccup. "How much time do we have together?"

"Forever." Hiccup smiled, his arm around Merida. "The four of us. Forever."

"How long have you been waiting for me?" Jack gasped.

"Forever," all three responded in sync.

"Time's complicated here," Merida shrugged. "All we know is there's day an' night here."

Jack looked up into the darkening sky. "It's his first night!" Rapunzel whispered in excitement. She squeezed Jack's hand even tighter. "You're going to love this. It's going to be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen."

"What?"

"Remember those floating lanterns from my kingdom?" Rapunzel smiled.

Jack sighed with contentment. He could get used to such a beautiful eternity. "Every night?"

"Yes. But they're not real lanterns. They look like lanterns, but they're really symbolic for something else," Hiccup said.

"Ye've changed lives, Jack." Merida smiled kindly. "Each light that flies into the skies every night are the lives o' the people ye've changed. We three have been sittin' here, not watchin' ye in particular, but watchin' the effects o' what ye were doin'."

A single lantern bobbed into the sky with an image that was a hybrid of a flower and a sun printed on the side. Rapunzel squeezed his hand. "Me."

Then, two more lanterns came. One had a dragon imprinted on it, and the other had a bow and arrow design. Jack looked across at Merida and Hiccup, who smiled knowingly.

Suddenly, an accompaniment of lanterns slowly spilled forth from the clouds, filling the infinite lake around them. The canoe bobbed in the water, gliding off in no direction, as the lights danced across the sky.

Jack stared into the sky as Rapunzel watched him admiringly. He held her closely and peeled his eyes away from the floating lanterns. "I told you it would be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen," she giggled lightly.

He stared her deep in the eyes, visually drinking her in. "The lanterns are close second, I'll admit." Jack winked playfully, and Rapunzel broke her eye contact bashfully. They enjoyed another kiss. This was Jack's future, what he had to look forward to.

His eternity.

Forevermore.

Always.

Ok, guys… that's it! I really hoped you liked this. It's my first attempt at writing anything like this whatsoever, so I really had no idea what I was doing. If I've broken any rules, well, that sucks, because I'm keeping my work as it is. There's something about the purity of a first work that I can't ever let go of.

I'm not going to be releasing any more chapters of this story, but depending on the reviews I get, I might publish another "series" thing… like how a movie sometimes becomes a TV series spin-off? This novel is like my "movie", and I might make a "spin-off series", if you will. The adventures of the big four at Hogwarts before seventh year… Anoka and Flynn's relationship… the childhood and experience of growing up before the big four met one another… something to fill in the gaps with Frozen and touching on Anna and Elsa… maybe even something with Malcolm and Lachlan. Besides the fact that one's a spunky brunette and the other a shy redhead, I imagined them being like the Weasley twins, big pranksters and all. The close, utopian twin relationship without mindlessly killing off one of the brothers. I make the Unbreakable Vow that I won't kill off one leaving the other alone if I ever write about them.

UPDATE: A Hogwarts Storybook covering the adventures of the big four at Hogwarts before their seventh year can be found here: s/9980925/1/ROTBTD-Hogwarts-Storybook

Anyways, if you want more, please just let me know! My progress may be slow, but trust me; I see to it that it's good work. I can write for a lot of fandoms, and you can find them all on my profile! If there's another fandom you want me to write for, I'll check it out, see if I like it, and then maybe make a story just for you! Regarding my ships, I honestly don't mind writing for different ships. As long as I can make my little clause here: my OTP is, and forever more will be, Jackunzel, which is really hard, considering I also ship Rapunzel with Eugene, and they've got the advantage of being canon… I can't.

I've gotten so many nice reviews and private messages about this story, and I want to take a moment to really thank you all for sticking with me and supporting me and correcting me along the way. In return, I'm going to give you some writing tips.

1. Just read anything you can. Learn what to avoid from not-so-good literature and follow models of good literature.

2. Observe everyday life and conversation. Some things said/done in books are surprisingly awkward in real life.

3. Write everything. Even if it's something really insane, like a legend about a top-secret agency for polka-dotted unicorns on the other side of the double rainbow… actually, never mind. You're not allowed to do that. But, anyways, it gives you practice. Writing is more than creative ideas. It's about vocabulary, grammar, syntax, pacing, character development, and more. You don't need to publish everything you write, and you shouldn't even put yourself under such pressure to that. Just be creative and stretch yourself. Write.

4. Daydream. Most of the time, write your stuff down, yes, but don't stop your daydreaming to structuralize everything. Keep imagining scenarios and playing out things in your head. When you're writing, you'll find random ideas flowing and connecting much easier.

5. Research. Just a few sentences revolving around a certain specialization can take, like, an hour to write. The Internet is my hero because of this. Researching to keep your stories realistic actually gives them more of a hook, especially if your reader happens to be an expert. Maybe you research while you write or before you write your story or chapter for the day. Find a way that works for you.

6. Learn the rules. It's important to learn the rules, because the most important rule is to know when and how to break the rules.

7. Find art (preferably abstract) and music (preferably instrumental) that you can write with, not just for concentration. I'm saying you should look at art and listen to music and create a story from that. This is why abstract and instrumental works best. It stretches your creativity and your perception, giving you better literary analysis skills for reading other people's work and learning to hide those same techniques in your work.

8. Get someone to review your work. Family members honestly might not work best because they're just going to say you're amazing and flawless… or, worse, they just might discourage you. Get either a brutally honest and smart friend or some kind of teacher.

9. Learn what environment you work best in. Same time/place, accompanied by the same coffee/Frappuccino/tea? Or does spontaneity help the ideas flow best?

10. When you write something, leave it alone for a month. Maybe two. Then go back and edit it, whether it's for grammatical and spelling errors or to change up the plot a bit and delete some scenes. Reading from the perspective of a writer is different than from the perspective of a reader.

11. If you have writer's block, you're going to hate this tip, but clean. Wash the windows, make your bed, do the dishes, scrub the toilet… it gets that little nagging sensation of something-needs-to-be-done out of your head and gives you more freedom.

12. If you're tired, stop writing. Ok, that last paragraph or two is fine, but I'm serious. A paragraph or two to complete the thought you already had going makes sense. Don't push to finish a chapter or deadline, because then you're just cranking out crap.

13. Some authors write bios on their characters before they write a story. It can be really helpful, and I recommend it. But don't push to include the entire life, back-story, and quirks of Bob Jones within the first paragraph we meet him. Not everything from the planning board is imperative to make it to the story.

14. Because it's so important: Not everything from the planning board is imperative to make it to the story.

15. Don't write because it's what people want to hear. Write what needs to be heard. Write what's going to stick with people. Write what's going to change lives and get points across. Writing is so powerful, so don't you dare underestimate words. Playing with words is like playing with matches. They're tiny, but they have great power and can get out of control if you're not careful.

16. Don't worry about being the best. There is no best. Suck it up.

17. If you hate your writing, push past it. That's totally normal.

18. For motivation and practice in one: write a short story, like five or ten pages, at the beginning of the year, and another story at the end of the year. Read the two stories and see your progress. Analyze your strengths and weakness, what's easiest for you to fix, and what you struggle with.

19. Don't pull off something super dramatic, like character death or major tragic development, just to spice up your story. Don't avoid sadness for easy reading. Be real and give meaning to everything.

20. The characters aren't you. Make them do something that's totally stupid and crazy that you know way better of and get into their heads to provide the perfect logic behind it.

21. Don't get carried away with pointless details, but just adding random things like "his jacket reeked of coffee" or "her shoes squeaked more noisily than usual on the linoleum floor" can add a little hook that sparks the readers imagination and gets them more involved. I only learned a few months ago that this is an actual kind of figurative language called "imagery". Who knew?

22. Learn. You are never an expert. There's always something new to discover, so discover it. Learn it. Research it. Debate it. Argue it. Expand your knowledge outside of writing. Writing is a way of life, so your life will be reflected in your work. Might as well be an intellectual.

23. Write poetry, even if you suck at poetry. It's been shown that writing poetry helps your writing skills, while reading poetry helps your reading and writing skills.

24. Challenge yourself. Read that Shakespeare. Read all of Mark Twain's works. That list of books you keep telling yourself you'll eventually read? Start now.

25. Keep a journal. Not just a writing journal, but also a "Dear Diary" thing where you don't think about your writing; it's just your thoughts flowing out. Reading it over can help you collect your thoughts in the future and articulate things better.

26. Title your chapter after you've written it. Title your book after you've written it. Heck, sometimes, name your character after you've written a bit about them.

27. Don't integrate crazy vocabulary to make yourself sound smarter. If that's how you naturally are, then write like that. Please. But if it's fake, it'll be obvious, and you'll just look like you're trying too hard.

28. Don't get caught up in coloring when describing a character: "Harry Potter had black hair and green eyes and pale skin." There's a reason the fabulous Queen Rowling didn't phrase it this way. She focused in on the fact that his hair was unruly and in constant need of a trim. The first thing she mentioned about skin was that he was flesh and bone with an unhealthy pallor, topping it off with a lightning scar on the right of his forehead. Not just that "he was white". However, she does make a point to mention the almond-shaped green eyes, because this actually is an important part of the entire series. Coloring can be very important, but try to think outside that more often.

29. Talk with other writers. They can help you, and helping other writers also helps yourself in a way, like how quizzing a friend for a test helps you.

30. Stop searching the Internet for writing tips and GO FORTH MY CHILDREN.