Author's Note:

Hello everyone and sorry for the long wait between chapters. This chapter is extra-long and is the final chapter of this story. I shall warn you now that the last section may contain spoilers for one of my other stories 'Glacial Bloom' so be warned if you haven't read that one yet though I have tried to keep the details vague. Thank you everyone for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the last chapter.

I own nothing.

Re-adjustments

The period following Snotlout's restoration was…interesting.

By the time Hiccup had got to Berk and then returned with Snotlout's clothes the island had been thoroughly searched and there was no sign of Alvin, Outcasts or the witch Skuld. Most of those who'd come to the island to fight the Outcasts were on their way back to Berk while Stoick remained with Snotlout and Hookfang until Hiccup returned, eventually the older cousin reappeared and soon Snotlout was once again properly dressed though no less embarrassed.

As soon as they got back to Berk Snotlout instantly vanished into the house and into bed fully intending to not come out from under the covers for a long time. Stoick was left with the task of explaining to the Meatheads and the rest of the village why he'd kept Snotlout's transformation secret, most were understanding but some, like Borik, were livid until the chief assured them that he had indeed disciplined his nephew for his hi-jinks as a dragon even though it wasn't in view of anyone else. Ruffnut remained silent for days as she got her head around the fact that the baby dragon she'd been doting on was Snotlout while Tuffnut found the entire thing hilarious, Fishlegs eventually woke up from his faint and soon made plans to interview Snotlout intending to record his experiences of being a dragon while everyone else discussed what had happened to a great extent.

Eventually, after a lot of persuading, bullying from Hookfang and a copious amount of bribery, Hiccup managed to convince Snotlout to leave his bed and go out into the village though the younger cousin reserved the right to retreat at any time. This lead to discovering the slight changes caused by everything that had happened.

The first discovery was made just after they'd stepped outside the house and they were spotted by Helen. Snotlout was going to turn around and run back inside right there and then but Hookfang grabbed the back of his shirt and didn't let him. The boy managed to give his dragon a quick look of betrayal before Helen was right in front of him forcing him to face her.

This was not going to go well. She would not be happy about the fact that what she'd thought was a cute baby dragon was him. No doubt she was absolutely mortified and would possibly blame him even though he'd done his best to stay out of her way.

He wasn't sure what she was going to do but he certainly wasn't expecting her to smile at him. She then took off his helmet and ruffled his hair and he suddenly realised she was actually taller than his human form, her smile grew wider and she patted his head before replacing his helmet again, "You were a really cute dragon Snotlout."

Snotlout didn't know what he was supposed to do or say. She didn't seem to be angry which was good but he wasn't sure he liked what she was currently doing, it kind of made him feel like a little kid.

She briefly pinched his cheeks and addressed Hookfang, "You looked after him really well Hookfang so you better keep it up or I might be having some serious words with you."

The Nightmare grunted in acknowledgement and Helen patted Snotlout's head once more and began walking away, she then turned round and called back, "When I get back home I'll start working on a Firefang inspired outfit for you, you're going to look absolutely adorable."

She disappeared off leaving Snotlout very confused and slightly fearful of what she was planning.

The second encounter of the day revealed the next discovery as they met up with Astrid.

Astrid treated him as normal once she'd checked that he was feeling okay after his switch back so Snotlout hoped that was how things would go from then on but it was fated otherwise when Stormfly entered the picture.

The Nadder immediately ran towards him and began nuzzling him furiously and Snotlout looked to Astrid for aid, "Astrid, what is Stormfly doing?"

The girl was smirking in amusement as she answered, "I think she's decided to keep treating you like a baby dragon, she got pretty attached to your other form so she still believes you to be a hatchling."

Stormfly was now giving him a once over seemingly checking he was alright and the Nadder gave him a sniff. She growled in disapproval and gathered him into her wings and began licking him.

Apparently his cleanliness was not up to her standards.

Snotlout struggled in her grip eager to get away from the mothering dragon, "Stormfly will you stop that? Astrid!"

The girl was laughing at his predicament and was going to be no help at all but he was saved by Hookfang. The Nightmare gave a low roar and began moodily nosing Stormfly away from his rider, the Nadder released the boy with a squawk of protest and roared briefly at Hookfang. He responded with a louder roar of his own and pulled Snotlout into his wings with clear possessiveness, Stormfly sulkily backed off and delivered a series of growls that sounded distinctly impolite and Snotlout got the impression she was commenting on Hookfang's parenting skills. Astrid had stopped laughing as things got a bit more serious and she lightly tapped Stormfly's side to prevent things getting too out of hand, "Stormfly, enough! Snotlout isn't a hatchling and he doesn't need you to mother him, leave him be."

The Nadder grunted disbelievingly but backed off behind her rider with a couple of parting grunts at Hookfang, the Nightmare snorted back and then lovingly nuzzled his rider. Snotlout now felt very much like a child who was stuck in a competition between two parents and he decided it was best to leave now before things got any weirder. Extracting himself from Hookfang's wings Snotlout quickly bade Astrid goodbye and hurried off with Hookfang following him…once he'd given Stormfly a smug look that is.

It didn't take long for it to become obvious that it wasn't just Stormfly who was still treating Snotlout as a hatchling, other dragons were attempting to mother him be it by bringing him food, trying to cuddle him or even clean him. Each time Hookfang moodily chased them off and was going out of his way to nuzzle, cuddle and basically claim Snotlout as his whenever any other dragons were around so the boy found Fishlegs thinking he'd be one of the most likely people to know what was going on.

Thankfully Meatlug seemed to have decided that Snotlout was very much human and simply treated him the same way she treated everyone else, this made it a lot easier to get Fishlegs' help.

As he told the older boy what was going on Fishlegs looked thoughtful and remained quiet for a short while before answering, "Well the best theory I have is that the dragons are all confused by your transformation. They haven't quite worked out what's happened so they all think you're still a hatchling."

"That's what I was thinking but when I was actually a baby dragon they weren't all trying to mother me." Snotlout pointed out.

"I think that's because you were a baby Monstrous Nightmare who looked very like Hookfang." The older boy reasoned, "The chances are you smelled very similar to him as well so they all assumed you were Hookfang's hatchling. You've changed back but maybe your smell still is very similar to a hatchling's because of how long you spent as one. Most of the dragons weren't there when you transformed so they actually think you're a different hatchling and because you no longer look like Hookfang they think you're an 'unclaimed' hatchling."

"So they're all trying to effectively adopt me?"

"Most likely." Fishlegs' answered, "Hookfang knows who you are and about both transformations so he's trying to keep all the others away by claiming you as 'his'. It's not really surprising since you are his rider and you know that he doesn't like it when you ride other dragons instead of him, the only other one he's not bothered with you riding is Toothless so he's probably going to be really possessive while the other dragons keep trying to make you their young one."

"So how do I stop them from trying to do that?"

"Mostly just by waiting. Either Hookfang will properly mark you out as his and the others will all back off or the possible hatchling scent will wear off and be overshadowed by your human one thus making them no longer see you as a hatchling." Fishlegs then looked thoughtful once more, "Of course you could maybe speed up the process by making it very obvious you don't want to mothered by them all."

"How?"

The older boy grinned, "If a dragon tries to give you food don't eat it or even accept it, if they attempt to nuzzle you then back away and run to Hookfang instead or call for him if you can't get away. This will make the dragons think that they're upsetting you and retreating to Hookfang will show that you prefer him over the others further convincing them you're his. Lastly spend as much time with Hookfang as you can and if you can spend more time with Stoick as well even better. Spending a lot of time with them shows your family attachment to them which will cause many of the dragons to back off as it becomes clear that you have a family already. I can't guarantee that these ideas will stop all the dragons but it should work for most of them. In the end I think they'll eventually accept that you're actually a human anyway it's just the transformations have them confused at the moment."

Snotlout nodded, "Okay Fishlegs, I'll give your ideas a try. Thanks for the advice."

The boy beamed, "Anytime. Though you're going to have to tell me what it was like being an actual dragon some time. I can't wait to find out."

"Maybe once everything has calmed down and the Meatheads have left." The younger boy answered, "I think the village is still unsettled by everything at the moment."

Fishlegs looked slightly disappointed, "I guess you're right."

Over the next couple of days Snotlout did as Fishlegs suggested and soon he found unwanted attentions from other dragons drastically decrease, Stormfly kept stubbornly trying to mother him but her loyalty to Astrid let the girl keep her in check avoiding any major incidents between the Nadder and an over possessive Hookfang.

The time soon came for the Meatheads to return home with their new dragons and Snotlout was more than happy to see the back of Thuggory. He was part of the large crowd that had come to see the Meatheads off and he stood alongside his uncle with Hookfang right behind him.

Mogadon clapped a hearty hand on his shoulder nearly causing his knees to buckle, "Well then little hatchling. It was nice to see you again even if you were a dragon most of the time."

Interestingly enough Mogadon had actually found the whole event of Snotlout's transformation quite amusing and now insisted on referring to the boy as 'little hatchling'. The man had peppered him with questions about his time as a dragon and a lot of Snotlout's embarrassment from his transformation back had been forgotten as he'd found himself relating the tales of some of his shenanigans as a baby Nightmare to the man.

Mogadon grinned down and patted Snotlout's head (an increasingly common occurrence from many people since he'd changed back) before turning his attention to Hiccup. Thuggory appeared before him next and Snotlout eyed him warily as the Meathead heir stared back. Eventually the older boy held out his hand and Snotlout took it, they shook once and Thuggory moved on. Helen grinned at him and pulled off his helmet and ruffled his hair as she promised to get started on the 'Firefang outfit' soon, personally Snotlout hoped she didn't but he had a feeling he wouldn't be so lucky so he made plans for it to 'accidently' be destroyed.

The Meatheads and Berkians said their goodbyes and soon the Meatheads were aboard their ship as their new Dragon Riders took to the air. The ship set off with the dragons swooping above and soon it was well on its way and people began to head off away from the docks. Snotlout was about to follow them when he noticed Hiccup standing at the water's edge staring into the distance with a frown on his face. Curious he stood beside his cousin, "Hiccup?"

The older boy glanced at him, "We never found the witch that transformed you in the first place."

Snotlout knew where his cousin was going with this, "So she's still out there somewhere."

Hiccup nodded seriously, "Yes, and we don't know why she helped Alvin or even what she wants." He fixed his eyes on the horizon worriedly,

"Something tells me we don't want to find out."

Sometime later and far away from Berk Skuld sat brooding in an old cave that she'd used as one of her hideouts for a very long time.

Ever since her loss to Berk she'd remained in hiding though her desire for vengeance was very much alive. She cursed Alvin for abandoning her and she wanted nothing more than to make him pay for his treachery but she had to wait.

Though he didn't realise it Snotlout had devastated her reserves of power by activating the circle that changed him back while the other one was still active. Both circles had been formed with powerful magic in a form that hadn't been fully tested and those two massive powers had collided and the backlash had ripped through her magic reserves draining them considerably, now she had little power left so she had to be careful how she used it.

She'd been using her miniscule magic to keep an eye on Berk through her scrying and she'd kept an especially close eye on the two cousins Hiccup and Snotlout, the ones she held responsible for her current weakness. Over the weeks that had passed since her defeat she'd watched as they and their friends had learned more about the dragons and she began to suspect something about Snotlout.

With a little expenditure of her limited magic and some particularly potent herbs she constructed a little plague just for the children of Berk as a test for her theory. As the children one by one fell to her disease she noticed that Snotlout remained completely untouched by its effects and her suspicions grew. She paid close attention as the boy set off on his quest to save his friends and she saw almost every aspect of his journey, his capture by pirates, his escape, the trials he faced upon the Ice Wastes and his discovery of his goal, his high speed return to Berk, his final trial and his miraculous escape which confirmed what she'd suspected all along.

Filled with new determination she saw a chance to claim what she desired and already there were some coming who would help her achieve her goals for they held similar thoughts to her. She waited patiently until the long awaited sound of one of her old friends entered the silence of her cave.

"Skuld."

Before her stood a grey-haired old man who stood tall and strong and she smiled, "Bloodblade."

He returned the smile and briefly bowed, "You likely already know why I am here."

"Indeed old friend. I believe we both share a similar goal regarding a certain Viking boy."

He looked at her in slight surprise, "I was not aware that the child Snotlout had wronged you as well."

"He did." She confimed, "And I fully intend to correct that wrong. Both of us have business with that boy though I believe we should tend to your son first."

"Then I shall bring him to you."

He turned to leave but Skuld's voice stopped him, "Bloodblade." He looked back and she fixed him with a stare, "My power is not as it was and I shall explain to you why soon but it does mean his recovery will take time. It may be years before we can begin towards our goals once more."

The man's eyes were filled with cold determination, "My goals are the same as my son's and he can wait for whatever time is required for he knows the value of patience."

He silently left the cave and Skuld looked down into an old stone font whose waters showed the smiling face of a teenager.

"Enjoy what years you have child for when we are ready we shall return and make you pay in full for what you took from us."

Her hand lashed down and dashed the waters destroying the image within them.

"Snotlout Jorgenson!"

PS-So Snotlout now has a load of enemies gathering against him. I may begin the 'sequel' to this fic soon but I might concentrate on 'Family of Iron' for now as that is also unfinished. Either way please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully see you soon.