Hiccup stirred slightly as he began to wake up. This week had been super stressful and he was enjoying the extra sleep. Pulling the furs over his head to block out the sunlight he groaned. The exam with the Gronckle will be tomorrow. He had to come up with some sort of plan to show everyone the truth. All of this "faking it" wasn't getting him to "make it" fast enough. Loud banging on his door pulled the warm embrace of sleep away.
"Morning Hiccup," Stoick boomed, "How's my pride and joy?"
"He's awake!" Hiccup yawned.
"Good." Stoick turned to leave, but paused on the outside of the door. He wanted to say more. To let his son know how proud he was of him becoming a real Viking.
Hiccup stood on the inside of the door, looking at the shadow that his father cast beneath the door. He sighed. He wished he could tell his father the truth now. He wanted to make his father proud. He wanted to be accepted. He wanted his dad. But the moment passed, and the creak of wood and heavy footfalls signified Stoick has gone back down. Hiccup sighed once more, and began to get dressed.
Harry, Ron and Hermione had already made it to the Great Hall when Hiccup walked in. They immediately saw him and waved him over. Hiccup's eyes lit up with a smile, and he made his way over to his friends. But he didn't get far before someone shouted, "There he is!" Like a pack of very large Terrible Terrors the Vikings surrounded Hiccup, bombarding him with questions. Hiccup still wasn't too comfortable being swarmed by the villagers, asking him about his kill ring skills. But he warded off their questions stating a desire for food. The swarm of Vikings cleared a path for him. And it wasn't long before Hiccup was getting his fill of the dagmal feast. He walked past countless tables of Vikings making a place for him to get where he desired to go, Ignoring their invitations, he looked for his new friends. Hermione and Astrid were sitting next to each other, across the table from Ron and Harry, who had their backs to him. Both Astrid and Hermione saw Hiccup and waved him over. Harry and Ron turned and smiled, making room for Hiccup to sit between them. A genuine smile on his face, Hiccup sat down between them. who were also enjoying dagmal. They kept their voices lower, as to not attract too much attention. The topic of discussion? Blink! They chatted away about the new tamed dragon, who was currently residing with Toothless at the cove. The previous night they had become more acquainted with Blink. Hiccup wanted to know everything he could about this dragon, he was beginning to make his own dragon manual and the Changewing page needed several alterations from the Book of Dragons. The biggest discovery about the dragon was that they have an outer and inner eyelid. They can't see out of the outer eyelid when it is closed, and it serves the purpose of a regular eyelid. The inner eyelid allows the Changewing to remain invisible though, still can't see perfectly with the inner eyelid closed. Oftentimes they will leave their eyes to be seen until they sense real danger. Causing them to close their inner eyelid when frightened. This can give off a "floating blinking eye" effect.
Their stomachs full, they forced themselves through the "Hiccup Fan Club" towards the kitchen to thank the staff and drop the dishes. Eventually they made it outside, into the brisk morning air. Hiccup grinned. Even with everything going on, he was enjoying the company. They made their way towards the forest. Hiccup had told everyone in the Great Hall that he and Astrid were going to go teach the guests how to better defend their homes from dragons.
After entering the forest and ensuring that nobody was following them, they snuck to the cove.
They spent the entire morning increasing the bond between Harry and Blink. Practicing accuracy of acid blast, testing the camouflaging abilities, and they even got Harry and Blink to go for a flight together.
Astrid was fascinated. These dragons were smart creatures, not the mindless killing machines she had grown up to fear. Throughout the morning, she often finds her eyes drawn towards Hiccup. He was not the traditional viking by any means, but he seemed to have found where he fit in. He was so at ease with Toothless and was confident, something she had never seen in him before. Whenever Hiccup looked her way, she quickly found something else to look at.
Hermione sat on a boulder in the shade near Astrid and was furiously scribbling down every bit of information she thought would be useful. She wanted to learn everything she could about dragons, and was watching Harry and Hiccup with their dragons with eager eyes. There was so much to learn! Why couldn't Blink camouflage against two sources of light? Why are the antennae of Changewings so long? What is the top speed of a Night Fury? What is the purpose of retractable teeth? These and countless other questions occupied her mind as she watched and scribbled down notes.
Harry had not had this much fun since his first broom ride. Blink was incredible. It never ceased to amaze him how his scales would vanish right under his skin. Blink had quite the personality as well. He was mischievous and very curious. He loved to spook the others vanishing and appearing inches in front of their faces. He was very playful as well, romping around with Toothless playing whatever games their dragon minds came up with. Harry really loved having Blink around. "I'm glad Hedwig isn't here, she would get so jealous." He smiled at the thought of Hedwig, but it quickly turned to a frown. Would he ever be able to get back to her? Who would care for her? The Dursley's certainly wouldn't. He would want the Weasley family to care for her. He shook the depressing thought from his mind. He was with a dragon- HIS dragon. He decided to focus on that.
Though he would never say anything out loud, Ron felt a hint of jealousy watching Harry soar on the back of Blink. The freedom that it would give, the exhilaration of flying at breakneck speeds, on the back of an unstoppable dragon. Those dreams occupied his thoughts. He decided to distract himself by talking with Hermione, but she was too busy scribbling away in her notebook. He preoccupied himself with practicing some spells. Sure you are not supposed to use magic outside of school, but who was going to stop him? The Ministry? Ron scoffed at the thought. Like they could ever find out.
Hiccup, had never been happier. He was with his dragon, found himself some new friends AND Astrid was willing to join them. He enjoyed teaching Harry how to handle his dragon, showing him the tips and tricks that he had learned training Toothless. Every now and again he would shout out something he learned to Hermione who added it to her notes. Whenever he would turn his head to tell her something, he noticed that Astrid would quickly glance away. He would then blush to himself and then quickly go back to assisting Harry. Hiccup did not quite understand that girl.
Around mid-day they decided to take a break. Harry stretched and laid down in the shade exhausted from the day's events. Blink had so much energy! Hermione began questioning him about his perspective of dragon training. Astrid and Ron joined in the small talk as well as Hiccup finished tinkering with Toothless's fin.
Hiccup joined the group and broke the conversation. "I have an idea, but first, lets get some food, I'm starving!"
Soon they had a bunch of fish roasting over a merry fire in the cove. Dragons make fishing a breeze! As they began to eat, Hiccup opened the conversation, "Ok here is my plan. It is probably something stupid but it is just stupid enough that it just might work."
Harry leaned in, "Well let's hear it."
"I won't kill dragons." Hiccup continued, "I can't and I refuse. The winner of dragon training has to kill a dragon in front of the entire village as a rite of passage. Thankfully there is one more test between now and that final exam. And I want to sabotage it."
Hiccup grinned at the looks on their faces.
Astrid broke the silence, "And how do you plan to do that?" There was just a hit of challenge in her tone.
"It involves Harry and Blink. We are going to stage a dragon attack!"
"Wait, stage a dragon attack?" Ron asked.
"Yes! Hear me out. Early tomorrow morning we'll sneak Hiccup and Blink into the ring. Just before they release the Groncle, you will attack! Start by throwing some acid around and disarming everyone. The others our age are pretty clueless and basically harmless when it comes to dragons. Astrid was the only real contender in the ring anyways." Hiccup paused, and his eyes darted towards Astrid, but quickly continued, "The crowd is not supposed to interfere, and I'll step into the middle of the ring and pretend to train Blink in front of everyone. Harry won't be seen because of his cloak. It should show everyone that dragons aren't what we thought. Astrid, this is where you come in and suggest something about the tactics of being able to defend Berk with dragons, instead of from them. Astrid you were the favorite to win before I found toothless, if you back me up, they might listen to reason."
"Vikings and reason aren't usually used in the same sentence Hiccup," cautioned Astrid.
"I mean yeah they will be MAD but if it's done right, we might gain enough traction. Talk about food too when you step up. We will be able to catch more fish and have bigger flocks because the dragons will be on our side instead! Hermione and Ron, you two can shout from the audience as well, about how some people of Hogwarts have made peace with the dragons."
Ron tried not to look nervous. "You don't think they will turn on us while we are in the crowd?"
Astrid spoke up. "I'm not sure, but we need to end this war. You would be a great help." Ron swallowed hard and Hermione spoke up, "It is a risk we are willing to take."
Hiccup beamed, "Great! So Harry, you need to practice riding and being in interesting orientations atop Blink with your cloak on. You can't be seen whatsoever."
Harry grinned, Got it."
"Any other questions?" asked Hiccup. They all shook their heads. "Remember, there are four rules of planning. Make the plan. Execute the plan. Expect the plan to fall apart. Throw away the plan." An eerie quietness sank over the group.
Harry broke the silence, "Great speech coach"
Hiccup chuckled. "Let's hope we don't get to those last two. We had better get practicing."
For the remainder of the afternoon they practiced and went over the plan until they could recite it backwards. About an hour before sunset they called it a day. Toothless anxiously whined and looked at the sky. They hadn't gone on a proper flight all day. "You guys go head to the great hall and get some of the Kveld feast before it is gone, Toothless hasn't had a proper flight all day, and I need to clear my head. I will meet you at the guest house."
"See you then!" Ron set off towards the great hall, eager to get his fill. Harry and Hermione followed suit, and Hiccup turned to do his pre-flight check on Toothless' prosthetic and all of the mechanisms.
"Would you mind if I came along?" A voice asked. Hiccup had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed that Astrid didn't leave with the rest of the group. Regaining his composure he replied, "I..uh..yeah...yeah sure! I promise a smoother flight than last time."
Astrid chuckled, "I hope so!"
Hiccup mounted Toothless and then reached out a hand to help Astrid. Instead of slapping it away, she took his hand and stepped up and sat down behind Hiccup. Toothless warbled and shrugged his shoulders a few times, adjusting to the weight. Time seemed to slow as Toothless crouched and spread his wings, Astrid couldn't help but tightly grab onto Hiccup. It was utterly silent. And faster than a blink, they were gone.
Astrid gripped onto Hiccup tighter as they rose, still adjusting to the sensation of taking off. As they leveled off, she slackened her grip and began to really enjoy the flight. The childlike sense of wonder and beauty returned just as it had her first flight. She reached for clouds, giggling like a child. She stopped herself, she had never been this vulnerable before. Never this open, she had a reputation to keep up, but here, up in the clouds, she let down her guard and just enjoyed the moment. Another smile crossed her lips as she tried to engrain every detail of the flight into her mind. A slight gust of wind quickly caused her to grab onto Hiccup, and this time, she didn't let go. She rested her head on Hiccup's shoulder to get a better view of the setting sun ahead of her. The sun and sky painted them a completely different sunset tonight. Deep shades of red and vibrant pinks faded to dark purples. The calm ocean reflected the sky's artwork in a beautiful rendition.
Astrid breathed out a sigh of contentment. "Hiccup?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you, for showing me this world." She opened her mouth to say more, but decided against it just to enjoy the time she was in the air, or was it to enjoy the time she had with Hiccup? She smiled and concluded, it was a bit of both.
The sky began to darken, and Hiccup was saddened as he was forced to turn Toothless towards home. He could stay up here forever. As their speed increased Hiccup felt Astrid grip him tighter. He was glad she could not see his flushed face. He slowed their speed and they slowly began to circle the cove, doing everything he could to prolong the moment. Eventually they came to a soft landing in the cove. There was a long pause before Toothless impatiently warbled and shook his shoulders. "Right," said Hiccup. "Astrid if you could.."
"Hmm? Oh yeah." She relinquished Hiccup and dismounted.
"It's just, Toothless..
"It's fine," Astrid replied, trying to relive the awkwardness of the situation.
"No you were ok" Hiccup blurted out, eyes at his feet and his words coming out jumbled and fast.
Astrid stopped him, "Hiccup." He looked up at her. She playfully punched him. "That's for keeping your dragon a secret." He gave her a confused look and glanced at Toothless for help. Toothless shrugged and Hiccup looked back. Astrid brushed her hair out of her face as she turned to leave, then stopped herself and grabbed Hiccup. She pulled him in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Avoiding eye contact, she managed to get out, "That's for...everything else." Before turning and running out of the cove.
Hiccup slowly lifted his hand and touched his cheek, confused, but smiled as he watched her go. Toothless came over and looked at him with a curious warble.
"Wha...what are you looking at?" He stammered.
"Oh nothing." came a voice from behind him. Hiccup quickly turned around to see Harry, Ron and Hermione appear out of thin air. Blink warbled in amusement.
Hiccup's cheeks immediately burst bright red and mumbled to himself, "I hate Changwings." as the others bust into fits of laughter.