ROTBFTD at Hogwarts: The Red Death

Toothless Hatching

"Hiccup. Hiccup! Hiccup!"

At the sound of his name, Hiccup peeked one eye open to find his mother's face just inches from his, almost filling his vision, a grin stretched wide across her face.

For a moment, all he could do was stare at her in half-conscious bewilderment.

Then Hiccup noted the pitch darkness in the window behind her, and he rolled over and pressed the pillow over his head. It was definitely not morning, which meant he definitely did not have to get up.

Suddenly, he felt the blankets being ripped away from him. He curled into a little ball, his skinny arms wrapped around his knobby knees, huddling for warmth.

That did no good. His mother simply flipped the mattress, and Hiccup suddenly found himself lying spread eagled on the hard wooden floor, gasping for breath but still not quite awake.

He squinted up at his bedside clock and saw it read 3:44 am. Hiccup groaned.

"Get up, Hiccup!" Valka insisted, nudging his side with her foot.

"Why?" Hiccup moaned.

"Because it's happening!" She exclaimed, exasperated.

"It's happening?" Hiccup asked wearily, sitting up and rubbing his bleary eyes. "What's---?"

Then he remembered. The egg. The egg was hatching.

Hiccup had found the egg a little over a month ago, in the middle of a clearing only a few miles away. It was simply lying on the grass. There was no nest anywhere in sight. This in itself made Hiccup curious and a little concerned. That and the egg's color. It was black as pitch. So black it seemed to absorb all of the light around it. Hiccup had never seen an egg like that.

He had of course known better than to touch it, or even to go anywhere near it; the scent of a human anywhere close to her egg would have sent the dragon mother into a protective frenzy, or worse, driven her away.

Wondering what species would have an egg like that, and hoping for a new discovery, Hiccup had climbed a tree on the edge of the clearing and hidden himself among the branches, intending to wait for the mother to return so he could get a proper look at her. He had waited until well past nightfall, but much to his dismay, the mother never came back.

Fearing for the eggs safety in the chilly Norwegian night, Hiccup had taken it home and explained the situation to his mother. His mother had agreed with him, and promised him she would help him care for the egg until it hatched.

She had also promised him that this dragon wouldn't go into the training program with the others. This one would be his.

And now the big day was finally here.

Instantly, Hiccup was wide-awake. He leapt up from the floor and dashed down the stairs, his mother hot on his heels.

The pair careened into the kitchen, Hiccup almost losing his footing on the slick tiles. Righting himself, he rushed to the fireplace.

The dragon egg lay at the heart of the fire, which crackled cheerfully around it.. The egg was about the size of a box of tissues, pitch black, and smooth to the touch --- except for the cracks slowly creeping over its surface. The tongues of fire danced off the shell as the egg slowly began to rock back and forth, the tiny dragon inside struggling to hatch.

Hiccup glanced at his mother, kneeling beside him, and his mind went blank. He had watched her deliver dozens of baby dragons in his eleven years, and he knew every aspect of the process intimately, but suddenly it was as if he had forgotten everything.