I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last updated!

All I can say is that real life is a bitch, and I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. But I've been working on this chapter for a while, and I'm so glad it's finally finished!

As the title states...tensions run high in this chapter! The Big Four have their first day of detention together, what could POSSIBLY go wrong?

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Chapter 6: Tension

Rapunzel was solemn all through lunch, and after forcing down some chicken she escaped the Great Hall. But she had gotten no farther than the doors when a pair of strong arms encircled her. Rapunzel recognized the person almost immediately, and buried herself into Max's embrace. He must have followed her out of the Hall.

Rapunzel was touched by his obvious concern. His magic was strong and sturdy, full of gruff affection and support, and the moment Rapunzel sensed it her self-control shattered.

She let out a sob, and Max tugged her into a small hallway away from the crowds. He held her tightly to his chest, murmuring soothing sounds to her. He smelled comforting and familiar; the deodorant he used was sharp and distinct.

"Talk to me, sweetheart," Max murmured when Rapunzel had calmed down some. She sucked in a deep breath and pulled back slightly. Max kept his arms around her, and sank down so that they were sitting on the ground, the younger girl practically sitting in his lap. Rapunzel sniffled, wiping her face a bit before telling him all that had happened.

"It was all my fault, Max! I c-could've killed–" she finished, her tears returning as she remembered Dumbledore's words. But Max stopped her, his hazel-brown eyes soft but holding an edge.

"Stop, Rapunzel. This wasn't your fault, not in any way, shape or form. Do you understand that? You did what you thought was right; you did it to protect everyone. You aren't to blame, but I know who is, and I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

"No, Max, don't!" Rapunzel grabbed his arm as he made to rise, and Max frowned. She took a deep breath. "I just…I don't want you fighting my battles for me. I love you, and I really appreciate that you're angry with Jack for my sake, but…I don't want you or Flynn to go after him. Please, Max?"

Max stared down at her for several seconds, and let out a hissing sigh. "Rapunzel, you know I can't say no when you give me that look. Fine, Flynn and I'll leave the bastard alone, but you have to tell me if he gives you any trouble during those detentions. Promise me, sweetheart," Max demanded.

Rapunzel nodded, hugging him tightly. She always loved it when he called her sweetheart. It was an endearment he used only for her.

She wasn't quite sure why she was stopping Max from going after Jack Overland. To be honest, she was a bit frustrated at her inability to harbor violent feelings toward him. Then again, Rapunzel supposed that she had gone her entire life without truly hating anyone – she was sorely out of practice. Not to mention that ever since Rapunzel had made eye contact with him in Dumbledore's office, she hadn't been able to shake the idea that perhaps Jack was sorry for what he had done.

But that was silly; it was Jack Overland. He was notorious for being whimsical and casual with everything, there was no way that he felt any serious degree of remorse. He was a trickster, through and through, and Rapunzel had no evidence to convince her otherwise.

Rapunzel and Max talked for a bit longer before they both had to make their way to class, and Rapunzel forced a smile on her face before leaving her friend. But underneath her false cheeriness was a nervous flutter of anxiety.

She had no idea what to expect from her first day of detention, and not knowing was more terrifying than anything.

The last bell of the day rang loudly in Jack's ears, and he began packing his stuff without much enthusiasm. The entire day had been a bit of a disaster, and Jack wasn't sure whether he was dreading or looking forward to the detention. Maybe it was a bit of both.

He was dreading the scorn, but at least he wouldn't be ignored. They would all be working closely together; they would have to interact at some time or another. Merida hated him, but at least she reacted to him. So far, the entire school was doing a good job of acting like he didn't exist, like his wrongdoings placed him so high up on the scale of bad that it was considered wrong to acknowledge him.

Aster wasn't speaking to him at all. Jack cringed at the memory of the lashing he had received after his meeting with Dumbledore. Aster was skilled at a variety of things, but Jack hadn't known how good he was at making people feel bad until last night. He somehow did it without yelling.

The Australian's rant left the white-haired wizard somehow feeling even worse than he had before. That was saying something.

Jack knew that he had screwed up. Dumbledore seemed to be the only person that understood that. When Merida and the Lockwood girl left the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore didn't rip Jack a new one, as the boy had been expecting. Instead, he smiled – fucking smiled – and offered Jack a lemon drop before informing him that his foster parents would be told of what had happened, as was school policy. Jack simply nodded, shocked at the lack of judgment in the older wizard's bright blue gaze.

"You are free to go, Mr. Overland," Dumbledore murmured gently, and Jack frowned, stunned. What, no long talk? No scolding, no guilt speeches? Was the Headmaster serious?

"Sir–" Jack began, but stopped himself. On second thought, he didn't really want to know why Dumbledore was being so mild. It was probably for the best that he didn't know. With a polite bow, Jack turned to leave, but before he could do so, Dumbledore spoke.

"I know what you are feeling, Mr. Overland. Guilt is one of the most painful emotions to live with, and unfortunately it takes a combination of time and patience to overcome it. But trust me, I speak from experience when I say that it will get easier. Do not give up hope."

Jack didn't turn around, and after a few seconds turned the handle and left the office.

The Slytherin shouldered his bag, and ignored the whispers and stares that followed him as he walked out of the classroom. He refused to let his feelings show on his face, and settled for his usual snarky smirk. It was a safety net, and at the moment Jack didn't care what sort of image he presented to the world. Let them think that he didn't care; fuck them and their assumptions.

He walked across the green lawn separating the castle and the oaf's hut, the sky a dim and gloomy gray. Perfect, Jack mused, scowling up at the sky and willing the rainclouds to disappear. Rain was so depressing. All it did was get people wet and create large, awful mud puddles. And in the fall, rain was usually warm, which was just plain annoying. Blech. No thanks.

Hagrid's hut was like one of those little houses Jack had seen in Muggle fairytale books; it had sturdy wooden walls and a straw-thatched roof. A thick stream of smoke steamed from the chimney, sharp and arid. He had never liked fire or the smell of fire, and his nose crinkled in distaste. He hoped that they didn't have to go inside – with the fire burning that steadily, the inside of the hut was bound to be a million degrees and then some.

Jack reached the hut, and peeked inside one of the small windows. Hagrid wasn't inside, and so Jack plopped himself on a boulder situated beside the house. He could feel the distinct heaviness of rain collecting in the air, and smiled without much humor. Things couldn't get much worse.

"Wipe that smirk off yer face, Overland! It's yer fault we're in this bloody mess!" a familiar voice snapped, and Jack amended his previous statement.

Things could most definitely get worse.

Jack looked up to see DunBroch standing over him, her hair a messy, poofy mess of curls. He had heard her described as "sexy" and "hot" by some of his fellow sixth years, but he honestly couldn't see it. Not that he tried very hard, because it was DunBroch. She was always yelling and barreling through things without much thought; she was such a Gryffindor. She rose to the occasion faster than wildfire, which was entertaining as hell.

But romantically, or even sexually speaking? Oh please.

Jack kept the smirk on his face, more to annoy her than anything, and didn't respond. She didn't need a response; she was set on being angry at him no matter what circumstances they were in, so what was the point?

DunBroch turned up her nose at him, and plopped herself down on the farthest boulder from the one Jack was seated on. He didn't mind, nor did he bother looking over to see what she was doing. Normally, he thrived on aggravating her, but it must have been the rain, as well as his rotten mood, because all he wanted to do was go back to his room and sleep.

His long fingers traced his wand; the silky smooth surface was usually a comfort to him. In that moment, it felt like cold, lifeless wood, even colder than his skin. He had set off the fireworks with it. He had hurt innocent children with it. Jack let his eyes close, clenching his hand around his wand so tightly that it hurt.

Never in his life had Jack wanted to take something back as much as he did his unfortunate prank. Now, he was invisible to the people he cared about most – to be honest, there was only Aster, so saying people was stretching it a bit. The worst part was that people didn't think he gave a shit. They didn't even ask to see how he felt. Even Aster didn't give him a chance.

His best friend expected the worst in him.

Jack's jaw clenched, and he searched in vain for a distraction. DunBroch was muttering obscenities to herself, and Jack would eat dirt before willingly starting a civil conversation with her. The Lockwood girl was approaching, and the sadness in her face was enough to sober his thoughts even more. She looked like someone had just killed her kitten in front of her, and Jack snorted at her self-sacrificing determination.

Though to be fair, he shouldn't have expected much more from a Hufflepuff. They were a silly, stupid bunch. Full of goody-two-shoes and dullards who couldn't talk their way from point A to point B without asking for help. Jack shuddered at the thought of being Sorted into Hufflepuff. Thank God he had been spared thatfate.

The Lockwood girl stopped in front of them, her long braid swinging behind her. She twisted her hands together, biting her bottom lip as she surveyed the obvious tension between Jack and DunBroch. Her green eyes were even greener in the gray murkiness that coated the lawn and forest. Jack shifted his position slightly, and her eyes flicked to his face.

He could see her trying to hate him. It was comical, how easy it was to read her. The emotions flew past her eyes: sadness, resentment, confusion…finally settling on curiosity. Jack stiffened at her shameless observation of him, and sent her a suggestive leer. Two could play at that game.

Her cheeks flooded with color, and Rapunzel hastily averted her gaze, her hands twisting even more furiously. Jack smirked, leaning back and staring up at the sky. It was just too easy to get to some people.

"Um, hey," a nasally voice said from behind them, and all three turned to see a tall skinny Ravenclaw standing there, dressed in practical jeans and a brown shirt. His face was sharp, like the rest of him, and Jack frowned. He knew the kid by sight; he was a sixth year just like the rest of them. He was one of the smart ones, always with his nose in a huge book.

DunBroch raised a brow, her expression skeptical. "What d'ya want?"

The Ravenclaw sighed, rubbing a dirty hand across his face. "Yeah, this is happening," he muttered to himself, before peeking at the three once more. "I'm Hiccup, the one who you'll be doing your hours with."

Hiccup? Such a weird name, but oddly enough it seemed to fit him. Jack simply looked at the boy, taking in his obvious discomfort. Hiccup wasn't looking at DunBroch, and this seemed to irk her. Served her right, the attention-loving idiot that she was. Never going two minutes without saying something loud and or annoying.

The Lockwood girl smiled gratefully at him. "Hi, Hiccup!" she exclaimed, her smile blinding when placed next to the other three's solemn, resigned expressions.

Hiccup nodded to her, and his brow furrowed. "Hi. It's Rapunzel, right?"

"Yep!"

Jack frowned. 'Rapunzel' was an even stranger name than Hiccup. How had he never heard of these two before? He knew them by sight, of course, but the idea that five years had gone by and they had never even been introduced...it made Jack curious, that was for sure.

Hiccup coughed, his entire body radiating uncertainty, and Jack very nearly put his head in his hands. This was hell. Literal hell. He was stuck with an insufferable loudmouth, a ditz, and an awkward nerd.

Karma's a bitch, a nasty voice (he liked to think of it as his conscience) said in the back of his head.

Jack couldn't agree more.

Hiccup found a fair amount of amusement in the reactions of the other three sixth years at the sight of the Nifflers in their pens. Hagrid had assigned the detention group to feeding and cleaning the Nifflers, taking pity on them and giving them an "easy" job for their first day. Hiccup had a huge amount of respect for the half-giant, but even he had to admit that Hagrid's interpretation of "easy" and "difficult" was dangerously skewed. Hiccup had scars to prove it, too. He didn't hold it against Hagrid, though, and in any case it had quickened his learning progress by leaps and bounds.

Feeding Nifflers wasn't all that difficult, as long as you were careful to drop the food and run for your life – the creatures tended to charge when they smelled their next meal – but the cleaning was a whole other story. They were furry, but when they got wet their bodies became as slippery as if they had been coated in oil. Hiccup wondered if Jack, Merida and Rapunzel knew this, or if their reactions were based on their previous experience with the creatures – the easy, boring work that third years usually did.

Merida's outraged exclamation of, "You've got t'be jokin'! Nifflers? What're we, third years?" confirmed Hiccup's thoughts. Rapunzel was struggling to keep positive, smiling uncertainty at the pen of Nifflers. Jack was silent, as he had been since Hiccup arrived outside Hagrid's hut.

It seemed strange for the boy to be so quiet – from what Hiccup had observed over the years, Jack was always laughing and joking around with his many friends. He had played against him in Quidditch more times than he could count, though Hiccup's position as Seeker and Jack's more involved Beater position didn't allow for much interaction beyond the occasional Bludger sent the former's way. Neither Merida nor Jack seemed to recognize him from Quidditch, and Hiccup didn't know how to feel about that. He had always been good at being invisible, but he didn't know how gooduntil that moment. Hiccup swallowed hard, focusing on Merida's question.

"Hagrid wanted to give you something easy to start on your first day," he said blandly, trying so hard not to laugh. He couldn't wait until they got to the cleaning part of the job.

Couldn't. Wait.

"Stop laughin'!" Merida shrieked in Hiccup's general direction, a direction she couldn't pinpoint exactly thanks to the slippery mass of Niffler in her arms. The creature was squeaking in discomfort and flailing its body helplessly. Merida could understand its frustration, but at the same time she wished it all sorts of pain for being so damn slippery!

"I'm not laughing, I swear," Hiccup choked out, and the Hufflepuff girl laughed along with him, the now-clean Niffler slipping out of her hands and crawling over to join the others in the freshly washed pen. The blonde girl was panting from the effort, but smiling, and Hiccup was calmly washing his Niffler as if he did it every day. Merida and Jack, on the other hand, were forced to use more violent measures.

Hagrid had come by at some point, but Merida had been too busy wrestling a Niffler to the ground to really focus on what he said. By the time she had finished washing the damn creature – getting more dirt on it in the process, but not giving a flying Snitch at that point – Hagrid had disappeared.

"Mother fucking dammit, you little shit!" Jack hissed from somewhere to Merida's left, and she glanced over to see that the Niffler was crawling all over Jack's back, getting that gross oily substance all over his robes and exposed skin. The Slytherin was fairly spitting with anger, struggling to grab the Niffler but only managing to look like a troll with a fairy attached to his back.

Merida didn't even bother trying to hold back her laughter. She threw back her head and laughed, the Niffler in her arms peering its head around curiously at the sound. Jack Overland, usually so suave and infuriating, was covered in dirt and had an oily Niffler on his back. It was better than Christmas!

Thinking of Christmastime made Merida's smile disappear. Her mother's words came back in a rush, and suddenly all Merida wanted to do was sit down and hug herself. Her days as a free person were numbered. Soon, she'd be shackled, and by something stronger than chains. Matrimony.

It made her feel a little sick to her stomach.

Jack's gaze was cold, humiliation tinting his cheeks pink.

"Go fuck yourself, DunBroch. Shouldn't be hard for you, since it's the only way you get fucked to begin with!" he snapped, and Merida's entire body stiffened. It was along the lines of his usual taunts, but something about that particular one set her aflame with rage.

She dropped her Niffler in the dirt, and Jack did the same, and if Merida hadn't been so angry she would have noticed the relief in his gaze at her rising to his bait.

"I'd rather be a prude then wave my tiny, tiny dick to whoever wants t'see it!"

"You must be thinking of a different dick, DunBroch, because I'm anything but tiny."

Merida heard the Hufflepuff – Rapunzel – gasp behind her. What the blonde didn't know was that Merida knew how to deal with Jack. She had been doing it for years, and his attempt to intimidate her sexually was a desperate move, even for him.

"Oh, then all of your conquests must be lyin'. All two hundred of them," Merida jeered, and the two of them glared at each other, a mere foot of space between them. Hiccup and Rapunzel were silent.

Merida was so angry that she didn't even think before continuing.

"I wonder, how many girls are linin' up to see your tiny dick after what y'did? How many girls will want to fuck Jack Overland, the oh-so-mighty trickster who doesn't care that he hurt at least at least two dozen people just so he could get his laugh?"

The Gryffindor smirked up at him, waiting for the retort, waiting for the telltale sneer that would continue their banter. At this point, she expected it. Jack was an asshole, but at least she knew where she stood. She had at least a margin of control of how the situation went.

Jack stared down at her, and for the first time Merida hesitated in her stance. For the first time, she wondered if she had gone too far. But she quickly shook it off. Jack Overland practically invented the term "taking it too far".

She stared up at him, her smirk leaving her face but her scrutiny never ceasing. There was something stirring beneath his stoic expression, something that made Merida shift uncomfortably. Jack sucked in a deep breath, and Merida found that she couldn't move. A sharp tingle was piercing her skin, making her shiver uncontrollably. But a few more seconds of looking into Jack's eyes – they were so blue that they were almost glowing – and it all faded into a sleepy warmth. Merida blinked, slowly, her eyes remaining closed despite her attempts to open them. How much time had passed?

Rapunzel's voice pierced the odd emptiness that filled Merida's ears.

"Jack, look what you're doing!"

Merida frowned, or at least tried to. Her body wasn't listening to her; it was like she was falling asleep; everything was soft and floaty. A blindingly hot hand touched her arm, and Merida shuddered. She felt warmth suffusing through her entire form, and suddenly she could feel again.

She blinked back to awareness, looking at her hands. They were tinged with blue, the unnatural color fading rapidly. What the bloody hell had Jack done to her? It wasn't a spell, if it was it was a nonverbal one. But he hadn't been holding his wand…was it wandless magic, then?

Merida looked up, only to see Jack already half way across the field, heading back to the castle.

Hiccup scooped up the remaining Nifflers, the ease in which he did so made Merida scowl.

"I think we're done for the day," he said quietly, and Rapunzel nodded, sending Merida a quick look before moving to help Hiccup. Merida supposed she should help, but her mind was so consumed by what had just happened that all she could do was stand, shivering. She watched as Jack disappeared over the top of the hill.

It started to rain. It was a warm rain, but Merida still felt a deep chill.