Hiccup forced himself to swallow the retort he wanted to shout at the man and contented himself with a casual "Oh, hi Al." His mother, Valka, stiffened and he heard the spoon clatter in the pan.

"Hiccup!" she implored him. "Please show some respect for your father!"

"He's NOT my father," Hiccup ground out through gritted teeth. "He's the man you married after Dad went missing..."

"And the man responsible for putting' a roof over yer ungrateful 'ead and food in yer mouth!" Alvin Treacher sneered. He lumbered forward and the young man backed up a pace, his forest green eyes widening briefly. He could hear his mother shuffling behind him and he knew he couldn't back away any further-he didn't like leaving her exposed when Alvin was in a mood, no matter how she sided with Alvin against him.

"Yeah, about that, Al..." Hiccup said, deliberately provocative. The slap snapped his head round and he felt his cheek burning. He stumbled back a pace.

"I've bin wanting' ter do that all day!" Teacher sneered at the boy. "Yer know, by rights I should've suspended yer!"

"Suspended?" Valka murmured in shock. Her eyes trailed over her only child, disappointment bright in the forest green gaze. "Oh, Hiccup-you promised me that you would try not to get into such trouble!"

"It was his fault!" Hiccup protested. "He wanted to take something of mine off me!"

"Gods, boy-yer sound like a five year old!" Treacher sneered. "Is this what yer father taught yer? Ter be a spoilt brat rather than a man?"

"What-like you? Hitting women and kids..." Hiccup accused him defiantly, expecting the second slap. His cheek was scarlet now.

"Yer would have benefitted if yer worthless father 'ad taught her a lesson or two," Treacher told him brutally. "If 'e'd tanned yer 'ide a few times, yer wouldn't be the worthless trouble-maker yer is now. Yer won't amount ter nothing, boy!" Hiccup swallowed and breathed hard, biting back against the words he wanted to scream at the man-because if he said any more, it would get violent...and he had silently promised his father he would protect Valka. And though his father had gone missing five years earlier, Hiccup had always tried to keep his word.

"Reflects badly on you then," Hiccup said slowly. "You're the Principal. If your son can't get a High School Diploma, what does that say about your school?" The third slap almost knocked him to the ground and he staggered back. His cheek felt numb and hot with pain, all at the same time.

"Says I got nothing ter work with," Treacher growled. "Can't make a silk purse outta a sow's ear! Yer a stupid, worthless, lazy, defiant brat and I only tolerate you because o' yer mother. But if yer push me much more, boy, yer out on the streets!"Hiccup glanced up at Valka, seeing her eyes widen in worry and begin to swim with tears. Defeatedly, he bowed his head and stared at the floor.

"I-I...apologise, sir..." he forced himself to say, the words almost burning his tongue.

"What were that, boy?" Teacher sneered, cupping his ear.

"I said...I'm sorry," Hiccup said defeatedly. "You're right. I am ungrateful. And worthless. I owe you everything." Staring at the floor, he didn't see Alvin move...until he felt the hand around his throat. He choked and clawed wildly at the grip.

"Yer better not forget it!" Alvin menaced the teen coldly. "Next time I hear any sass from yer, boy, I won't be so generous!" And he shoved the boy back. "Go ter yer room!" Swallowing, Hiccup cast his mother a worried look but she gave him a reassuring small smile..and he turned and trudged to the stairs, scrambling up three at a time and slamming and locking the door to his tiny bedroom with as much vigour as he thought he could get away with. And then he flung himself onto his bed, burying his face in the thin pillow, his shoulders jerking with ragged breaths. He wasn't crying because that would be weak, but he was angry and frustrated and a little scared. Treacher was cruel, clever and violent and held all the cards. He rolled over to stare at the ceiling and threw an arm across his face, breathing hard.

The truth was, of course, that Hiccup and Valka had been in desperate trouble when Alvin Treacher had moved in on Hiccup's Mom. His father, Stoick, had vanished with his plane over the mountains five years ago-and in the absence of a body or any wreckage, the banks and institutions had refused to accept that he was dead, only 'missing'. And that meant that there was no money, all bank accounts frozen. Their home was taken and they were left with nothing...until Alvin had wooed and married Valka. The whirlwind romance had made the frail Valka happy and for her sake, Hiccup had gone along with it, trying to get along with his new step-father. But it soon became clear Alvin's version of 'Happy Families' was very different to Hiccup's. Alvin had begun to verbally pick at the woman, undermining her confidence, emphasising her reliance on him and the wretched state of their finances and prospects when he had taken them on. And the fact that her son was a screw-up.

He didn't show her what Alvin had done, didn't reveal the burns or bruises or welts he left. He didn't tell Valka of the hours he spent locked in the damp cellar or shivering in the yard. He flinched when she sided with him, pleading with him to 'get along' with his new 'father', to respond to Alvin's apparent kindness. And he tried to be around when Alvin had been drinking because he had seen bruises on Valka's narrow face and it chewed him up inside. But there was no escape, for Alvin tracked Hiccup's progress at school and made sure that the teen couldn't get away with anything...and any hope, any plan he had was thwarted. And so the boy had felt there was no point in trying.

He sat up wearily. He had a granola bar in his bag, grabbed at lunch because he missed more evening meals than he ate and he chewed through it ravenously, then walked to the window and slid it open. The night was cool and he scrambled out and dropped into the dark yard, silently sneaking to the shed, grabbing a bowl and scooping a bowlful of dried dog food. Checking that no one was watching, he slid through the gate out back and glanced left and right. Then he whistled through his teeth.

Immediately, a dark shape sprinted into view. The dog was young, scruffy and thin, a pink tongue hanging from him mouth as he seemed to smile. Hiccup dropped to a knee and felt the dog fling himself against the boy. He started laughing at the thorough licking he was given and he swiped the saliva away. "Toothless-I'm sure that won't wash out!" he chuckled, patting the excited mutt. The black stray, his green eyes bright with excitement, capered excitedly as the boy put the bowl down and wolfed the food. Kneeling by him, Hiccup stroked and patted him as he ate, feeling his heart soar.

He had found the stray while walking home from school and had used what little money he had on the mutt...but he had needed to resort to stealing food intended for Alvin's ferocious dog, Screamer. He guessed Alvin wouldn't take well to the theft or to the dog-named Toothless because the mutt had lost a few teeth already. But Toothless was literally the only creature that really cared for Hiccup and he wasn't about to give him up. He rested his head against the dog's as they crouched in the cold night.

"We're just a pair of strays, bud," he murmured. "And I promise I won't ever let you down."