SET AFTER NEXT GEN. AT LEAST TEN YEARS AFTER HUGO AND LILY LEAVE HOGWARTS.

HICCUP POV

Hiccup pushed his cart, watching his dad's back as he lead him to platform 9/34.

"This ought to be good." His father said gruffly. "Now, listen closely here, son. All you've got the do, is run straight at this wall. Right?" Hiccup began to internally panic. Couldn't he have mentioned this part earlier?

He swallowed with effort. "Right."

His father eyed him. Hiccup knew he would not follow. After he was past the wall, that was it. The family was all about bravery. He was raised to stand on his own two legs without help. His dad and family were convinced it was good for him. After all, it was how they had all been raised, and look how they turned out, right? Big, towering, brutes. Though, despite the method of merciless parenting, Hiccup had yet to acquire this muscled figure, and was still standing at 4'10. But hopefully, it was all in good time. He was still just eleven years old. Flimsy and lanky with clumsy, inconvenient log arms and pretty much the skinniest torso any boy ever had the misfortune to have.

"We're proud of yeh, son. You'll do amazin' things. I know it." If you're in Gryffindor, that is.

Hiccup nodded slightly in response. And took a deep breath, turning to the wall that would lead him to a world of magic. He had no idea.

Merida closed her eyes as her mother kissed her forehead outside of the train.

"Now, you mustn't forget to brush your hair every mornin' young lady."

"Yes mum, you told me four times on the way here."

Her mum gave her a strict look, but there was no feeling behind it. This would be the longest Merida had ever left her family. She turned to her dad, whose eyes were tearing up. He was completely oblivious to her three brothers wreaking havoc and chaos behind him. Terrifying mothers, traumatizing children. The usual. She prepped herself for the immense, inevitable bear hug.

"Oomph! D- Dad, I can't…breathe." She said hoarsely. He let go, and she could tell he was downright trying not to blubber.

"Don't get yourself in ter too much trouble, alright princess?" He leaned in close, mocking a whisper that was easily heard by her mum. "Yer mother will blow 'er top." Merida giggled a bit, her hair bouncing with the shaking of her shoulders.

Her parents gave her one more affectionate look. She really did want to make them proud. Housing will probably not be an issue. After all, her dad was in Gryffindor, but the hat had told him he could have just as easily been a Hufflepuff. Her mum had been a Ravenclaw, but she could have almost been a Slytherin.

With one last embrace with her mother, they were off. And that was the start to her seven-year, epic adventure.

RAPUNZEL POV

Rapunzel watched in amazement as a boy her age ran straight through a wall. There was nothing like it.

"Alright, dear," Her father said, in a mixture of terror, proud ness, sadness and counseling.

"I don't think we're to go through. I'm not like you guys." He said, his head held down just a bit.

Her father was a muggle, her mother a witch. It always surprised everyone, that they were blood related. What with her parent's wavy dark hair and her long, blonde hair, going down to her lower back. Her mother said the veela gene had always skipped generations, and that Rapunzel was blessed. Of course, her mom was quite beautiful.

She ran up to her father, hugging him tight. He seemed surprised at first, but hugged back after a moment. She went to her mother, a Hufflepuff. Her mom had always said that whatever house she was in, she would be proud. That was good to hear, knowing that many kids were pressured into feeling as if they needed to be in one house or another. She waved goodbye, and stared at the wall. She steadied her breathing. It was always best to stay calm. Common knowledge. She broke into a run, determination to prove herself pumping through her veins.

JACKS POV

Jack sat in the back of the train, in an empty compartment. People were just starting to get on the train. His foster mom had dropped him off too early, and left. Wanting nothing to do with this school or with this world. She probably just wanted to go back to bed.

You would expect him to be in an utter state of complete shock, but really, he wasn't. He always knew he was different. He could make things happen. Good things, things that worked to his advantage, things he didn't even mean to do. Bad things. It was probably why he couldn't keep himself in a foster home for more than a year. It might also have something to do with his troublesome and mischievous personality. Bottom line was, either the parents ran away from him, or he ran from them.

He was looking out the window at all the kids and their families, a faint but entirely familiar and normal feeling of envy in his chest. He turned when he heard the compartment door open.

"You wouldn't mind if I sat in here, would you?" Asked a girl probably his age, with crazy curled, red hair and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose and cheeks.

"Oh, sure." Jack had been sitting sideways on the one side, so his legs took up the room on the seat. He was about to sit up, to look more professional or whatever, but the girl sat exactly the same way on the other padded bench. He leaned back.

"You have weird hair." She stated. Like he hadn't already known he had bright white, gravity defying hair.

"I could say the same thing about you." He retorted. She shrugged as if to say "touché'"

The door opened slightly once more. "Mind if I sit too?" Said a pretty girl with long, blonde hair and big green eyes. They both nodded and the red-headed girl sat up, making room for her. This looked like this would be it. The three of them. The train's horn blew, signaling it needed everyone to be on or off. And then they were moving.

They all looked out the window in awe. "Wow…" Said the be freckled girl.

Then there was a knock at the door, and someone opened it right as the train took the first lurch to the left, and went over some bumps. Whoever was knocking fell right in, sprawled out on the ground. "Oomph." Groaned the boy who fell in. He picked himself up before any of them could offer their help. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I didn't expect the train to do that, I can leave if you want." He babbled nervously to the ground, brushing himself off.

"No, 's alright. We have room, right?" Said the girl with green eyes, turning to Jack and the redhead.

He nodded and sat next to Jack, who quickly sat up for him.

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Hiccup." He breathed quietly. The other girl giggled. Jack smirked. Hiccup reddened.

"Well my name is Rapunzel, so you're not the only one with a weird name." She sighed.

"Like, the princess in the tower?" Asked the other girl. Rapunzel nodded. The girl blew a piece of curled hair from her eye. "Princesses are overrated." She announced. Rapunzel seemed to agree, so she only looked mildly offended.

"Hah, you think that's bad? My name is Jack Frost." He told them.

"Explains the hair." Muttered Hiccup. Jack rolled his eyes at him.

"Well, I don't know what was running through your parent's minds when they were thinking for names-"

Abandonment? Drugs? Alcohol? Jack thought.

"…but my name is Merida." She finished.

And no four kids became friends that fast since the Marauders. They talked about the houses they wanted to be in, their parents houses (in which Jack became very interested in his shoes) And about the stuff they had read in their textbooks. And Rapunzel needed up buying loads of candy to share.

"Wow let me see!" Merida said to Hiccup. He handed his wand over and she examined it.

"Looks like cedar, right?" She asked, glancing up at him. He nodded. "What's the core?" She asked.

"Dragon heart string." He said.

"Nice! I think wands are so cool." She took hers from her boot. "Mine is Rosewood and the core is unicorn tail hair." She got a dreamy look. "I've always wanted to see a unicorn." She seemed to snap back to reality. "What are yours?" She asked him and Rapunzel. Jack looked at his. "I think the wood is Mahogany and the core is thestral tail hair." He said,

"Rare." She grinned.

"Mahogany?" He asked.

"No, thestral hair."

"Oh." He said, feeling dumb.

Rapunzel said the core of hers was veela hair, and that the wood was maple. Then a prefect came to the door and told them to put their robes over their clothes, and that they would get their full uniforms after the sorting.

Once they had, the train slowly started dropping in speed.

After everyone was off, the first years were all led to a lake.

"Partner up! Two per boat!" Said a prefect.

Rapunzel and Merida got in one boat and Hiccup and Jack in another, but they were right next to each other.

"Oh, my god. This is better than the stuff back in Scotland!" Merida exclaimed.

"This has to be a dream." Rapunzel said, eyes lit in wonder and curiosity. "Someone pinch m- OUCH! What the heck?!"

"Well, you're not dreaming." Merida confirmed. "What? You said to pinch you!" She giggled.

Jack smirked and looked back up at the castle. This was pretty amazing. He looked at Hiccup, who looked like he was going to throw up, due to nerves. Also a little green.

"Hey dude, it'll be okay." Jack assured him. Hiccup didn't look him in the eye. Only nodded in a reserved way. He did that a lot.

HICCUP POV

Please, please, please just let him be in Gryffindor. Or Slytherin, at the least. He felt like he was gonna explode. He barely heard Jack try to tell him it would be okay. How on earth would he know? He tried not to look too sick as the boats reached shore and all the first years started getting out.

The great doors at the front of the castle opened, where a man took them all in, and had them stand in one big crowd.

"Welcome, to Hogwarts." He sighed. Glad to have herded them. He looked to be in his fifties. With warm chocolate skin and slightly graying hair. "My name is Professor Thomas. I am your headmaster. As I'm sure most of you will already know, you are to be sorted into four houses. Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I know it is hard. I've had the feeling. Everyone does. But you don't need to be nervous. You'll look back on it years from now, and you'll know where ever you are sorted, it's where you belong. It's where you're happy. And I'll tell you a secret." He leaned in close, and said in a more hushed voice: "You needn't feel pressure to be in one house or another. No matter what your peers or even, your parents say. This is about you."

Hiccup held his breath. He saw Jack glance at him, concerned.

"Alright, time to go to the great hall." Professor Thomas grinned.

They were led into a large room, that did not fail to live up to it's name. The Great Hall had a ceiling that showed the weather outside. It was night now. Cloudy. One star peaked through the clouds. But the rest of the room was lit by floating candles. This whole day was leading to more and more incredible unseen sights after the next.

"Abraham, Mackenzie."

A girl hastily walked to the stool, which sat in front of the school's student body, and the teachers were behind you. The hat sat on her head, over her eyes for about half a minute, mumbling and considering and contemplating before it decided. "SLYTHERIN!" She got up and almost fell over, walking so fast to her new table, where the Slytherin table cheered and chanted. A group of kids clad in green and silver, looking mildly intimidating.

This went on for a while. The hat would only be on a child's head for but a second before it chose, or it would sit there and talk to a kid for up to four minutes before it could shout a name.

Rapunzel's name was called. She sat, trying to look calm. For about ten seconds, nothing happened.

"RAVENCLAW." It shouted. She smiled and sat down at the blue table. Where they all had nice posture and clapped like you would at a symphony or a golf game. She smiled at Merida, Hiccup and Jack.

Then, after a couple more kids Merida was sitting on the stool. She looked like she was ready to take on anything. Hiccup didn't think the hat even touched a hair on her head before it yelled:

"GRYFFINDOR."

Hiccup saw Rapunzel look over at her as she walked to another table. disappointment, but if possible also happiness on her face. Now they were split up. The Gryffindor table were wearing a daring red. Hiccup thought they would pick her up on their shoulders in a moment. But they seemed to control themselves.

"Frost, Jack!" Said the woman who called the names. Jack grinned and elbowed Hiccup. Then walked to the front.

Maybe it was on his head for five seconds before it knew.

"SLYTHERIN." It exclaimed. Merida and Rapunzel looked after him. They were so split up.

"Haddock, Hiccup!" There was some scattered giggles across the room, just like there was for Rapunzel and Jack.

Hiccup made it to the stool without messing that part up, thankfully. But the night was young. There were plenty of things he could still do to make a fool of himself. What if he fainted? Right there, while just, sitting. He felt the hat of his head. It was almost covering his eyes.

"Mmm." It acknowledged. "Yes, you're a Haddock, I see. Long line of Gryffindors, eh?"

"Y- Yes."

"Well, You're definitely brave. But you could also be smart. And you want to prove yourself. You're loyal, though. Very kind and Loyal."

The hat didn't say anything for a bit.

"So, I'm in like, all four?" Hiccup asked, confused.

"Merlin's beard!" It hissed. "Why, of course not. See now, everyone has some small part of every house in them. Most just have a lot more of only one or two particular houses. You though, you are especially diverged."

"Oh." Hiccup said awkwardly. Is that a bad thing? He thought.

"It's nor good or bad." Mumbled the hat. Of course, it hears thoughts.

Before Hiccup could say anything back, the hat cut him off.

"HUFFLEPUFF." At first Hiccup was just felt relief. At least it was over. But then dread came over him. This was not what his family wanted. This was breaking tradition completely. And as he sat down, he looked over at the three friends he had made. They all looked at one another. Was that it for them? Now that they were in different houses, would they ever talk. They hadn't really known how much they would need each other until the threat of splitting them up took it away.

"With that…dig in!" Professor Thomas ordered.