"Abbott, Gustav!"

A pale boy with dark hair and eyes strode over to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. The entire hall went quiet. Gustav's brow furrowed as the Hat finally cried;

"RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table broke out into cheers and whistles as Gustav walked over and sat down. A few people got up to shake his hand as he joined them. The other tables finished clapping politely as Gobber cleared his throat for the next name.

"Aldridge, Wartihog!"

Wartihog was a pudgy, acne-ridden little boy shorter than Hiccup. He grinned goofily as he plopped onto the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The first Gryffindor! The table beside Hufflepuff on the left practically exploded with cheers, and Snotlout - smug-faced and proud as ever - promptly stood up to give a confused Wartihog a high-five. Hiccup looked away in a hurry as Snotlout caught his eye and sneered, cracking his knuckles.

"Allkins, Heftythighs!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

After Heftythighs came Typhoon Barratt in Slytherin, Bearhug Banks in Hufflepuff and later, Astrid De Silva whom, to her delight, ended up in Gryffindor. She was followed by a few others - Lovethug, Molly, Dragonfist, Valka - before finally;

"Horrendous Haddock, Hiccup,"

Hiccup's hands were sweating like crazy so he wiped them on his robes and tried to assure himself that everything would be all right. There were whispers from students regarding him with suspicion and curiosity as he went over to the stool, which seemed rather frightening now to him. Professor Belch, ignorant to Hiccup's nervous state, placed the hat on his head as gently as possible (which for Gobber, meant that he jammed it on). It fell over his head, shielding him from the stares of everyone around him, as the hat began to speak.

"Well, well, well...another Hiccup. The latest of three," it said in a voice soft and ancient that reminded him of his grandfather, Old Wrinkly, "I notice you have a dragon hidden in your robes."

Hiccup inhaled sharply. How did it know?

"Oh, I can hear everything you think, boy, but do not be alarmed. I'm here to sort, not to snitch. Now, let's see.."

Hiccup's hands clenched around the seat of the stool.

"Oh! Well, isn't this interesting?"

What was interesting?

"You, young man. You are interesting. You have an equal chance of getting into each house. Cunning, ambitious...you'd do well in Slytherin. And your intelligence! Your wit! Ravenclaw would be lucky to have a boy with a mind like yours. Oh! And bravery, loyalty...qualities of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff in there. This is more difficult than I thought it would be."

Unbeknownst to Hiccup as the hat continued to mutter, the Hall was beginning to become impatient. It had been a full five minutes since Hiccup sat down. A short time it may seem, but it was unusually long for a single sorting. This meant Hiccup was a hatstall.

"Well, now isn't that sweet. Ah! Yes, yes I know. I know where you belong, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. You would prosper in any house, but there can only be one. I suppose it better be…"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hiccup froze. Thoughts of dread and hopelessness swirled around his head like it was a cauldron, growing louder and louder until they were the only things he could hear.

"No, no, no…" he kept muttering, still fixed in his seat even as an exasperated Gobber the belch lifted the now-quiet hat from his head.

"Oi, Hiccup," he told him sternly, "Are you deaf? Off to the Hufflepuff table, now."

Shakily, Hiccup rose from his seat. His anxiety had settled to make way for a feeling so empty he'd rather go back to the way it was before. Hogwarts was supposed to make everything right, Hogwarts was supposed to prove to his ancestors that he was just as brave as them despite being a Hiccup. He knew he must have done something by killing that Seadragon last year and almost dying, but it was easy for his father to forget things if they weren't consistent.

Snotlout is a Gryffindor.

Yes, Snotlout, the family's golden boy. He was the ideal heir, nothing short of perfect. Hiccup was just, well, Hiccup.

Slowly, he sat down at the Hufflepuff table, which immediately perked up at his arrival although some of them frowned at him. Whether this was due to the fact that he was related to a bully like Snotlout or the clear distaste of getting into Hufflepuff, Hiccup wasn't sure, but he didn't care either way. All he could think about now was his father and how he was going to react to the news that his son was not, in fact, a brave Gryffindor but in the most overlooked house in Hogwarts.

As Hiccup stressed out in his seat, murmuring a few 'thank you's to some older students who congratulated him, a few more people were called out and sorted.

Then, "No-Name, Fishlegs!"

A wave of murmurs rose up at the shout of Fishlegs's 'surname'. "No-name, did he say?" the student next to Hiccup whispered to the person beside him, who shrugged. Hiccup prickled at their reaction to his best friend's name. Fishlegs couldn't help what happened to him as a baby, who were they to judge?

Poor Fishlegs was shaking, it was obvious even from afar. His mocha skin had paled a few shades and he'd begun itching himself as he slowly made his way to the seat, Gobber waiting impatiently.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hiccup clapped alongside his new house-mates, happier now that he knew he wasn't without his best friend.

Fishlegs smiled - although it was more like a grimace - at Hiccup as he sat down on his left side. "Well, that wasn't unexpected. You, though, you were a hatstall."

Hiccup shrugged awkwardly, "Yeah, I s'pose."

"He's right!" an older student piped up, alarming the two boys. The mousy-brown haired girl sitting across from them chuckled, "Sorry. I'm Doris, one of your prefects this year. You can come to me if you need anything," Sure enough, a shiny prefect's badge glinted from her chest, "So, a hatstall, eh? Longest one in centuries, I bet!"

As usual, Hiccup felt awkward at the sudden attention. Although he guessed it wasn't too bad, getting to know your prefect's early. "Maybe, there must've been people longer than me, though."

"You never know!" Doris said enthusiastically, "Read Hogwarts: a History, that might have something."

"Yeah." As another first-year joined their table, he turned his attention back to the Sorting.

"Thorston, Ruffnut!" The hat had barely touched the sullen girl's head before it yelled "SLYTHERIN!" Hiccup blinked. It seemed he wouldn't be the only one disappointing his parents, after all.

"Thorston, Tuffnut!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Tuffnut Jr bounded up to join them, but not before sending a sorrowful glance at his sister's way.

"Valencia, Tori!"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Yver, Speedifist!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Varangot, Clueless!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bloody hell, he got into Gryffindor?" Fishlegs groaned. Hiccup had to agree. Clueless was, well, clueless. How could the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor?

Hiccup let his hand brush over where Toothless was asleep. He hoped the dragon would be too tired to fly on the first day, he needed an excuse not to send a letter to his father.

I feel like Hufflepuff is the right house for Hiccup, honestly. You can't change my mind.

(If you'd like to know, Camicazi ends up in Gryffindor)

I did have trouble with the surnames. I'll probably end up editing those. Please tell me if I do anything culturally insensitive!