Hogwarts: Legends Unite
Part 1, Chapter 4
Hiccup
The old woman looked around at us, a friendly smile on her face. We must have looked pathetic standing there, gaping at the castle all shivery from the boat ride. Nevertheless, she gestured for us to us to follow her inside.
I stretched onto my toes and craned my neck over the sea of heads, trying to glimpse what lay inside. I gasped. A gigantic entrance hall lit by flaming torches stretched away from the heavy set of doors. As we walked in, I looked around in awe. It was enormous. The ceiling alone was so high above us it hardly seemed to exist at all. I could hear the muffled noise of chatter from behind a set of double doors on my right, where the rest of the students must have been. In front of us was a flight of gleaming marble steps, leading off to higher parts of the castle.
I expected we would get taken through the double doors to the rest of the school, or maybe go up the stairs to take a tour or something. However, we were led over to in a small room off the side of the hall. I ended up standing next to two girls I didn't know. I looked around for the other four that had been in the compartment with me, but I could only see Merida. She was on the other side of the room, and I only spotted her because of her cloud of bright orange hair.
The woman, once we had all found a place to stand, cleared her throat and spoke.
"Good evening, and again, welcome to Hogwarts. The rest of the school is, at this moment, seated in the Great Hall, awaiting the Start-of-Term Feast. You are not with them because I first must explain a few things to you."
"Some of you have no doubt heard Hogwarts uses a system of four houses, each one associated with a particular trait. The four houses are as follows: Gryffindor, the brave, Hufflepuff, the kind, Slytherin, the cunning, and Ravenclaw, the wise."
"Before we can begin the feast, or the school year for that matter, each of you must be sorted into one of these houses. Your house will become your second family over the course of your school life, and you will also have to chance to earn points for it by performing well in class. The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup."
A few amongst us began to murmur, but Professor Potts clapped her hands. "Silence please, children. Now, I am going to leave you in here while I check the Great Hall. Please set down your luggage; you will collect it later. I will return to retrieve you when the others are ready. Perhaps make use of the time to tidy yourselves up."
With that, she walked out of the door, leaving us with plenty of unanswered questions to discuss. Everyone started up loud conversations, though I stayed silent and stood by myself. My mind slipped into thought. What was it the professor had said? Your house felt like a second family? I hoped that was true. My real family wasn't much to be proud of.
It consisted of only two people - me and my dad. That by itself was okay, there were plenty of families I knew of with two people in them, and most of them worked fine. But me and my dad were practically strangers who happened to live in the same house. We barely ever talked. We barely even saw each other. He hadn't even come to the platform when I'd left that morning. I sighed. Maybe I'd have better luck with my school house.
Just then, the door swung back open. Professor Potts cleared her throat, and said "Please stand in a single file line. Follow me into the Great Hall, and wait quietly to be sorted."
The roomful of students rearranged itself into a long line. I was close to the back, standing in front of a tall boy and behind... Astrid. Great, now I'd probably trip over my own feet.
I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath as the line began to make its way out the door. We trailed back across the huge entrance hall, past the marble stairs, and finally found ourselves in front of the double doors. No sound came from behind them - everyone was waiting for us. And they'd be watching us too. Hooray.
Professors Potts hauled open the two doors, revealing another huge room, even bigger than the entrance hall. She led us single file through the doorway and into the Hall.
I gasped. There was so much to take in. My vision was crowded with bright lights and shining dishes and people. The hall was full of them. First, there was a long table of adults to our left at the front of the room. I assumed these were the teachers. Then to our right, and filling the rest of the space, were four more tables. These were much longer than the teachers', and stretched away from us to the back of the hall. All of the tables were laid with gleaming golden plates and goblets.
That wasn't all. I looked upwards, eyes widening as I took in hundreds of candles suspended in mid-air. They all cast out a friendly warm glow, filling the room with soft light. Beyond them, strangely enough, was the night sky. It was velvet indigo and speckled with flecks of white light. I wondered how a room could have no ceiling and yet still be on the ground floor of a multi-storey castle. Then I heard a girl in the middle of the line whispering to someone next to her, saying "It's not really the sky, it's been enchanted to look like it!"
Of course it was magic. This was a magic school. Idiot.
I dropped my gaze, and glanced across at the students at the tables. It was odd, I had expected everyone to be wearing the same plain black robes that we were, but it seemed each table had a separate colour that their accented the robes. The table closest to the door we'd entered by was green, the next one was blue, the third was yellow, and the last was red.
Something else occurred to me as I looked at the students. They were all watching us, of course, but each table seemed to observe us in a different way. The reds wore faint smiles while pointing us out to each other, while the blues squinted hard at us, as if trying to decipher our personalities. The yellows simply smiled broadly, a couple of the older ones saying "They're so cute!" or "I forgot how small they are!". They must be Hufflepuff.
Then I looked at the green table. A wave of unsettlement passed through my stomach. They seemed to be smiling at first glance, but when I looked closer I could see that they were sneering. I shivered. Slytherin.
There was no time to dwell on this, as Professor Potts stopped walking. We were now in a line in front of the school. The sorting was about to begin.
Professor Potts walked over to the teachers' table and picked up a scroll, tied with ribbon, and a curious pointed hat. It was brown and tattered, patched in some places and ripped in others. She set it down on a stool in front of us.
And then, the hat began to sing. It used a tear in its fabric as a mouth, and now I thought about it, a couple of wrinkles in the middle looked a lot like eyebrows.
The song went:
"A thousand years or more ago
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,
Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,
Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favourites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones
When they were dead and gone?
'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,
He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me
So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!"
The song ended, and after a brief pause, everyone began to applaud it. I gave a few half-hearted claps myself, though this whole experience seemed to be getting weirder and weirder, and I almost felt like I was in a dream.
The applause subsided, and Mrs Potts stepped forward with the scroll.
"The Sorting will now commence," she said. "When you hear your name called, please sit on the stool and place the hat on your head. Then, once you have been assigned a house, sit at your table."
She smiled at us. I didn't even try to return it. This was the most nerve-wracking thing I'd ever had to do. These next moments would decide on my family for the next seven years of my life. I exhaled.
Professor Potts unrolled the scroll.
"Arendelle, Elsa."
Elsa! She was first! I could feel her nervousness as if it was my own as she walked up to the stool. Her hands trembled as she picked up the Sorting Hat. She sat down, and placed it on her head.
After a few seconds, a startled expression crossed her face. Then, she seemed anxious. Then relieved. And then-
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat declared. The blue table burst into applause. I made out the words "We got the first kid!" from someone at the table. Elsa was smiling proudly as she went, still a bit shaky, to sit with her new family.
Professor Potts adjusted the scroll. "Bjorgman, Kristoff."
A boy with blonde hair emerged from the line. He took his place on the stool.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The yellow table gave a great whoop this time, and Kristoff sat down.
"Callaghan, Abigail."
"RAVENCLAW!"
The brown-haired girl joined Elsa as their table cheered again.
"Corona, Rapunzel."
Rapunzel walked toward the stool. She looked like she was going to burst with excitement. She lowered the hat onto her head, and after a few seconds, it declared "HUFFLEPUFF!"
More cheering.
"Crood, Eep."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Davis, Andy."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"DunBroch, Merida."
Merida stepped out, a smirk on her face. She sat on the stool, put on the hat, and-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Her face lit up, as did everyone's at the red table. The Gryffindors were by far the loudest cheerers.
"Epinosa, Cassandra."
The hat was silent for a while, before calling out "SLYTHERIN!"
This time it was the green table that cheered.
I tried to breathe slowly as several more names were called. With every name, my turn drew closer. I squeezed my eyes shut, opening them in time to hear "Haddock, Hiccup."
I gulped. This was it.
I somehow made my way to the stool. I picked up the hat. Its fabric was dry and brittle, which I suppose you'd expect from a thousand-year-old hat. I sat down on the seat and brought it down onto my head. I closed my eyes.
Immediately, it spoke. Not out loud, but inside my head. I had a feeling I could talk to it without speaking, too.
"Hiccup Haddock. Interesting name, though I've seen stranger. A bit nervous, aren't you? Not to worry, I'll fit you right in."
The hat fell silent for a few seconds. I sat, stomach clenched, gripping the stool with both hands. I nearly forgot to breathe.
Please put me in Gryffindor, please put me in Gryffindor. I must have been thinking too loudly, because the hat replied to me.
"Aiming for Gryffindor, eh? House of the lion, and all that. Don't be too hasty, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Although-" it paused. "Yes, you could work well there. You're braver than you might think."
I was about to take off the hat and stand up, when it spoke again. "Not so fast, little one. I'm not finished yet. Other houses could suit you well too. Ravenclaw, for example. You're creative, curious. You have an urge to learn more."
The hat paused. "Perhaps you would feel at home in Hufflepuff. You have a good nature. Strong moral code."
Another silence followed. I began to get nervous. Surely no one else had taken this long. What if the hat didn't put me anywhere? Would they even let me stay at the school.
The hat sighed. "Honestly, even Slytherin might fit you! You have the makings of a good leader. Slytherin would develop that."
No. I thought firmly. Not Slytherin.
"All right, I'll rule it out," said the hat. "Thoughts on Hufflepuff?"
It'd be okay. I thought back. Was the Sorting Hat really asking meto choose for myself?
"It would be okay," it agreed. "But I can tell you'd never be satisfied there. Or in Gryffindor either, for that matter. No, Hiccup, I believe you belong best in-"
"RAVENCLAW!"
It yelled the last word out loud. My new house cheered, though I barely heard it. I was drowning in relief as I left the hat on the stool and went to sit at the blue table. A girl with brown hair who looked about fifteen shook my hand.
"Welcome to Ravenclaw," she said. "I'm Belle, Fifth year prefect."
I smiled at her nervously, and sat down next to Elsa. She grinned at me.
"Hamada, Tadashi."
The black-haired boy, after a short pause, was sorted into Gryffindor.
The next name was called. "Hawkins, Jim."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Hofferson, Astrid."
Astrid, looking no more ruffled than normal, strode up to the stool. It took less than half a second for the hat to shout "GRYFFINDOR!"
It figured. Astrid was one of the bravest people I knew.
"Ingerman, Fishlegs."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Jorgenson, Snotlout."
"SLYTHERIN!"
That made sense. I wouldn't have expected him anywhere else.
"Kawena, David."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Miller, Fred."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"La Bouff, Charlotte."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Overland, Jackson."
There was Jack, walking up to the to the stool and dropping the hat onto his weird white hair. He had barely been up there ten seconds when the hat cried out-
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Pan, Peter."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Pelekai, Nani."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Phillips, Sid."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Phoenix, Kenai"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Reynolds, Guy."
"RAVENCLAW!"
I applauded with the rest of my house as a boy with brown hair joined our table.
"Rodriguez, Honey Lemon."
"RAVENCLAW!"
A tall girl who I'd never seen before made her way over to us. Belle shook her hand, and she sat down opposite me.
"Rose, Tiana."
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Thorston, Ruffnut."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Thorston, Tuffnut."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Tomago, GoGo."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Truitt, Georgia"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Waialiki, Moana."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Wayans, Wasabi."
"RAVENCLAW!"
The tall girl, Honey Lemon, leapt out of her seat to hug Wasabi.
"We're in the same house! I knew it!"
Wasabi grinned at Honey Lemon, and took a seat next to her.
"And finally, Whitman, Heather."
"SLYTHERIN!"
The final round of cheering came from the Slytherin table. Professor Potts rolled the scroll back up and cleared her throat.
"Now that this year's sorting is over, I would like to introduce the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Nicholas St North. He will now give a welcome speech."
She walked back over to the teachers' table, while another teacher got up from it. North. He was tall - even taller than my father, if that was possible - and had a huge white beard. He was dressed in red robes, and had a slight smile on his face. He strode up to where Professor Potts had been standing, and rubbed his hands together.
"It is good to see you back for another year at Hogwarts!" he said. His voice was impressively loud and deep. He had a strange accent. "I would like to make a special welcome towards our new first years. We are very glad to have you here!"
"I hope you are all as excited to learn as we are excited to teach!" He gave a laugh. "But I am sure you have only one thing on your minds at moment. Time to eat!"
As soon as the words were out of North's mouth, the dishes were full of every kind of food I could think of. Golden and crispy whole chickens, roast potatoes covered with butter and salt, a plate piled with sausages. There were pies and casseroles, pastas and seafood, steaming bread rolls... so much food that I doubted even this many students could possibly get through it all.
Well, we could try. Suddenly extremely hungry, I began to pile up my plate. After filling it with twice as much as what I usually received, I stared eating. Everything tasted as good as it looked, if not better, and for a few minutes all I did was gulp it down. I slowed down after a while, my hunger somewhat satisfied, though I still had plenty of room for more.
"Your sorting took a while," said Elsa, her voice breaking into the chatter that filled the hall. She was holding a meatball skewered on a fork, which she ate after she'd spoken.
"Yeah, the hat couldn't decide," I said. "Gave me the options and everything."
Elsa set down a glass. "It did that for me too. It was between Ravenclaw and um…" she lowered her voice. "Slytherin."
"Oh."
Elsa looked worried. "Please don't tell anyone, especially not Rapunzel. She'll blab to my aunt and uncle. They aren't fond of Slytherin."
"I won't," I said. "But you know, the hat thought I could get by in Slytherin, too."
Elsa shook her head dismissively. "There's no point talking about that," she said. "We're here now. It doesn't matter."
We stopped talking again, and ate the rest of our dinner instead. I polished off every last bit of food on my plate. I could tell other people were slowing down, too, as the noise of cutlery scraping against plates subsiding. Evidently, North thought so too, and stood up again. He clapped his hands.
"Everybody, feel free to keep eating, but please quiet your talking for a few moments. I have some announcements."
He unrolled a scroll. "First of all, if you are interested in quidditch, tryouts are in second week of term. Secondly, I must remind you that no magic is to be used in corridors between classes. Last but not least, please keep out of the Forbidden Forest if you wish to keep all of your limbs intact."
I didn't know whether this was a joke or not. Some of the older students looked serious enough about it.
"Anyway, little ones, I think it is time for you to get some rest. Your prefects will lead to your dorms."
Belle stood up. "Well, let's go! You've got a long day tomorrow, and I'm sure you'll be wanting to see the common room."
I nodded, and rose to my feet. We followed Belle across the hall and put into the entrance hall. We retrieved our luggage from the small room from before. I picked my rather heavy suitcase, struggling as we had to haul it up the marble stairs. Then up another set of steps. Then across several corridors.
We must have been traipsing across the endless castle for half an hour, and my legs were beginning to ache.
"Don't worry, we're nearly there!" Belle told us. "Just up these stairs."
I looked where she pointed and saw a huge spiral staircase in front of us. I looked upwards as we started to climb, groaning when I saw how long the stairs stretched on for.
"Can we owl our families tonight?" Elsa asked Belle as we climbed. "My little sister wanted me to tell her everything. She was kicking up a huge fuss because she wasn't going to Hogwarts yet. She knows she's too young!"
"I'm sure that would be okay," Belle replied. "And although it may be painful sometimes, enjoy having a sister. I'm an only child, and look how I turned out. Everyone used to call me 'the loner' up until about last year."
"I got called that," I said. Belle looked at me, surprised at the sudden interruption. I flushed. "Sorry."
Belle shook her head dismissively, still smiling. "Anyway, be grateful for siblings."
She paused, the sounds of clomping chattering students filling the staircase. "What's your sister's name?"
"Anna." Elsa blew a piece of hair out of her face. "She's eight."
"What about you?" Belle was looking at me, trying to include me in the conversation. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"No, I..." I chewed my lip. "It's just me and my dad."
Belle looked uncomfortable. "Oh. Right."
We continued up the stairs in silence, until Belle gave a small "Ha!" of satisfaction. I suddenly realised we were at the top of the stairs. Thank goodness.
In front of us was a large white door. There was no keyhole, and no door handle, just a small bronze piece of metal at my eye height. On closer inspection, I saw it was a door knocker, but in the shape of an eagle.
Belle gave three sharp raps with it, and waited.
To my shock, the eagle began to speak.
"If you peel off my skin, I won't cry, but you will. What am I?"
Belle cleared her throat. "An onion."
The door to the common room swung open. I understood. The eagle asked a riddle, and if you answered correctly, you were granted permission to enter.
I stepped into the room. It was circular and decorated with blue. Windows surrounded the space, looking out in every direction. Bookshelves covered any wall that might have been otherwise empty, while a few sofas were dotted here and there. Aside from the one we'd come through, two other doors were set into the walls.
Belle looked down at us, the first years. "I'm going to have to get someone to take you boys into your dorms, while I'll show you girls up to yours. Come this way."
Belle walked towards one of the two doors, the first year girls following her. A couple of others from older years also left to their dorms, although they all knew the place already and took all the time they wanted.
Another prefect, a boy this time and perhaps sixteen or seventeen years old, spoke to us.
"First year boys can come with me. I'll show you your dorm."
He led the five of us to the other door. Another shorter flight of stairs was waiting for us.
"You kids are in this room," said the prefect, tapping a door. "You'll stay in here for the rest of your time at Hogwarts, so you can make yourselves at home."
The prefect walked up the stairs. "If you need anything, come and ask someone with a prefect badge. See you."
He turned into what I presumed was his own dorm, leaving us to look at ours by ourselves.
One of the other boys pushed our door open, revealing a round room with curtained windows along one side, five beds set into the walls at intervals - each one accompanied by a large trunk at the end - a crackling fireplace, and a tall bookshelf.
"I bags this bed!" One of the other four threw their stuff onto the bed under the windows.
Soon everyone was arguing about who got which bed, though I couldn't be bothered and took the least popular one in the corner. I unpacked my suitcase into the trunk at the end of the bed, placing the folded robes in a neat pile. I needn't have worried. All the clothes I'd packed barely took up half of the trunk provided.
That meant there was room for my books. I smiled as I looked at the novels that I'd read so many times. I didn't have many books - my father didn't believe boys should stay inside and read all day - so I'd been able to bring every single one I owned.
Then, of course, there was the book Elsa had lent to me. She must have gotten it second-hand, since there was a name scribbled inside the cover. Idun Weiss. It had been read many times, and a few of the pages were half falling out.
By now, everyone had settled their debates about sleeping arrangements and were all unpacking their own belongings. Looking around the room, I recognised two people there. Wasabi, who was solidly built but wouldn't hurt a fly, and Guy, tall with messy brown hair and an unidentifiable pet.
The pet in question was certainly not a traditional owl, toad or cat - it was small and fuzzy and wrapped around his waist. I considered the possibility of it being a monkey, but I'd only ever read about such animals and couldn't tell.
Eventually, everyone had finished rummaging around in their suitcases and got changed into night clothes. It was about ten thirty by the time we were all in bed, but it felt later after the excitement of the train, the sorting and the feast.
I was drifting off slowly, a faint smile on my face in response to the thoughts swimming around in my half-conscious brain.
You made it off Berk.
You are at Hogwarts.
You have made friends.
You survived the Sorting Hat, and you are in the perfect house for you.
You are about to fall asleep in a castle.
You are going to be a wizard.
