As soon as the sorting hat was placed on Dave's head, his thoughts yelled,

Put me in Slytherin. And he realized it, and he knew why. Considering he knew why, the Sorting Hat also knew why, and he could hear the bastard chuckle in his head.

Slytherin, eh? Well, you certainly have some of the qualities necessary, yes. The hat commented.

Yeah yeah I get it, just put me there and get over it. Dave responded snappily.

Hmmm... No, I don't think so. The Hat dictated, his voice scraping on Dave's mind like nails on a blackboard.

What the hell, why no-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat yelled, and oh no he did not.

But Dave wasn't going to make a scene, if he did then everything Bro drilled into his head before he came would be meaningless. So, like a total badass, Dave plucked the hat off his head and went to the Hufflepuff table. He sat down next to that Cat kid, or whatever. Ms. Leijon's son. He watched with disinterest as the rest of his class was sorted, only a few more sorted into Huflepuff. He didn't really care anyway. When the sorting was done, and Ms. Leijon joined the other faculty at the High Table, a short, chubby woman with pale skin and pastel pink robes stood up. She smiled.

"Welcome, new students, and returning pupils." She said, gesturing to the hall. "I invite you to enjoy your feast, and get to know one another!" she announced. The hall applauded, and the scent of food filled the air.

Dave inhaled appreciatively. It smelled like every pleasant thing imaginable. Delicious ham, chicken, turkey, potatoes, and every other heavenly thing you could think of. He wasted no time in serving himself some ham, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. He poured himself a glass of Pumpkin Juice, and was preparing to gorge himself on god-tier level food, when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned, and the girl, Feferi, the one who jumped off the boat, smiling at him.

"Hey there!" she said. "Could you pass those potatoes down here?" she asked. Dave nodded and picked up the gold dish and handing it to her.

"You're Feferi, right?" he asked. She nodded, already eagerly spooning heaps of potatoes onto her plate.

"Yep! That's me!" she giggled.

"You're the one who jumped into the lake." he added. And she blushed and laughed a little.

"Haha, yeah!" she put the potatoes down, and served herself some ham. "You saw that?"

"I don't think there was a person in the entire first year who didn't." he laughed, and to his relief, Feferi joined in.

The kid to the left of him- Krabkrab? Cat-something? Tried to stifle a snicker.

"That almost gave Nep a heart attack." he commented. Nepeta, his sister, gasped and slapped his arm.

"Karkat!" she scolded, and he didn't bother stifling his laugh this time. His voice was hoarse, and somewhat high-pitched, even for an 11 year-old schoolboy.

"Karkat." Dave said aloud. That was his name. Not Krabkrab, or Cat.

Karkat turned towards Dave. He frowned slightly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Oh," Dave said, his face pinking. "Sorry, I just, uh, remembered your name." he explained.

"Good for you." he commented, then turned back to his sister. Feferi laughed through her mouthful of mashed potatoes. Dave quickly snapped his head to his plate. Pull it together, Strider, Dave thought. You're acting stupid. You're just frazzled, that's it. He took a deep breath in, and exhaled, and began eating his food. It was still the perfect temperature.

Thank fuck for magic.

…..

"Hey Feferi, do you have something else I can call you?" Dave asked. Feferi jut seemed like a mouthful. Feferi smiled at him.

"My friends call me Fef!" she said. Then her face fell into a more somber expression, and she added. "But if you call me that, you are immediately cemented into permanent contract of eternal friendship." she said. She stuck her hand out and smiled. Dave took it and shook it.

"The contact is sealed, Fef."

…...

..

"Nep-Nep! Karkitty!"

Dave and Feferi looked to where an upperclassmen that looked almost like a carbon copy of Ms. Leijon was squeezing herself between Karkat and Nepeta. Her voice was loud. Nepeta and Karkat smiled up at her, Nepeta's smile almost ten times brighter than Karkat's. Dave was expecting them to begin talking to her, but instead they began conversing in sign language, with Meulin responding with her voice.

After a while, Meulin left them with a hug. Dave smiled. That was nice. They must have a close-knit family.

….

….

..

"Hey."

Dave turned to Karkat, slightly surprised to see he was being addressed by him.

"Hey." Dave said.

"Look, sorry," he said, as if it physically hurt him, "For being rude earlier." he said.

"Look, thanks but it's all coo-" Dave began.

"And maybe if you turn out to be not 100% an ass, we can be... friends." he chocked out, then turned away, and muttered something to Nepeta.

…..

…..

..

..

After everyone had finished stuffing themselves, and were engaging in idle chatter, the headmistress, Mistress Paint, stood up and the hall fell silent again.

"Now that everyone is, hopefully introduced, I'm afraid it's now time for the boring stuff."

Laughter drifted through the room. "Now as most of you know, the Forest is forbidden, and students caught outside of their common rooms or dorms after hours will be punished. Quittich tryouts are in two weeks." She smiled warmly. "Now, we're going to sing!" she exclaimed. Everyone in the hall groaned. The headmistress laughed. "Oh hush. Now, one, two, three!"

…...

….

..

.

Dave walked next to Fef, Karkat, Nepeta, and Calliope. They followed the two prefects from their house, past a large painting of fruit, to a bunch of barrels in a shadowy corner. The prefect stopped.

"Now, to all the first years, in order to get into the Hufflepuff dormitories, you knock on this barrel, in this pattern."

She tapped it in the rhythm that sounded like, hel-ga huff-le-puff, and a passage opened. The older students went filtering in, but the female prefect stopped the first years. "Tap the rhythm for me." she asked a small redheaded girl.

She tapped it, but she added an extra tap, and a barrel opened and spewed vinegar on her. The other first years yelped and stepped away. The prefect sighed and wrapped an arm around the girl, who looked close to tears. "Hey, it's okay, you'll get it." he consoled, and gave her a gentle push towards the passage. "Get in your dorm and wash up."

The prefect turned to the other first years. "Now that you know that Hufflepuff house has a defense mechanism, you'll better learn the knock." she said, and began testing the first years for proficiency again. Thankfully, no other incidents occurred, and the rest of the first years headed into the dorms. Dave sighed.

I didn't get to see Dirk before we left the hall. He lamented. Then he remembered why. Yeah, he was too busy coddling John. He thought bitterly. When he realized, he shook his head. No. None of that. He scolded himself, and walked into what would now be his second home.

A/N: Hufflepuff Dave, am I right?

Reviews are treasured forever.