Chapter Summary: In which a magic hat learns their secrets and judges them. Not everyone goes where you might expect. Hehehe...
The doors were opened, maybe by magic, and Jack, along with the rest of the first-years, was lead into the castle. They were lead into a smallish room to the side, where they could hear the dull roar of voices beyond one wall, as if the rest of the school was already gathered there.
"Right then, you lot, I'm Professor Bunnymund." Jack looked up at the sound of a familiar voice with an Australian accent. It was Aster, the man who had brought him to Diagon Alley, "They're all ready for the feast out there, but before we eat, you've all got to be sorted into your houses. There are four houses - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin - and they'll be kind of like an extended family for you while you're here. You'll eat with your house, share a dormitory with others from your house, and go to classes with your house. Triumphs will earn house points, rule-breaking will lose them, and at the end of the year the house with the most points wins the House Cup. It's kind of a big deal around here, so I'd suggest you behave yourselves.
"Now, it's none of my business, but there's a bit of a rivalry between houses. It could influence who you choose as friends, who you choose to socialize with, who you choose to hate, and so on. My advice to you is to avoid these petty little squabbles. But again, it's none of my business. That is, unless you get sorted into Slytherin. Anyway, please wait quietly while we prepare a few things." And with that, Bunnymund left into the Great Hall.
"Well, that's an interesting name." Jack murmured once he was gone.
"That's all you took from that speech?" Hiccup asked incredulously.
Jack was about to answer that no, he had actually processed every word Bunnymund had just said, but before he could say anything, a slightly familiar voice began talking loudly, "I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to be in Gryffindor, and I'll be the best witch ever to walk the halls of this ancient pile of rocks!" It was Camicazi, the girl who had given a brief introduction of herself to Hiccup and Jack on the train, then left as is she had never been there. Now, she was boasting quite loudly, and most of the room was staring at her. Including, Jack realized with a jolt, the paintings on the walls.
"Gryffindor is for losers." A voice spoke up from behind Camicazi, "I'm going to Slytherin, just like the rest of my family. The house of people who will actually accomplish something worth recognizing."
"Snotlout, do you ever shut up?" A girl on the other side of the room rolled her eyes. She had blonde hair braided to her shoulder blades, but she looked like she could take a dragon in a fight, what with the way she was glaring.
Camicazi turned around, revealing a mucular boy with black hair. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Yeah, Snotlout, shut up. We all know Slytherin is the Voldemort house. The house where all the bad guys come from."
"At least I won't have any mudbloods contaminating my house!" At this, there were several cries of outrage, but also a few quiet murmurs of agreement. But before anyone could do anything, Bunnymund came back and asked them to line up and started to lead them into the Great Hall.
"What's a mudblood?" Jack whispered hastily to Hiccup.
"It's a really bad word for people who have muggle parents." Hiccup hissed angrily, "I can't believe Snotlout said that!"
"You know him?"
"Unfortunately." Hiccup grumbled, "He's my cousin." They couldn't say anymore as they sidled out into the Great Hall with the rest of the first-years. The hall was enormous, easily the biggest Room Jack had ever been in. The ceiling looked nonexistent, showing an exact replica of the starry night sky, but when Jack looked closely, he could just barely make out the ridges showing that yes, there was a ceiling. Hundreds of candles floated above four long tables, as well as another table at the front of the room for the staff.
Jack noticed an ancient and worn hat on a stool, and he realized that almost every person in the Hall was watching it, as if they were expecting it to come alive, grow legs, and dance for them.
Instead, it opened a tear like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:
"You can see I'm a hat,
And an old one, at that,
But nary a year I've forgotten.
I was born of a charm,
I shall do you no harm,
This same path all students have trodden.
"You shall sit on this stool,
It's a bit of a rule,
You will slip me right over your ears.
I will look through your head,
I shall tell you your stead,
So come now, there is no need to fear.
"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff,
Courage and kind enough,
These are the houses of Hogwarts.
Ravenclaw, Slytherin,
Cleverness, ambition,
Come find with which one you comport."
The entire hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to all four tables, then became still again.
Professor Bunnymund held up a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you'll come and sit on this stool. The Sorting Hat will tell you where to go.
And with a call of, "Abney, Mackenzie!" the Sorting began.
Rapunzel watched anxiously as a girl with dirty blonde curls and lots of freckles rushed to sit on the stool. Professor Bunnymund placed the hat on her head, letting it fall over her eyes. After a moment, the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!"
The professor went down the list, calling for Luke Anderson, a Hufflepuff, Sarah Berman, a Slytherin, and several others, all of whom were greeted with enthusiastic cheers from their respective tables.
Bunnymund worked through the A's and B's, finally getting to the C's, before he called, at last, "Corona, Rapunzel!"
Rapunzel ran out to the stool, a certain spring in her step. She heard the shocked whispers and thought self-consciously of her hair. She sat down, and the old hat was slipped over her head. She was certain she was going to Ravenclaw, but she didn't mind. In fact, she had decided that Ravenclaw was probably the best house for her. So, she listened to the little whispers in her head until finally the hat hollered, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Rapunzel's eyebrows shot up as the hat was pulled off her head. Nevertheless, she jumped off the stool and made her way to the Gryffindor table, which had exploded with cheers. She sat down in the first empty spot she came to and was greeted with congratulatory slaps on the back. Was she a Gryffindor? She hadn't thought so. But she had heard that the Sorting Hat could see things that even it's subjects were not aware of.
Rapunzel shrugged, enjoying the affection from the other students. I suppose the hat knows best.
Merida stood in the group of first-years, excitedly waiting her turn. Camicazi was sorted into Gryffindor after barely a moment, and to Merida's surprise, so was Rapunzel, after the hat considered something for nearly an entire minute.
A boy Merida vaguely recognized, Wee Dingwall, was sorted into Hufflepuff. Then, finally, it was Merida's turn.
Bunnymund called her name, and she hurried up to sit on the stool. The hat fell over her eyes and started whispering things in her ear. It took her a moment to realize it was the hat speaking, and a moment more to decipher what it was actually saying.
"Ah... Interesting... We've got some ambition here... Courage, recklessness... Quite a lot of individuality... Hmm... Let's put you in... GRYFFINDOR!"
Merida jumped up the moment the hat was off her head. She sped over to the cheering Gryffindor table and dropped down happily next to Rapunzel. She barely noticed the rest of the sorting. She spoke with Rapunzel about which classes seemed interesting, and Rapunzel informed her that they would be starting Flying lessons within a few weeks. A flying broomstick. Merida decided that was probably the most exciting thing she had ever heard of.
Jack watched as Bunnymund slowly moved down the list. He wondered which house he would be sorted into. Which was the best? He didn't know enough to decide. Instead, he focused on the sorting; A boy with thick, sandy blond hair and a confident expression was sorted into Gryffindor. A scrawny, timid-looking boy was sorted into Hufflepuff. Finally, the Professor began moving through the F's. Then came the call.
"Frost, Jackson!" Jack practically flew to the stool and dropped onto it. The hat was barely on his head before he started fidgeting impatiently. He thought about what he had heard about the four houses. Gryffindor was the house of the brave, Ravenclaw the house of the wise, Hufflepuff the house of the kind, and Slytherin. Come to think of it, Jack didn't actually know much about Slytherin, just that it was supposedly the house of Dark wizards. Everyone said that Voldemort himself was in it. Jack, having been raised in the muggle world, didn't actually know who that was, but he was such a clearly famous person that he felt a bit embarrassed to ask anyone. Judging from what people said, however, Voldemort was a very powerful, very evil Dark wizard. He was apparently extremely cruel and horribly scary. Any house that could turn out a wizard that bad clearly couldn't be good.
"Well now... This is quite interesting indeed..." Jack started in surprise as he heard a voice in his ear. After a second, he realized it must be the hat. But that was ridiculous! Hats couldn't talk. Could they? "Quite a peculiar child we have here... There's quite a bit of bravery here... A great deal of kindness... There's some brains in here, as well... And very ambitious... Hmm... Oh? But what's this... Ah, my dear boy... Well then, there's only one place for you... SLYTHERIN!"
Jack stiffened momentarily. This had to be a bad joke. Perhaps a cruelly ironic twist of fate. He couldn't be in Slytherin. The hat must have made a mistake. But then the hat was pulled of his head, and Jack realized it was too late. Somehow, he made his limbs move. He walked over to the cheering table of Slytherins and dropped miserably onto the bench.
Well, isn't this just great.
Hiccup watched Jack slump at the Slytherin table, and he winced in sympathy. Nobody seemed to realize that Jack was definitely not pleased with this arrangement. Hiccup felt guiltily glad that at least if he was put in Hufflepuff, he wouldn't have to deal with the sneering kids at that table. Or the creepy Slytherin ghost, either. He was moaning and clanking his chains, and he was covered in... was that blood?
Hiccup shuddered. He hadn't even thought ghosts could bleed. He had never really had to think about it, for that matter.
Hiccup turned back to watch the sorting. Sheila Gordon was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Hunter Grant became a new Gryffindor. Then Bunnymund yelled, "Haddock, Hiccup!"
Hiccup sped over to the stool and sat down, fidgeting nervously. The hat was over his head, and he heard just a few words, "Oh, here's an interesting choice! But I suppose... It is no choice. You're going to... SLYTHERIN!"
Shock filled every nerve of Hiccup's body. It barely registered when Bunnymund pulled the hat off his head, and he just barely managed to pull himself off the stool and over to the table. He sat heavily next to Jack, looking at the empty golden plate in front of him with a blank stare.
"The irony is just killing me." Jack muttered, "I mean, the one house we both agreed we'd rather not get sorted into, and what do you know, next thing, we're in Slytherin. Just great."
Hiccup watched absently as Astrid was sorted into Gryffindor, Snotlout and the Thorston twins were sorted into Slytherin, and Fishlegs was predictably put in Ravenclaw. A few people he didn't know stuck out at him a bit; a very confident looking boy with a tremendous quiff of brown hair, Xar Southwark. The hat didn't hesitate even a moment to put him in Slytherin. A frown flickered across Xar's face, as if he wasn't quite pleased with this development, but it disappeared almost immediately, to be replaced by the same confident smirk. He strode to the Slytherin table as if he owned the place and sat down right next to the Bloody Baron. A lot of people gave him weird looks, but he ignored them like they didn't exist.
The other person that stuck out at Hiccup was a short, nervous looking girl called Wish Temples. She had long, wispy blonde hair, which was a bit stringy as well, and she was wearing an eyepatch. Hiccup had seen people with eye patches on Berk, and the way they got them usually wasn't very pleasant. Nor was the socket. The girl had been fiddling with something like a spoon, but she slipped it into a pocket when her name was called. Hiccup thought she was a bit too gentle with it, if it really was just a spoon. Wish was sorted into Ravenclaw.
Finally, the last person, Wilhelmina Zyka, was sorted into Slythern, and Headmaster Nicolson stood up to give his few words. Then, with a word from the headmaster and several gasps of shock from the first-years, a delicious-looking feast appeared on the golden plates and Hiccup finally had something to distract him from his current situation - eating.
"How on earth did you manage that?!" Merida gaped at the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick. He had just flipped his head of his neck, as if it were on a hinge, then flipped it back on again, to demonstrate why exactly he was given his nickname. The ghost didn't appear to like the subject of his neck - he looked more like he wanted to get away from Merida and sit somewhere else.
"Back when the witch hunts were going on, people didn't bother to sharpen their axes before execution." Merida wished she hadn't asked. She blinked hard, trying to get the image out of her head, and Nick floated away. She was almost glad.
"That," Rapunzel said next to her, also seeming like she wanted to puke, "was disgusting."
"That about sums it up." Merida looked after the ghost, half-hoping he wouldn't come back and half-hoping he would. As disgusting as his neck was, it was still pretty cool to talk to a dead person. "I wonder if he was really beheaded with a rusty axe. Do you think he was just trying to make us sick?"
Rapunzel shook her head, "He doesn't really seem like that type of person. I think he was telling the truth."
"Well, that's bloody disgusting." Merida turned back to her food, having managed to get over the queasiness of seeing the inside of Nick's ghostly neck. "So Rapunzel, do you know any of these people, or are we both complete strangers?"
"No, my parents are pretty protective." She fiddled with her hair, and Merida wondered just how long it actually was. "I never met any other kids who were my age. Well, except muggles, but they were never allowed inside the castle."
Merida choked on a carrot and had to cough it up violently before turning on Rapunzel, "Castle?!"
The girl flushed bright scarlet and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to say that." she whispered through her fingers urgently, "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
Merida couldn't keep the grin off her face as she shook her head. "No, of course not. I'm just a little surprised. I mean, I thought I was the only princess at Hogwarts; mum never mentioned another one."
"Another..." Rapunzel's eyebrows were suddenly in danger of disappearing into her hair, "Wait, you mean you're a princess?"
Merida grinned and nodded. Rapunzel smiled back. They both agreed to keep it a secret; they wouldn't directly lie to anyone, but they also wouldn't say the whole truth unless asked very directly. The rest of the feast went by in a blur. Finally, the headmaster stood and gave the announcements, and then sent them on their way to bed.
Merida, feeling sleepy and content after all the food, dragged herself alongside Rapunzel and the ret of the Gryffinor first-years, following a prefect up to their common room. The prefect said the password, 'Dumbledore', and everyone went up to their dorms. Merida just barely managed to change into pajamas, too tired to say a word to anybody, before she slumped into bed, dead to the world.
Jack was not having fun. The Welcoming Feast really didn't feel welcoming, at all. The evening was just filled with irony, wasn't it? At least he was lucky enough to be put in the same house as his only friend.
Jack snuck a glance over at Hiccup, who was gnawing on a chicken leg while absently listening to Xar Southwark brag about his Quidditch skills and dueling skills and 'pure' bloodline and basically about how awesome he thought he was. The Bloody Baron was right next to him, and he seemed perfectly content. The boy was so confident, it was hard not to believe him when he said he'd once taken down a dragon with nothing more than a few rocks, a small stick, and an iron saucepan.
Of course, Jack knew the boy was probably stretching the truth pretty far, at the very least. He noticed that Snotlout was carrying on a similar version of Xar's one-sided conversation. It was a shame he was so far down the table; him and Xar might've gotten on well. Or, more likely, they would turn everything into a competition and strangle each other within the hour. If they did end up in a fight, Jack's money was on Snotlout. Xar might have been brimming with confidence, but Snotlout had muscle, which he didn't hesitate to display by rolling the sleeves of his robes up almost all the way to his armpits.
Jack stirred the food on his plate, a bit too depressed to eat. Unfortunately for him, not many students at the Slytherin table knew when to leave people alone.
"Oi, are you planning on eating at all?" Jack glanced to his left at a small boy who had also been sorted that night with a thick mess of black curls on his head and dark green eyes. The boy continued, "I'd at least eat something, if I were you. You might miss breakfast tomorrow, and then you'll be starving until lunch. But I suppose maybe you want to starve yourself. I can't see why you would, it's not very pleasant. But if you want to try it, it's not my business."
Jack blinked at him, both surprised that any Slytherin would be interested in whether or not he starved, and also wondering how he managed to say that all in one breath. In the back of his mind, he wondered how this kid would know the fine points of starvation, but he ignored that thought for now.
"Who said I was planning to starve myself?" Jack asked.
The boy shrugged, turning back to his food, "Nobody. But you haven't eaten a thing since the food appeared, so it's a possibility."
"I thought you were a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff." Jack said slowly, wondering why this kid would notice that he wasn't eating.
"So? The hat considered Hufflepuff. And Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, too. Besides, what does that have to do with this conversation?"
Jack blinked, "Aren't Slytherins supposed to all be a bunch of jerks?"
"Are you a bunch of jerks?" The guy didn't look up from the ham he was devouring.
Jack opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought about it for a second. Sure, there were rumors about his house. Sure, there were at least two of his classmates who were probably narcissistic. But so far, nobody had really bothered him except to ask why he wasn't eating. Jack looked at the boy. "What's your name?"
"Merlin." He looked up at him and grinned. "Merlin Whitelaw. Yours?"
Jack looked at him for a moment. Was this kid serious? After a minute, he replied, "Jack Frost. Your parents sure have high expectations of you, naming you after that guy."
A shadow flickered across Merlin's face, but it was so brief Jack was sure he must have imagined it. Merlin shrugged, chewing at his ham like he had just gone for a month without food. "I suppose they did," he replied with his mouth full.
The rest of the feast seemed a lot more enjoyable, and that made it pass by far too quickly. Jack and Merlin had finished their food and were in a conversation that had somehow turned to the subject of yetis in Africa, when Professor Nicolson stood to lead them in the school song, give the announcements, and send them off to bed.
Jack, Merlin and Hiccup went with the rest of the first-years, feeling a bit peaceful with stomachs full of all that wonderful food. A prefect lead them down into the dungeons and stopped at a solid wall. The prefect said, "legilimancy," and the wall slid aside to reveal a room decorated with the Slytherin colors of green and silver and low-hanging lamps and even a few skulls. Jack saw a few windows on one wall, but they were all dark and sort of foggy. There were no stars either, although it was a cloudless night. Then Jack realized they were underground, and he got even more confused. But he was too tired to figure it out tonight, so he dragged himself to bed with everyone else. He fell asleep thinking, maybe he could enjoy this school after all.
SORTING EXPLANATION
Some people might see Merida's G(ryffindor) placement as too cliche, but I was torn between that and R(avenclaw) to be honest. The R traits I see in Merida are her individuality, curiosity, and problem-solving. She wants to be her own person. That's the purpose of the movie, or at least 1 of them. She is curious about the wisps and follows them, wanting to know where they will lead her. She solved the witch's riddle and snuck her bear mother into the castle to mend the bond. She has undeniable R traits in her, and 1 of the reasons I considered this house was because loyalty is a G trait and she doesn't show much of it.
Yes she is brave. She's also rash, hot-headed, athletic, and has little respect for rules. These are qualities of a Gryffindor. I admit plot purposes also factor into the sorting of all four protags, but I do have reasons.
Rapunzel - 1 of the people I expect raised eyebrows for. We have the standard H(ufflepuff) friendliness, hardworkingness, etc. We also have the R creativity, thirst for knowledge, etc. But Rapunzel is a G. There's no doubt about this. She's loyal to her 'mother' to the point where she believes every word she says, even when it's clearly a blatant lie and there's legitimate proof that she's an evil manipulating *****. She has obvious courage, shown in the beginning when she knocks Flynn unconcious and sticks him in a closet, despite the warnings she's been given her whole life. This and her recklessness are shown when she leaves the tower, also despite everything Gothel's told her. There's also the way she leaves the tower, dropping down with her hair as support. She's also pretty athletic. She swings on her hair and uses it like whips and she could probably take out her own army with a frying pan.
Most people think of Hiccup as H or R. That's terribly cliche, and I think of him as G or S(lytherin). Go ahead, scoff. You know I'm right and if you don't you will when I'm done.
He has prominent traits from both S and G. He has the G bravery and recklessness, not to mention the chivalry. He fights a giant seadragon. He also takes this machine thing up to the top of a hill in the midst of battle with firebreathing scaly beasts. Then he goes out alone knowing a dragon could attack him at any time. Then, knowing it could kill him and his entire tribe might throw him into exile if they found out, he frees the dragon because it's the right thing to do. If that ain't chivalry, I dunno what you people expect. He shows these traits throughout the movies and the tv series too.
But I think he's S. He shows off S's best traits - ambition, cunning, resourcefulness - without usually showing the worse ones. He's like S at its best. He doesn't know when to give up, and when he's forced to due to inability to keep trying, he gets frustrated. This is a very S trait. He shows ambition from the start, he wants to kill a dragon, despite lack of physical strength. He stubbornly insists on trying, even though everyone tells him it's futile. In the tv series, he repeatedly shows that he can sneak into places and execute plans without getting caught. In both the movies and tv series, he shows resourcefulness. He can work with what he has, even without knowing the full story. All these traits are shown in the books too, plus leadership. S is a house of leadership, which Hiccup basically embodies, whether you like it or not. Hiccup is SLYTHERIN.
Jack was the hardest to place. Some people would drop the 4 into the stereotypes without 2nd thought, but I want to stay true to their characters. Jack shows traits of 3 of the houses, in varying degrees. The one house I can't see Jack in is R. I think most of you agree.
H - Jack could easily fit into H. He craves attention and you can't tell me that's not true. 300 years of total isolation (unless, like me, you believe there's other spirits out there. But the movie indicates they don't pay him much attention D:) have made him treasure the friends he has. But another part of H is hard-working and he said himself that he isn't. He's also not particularly friendly. At least, not to the Guardians. But I suppose they may have a negative history.
G - Jack is rash, brave, and could be described as arrogant. He shows G qualities, but he doesn't have either an 'eye for an eye' attitude or particular physical strength unless you count flying a stick as an athletic sport.
S - He's cunning, he's resourceful, and he enjoys tripping people on the sidewalk and sticking kids' tongues to water fountains. I mean come on. Only a S would enjoy that. Or a G, but mostly S. For Jack, the final decider was actually plot reasons. And I'm not guilty at all.
People seem to think they all need to be in different houses, but I can see all 4 of them in both G and S. Anyone could fit anyone in any house if they tried.
I'm sorry for so many notes, I just wanted to explain. The next one won't be this long I promise.