I realize that some of you may disagree with my placements but I really think that, for one, all four Houses should be represented and two, each character fits each House perfectly. In fact, the most recent episode of Defenders of Berk definitely convinced me I was right about Hiccup. But I won't give it away quite yet!

Also this is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything!

~KateMarie999

The Sorting

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years come with me!" shouted a booming voice.

Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Heather, and the twins exited the train and traveled in the direction of the voice. A very large man was standing there with a lantern in his hand.

"Ahh hello, Astrid!" he said jovially when he saw their group.

"Hi, Hagrid." Astrid replied.

Hiccup stared up at the giant man in front of him. He had always thought his father was awfully large but Stoick would have been dwarfed by this massive person. However, despite his size, the man called Hagrid had a very gentle way about him, so unlike Hiccup's father. Hiccup felt comfortable following him.

"Please tell me we don't need to bring our trunks." he said once they had gotten closer.

"Leave 'em. Someone'll come through and pick 'em up." Hagrid replied, waving in the general direction of the trunks.

"Thank goodness." said Hiccup, glad that he wouldn't have to try and lift Astrid's trunk again.

Once the other first years had showed up, Hagrid took their group to a lake where there were several boats docked. He patiently waited as the children climbed into the boats. The twins, Snotlout, and a blonde boy none of them had met got into a boat next to the one containing Hiccup, Fishlegs, Astrid, and Heather. After waiting for the other boats to be occupied, they finally shoved off.

A few minutes later, Hiccup finally got his first glimpse at Hogwarts. He gasped; he wasn't sure what he was expecting but somehow, the castle seemed ever larger and more mysterious than his wildest dreaming. Huge turrets reached toward the sky. The moon and the stars made it look as if it was actually glowing. But the thing that surprised Hiccup the most was that the castle was so big. He had never seen any building even close to that size. Without knowing how he knew, he could tell that this castle would be his second home. He heard Astrid gasp next to him.

"There it is!" Fishlegs squeaked.

"It's huge!" Astrid breathed, holding up her lantern to give them an even better look.

"It would have to be to house a thousand magical students and have room to spare for classrooms!" Fishlegs gushed, trembling with excitement.

"I bet it's bigger on the inside." said Snotlout, crossing his arms but still unable to hide the look of wonder that had crossed his features.

"Oh it doesn't have to be!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

They traveled in silence for the next few minutes. Hiccup didn't want anyone to ruin this moment for him. His heart was beginning to race. He couldn't believe he was actually here at Hogwarts, that it hadn't been some insane dream or hallucination.

They finally docked and began to clamber out of the boats. A stern looking witch stood in front of them. Her dark hair was in a tight bun and she had a small smile on her face. She gave Hiccup the feeling that she wasn't someone to be crossed but also that she wasn't necessarily unfriendly.

"Thank you, Hagrid." she said curtly, nodding to the large man. "I shall take it from here."

Hagrid smiled at the woman and helped some of the stragglers out of the boats so that they could catch up to the rest of their classmates. The woman led the first years up a flight of stairs leading to a huge set of double doors. She turned to face them and waited until they had all quieted down.

She began to explain some of the rules. She told them to walk in a line and to behave themselves. She told them about the four Houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Hiccup was glad that at least what he had heard was correct. A round faced boy was reunited with his toad just as the woman pushed open the doors to the Great Hall.

Hiccup thought he couldn't possibly be surprised by anything anymore but he was mistaken. It was as if the Great Hall extended into the sky. Candles hovered above the tables. Hundreds of students turned to look at them, making Hiccup feel rather shy.

"Woah! They forgot to build the ceiling!" exclaimed Tuffnut.

"No, it's enchanted to look that way. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." said the bossy girl named Hermione.

"She takes the fun out of everything." Snotlout muttered to Ruffnut.

Once they reached the front of the Hall (which took a lot longer than Hiccup thought it would have), the woman turned to face them with a large roll of parchment. She stared at the dirty, tattered hat that had just been placed on the table by Hagrid.

Suddenly, a rip at the brim opened wide and the hat began to sing about the different Houses. (A/N: I'm sorry I'm not going into detail about this but I just don't think anyone cares all that much. Plus, you really, REALLY don't want me writing any poetry. It won't be pretty) The students clapped and cheered when the hat finished singing.

The woman stepped forward and began to read off the parchment.

"Abbott, Hannah!" she shouted in a clear voice so that everyone could hear.

A small girl standing just in front of Hiccup stepped forward and placed the Sorting Hat on top of her head. There was absolute silence in the hall for a few seconds. And then…

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the Hat.

A table decked in yellow and black burst into applause as the girl took off the Hat and walked over to them, smiling and looking rather relieved.

"Bones, Susan!"

The first years parted to allow a red haired girl with a plait down her back to come forward and put on the Hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat bellowed again.

On and on the Sorting went. Terry Boot became the first new Ravenclaw and Hiccup heard Fishlegs clapping as the small boy sat down at the blue and bronze table. Lavender Brown became the first new Gryffindor and he noticed that the table decked in red and gold applauded her this time. Which left only the silver and green table, the one Hiccup figured must have been the Slytherin one. Sure enough, when Millicent Bulstrode was Sorted into Slytherin, they cheered for her as the rather large girl sat down.

"Faustino, Dagur!" the witch called a few minutes later.

A large boy Hiccup hadn't noticed pushed him out of the way and he nearly fell onto Astrid. Blushing furiously, he caught himself. Dagur Faustino placed the Hat onto his head and waited. Hiccup had a very bad feeling about this particular classmate. He couldn't place his finger on why, exactly, but he knew that he and Dagur would certainly not be friends. He also knew that he was going to attempt to avoid the larger boy whenever possible.

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the Hat.

A few minutes later, Hermione Granger was Sorted into Gryffindor, which seemed to surprise Fishlegs. But Hiccup was beginning to feel very apprehensive. Sure enough…

"Haddock, Hiccup!"

There were a few giggles at the mention of his name. Hiccup was used to this. Trembling slightly, he stepped forward and placed the large Hat on his head. It fell over his eyes, plunging him into darkness. There was an odd silence once the Hat fell onto his head, as though someone had muted the audience. Hiccup was just beginning to feel very uncomfortable when he suddenly heard a quiet voice in his head.

"Ahh, very difficult. I see a strong thirst to prove yourself. And a good mind, that shall serve you well. So where shall I put you?"

Hiccup jumped and hoped that no one would see it.

"It's all right, dear boy. Your secrets are safe with me. I can see that you most certainly would not like to be placed in Slytherin. You, like others before you, seem to think they look awfully hostile. Not to worry, I think ruling out Slytherin is for the best. I can see that your kindness and your friendship is your strength. Hold onto that, Hiccup."

"Umm… thank you." thought Hiccup, feeling awfully silly.

He heard what sounded like a laugh. "You're very welcome. HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted.

Feeling incredibly relieved, Hiccup took the Hat off of his head and walked in the direction of the yellow and black table. He sat down next to a boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley and continued to watch the Sorting.

"Hofferson, Astrid!"

Astrid felt rather tense. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous but she couldn't push down the feeling. Assuming what she hoped was a confident stance, she strode onto the stand and placed the Hat on her head.

"Hmm… lots of wit and intelligence. There's also quite a bit of ambition. You want so dearly to prove yourself, that will serve you well but I must warn you, your self esteem will take a hit if you continue to go down this path."

"Oh really?" Astrid challenged, feeling ridiculous but also slightly indignant.

"There's no need to get defensive. I am only offering some advice which you are free to ignore. That being said, what I see most is your strength and your chivalry... GRYFFINDOR!"

Astrid felt quite a bit better once she took off the Hat and placed it on the stool. She walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Lavender, hoping that Hermione wouldn't engage her in conversation. Hiccup enthusiastically applauded but then caught the looks he was getting from his fellow Hufflepuffs. He sheepishly stopped.

"Ingerman, Fishlegs!"

Fishlegs was trembling all over, both from excitement and nerves, when he finally sat down and placed the Hat on his head.

"A brilliant mind, I see. If you work as you should, you will go very far. RAVENCLAW!" the Hat shouted.

Fishlegs grinned and placed the Hat back on the stool, making his way to the Ravenclaw table. Hiccup smiled and applauded quietly, glad that his new friend had gotten what he wanted.

"Jorgenson, Snotlout!"

Snotlout marched forward and immediately placed the Hat on his head.

"It's rare that I see those with the ambition you have. Always the winner. However, I sense that you are going to have to learn how to accept defeat once in a while. SLYTHERIN!"

Snotlout rolled his eyes at the Hat's assessment and bounded over to the Slytherin table. Once again, Hiccup was glad the larger boy got what he had wanted.

"Longbottom, Neville!" became a Gryffindor (which Hiccup thought was funny considering this was the same round faced boy who had lost his toad).

An odd looking girl named Luna Lovegood became a Ravenclaw. Finally, a boy named Ernie Macmillan became a Hufflepuff and Hiccup was allowed to applaud him. He liked offering encouragement. The blonde boy who had ridden in the boat with Snotlout and the twins was named Draco Malfoy and he was also placed in Slytherin. A set of identical twins were Sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. A dark haired boy with glasses named Harry Potter became a Gryffindor and sat down on the other side of Astrid. An unpleasant looking boy named Zacharias Smith became a Hufflepuff and Hiccup had the feeling he wasn't going to like this boy much. After Dean Thomas became a Gryffindor, it was finally Ruffnut's turn.

When she heard her name, she raced forward and jammed the hat on her head.

"Oh my… yes I know just what to do with you! SLYTHERIN!" the Hat bellowed.

Ruffnut immediately raced forward to sit with the Slytherins, looking pleased at her placement. Tuffnut was called forward seconds later.

"Another Thorston? Very well then… SLYTHERIN!"

Tuffnut went to join his sister at the Slytherin table. A girl with bubblegum pink hair named Nymphadora Tonks became a Hufflepuff and immediately sat down next to Hiccup for some reason. He felt a little bit uncomfortable but at least the girl looked friendly. A boy called Ronald Weasley became a Gryffindor. Finally, Heather was called.

"Now this is an interesting conundrum. While you are definitely cunning, your intelligence is your greatest strength. You would doubtlessly do well in Slytherin but I sense that it is not your best placement. Therefore, I feel you would be best suited for RAVENCLAW!"

Heather joined Fishlegs at the Ravenclaw table as Hiccup quietly applauded her.

A very old man with a long white beard stood up, looking ecstatic at the prospect of greeting the new students. Astrid recognized him from the Chocolate Frog card as Professor Dumbledore.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I have a few beginning of term announcements for you… but they can wait. Tuck in!" said the Headmaster, sitting down just as the plates on the tables filled themselves with delicious looking food.

Hiccup immediately began to eat. He wasn't sure why he was so hungry; perhaps his trembling had worked off all the calories of the snacks earlier that day.

"Your name is… Hiccup?" asked the girl with the pink hair next to him.

"Uhh… yeah. Nymphadora?" Hiccup ventured.

The girl looked furious. "Tonks! My name is Tonks! Don't you ever call me Nymphadora!" she shouted.

Hiccup backed away from her, putting up his hands. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"

"That goes for all of you." said Tonks, pointing to her fellow classmates who looked rather intimidated.

"Umm… so you're new here too?" Hiccup asked.

Tonks gave him an exasperated look. "Well you saw me get sorted, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah… stupid question, sorry."

She smiled. "It's okay. You're allowed to ask stupid questions. I'll give you all the stupid answers you want."

He was beginning to warm up to her quite nicely. "So you're from a magical family?"

She nodded. "Yeah I am. My dad's Muggle-born but my mom's family goes way back, like, as far back as there are records. But since she married my dad, she's disinherited." she said rather matter-of-factly.

Hiccup put down his fork with a clatter. "Disinherited? For marrying a Muggle-born?"

"Oh yeah. Gotta keep the bloodline pure! Don't worry; I don't buy into all that junk. But steer clear of the Slytherins. They live for that stuff." Tonks rolled her eyes.

"I don't know about that. Three of the people I met on the train got Sorted into Slytherin and they didn't seem like that." he shrugged.

"Yeah, I mean they're not all like that. Just most of them. Not us Hufflepuffs though!" she smiled. "My mom's going to be so proud."

"Not all purebloods are idiots, you know. My aunt works at the Ministry and she says that Muggle-borns are every bit as powerful as purebloods." said the girl named Susan Bones.

"Well that's nice to know." Hiccup said, nodding in her direction.

At the Ravenclaw table, Fishlegs still seemed rather nervous.

"I've memorized every one of the textbooks but I'm not sure it'll be enough." he said, not touching his food.

"Relax, Fishlegs. Eat, stop panicking. You don't see anyone else panicking. Look at that girl; she's as calm as can be." Heather pointed to the girl with dirty blonde hair across from them.

Fishlegs looked over at the girl. He thought she looked awfully strange but wasn't about to say that out loud.

"I saw her get sorted. Luna Lovegood."

The girl stared at him with her protuberant eyes. "Yes?"

Fishlegs looked a bit embarrassed but pretended that he'd meant to get her attention. "I'm Fishlegs. This here's Heather."

Luna nodded. "Yes, I saw you get sorted. You looked awfully nervous. I don't know why. It didn't hurt a bit. It was rather pleasant."

Heather smiled now that the tension seemed to have receded slightly. "See? You've been worried for nothing."

Luna turned her large eyes to face Heather. "Oh I wouldn't say that."

"What?" asked Fishlegs.

"This place is infested with Wrackspurts. I suppose that makes sense, this being a school." Luna explained quite seriously.

Heather paused for a moment seemingly speechless. "What are Wrackspurts?" she asked very slowly.

"They're invisible. They float around and go into your head through your ears and make your brain go all fuzzy." Luna said, unblinkingly gazing at Heather and making the girl feel quite uncomfortable.

"I've never heard of them." Fishlegs said, his brows furrowed as he tried to remember coming across a mention of them in his reading.

Luna turned to look at him. "That's because they're invisible. Not many people believe in what they can't see."

Heather rolled her eyes. "And you do?"

"Oh yes. Our world is a lot bigger and much more mysterious than it seems." Luna said in a voice that could best be described as somewhat ethereal. She looked down at Fishlegs' plate. "Are you going to eat anything or are you saving your food for later?"

Fishlegs followed her gaze and stared at his food for a few seconds. "Oh…" he said and began to eat.

"So I take it you read the Quibbler?" Heather asked Luna, pointing at her with her fork.

"My father is the editor." Luna said in a slightly more businesslike tone.

Heather chuckled. "That explains a lot."

Luna raised her nearly invisible eyebrows. "Does it?"

"Never mind." Heather said quickly, pointedly looking down at her food.

At the Gryffindor table, Astrid was engaging Hermione in conversation.

"So I've been wanting to ask this for a while but why does just about everyone in the wizarding world have such weird names?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wouldn't say they're weird names but I think it's a cultural thing. I was reading that wizards like to give their children symbolic or historical names."

"You read a lot." Astrid placed her head on her left hand. "Do you ever get up and do anything."

"Of course I do. Exercise is very important. And I'm rather fond of knitting. In fact, I can teach you, if you like." Hermione looked rather excited.

Astrid was saved the trouble of answering by a tall red haired boy sitting next to the bushy haired girl.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Percy Weasley." He said pompously, shaking her hand. "Are you excited about your new classes? I overheard you talking about them on the train."

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief as Hermione began to talk to this older student instead of her. Hermione had been going on for ages about this book she had read about the history of Hogwarts. It was interesting… for a few seconds. Astrid looked around and spotted two more redheads, identical twins by the looks of things, sauntering over to her side of the table, obviously in search of some sort of food. She suddenly remembered something Fishlegs had said on the train.

"Are you the twins who told Fishlegs there would be a really hard test at the beginning of term?" she asked them when they came close enough to hear her.

Both boys burst out laughing. Astrid scowled and smacked the closest one on the arm. The twin she had hit looked surprised at her strength.

"Oww, what was that for?" he asked indignantly, rubbing his upper arm.

"For sending Fishlegs into a panic attack, for one." she snapped.

The other twin sighed in exasperation. "There's no need to get violent, it was just a laugh."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Sure it was." she said sarcastically.

"Are you going to use your fists every time someone tries to have any fun around here?" asked the injured twin.

"I just might." she said with a small smile.

"Come on, George. We don't want to hang out with anyone mental." Said the uninjured twin as he and his brother began to turn away.

"I'll show you who's mental!" Astrid bellowed, standing up and lunging at them.

Hermione grabbed her arm. "No! You'll get us in trouble!"

Astrid stared at the girl for a second and realized that she was right. She reluctantly sat back down.

"Fine. You guys better watch your back." Astrid glowered at them.

"Oh I'm so scared!" shouted the uninjured twin.

"Look at me, I'm trembling!" cackled the other.

The twins walked back over to their seats. Astrid turned her head to see yet another redhead staring at her, his mouth slightly open.

"What are you looking at?" she asked him.

"Nothing… it's just I've never seen anyone threaten Fred and George like that. I would be extra careful if I were you." said the boy, who Astrid now remembered was named Ron.

"You're related to them, aren't you?" she asked him, now seeing the resemblance.

The tips of Ron's ears turned slightly pink. "Yeah. Which is why I know you're in trouble now."

Astrid chortled. "I'll take my chances."

Ron looked at the black haired boy next to him. "They're right; she is mental." he muttered.

The dinner finally disappeared and was replaced with desserts. At the Slytherin table, the blonde boy called Draco Malfoy was gesticulating wildly.

"My father says it's a crime that first years aren't allowed their own broomsticks." He drawled.

"Woah… your father talks a lot." said Tuffnut, his eyes widening as he stared at the boy.

"What?" Malfoy asked, suddenly confused.

"All you talk about is what your father talks about." Tuffnut explained as he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, what does he do? Sit you down and lecture you?" Snotlout added with a snicker.

Malfoy looked indignant. "No…"

"Then why do you talk about it so much?" asked Ruffnut.

Malfoy seemed to have no response to this for a second. Then… "My father's on the school board. He can make a difference if he wants to."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "So why tell us all this? Do you think we can change anything?"

Malfoy made a funny sort of grunting noise. He crinkled his nose in disgust. "Crabbe, Goyle, come on. I don't like the company here." He said at last, getting up and moving to the other side of the table with his lackeys.

"You better run!" Tuffnut called after them.

"I think we've just made an archenemy. This year may not be too bad after all." Snotlout gloated, leaning back and looking rather pleased with himself.

"Yeah! Wait… who's our archenemy?" Tuffnut asked.

"That Malfoy kid." Snotlout said automatically, used to Ruffnut and Tuffnut's stupidity by now.

"Awesome. One day and we already have an archenemy!" Ruffnut exclaimed, giving her brother a high five.

"Yeah! That's a new record, even for us!" Tuffnut grinned.

"' My father will hear about this! Well my father says that's stupid! You wait till I tell my father.' Ugh." Snotlout imitated.

"All our dad tells us is that we give him a headache and to go into another room." said Ruffnut rather bluntly.

Just then, the dishes cleared. The Headmaster stood up, smiling fondly at all of the students.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" he said in a clear voice. "This year, we have a new staff appointment. The post of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Gobber!" he gestured to a large man with a long, blonde mustache, who waved cheerfully when introduced.

Hiccup was suddenly extremely tired, so tired that he stopped listening to the rest of Dumbledore's announcements. There was something about a third floor corridor being off limits but he very nearly fell asleep before being told it was time for bed. He wondered if there was some sort of sleeping potion in the pumpkin juice.

Just then, Dumbledore announced that it was time for bed. Hiccup got up, thankful to at least be able to move around so he wouldn't fall asleep on the table. The Hufflepuff prefects that were assigned to directing the first years were a boy named Matt, who had a strange affinity for fezzes, and a girl named Jenny, who was soft spoken but seemed to understand the first years' nervousness. They led the first years down a staircase and past a portrait of a bowl of fruit.

Matt turned to face them when they arrived at a wall with a barrel off to the side. "All right, to get into the Hufflepuff common room, tap the barrel right here to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff." He demonstrated on the barrel and the wall slid open. "Don't bring any students from other houses here! If you do, a barrel of vinegar will spill all over them. Filch will not appreciate that. You've been warned."

They led the group of kids into the common room. Matt and Jenny turned around and this time, Jenny spoke.

"This is the common room. It's very comfortable and we'd like to keep the volume to a reasonable level so please don't shout." she said softly.

"We have to be quiet? Boring…" Tonks muttered to Hiccup, who smiled.

"Boys dormitories are to the left and up the stairs. I'll take the boys." said Matt, leading the boys in the direction of the dormitories.

"Girls dormitories are to the right and up the stairs. Girls, come with me." he heard Jenny say.

Tonks gave Hiccup a rather disappointed look as she followed the girls. Hiccup shrugged. They would see each other in the morning. He was glad that he'd managed to make a friend so fast.

When Matt reached their dormitory, he turned to face them.

"This is your dormitory. There isn't any curfew for the common room but keep the lights in this room off after 10. If you want to do some late night studying, do that in the common room. All first years need to be back in their common rooms by 8 pm. I'll leave you to get settled." he said and left, probably to socialize with his peers in the fifth year dormitories.

The boys looked around the dormitory for a second before the boy called Justin spoke up.

"Are we assigned beds or do we just choose one?" he asked.

Ernie brightened up. "Dibs on the one farthest from the door!" he exclaimed, bolting toward it.

"I don't really care, just so long as it's more comfortable than cold wooden planks." said Hiccup, shrugging noncommittally.

Zacharias turned to stare at him. "Is that how Muggles sleep?" he asked.

Hiccup faltered for a bit. "No comment."

"So what kind of name is Hiccup anyway? Who would want to be named after an involuntary reflex?" Zacharias asked, taking the bed next to Ernie's.

Hiccup let Justin take the bed next to Zacharias and took the bed closest to the door. To Zacharias, he said, "Apparently my parents didn't think about the long term consequences."

Zacharias shook his head. "Muggles are weird. I'm glad I'm pureblood."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I bet you are."

He liked the bright yellow covers and the rich, ebony colored mahogany of the bedposts. It vaguely reminded him of a bee but he had always liked bees for some reason. Not in swarms, of course, but the creatures had always fascinated him. He felt the soft covers and was glad that he would be sleeping comfortably for the next few months.

The other boys continued to talk amongst themselves but he didn't pay attention to them. He loved the dormitory. There was something so warm and inviting about it. He slowly changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. Tuning out the noises of the other boys, he drifted off to sleep at last, more excited than he had ever been in his life.