The first thing Jack noticed about his dorm when he awoke was the chill in the air. It didn't bother him too much, but the person beside him was audibly shivering. Jack tried to pull out a name, but it was useless so early in the morning. The second thing Jack noticed was that someone was snoring incredibly loudly and it was incredibly irritating. He was about to climb out of bed, but the person beside him was faster.

"Oy! Shut up! Some of us are actually trying to sleep!"

The snoring stopped abruptly and the culprit grumbled a bit before turning and scowling. "Who said that?"

"Me," said the boy defiantly. "Flynn Rider said it."

Jack vaguely remembered someone with that last name being called to sort last night but didn't recognize the first name. The snorer, an aristocratic looking blond, didn't appear to recognize the first name or surname. "Well, I'll tell you this Rider." He said haughtily. "I'm Hydrus

Nott, and the Nott family doesn't snore."

Flynn laughed and Jack had to admire his bravery. "You were snoring so loudly, you probably woke up the entire House, if not the entire school."

Nott's face flushed an ugly shade of red. "You sound to me like an empty-headed Gryffindor. Did the Sorting Hat put you in the wrong House?"

Flynn shrugged nonchalantly, which seemed to be an even better response to Nott's taunt. " I suppose we'll find out."

Nott narrowed his pale, grey eyes and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. The sounds of water running could be heard after- he was presumably drawing a bath.

"I'd be careful, if I were you." said a pudgy looking boy on the other side of the room. "The Nott family is pretty powerful."

Flynn didn't look overly concerned. "He's just a first year, like any of us. What's your name, anyway?"

"Horace Slughorn," said the boy, a bit dubiously.

"Nice to meet you, Horace." said Flynn, before turning to Jack. "And you?"

"Jack Frost."

"I've heard that name before..." said Horace. "Are your parents wizards?"

"My mum's not." said Jack. "My dad was, but he's dead."

"That makes you half-blood, then." Horace didn't appear to acknowledge the fact that the death of Mr. Frost might be a subject not to broach. "I'm mostly pure: got a bit of Muggle in there somewhere."

"Blood purity's alright," said Flynn, who thew on his new robes and sloppily tied his tie. "I have a couple of Muddy friends back home."

"Muddy?" asked Jack, not sure if he should be offended.

Flynn looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry. That's what my da calls 'em. Didn't mean it badly."

Jack didn't really know what to say so he made a non-committal gesture and this seemed to suit Flynn fine. When all three boys were dressed, they started towards the door, looking back with little hesitation towards the still closed bathroom door and the final member of the dorm, a slumbering boy that resembled a mossy rock.

"Can't wait to get to the Great Hall, I'm starved!" complained Horace as they made their way from out of the dungeons and into the mass of the school. Jack wasn't sure how it was possible, but they managed to find their way by following upperclassmen and his stomach grumbled as they walked in.

The three sat down at the Slytherin table and helped themselves to piles of toast, bacon, and pumpkin juice.

"Good morning."

It was the Prefect from the night before, Jasmine, with her long, glossy hair and expression of utter, aristocratic boredom. "I have your schedules, Firsties." She handed them each a piece of parchment and then sauntered away.

Flynn stared after her for a moment before glancing at the page. "Alright, today we've got Potions with Ravenclaw first, then Transfiguration with Hufflepuff and History of Magic with Gryffindor. Alright, that doesn't sound too awful."

"Do you know anything about the teachers?" asked Horace skeptically.

Flynn leaned back in his seat. "Nope. But they can't be that bad."

Jack had other thoughts: he never really got along with teachers well back in Burgess and he was equally as nervous about performing magic. What if everyone else was years ahead of him? His whole life, he'd been told not to do anything weird, but here it was accepted, even encouraged.

The bell signaling the end of breakfast came all to soon and Jack stood up slowly, following Flynn and Horace out of the Hall without really thinking. He realized, a little too late, that the desks were set up in pairs and he ended up the odd man out. Fortune was in his favor, though, when an irritated, scrawny boy sat next to him.

"I'm going to murder Fishlegs."

"Nice to see you too, Hiccup."

Hiccup gave him half a grin. "How're you with all the snakes?"

"It's alright. Do you know anything about this class?"

"Nope." Hiccup shook his head. "Back on Berk it's all about fighting dragons. Still, I think this stuff sounds a lot more interesting."

Jack was about to ask another question when the door opened and the class fell silent. Then, one of the most beautiful women Jack had ever seen walked in and all worries vanished from his mind. She was extraordinarily thin with silvery blond hair and dark skin and she seemed to catch his eye when she smiled.

"Good morning, class. I am Professor Mirage, in charge of Potions. I also happen to be Head of Slytherin, but please don't believe I will treat any of you differently. I'm sure you will all find this to be a challenging, but delightful course. Let us begin by turning to page four in our textbooks as a proper introduction to the making of magical solutions..."

She continued, but Jack found it hard to listen to anything but the sweet sound of her voice, not necessarily the exact words. He wasn't the only one: Flynn was doing the same thing in front of him, as were a few other boys. Meanwhile, Hiccup was taking notes in a slanted, but neat handwriting. Jack would have to copy those later.

They left the class with Jack still in a bit of a daze, but head mostly cleared.

"That was really cool." said Hiccup as they exited. "I think that's going to be a good class." He noticed Jack's relaxed expression and smirked. "You seemed to enjoy it."

"Yeah..." said Jack sleepily, before shaking his head and consulting his schedule. "Aw, man, I have to go to Trans-something with the Hufflepuffs."

"I've got Defense with the Gryffindors." said Hiccup with a grimace. "Wish me luck."

"Yeah, catch you later." Jack ran to catch up with Flynn and Horace, who didn't seem to notice his absence.

In Transfiguration, they sat in long rows facing a blackboard and the very small woman from the previous night, Professor Mode. She started the lesson as soon as they were all inside and didn't finish until a minute after the bell had rung, keeping them busy the whole time. Jack didn't think the Hufflepuffs looked all that bad, and there was even a pretty girl with very long blond hair that smiled and waved.

Hiccup, meanwhile, was having a much more difficult time in his class. Predictably, he was forced to sit next to Fishlegs who jabbered on the entire time. Even worse, his sort-of cousin Merida ended up to his right instead of the lovely Astrid, and while she didn't glare at him, there was quite a bit of awkwardness.

Still, he took notes and copied down the homework and was fairly relieved that they wouldn't start anything practical until at least a month in. (This caused a few people like Snotlout to groan, but Hiccup was thrilled.)

Professor Gobber was about what he expected and remembered: big, burly, missing a couple appendages, and with a spectacular mustache. When class ended and Hiccup tried to sneak out without speaking to anyone, Gobber called him over.

"So you're Stoick's kid, huh? That's pretty funny." said the professor. "He told me to check up on you."

"That's great..." said Hiccup, wondering if his father also asked his old friend to toughen his son up. "Hasn't even been a day yet."

"Hogwarts changes people." said Gobber, settling down in his chair. "Doesn't seem like so long ago I was the one in this classroom as a student, all skinny and nervous. You'll get over that."

"I hope so." Hiccup glanced at his watch and Gobber chuckled.

"Alright, go down to lunch or wherever. Kids are always in such a rush. Bye Hiccup."

Hiccup waved as he left and then sighed as he trotted along the corridor before running into the last person he thought he would see alone.

"Aye, what're you doing here?" asked Merida in her strong, Scottish accent.

"I could ask you the same question."

Merida frowned and her small nose turned up a bit. "I had to go the bathroom and now I don't know where I'm going. You?"

"Hoping the Great Hall is down those stairs like it was this morning."

Merida actually chuckled a bit. "That was pretty good... Hate to say this, but some of your friends from Berk don't have a great sense of humor."

"You must be talking about Snotlout." said Hiccup and they started walking together. "You've gotta be easy on him; it takes him a little while to figure out someone's joking."

"He is a wee thick." said Merida. "Although your friend Fishlegs doesn't seem much better."

"He's smart but so obtuse I feel like I'm talking to a boulder."

"Speaking of boulders," Merida dropped her voice to a whisper as she pointed at a Slytherin student. "Doesn't he kind of resemble one?"

They both sniggered and then realized they'd found the Great Hall. It was time to depart.

"Well, uh, nice talking to you." said Hiccup.

Merida nodded, looking furtively at the Gryffindor table. "Yeah. You too."

The awkwardly separated and Hiccup found himself wishing they weren't. Other than Jack, she was one of the first people to not be openly antagonistic or annoying during this first day of classes.

Merida felt the same way as she found her new friends in the crowd. She really liked these people from Berk, but she missed being able to joke around like she could with her little brothers and father and irritate her mother.

"Why were you talking to Hiccup?" asked Ruffnut, as soon as Merida sat down.

Merida shrugged. "I dunno, we were headed in the same direction. Be kind of awkward not to talk."

No one even smiled.

"He's not...like us." said Snotlout with an air of arrogance. "He's a Ravenclaw. Look, they've all got their noses in books right now. They'll never survive in the real world."

"Your head's so far up your derriere, I bet you wouldn't survive either!" Merida's temper flared and she grabbed an apple and flounced out of the Great Hall, hair crackling like fire.

When she exited she immediately wished she hadn't, mostly because they had History of Magic with Slytherin and she had no idea how to find the classroom.

It took her a while, but she finally stumbled across the classroom. To her immense relief, at least Astrid didn't appear too upset and she offered the seat next to her. To her disdain, this meant sitting next to a Slytherin on the other side. Merida stole a glance at him; he was shorter than her with dark hair and very bright blue eyes. She didn't remember his name.

Just then, the teacher came in, a small, slightly plump man with receding hair and circular glasses who proceeded to open a large book and read out of it for the rest of the class period. Merida tried to stay awake, she really did. But it was as though this teacher was trying to bore them to tears, indeed, about twenty minutes into the class and people were either fast asleep or pinching themselves to stay awake.

Merida looked to her right and saw Astrid and the others slumbering then turned to her right and nearly burst out laughing. Her Slytherin seat neighbor had such an expression of shock on his face that it was almost comical and he leaned in to Merida, the only person near him awake.

"How could anyone make Goblin Wars sound this dull? I didn't even know goblins existed until about a month ago."

This surprised her. "You're a Slytherin muggle born?" she asked, wondering why she kept approaching people. It wasn't like her to talk to people like Hiccup and what's-his-name.

He seemed surprised, too. "Not really. My dad was a wizard, but he's dead."

"That's awful." said Merida, shivering at the thought of her own father being dead. "What was your name, again?"

"Jack."

"Merida."

And that was the end of the conversation. Merida eventually felt herself doze off into a half-slumber, thoughts about her first day swirling in her brain.

Jack watched his neighbor fall asleep and sighed. This Professor Binns guy was pretty lame. His other teachers the following days were a slight improvement: Professor Bunnymund headed up Herbology and knew what he was talking about, although Jack accidentally knocking a plant over didn't make them fast friends. Professor Sanders, a plump man in golden robes who didn't talk much, headed up Charms, and then finally, in what appeared to Jack as the worst idea ever, they had Astronomy class Wednesday at midnight.

All forty or so of the first years were huddled around at the top of the Astronomy tower, looking through their telescopes at the stars. Professor Black was their teacher, and he seemed to favor his distant nephew Hydrus and a few others over the majority of the class.

"I'm going to put you all in groups that you will remain in for the rest of the year." said Professor Black, his gaunt face looking quite gleeful. "Let's have..." He then divided everyone except his favorites into groups of mixed houses and friendships, leaving almost no one happy. "And finally: Corona, Frost, Haddock, and Dunbroch."

Jack almost smiled, but didn't want to show Black he was pleased. Hiccup came over to his table, followed by Merida from History and the blond girl from Transfiguration who introduced herself as Rapunzel. Merida didn't look thrilled, but didn't look depressed either. Rapunzel looked a little nervous, but optimistic. Jack and Hiccup shared an excited look when the teacher's back was turned.

"Astronomy is an interesting art, one that must be performed with great care. Everyone, take out your textbooks and turn to the first chapter. We will be discussing the planets in our solar system for the first term, so I would advise against inattentiveness."

Thankfully, he was a bit of a droner like Binns so the class was able to chat amongst itself, groups configuring to allow friends to talk to friends. Jack's group, however, sitting so close to people like Hydrus, Gruella Goyle, Cassiopeia Lestrange, and Brutus Crabbe, didn't have much of an option except to talk among themselves.

"I'm going to be so tired tomorrow." said Jack.

The other three nodded in agreement. "It's hard enough sleeping with Ruffnut. She snores like a dragon." Merida said, gently nudging Hiccup who snorted.

"Yeah, we've got one of those." said Jack, gesturing subtly to Hydrus.

"Which one?" asked Hiccup. "The talking boulder or the blond ferret?"

Even Rapunzel giggled, her wide eyes finding wonder at the people before her. They were very different from Tooth, who had a lot to say but none of it with a bite. But they weren't cruel like her mother, at least not yet. She was a little wary of the Slytherin and the tough, red headed girl, but Hiccup at least seemed approachable. If she had't been Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw might've been a good place as well. The Houses seemed to have quite a bit of crossover potential.

"Rapunzel's an interesting name, isn't it?" said Jack.

Rapunzel bit her lip. "I suppose so."

"I think it's a little long. How about..." Jack close his eyes and the air around them seemed to darken without their glow. "Zel."

"That's creative." said Hiccup while Merida said "Guess you're not smart enough to remember all those syllables." at the same time.

Jack just grinned and turned to Rapunzel. "What do you think?"

Rapunzel was stunned. She'd never had anyone joke around with her or give her a nickname before. Jack didn't seem to care that both Hiccup and Merida had been sarcastic or the fact that she was a Hufflepuff and therefore a foreign species. She blushed a little. "Yeah, that's fine with me!"

"Great," then Jack turned to Merida, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Weren't you the one who managed to forget the password to the Gryffindor common room and scream at that painting for an hour?"

Merida flushed. Of course even the Slytherins had heard about that. "Weren't you the one who knocked that plant over in Herbology and made that huge mess?"

"What about your owl that dove into the sausage this morning?"

Merida was about to retort but Professor Black had finally heard the commotion and walked over. "Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin, respectively." He said, seemingly more pleased than anything that the group members were disagreeing. "And as I was saying, who can tell me which planet has the longest solar day, but the shortest year."

Hiccup raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Hammock."

Hiccup didn't correct him. "That would be Mercury, sir."

"Good. Five points to Ravenclaw." Professor Black looked like he wished he had been given the wrong answer, but at least gave Hiccup credit.

The rest of the lesson was pretty uninteresting, except that Merida and Jack didn't speak anymore. By the time it ended, even Hiccup and Rapunzel were too exhausted to do anything other than trudge back to the main part of the school.

As Rapunzel climbed into her soft bed, she suddenly wished that Tooth and the other Hufflepuff girls would stop talking and giggling so much. She had preferred that short time in Astronomy when someone paid attention to her. Rapunzel smiled softly and fell asleep, thinking of the strange Slytherin boy with bright eyes who called her "Zel".

OoO

Another chapter come and gone and they're slowly becoming friends! Bonding! Hurray!

In response to a review related to my other Naruto story: As I've mentioned, I have not given up on the story. Just taking a small break. Hope that cleared up any misconceptions. As always, please tell me what you think!

owlgirl16