Where We Belong

Chapter 4 - Welcome to Hogwarts

"Thank you." Dumbledore sat down to loud cheers from the school.

Rapunzel turned to Clara, who seemed to be knowledgeable about the school, and said, "He's... different from what I expected."

"Isn't he! He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he's a little odd, yes. Oh, potatoes?"

The plates all over the Hall had suddenly filled with food. Rapunzel was pretty sure she could find anything to eat in this place. She beamed and poured herself a bowl of hazelnut soup

Hiccup stared. There was so much food!!!! Kristoff was beaming from ear to ear. "This is the good part!"

Merida heaped her plate with everything that looked tasty. "That does look good," the ghost with tights said.

She stared at him. "Can't you-"

"I haven't eaten in... about 500 years," he said sadly, "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower."

"I know who you are," a girl said suddenly. She had deep red hair and dark blue eyes. "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-" he began stiffly, but Merida interrupted him.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

The ghost looked miffed, like their conversation wasn't going at all the way he wanted. "Like this," he snapped. He grabbed his left ear and pulled. His head swung as if it were on a hinge. He seemed pleased by their stunned looks. "So- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help win us the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."

Merida looked over to see a horrible, silver blood-stained ghost sitting there. He was right next to South who, she was pleased to see, didn't look too happy with the seating arrangements. "How'd he get covered in blood?" she asked.

"I never asked," Nick replied delicatly.

When dinner was over, the plates were somehow sparkling clean again. A moment later, dessert appeared, bringing ice cream, pies, tarts, pastries, and any other sweet you could think of. As Mer helped herself to a slice of pie, the talk turned to their families, which it seemed to do all around the Great Hall. "I'm half-and-half," the girl called Indigo said, "My dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

They laughed. "What about you, Merida?" someone asked.

"Well, my mum was in Ravenclaw. My dad was in Gryffindor."

Derek Greene grinned. "Guess you take after him more so than your mom."

"You have no idea!" The group of first years laughed again.

~~~~

Hiccup and Kristoff stuffed themselves with dessert, and yet they still managed to hold a conversation. "Well, I was brought up by my... grandpa," Kristoff was saying, "and he's a wizard, but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Cliff kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of a pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Cliff came around for dinner, and he was holding me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Bulda offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Grandpappy was crying, he was so happy. And you should've seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see."