Hooray, a new story I'll have to update! Miss Pookamonga and I were going to collaborate but it didn't go anywhere and I wanted to do something with all I'd written. So this is a series of one-shots about the How to Train Your Dragon kids (plus Heather) at Hogwarts. I apologize if it's a little dialogue heavy.

~KateMarie999

The Hogwarts Express Part 1

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was nervous. New surroundings had a tendency to have that effect on him. And nowhere was this more obvious than it was at 10:43 that morning at Platform 9 ¾. His father had offered to walk him to the train but Hiccup wasn't a baby; he could do it on his own. So he had said goodbye and squeezed his eyes shut as he entered through the barrier, something he had seen an older boy do mere seconds before.

Now he almost wished his father had joined him. The hustle and bustle of the other witches and wizards around him was beginning to make him feel very small. Smaller than normal, anyway. He looked around and his eyes became wide as if he wanted to take in as much as possible. Some of the kids already had their school robes on, creating black patches in his vision as they crowded together. There were owls and cats and toads all over the place, some in cages and some roaming freely. Several older students were bellowing orders to the younger ones (and even a few peers). Families were hugging their children and some, including a little red haired girl he spotted, were even crying as they let their children and siblings go.

"Stupid, useless piece of crap!"

He turned his head toward the noise and spotted a blonde girl around his age angrily kicking her trunk. Overwhelmed with curiosity, he ambled over to her, feeling that he should at least introduce himself to this stranger so that he might have one acquaintance in the wizarding world.

"Uhh… hello." he said timidly.

"WHAT?" she shouted. "What is it?"

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. Hiccup took a few steps back in alarm.

"Do you need some help?" he asked.

The girl looked him up and down. "No! Well yes but I don't think you can do it."

Hiccup smiled in what he hoped was a friendly manner. "I could probably do a bit better than you right about now. Come on, let me help." He extended a hand.

The girl stared at him for a moment, looking slightly surprised at this gesture. Then she crossed her arms and gave him a smug smile.

"Fine. I'm sure you could put this stupid thing on the compartment better than me, mister toothpick." she said, staring in a way that made Hiccup feel a bit uncomfortable.

Regretting the mess he had gotten himself into, he grabbed the handles of the trunk and pulled upwards. It lifted about a foot in the air before his strength ran out and he dropped it.

"Good grief, what's in this thing? Bricks?" he grunted.

The girl looked at the ground. "Just a few trinkets from home…" she said quietly.

Hiccup had to wonder what kind of trinkets to which she was referring but the skulls on her skirt dissuaded him from voicing this question.

"Well don't just stand there; I can't get this on the train by myself." he said, gesturing to indicate that he wanted her help.

The smug smile returned to her face. "I knew it."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I wasn't challenging you. I just wanted to offer you some help."

"Oh…" the girl said awkwardly, staring at the ground once more.

A second later, both children managed to get the trunk into the compartment. The girl turned to face him and stuck out her hand.

"I'm Astrid Hofferson." she said, grabbing his hand.

"Hiccup Haddock." he said as he tried not to wince at the amount of pressuring she was placing on his hand.

Astrid laughed. "Do all wizards have such funny names? I had some guy named Hagrid take me to Diagon Alley."

Hiccup shook his head. "No. Well not that I know of. My parents are Muggles."

She looked rather relieved. "So are mine. So you're new to this whole being a wizard thing?"

He nodded. "Pretty much. My dad thought it was a joke. He even called the postal service. They were pretty confused."

"My parents thought it was a joke too but when Hagrid showed up, they figured out pretty fast that it wasn't." she said, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Yeah. But you know, it kind of makes sense. I've had a few things happen that I can't explain. Of course saying it was magic still sounds pretty stupid." he shrugged.

"It really does. I guess we'll have to get used to it." She turned toward the train. "Do you want to find a compartment?"

"Sure!" he blurted out, pleased at having made a friend this soon. "Together?" he asked, making sure.

"Nah, I just thought I'd ask you if you were planning on looking for a compartment so I could get away from you."

Hiccup looked down at his feet. "Oh…"

Astrid suddenly punched him in the shoulder very hard.

"Oww… why would you do that?" he asked irritably, rubbing his shoulder.

She laughed. "I was joking. Can't you take a joke?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah… usually… especially when they're at my expense."

Astrid suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the train. "Come on, if we don't hurry up, everywhere will be full!"

"Wha… okay." Hiccup said as he allowed her to pull him into the train.

They looked in each compartment but were dismayed to find every single one of them full of eager students. They decided on the compartment that contained a pudgy blonde boy, about their age, with his nose in one of their textbooks.

"You don't mind if we sit here, do you?" Astrid phrased this as a question but she still sat down and pulled Hiccup down next to her.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead." said the boy, not looking up from his book.

They sat in awkward silence for a while. Hiccup and Astrid noticed that the stranger seemed quite nervous about something. His eyes were wide and he looked as though he was watching a horror movie.

"I didn't know our textbooks were so terrifying." Astrid quipped.

"What?" the boy paused for a moment, trying to figure out what she had meant. "Oh. No they're not so scary. Well most of them aren't. But I heard that as soon as we get there, we're going to get tested and how we do on that test is going to affect our entire lives at school. I didn't know there was a test! What if I fail and get placed in remedial classes and can't get a good career?"

Astrid and Hiccup exchanged looks. The girl raised her eyebrow.

"I don't think that's what's going to happen." Hiccup assured his future classmate. "Who told you this?"

"Some redheaded twins and another guy in dreadlocks." the boy replied.

Astrid couldn't keep her giggle down any longer. "I think we'd have heard if there was such a test." she said through her laughter.

"Really?" asked the boy, looking up at her.

"Look around. You don't see any other first years studying like mad. At the very least, you'll be the most prepared." Hiccup said, gesturing to the other compartments.

"Oh." the boy smiled. "I feel much better now. I'm Fishlegs."

"What is up with the weird wizard names? Will no one tell me?" Astrid blurted out. Both boys stared at her for a moment before she sheepishly averted their gaze. "I'm Astrid."

"So weren't you looking forward to this moment all your life? The best wizarding school in the world and we're all on our way!" Fishlegs squealed.

"Actually, Hiccup and I didn't know we were magical until we got our letters." Astrid told him.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't think of that."

Hiccup waved off the apology. "It's okay. Are we going to be far behind everyone else?"

"Probably not. Lots of people are Muggle-born. And even people from wizarding families don't actually have experience doing any magic; they're not allowed until they get to school." Fishlegs explained, slowly closing his textbook.

"You're from a wizarding family?" Astrid asked.

"Sort of. My dad's a Squib; mom's a Muggle-born witch. So technically I'm half-blood." Fishlegs said, the textbook now laying forgotten on his lap.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "A… Squib?"

"Non-magical person born into a magical family. He doesn't seem to mind though. He's a science professor at Oxford." Fishlegs looked rather proud at this statement.

Suddenly, the compartment door was flung open by another boy, about their age, with dark hair and a rough look about him. Hiccup and Fishlegs felt slightly apprehensive about this new person before he even opened his mouth.

"Man, everywhere is full." the boy complained in a gruff voice.

"You can sit here." Astrid offered.

The boy looked at Hiccup and Fishlegs with narrowed eyes. "Well…"

"There's plenty of room." Astrid added.

The boy sighed. "Okay but just for a minute."

He roughly pushed Fishlegs over as he sat down across from Hiccup and Astrid. For a moment, they awkwardly stared at each other.

"I'm Snotlout." the boy said at last, hoping to diffuse the tension.

Fishlegs and Hiccup introduced themselves.

"Seriously? No one is going to question the weird wizard names? No one?" Astrid blurted out.

Hiccup gave Astrid an amused glance before looking back at Snotlout. "So Snotlout, are you from a wizarding family?"

Snotlout leaned back on the seat, putting his feet up on the seat across from them. "Oh yeah. The Jorgensons go way back."

"So is there a test to get into Hogwarts that will change the course of our academic careers forever?" Fishlegs asked, staring at Snotlout as though expecting the boy to explode at any moment.

"He's still going on about that stupid test?" Astrid whispered to Hiccup.

Snotlout laughed. "If there was, it's not a very hard test. My Uncle Leo got in and he's an idiot. Ended up in Hufflepuff!"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What's that, the land of the fairies?"

Snotlout shook his head, looking very amused at this comment. "No it's a House at Hogwarts. There are four of them… no one's told you about that?"

"My mom said she was a Ravenclaw." Fishlegs piped up.

Snotlout gave him a long glance. "That sounds about right." he turned back to Hiccup and Astrid. "Both my parents were in Slytherin. Yep, I'm probably going to go there too. I hear that's where all the best parties are.

"Slytherin… Hufflepuff… Ravenclaw… why aren't you questioning the weird wizarding names now, Astrid?" Hiccup nudged the girl in the ribs.

Astrid sighed. "I figured I wasn't going to get a straight answer."

"Gryffindor is supposed to be the most prestigious house but I hope I'm in Ravenclaw too. My mom's really smart." said Fishlegs, leaning forward in excitement.

BANG!

Something slammed against the door of the compartment. The children looked at each other for a few seconds before opening the compartment door and looking into the hallway. A blonde boy with rather long hair was lying against the door, rubbing his head. A blonde girl in braids was standing over him and laughing at him.

"I told you I could do that!" the girl chortled.

"You didn't use your wand!" the boy exclaimed.

"I didn't say I was gonna use my wand!" the girl kicked him in the shin.

Hiccup paused, wondering if it was wise to intervene. "What are you doing?" he asked them.

"I told Tuff I could make him fly across the hall." the girl said with glee.

The boy got up, looking mildly annoyed but otherwise unhurt. The girl continued to laugh.

"Hey, the train's going to start moving any second now. Do you want to sit in our compartment?" Astrid offered.

"What?" asked Hiccup and Fishlegs in unison, both turning to look at her.

"Sure!" said the girl.

The compartment was beginning to get rather crowded but they all squeezed in together. Once they had finished introducing themselves (the girl introduced herself as Ruffnut and the boy, her brother, as Tuffnut), Astrid looked rather disgruntled but didn't make a comment.

"So like, when are we going to learn how to blow things up?" Tuffnut asked as the train finally began to move.

"Fourth year, I think." Fishlegs replied.

"Well then what's the point of going to school until then if we're not gonna blow things up?" Ruffnut ejaculated.

"What's the point?" Fishlegs asked, looking scandalized.

"Here we go…" Snotlout said, rolling his eyes and trying to ignore the tirade from Fishlegs.

"We're on our way to the most prestigious and well-respected school of witchcraft and wizardry ever and you're asking what's the point?" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"Well… yeah." said Ruffnut.

"Well for starters, there's our education to think about and how it will get us into a good career when we graduate." Fishlegs explained.

"Oh… I just wanted to play Quidditch." Ruffnut shrugged.

"Quidditch?"

"Quidditch?" asked Astrid and Hiccup.

"Only the best sport ever!" Tuffnut shouted in excitement.

"There's a sport?" Astrid asked, looking interested.

Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout began to explain the rules of Quidditch. Hiccup and Astrid had just about begun to understand the rules of the game when the compartment slid open once more to reveal a slim, dark haired girl.

"Oh… I didn't mean to interrupt." she said, beginning to slide the door closed again.

"You weren't interrupting." said Hiccup, who was beginning to get tired of all the Quidditch talk.

"Oh okay. Is it all right if I sit here? I was in this other compartment but the girl in that one was talking the entire time about how she memorized her textbooks." The girl said in one breath.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Fishlegs.

"Nothing. It was just getting boring." she replied.

"You can sit here." Hiccup said, scooting over so there was room for her next to where he was sitting.

"Oh good." she said, sitting down next to him. "I'm Heather."

"Finally!" Astrid blurted out.

Heather turned to look at her.

"Never mind. I'm Astrid."

The others introduced themselves.

"So Heather, I think I've heard of you. Heather Whitman?" Snotlout asked.

"How did you…"

"My dad works at the ministry with a Scott Whitman. I think he mentioned a daughter named Heather."

Astrid sighed. "Looks like it's just Hiccup and me that are completely new to this."

"You'll get used to it really fast. At least, that's what my mom said." Heather explained.

For the next few minutes, the children discussed their families and what they had heard about the school. Hiccup leaned back on his chair. He had never expected to meet this many people at once but now he was here, he was starting to feel like Hogwarts might not be so bad after all.