Chapter 2
Arthur nervously sorted his clothes, storing them away before pushing his trunk under his bed. The other boys in the room were as quiet as he was, each regarding the others with the same unsure eyes.
Finally one boy with a mop of long brown hair broke the silence, manovering himself comfortably onto his bed.
"So, we're the newest additions to Gryffindor? What do you all think of that?" the boy had a bit of an accent that reminded Arthur of the ruffians from film, their loose grip on pronunciation. A few of the other boys murmured responses, but the one with one of the beds next to Arthur stood by the heater in the centre of the room,
"I think that it is an honour to be in this house, it is one with a history of courage and chivalry, we may one day be seen as heroes if such an opportunity arises for us to prove ourselves worthy!"
"Woah there!" the boy to the left of Arthur said in a jovial tone, "We're 11, right now we need to focus on school, not potentially becoming heroes because of our house!" before the room could fall back into an awkward silence the boy quickly continued speaking, eager to keep the interaction going "I'm Lancelot by the way,"
"Lancelot?" piped up the first boy who had spoken
"It's a family name okay?! I'm sure yours isn't much better!" he replied indignantly
"Gwaine, it's welsh." The long haired boy responded
The other boys went round and introduced themselves, clockwise from the door there was Gwaine with his long hair and ruffian tone; then Percival who was twice the size of all the other boys in the room; Lancelot with his rather agreeable features; Arthur; Leon who had advocated concentrating on school first; and lastly Elyan with tanned skin and a quiet demeanour.
The six boys continued to talk as the evening rolled into night, learning about each other's backgrounds and families, their ideals and hopes. After the prefects came round to tell them that it was lights out Arthur lay in bed, absorbing all that he had learned in the few short hours; both Percival and Elyan were half-bloods, coincidentally, both on their mothers side; Lancelot was a muggle born like him; Leon was pure blood. So was Gwaine but his family were considered 'blood traitors' which he vaugly remembered Merlin mentioning earlier.
Merlin.
Arthur wondered how he was doing, wishing that he could just talk to him, to help him understand all that he was being told. He wanted to listen and hear about the other Hufflepuff boys, were they nice, had Merlin made friends with them? Arthur liked the boys in his dorm, but he couldn't help wishing that Merlin were there too. He fell asleep with the raven haired boy on his mind, unaware the down in the Hufflepuff dorms, that very same boy had a certain blond lingering in his last thoughts before he too drifted off to sleep.
The next morning when Merlin awoke his brain took a moment to register where he was, sunlight pouring in the circular windows, the circular room housing five other boys, each bed slightly hidden in an alcove, house plants hung from the ceiling and wooden furniture stood neatly. The other boys in the room were just starting to stir, not wanting to wake them Merlin quietly gathered his clothes from the desk chair where he had left them, grabbed his towel and wash bag and disappeared out of the room.
The showers were bathed in more golden sunlight, filtering in from skylights way above, the shower cubical were separated by simple bamboo screens which allowed the occupant plenty of room to shower and then get changed. Attempting to run a comb through his hair was his final effort to look presentable before proudly glancing at himself in the mirror, his uniform was neat, for now, his tie and jumper proudly emblazoned with yellow and black, how he wished his mother could see him now, how he couldn't wait to hear from her. Last night he had excitedly sent her an letter via owl describing everything, from his journey, to his new friend, to being sorted into Hufflepuff!
After quickly dropping off his wash bag, pyjamas and hanging up his damp towel to dry he ventured out of the common room to try and find his way to the great hall, hopefully he'd be one of the first there for breakfast.
Merlin was definitely not one of the first to breakfast. He was pretty sure he knew the way, but after taking a wrong turn or two he ended up hopelessly lost, thankfully some nice 5th year Slytherins were also on their way to breakfast and let him tag along. He arrived around the time of the mid breakfast rush, when everyone was arriving and trying to get a seat. Merlin wandered along the Hufflepuff table in hopes of an opening and had nearly reached the end when he let out a small yelp as a hand closed around the back of his robe and pulled him on to the bench behind. Glancing round in surprise he came face to face with a thankfully familiar one,
"Jeez Arthur! You nearly gave me a heart attack! You can't just grab someone like that y'know!" Merlin smiled, giving Arthur and affectionate punch
"Well I tried calling to you but you didn't hear me, it was a last resort, your own fault really! Anyway, join us for breakfast?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin with a persuasive smile, Merlin glanced round at the other 11 year old boys who were all smiling and laughing,
"Well… I wouldn't want to intrude…"
"Nonsense!" Arthur cried, laughing "C'mon Merlin, swing your legs round and have something to eat,"
"Arthur, I can't, you can't eat at other houses tables" Merlin replied in almost a hushed whisper, knowing he shouldn't be there,
"Don't be silly Merlin! Why would it matter where you sat for breakfast? It's not like it's an official ceremony or anything,"
"Yeah I know, but still, there are just certain rules that you have to follow, I wish I could stay but I really can't,"
"Merlin, please, stay." Arthur said quietly, fixing the boy with a pleading gaze and moving closer to him so he could hear the soft words that he uttered, "This place is still kinda scary without you…" Finally giving in to the blond Merlin sighed and swung his legs under the table. He chatted with the boys and Arthur, starting to relax about the whole inter-house thing, it was probably just being made out to be an bigger issue than it was. That was until Merlin felt a strong hand on his shoulder, it tightened around his robe and pulled back violently. Before Merlin knew what was happening he was on his back, looking up at the illusion of the morning sky.
"You first years need to learn, you don't sit at other tables, especially not the Gryffindor table, got it Puff?" A large sixth year Gryffindor snarled, glowering down at Merlin who just nodded meekly before scrambling to his feet, about to make his way to the Hufflepuff table when he heard a voice pipe up over the din of the great hall.
"Why not? Why should he not be allowed to sit with his friends?" It was Arthur, standing tall to the sixth year, but not even reaching the colossal's shoulder.
"Because he isn't worthy, and that's just how things are, so deal with it kid, don't mix with other houses and you'll go far, okay?"
That was all the response Arthur got before the sixth year leered at Merlin once more and disappeared into the crowd. Still pretty shaken Merlin hastily said goodbye and before Arthur could respond the raven haired boy had also disappeared.
Arthur spent the rest of the meal quietly thinking, trying to understand how such a archaic system was still in place, such idiotic segregation…
On his way out of the great hall Arthur spotted a familiar mop of black hair, pushing through the crowd he managed to once again grab Merlin by the back of his robe. He then grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the current of people that had been pulling them along.
"Look, Merlin, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to get you in trouble, and what that guy said about how we shouldn't be friends outside out houses?"
"Look Arthur," Merlin cut him off "I don't want to, but maybe it would be easier if we just did what he said. Hogwarts is full of people just like him who believe all that nonsense about not only blood purity but also house purity, that it is wrong to mingle outside of your house, so maybe it would just be easier…"
"Screw that! And screw them! Why should they get to tell me that I am not allowed to keep the best friend that I have made since I arrived in this world? I don't care if it won't be easy… I don't want to lose you Merlin."
"I don't want to lose you either," Merlin said quietly with a small smile.
The two boys exchanged a firm embrace before agreeing to keep their friendship, no matter what, that they need to meet up all the time. Then Arthur watched as once more his blue eyed friend disappeared into the crowd.