Arthur was happy to have made a friend. He had had very a rough time growing up surrounded by people who didn't show the littlest bit of affection towards him, so meeting Patsy was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air. It made all his insecurities concerning the following eight years completely disappear.

Looking back, he almost wanted to laugh at how everything had played out. All his life he had believed to be a simple country boy who was loathed by his father and brother, but turned out it had all been a ruse. The truth was that his father had been a real big shot and had been forced to give him up for adoption. When Merlin managed to track him down and told him everything, Arthur had the hardest time believing him. His whole life had been a lie. He now understood why his so-called father and brother had never treated him like part of the family.

Being unloved all his life, he was over the moon to have found a friend whom he could confide in. From the moment he opened his Hogwarts acceptance letter he had doubted himself, firmly believing that that school would just be a reprise of his life up until that point, no matter how much Merlin had helped him both with magic and his social skills. Meeting Patsy on his first day could only be a sign that everything would get better from then on out.

As they crossed Black Lake in the small wooden boats, the mighty castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry coming into sight, the two boys could barely contain their grins as they chatted excitedly.

"My brothers told me that we'll learn to ride gryphons on our third year." Patsy declared. "How cool is that?"

"So cool!" Arthur concurred, literally on the edge of his seat. "The most dangerous creature I've ever been in contact with was our housecat. She hated me, just like everyone else in that house."

"Maybe you should cut back on the self-deprecating humor. It will make it hard for people to be comfortable around you."

"Thanks for the advice. You can tell I've never really interacted with another person." Arthur laughed nervously. "My father – I mean, my adoptive father – was always the one to go to the village for food and services, and he made sure no one was ever aware of my existence. He never even gave me a proper education. I can barely count to ten. One, two, five – "

"Three." Patsy corrected him.

"Three. There, see? Merlin taught me everything I needed in only a few months, but even that wasn't enough."

"I'm sure you'll do great. Just be yourself."

"But what if 'myself' is just… awful?"

"Then show off the best side of yourself. Be kind and fun, like you've been to me."

"OK, but what if – "

"GWEN!"

Their conversation was cut short by that sudden screech from another first-year student behind them. They turned around just in time to see a large splash of water next to one of the boats behind them, indicating someone had just fallen in. Not long after a they saw a girl immerge, her arms flailing around as she desperately tried to keep herself afloat.

To this day, Arthur still can't explain what exactly drove him to do what he did next. Had it been altruism, a built-in sense of bravery? Whichever the reason, before he knew it, he had dived into the lake to save the girl.

He heard Patsy call out his name just before falling into the icy water. Powering through the cold sensation surrounding his body, he made his way to the drowning girl as fast as he could. He reached her just as she had given up, enveloping her with his left arm as he swam towards her boat with his right. He threw her onto the vessel before pulling himself aboard. She coughed out most of the lake water she had swallowed, taking deep and struggled breaths afterwards.

"She was trying to see the bottom of the lake and lost her balance." Said one of the blonde twin girls on the boat.

"You were so brave!" Exclaimed the other twin, beaming at Arthur.

Arthur chose to ignore them and knelt down to the gasping girl's eye level.

"Are you OK?" He asked worriedly.

The girl ceased her gasping the moment their eyes met. He saw her eyes widen and her tan cheeks darken ever so slightly. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel his own cheeks burn up at the sight of her dark-brown gleaming irises.

"Hum…" He stammered, unsure of what to say next. "Gwen, right? I'm Arthur."

He gave her his best smile, albeit a bit goofy. He saw her expression soften and her lips curl into a small smile.

"Thank you." She whispered.