A/N: There is a tragic story that comes with this chapter; you would have had it the day after the last one was uploaded had it not been for these tragic events. I was really getting into writing it and you know when the words are just flowing and it feels like you have been blessed by the Musen? That is how I felt. It was late and I was burning the 2am oil, and I was nearly done with the chapter. Then it happened. I'm not sure what exactly it was… but either Word crashed or I pressed some weird combo of keys, but next thing I knew, Chapter 3 was gone. 2 hours of work… 2000 words… true perfection. I tried everything I could think of to recover it, but it was no good. It was gone. I will not lie to you, I was very tired (it being 2am and all) and so slightly over emotional (but honestly I think this was a justified reaction) I just cried. I cried for about 10 minutes before going to bed in a heap of misery.
Since then I just haven't been able to bring myself to write chapter 3 again, I was so pleased with the last one and whatever I do post will never be as good in my mind. I honestly have tried to write it, I have gotten as far as booting up my computer and opening the document, then the grief will hit me all over again and I become disheartened and just close the document in defeat.
So in short I am sorry that this chapter has taken so long to do, I just couldn't do it for a while. Thanks for being patient and I hope you do enjoy whatever is posted, even though my heart will be filled with sadness every time I think of it.
R.I.P. Original Chapter 3, a true treasure that was lost too soon.
The first week went by slowly, the first year's lessons consisted of a gentle introduction from teachers about the subject, what would be expected of them in class, Arthur realised that it wasn't far different from the kind of first week you would experience at a muggle school, only with slightly different subjects! The boys quickly figured out which classes they shared, luckily there were quite a few, Merlin was told by some of the older Hufflepuffs that it was because Hufflepuffs were the most tolerable of Gryffindor; after all there was that age old rivalry with Slytherin, said to have been started when Salazar challenged Godric to a dual, only to lose to him. The Ravenclaws could apparently get annoyed by the Gryffindors bravado and that had resulted in some pretty spectacular arguments, and Ravenclaws being paired with Gryffindor less than before.
Charms was the first lesson that the two shared, Arthur bumped into Merlin in the hall who had his signature goofy grin on his face, the other Gryffindor boys were with him, chatting to the Hufflepuff so that when Arthur arrived he was greeted with a chorus of hellos. They agreed who would sit next to whom in class, obviously including Merlin in the plan; he would be between Arthur and Gwaine, right in the middle to show that they didn't care about the stupid house divide. But their hearts sunk as they entered the room and saw that Professor Flitwick had drawn up a seating plan on the chalkboard, with a clear divide between the Houses. Professor Flitwick was probably just trying to be nice with people sat with other that they kind of know, and to avoid conflict when certain house combos share a class.
So Merlin was sat with the other Hufflepuffs, who were pleasant enough, chatting quietly about the class and the different spells that they might have to do. He sat there only half listening, letting his focus drift over to the group on the other side of the aisle, where six boys dressed in robes emblazoned with red and gold sat, laughing and joking. Merlin wished he could be over there, there was a part of him that told him he needed to just adapt to the way things are and to befriend his own house mates; but that felt like not only giving in to the segregation that was happening, but also like he was betraying Arthur, his first friend at Hogwarts.
Merlin had drifted into his own mind, the voices of those around him seemed distant and his eyes gazed unfocused on the room. After a few minutes he shook himself out of it, not wanting to get in trouble with professor Flitwick in the first lesson. His eyes locked on brown ones that had been watching him, he let out a toothy grin at Arthur who smiled back before glancing over at Flitwick, who was writing out the homework on the chalkboard. Whilst the professors back was still turned Arthur expertly tossed a scrunched up ball of paper which landed softly on Merlin's desk, also glancing at the professor who remained oblivious to the activities of the class, he opened up the ball of paper, on it was written,
Hey, still can't quite believe we're at magic school! What's your next class? I have transfigurations with Mc-something. Hopefully we'll be able to sit together in some of the other classes we share!
A
Merlin smiled and quickly scribbled a response, checking that Flitwick's back was still turned Merlin tossed it to Arthur who was waiting with a smile. However Merlin's sporting prowess was not as good as Arthurs and it hit Lancelot on the head, who kindly passed it to Arthur laughing and grinning over at Merlin who was trying to express his apology through hand gestures and mouthing words. Arthur flattened out the piece of paper to read Merlin's response.
Hey! I know, Hogwarts can be crazy at times! I have flying next with Madam Hooch, that's bound to be a disaster! Also you'll finally meet your house rivals, the Ravenclaws are flying with us so you must have the Slytherins! You've got Mocgonagall, she's the one who conducted the sorting ceremony, and your head of house so don't get on her bad side!
M
P.S. If you see any cats in the transfigurations classroom, don't give them a stroke, my mother gave me that advice, she wouldn't tell me exactly why but apparently you might get a nasty shock if you do!
Before Arthur could scribble down his reply the class was dismissed, leaving the boys to only wave goodbye as they departed for their separate classes.
As each new class came and went both boys began to realise that all the teachers seemed to share Flitwick's idea of separating the houses to avoid conflict, leaving the boys to only wave and communicate through notes that were thrown across the room when the teacher was not looking, that is if they dared to pass notes in the class, some of the teachers were just too scary to risk it. And so the boy's friendship became limited to these short communications and brief conversations in the hallways.
Once lessons properly began, the school year started to pick up pace. Everyone was adjusting to their new home, quickly learning their way around, simply for the sake of survival, learning about the different teachers and who you could get away with a bit of messing around with, and who would have you in detention so quick your head would spin. Speaking of detention, Arthur quickly learned that to mess about in certain classes would result in the six Gryffindor boys stuck polishing the many candelabras that were in Hogwarts every night until they were done. They also learned that house points were taken quite seriously and misbehaviour that would lead to the loss of house points would also earn you some annoyed looks and even a lecture from an older student if you lost a lot.
Merlin had no issue with teachers most the time; Professor Snape had deducted 15 house points after he had stumbled and knocked over a few bottles of powder, but Merlin quickly earned them back in Herbology. Professor Sprout said that he had a real knack for it and let him come and help in the greenhouses after lessons.
In any other free time Merlin spent most of it in the library, he quickly managed to befriend the strict Librarian, Madam Pince, who secretly had a soft spot for students that would spend a lot of their time alone in the library. She also liked that Merlin shared her own thirst for knowledge and respect for books, he was always careful with them and would come back with intelligent questions that she couldn't always answer. Madam Pince was always happy to help him find a book or to get the answer to a homework question that was troubling him, she had remarked a couple of times that she was surprised that Merlin had not been sorted into Ravenclaw with his love of books he displayed quite a few of their traits. But it was clear to her that he did belong in Hufflepuff, he seemed to have a sixth sense that allowed him to find those in need of help, whether it was a fellow first year who had gotten a bit turned around; a teacher that needed help carrying things; she would often see him helping in any way he could.
Christmas came and went so quickly, both Merlin and Arthur went home to their families. Merlin returned to the little cottage in the village, where his mother was waiting eagerly for him, they hugged and she fussed over how much he had grown and insisted on hearing everything about his first term over dinner, so Merlin told her of Arthur and the other Gryffindors, of the teachers and the classes. His mother thrilled to hear that he was excelling in Herbology, it had been one of her favourite lessons when she was at Hogwarts. He complained about the amount of homework that some teachers gave and about the separation between the houses, choosing to leave out about being pushed to the floor and threatened on his first morning.
The two of the enjoyed a quiet Christmas, Hunith made a humble Christmas dinner of roast chicken, with vegetables fresh from the harvest and a fruit cake for dessert. It wasn't much but it was all they could afford, and with each other as company neither minded. In the evening when the two of them were sat by the fire they exchanged gifts. 3 each. One from the other; one from Santa; and one from Merlin's father, who had left them a box of wrapped items, each with a name and year to be opened; they were usually little trinkets or carvings that he had made, or an old book, again it wasn't much but each gift meant to world to them, even if Merlin couldn't remember him.
Arthur, meanwhile, had a very different Christmas. He had arrived home, going to his room to unpack, knowing that his father was working in his study and would not tolerate being disturbed. So Arthur was left to his own devices until dinner, prepared by the cook, his father didn't seem all to interested in hearing Arthurs tales of Hogwarts, brushing off any questions that Arthur would ask him about possible magical heritage because in History of Magic, which was taught by professor Binns, who was a ghost by the way, had said that even in muggle borns most could track some kind of magical heritage so if it were possible that he or mother had had some relative who,
Uther excused himself from the table, claiming that he had to work, leaving a disheartened Arthur to finish his dinner alone.
The days repeated like this, Arthur would spend his time either in his room completing the holiday homework that had been set, or helping in the kitchen, chatting to the cook. He didn't see much of Uther who was often locked in his study and would yell at any who dared to disturb him. Then on Christmas Eve Uther briefly said goodbye to Arthur, that he had a business trip, and left without so much as a merry Christmas.
Arthur didn't mind too much, this was a frequent occurrence, Uther being called away on business, leaving Arthur with the servants who had practically raised him, part of his family. So in the end Arthur too enjoyed a quiet Christmas, in the cosy kitchen. His pile of presents weren't nearly as meaningful, there were gadgets and gizmos, cool toys and an elite bike. Arthur wondered why his father would buy him such lavish gifts, when he knew that he could take none of them with him, they would just sit in his room till he was next home, and even then may not get much use. The house keeper, Arthurs former nanny before he got too old to have one, and who had been writing to Arthur, seeing as his father refused to use Owls, had heard all about Quidditch and the different positions; knowing that Arthur loved the idea of one day being the Gryffindor keeper, had gone out and purchased him a Christmas present. Arthur had not expected it and when he tore off the paper to find a baseball mitt and ball so that he could practice his catching skills so that he could catch the ball when he got to be keeper. Arthur laughed and thanked her with a hug, knowing that there were some people at home who cared enough to pay attention to the little things that he said.
Then the holidays were over and everyone had returned to Hogwarts, lessons were in full swing and all the first years found themselves caught up in their school work and the excitement of everyday life at Hogwarts, betting who would be the next to get detention (Gwaine was the front runner if peoples track records were anything to go by!) discussing what Peeves' next prank would be, or exploring a new passage way that had been discovered.
Before they knew it, it was the Easter holidays; Merlin went home to Ealdor whilst Arthur and most the other Gryffindor boys remained at Hogwarts, causing all sorts of trouble around the castle before the term began once more. It felt like time was moving even quicker than before, suddenly there were only a couple of months left; then only one; then two weeks. The Gryffindors found themselves caught up in the excitement for the final Quidditch match of the year, the decider of who got to take home the title as Champions. It was Gryffindor vs. Slytherin which meant that the tension was even higher between the two houses than normal. There had already been a couple of scuffles between members of the two houses, which only stopped when McGonagall threatened to cancel it once and for all.
