A/N: Well I did promise that it would before the end of the month! Been burning the midnight/1:30am oil over here! Just a cute little chapter where Arthur makes a new friend and gives some experienced advice. I'll hopefully have Chapter 8 up soon too (though not tonight!)and again, please do leave a comment and any constructive criticism! Enjoy :)

Once again Merlin was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of Platform 9¾, he had forgotten the energy that just seemed to radiate from all the excited students as they clambered on board the Hogwarts Express in the mad rush to get a seat with their friends. Merlin wandered down the passageway as the train jolted into action, the sudden motion caused Merlin to stumble and crash into a student who was emerging from one of the compartments, sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Merlin!" He heard a voice from under him, he quickly sat up, "We really have to stop meeting like this!" Arthur laughed as Merlin clambered off him and helped him up. Before Arthur had finished his laughter Merlin pulled him into a quick hug. "What was that for?" Arthur asked with a smile,
"Cuz I was worried about you, dollophead!" Merlin smiled back,
"Well I'm here now so no need to worry! Come sit with us, all the guys are in here," Arthur pulled Merlin into the compartment that he had been exiting when they collided. He was greeted by a chorus of 'hey Merlin's and 'how were your holidays's. He was pulled into a seat between Arthur and Lancelot.

The journey was filled with chatter and laughter, the boys talking about their subject this year, their hopes for the Quidditch season and what had happened over the holidays; Merlin noticed that Arthur was rather quiet during the last part of the conversation. Soon they were changing into their uniforms and pulling into the station. The boys were all excited at the prospect of getting to ride in the carriages that were pulled by nothing. Once at the castle, Merlin gave his friends a small wave as he was ushered over to the Hufflepuff table and them to Gryffindor.

The new first years were lead into the Great Hall and the sorting ceremony began. Students clapped when a student was sorted into a house, and cheered when that house was their own, House pride was something that was most evident at the great feasts. Merlin noticed that the Gryffindor boys cheered hardest for a small first year girl, wondering who she was Merlin made a mental note to ask Arthur later. The rest of the ceremony went on and then the feast commenced before they retired to their dorms.

A couple of days later, Arthur awoke early, excited for lessons at Hogwarts to begin again that day, he decided to go have a look around before the castle started to wake, he pulled on a jumper over his pyjamas and padded down to the empty common room and over to the door. When it swung open he wasn't too surprised to find a first year curled up on the floor, having obviously forgotten the password last night. He gently woke to girl, surprised to see it was Elyan's little sister; she was shivering and so he helped her through the doorway and into one of the chairs closest to the fire.

"It's Gwen, right?" Arthur asked her after a few moments of silence, she nodded as she extended her hands towards the heat from the fire. "I'm Arthur, I'm Elyan's friend. Congratulations on getting sorted into Gryffindor!"
"Honestly I was surprised, I thought that I was going to be Hufflepuff,"
"Well, Gwen, that must meant that there is more to you than you know. Anyways, Hufflepuff is a good house to be sorted into; some people will say that it's a house for 'duffers' but honestly Hufflepuff is probably the second best house, after Gryffindor obviously! Ravenclaw's are nice too, though I've been told that it's best to avoid them around exam time as they can get really stressed! Be careful with Slytherin though, they can be cruel." Gwen's head dropped at the last comment,
"That's the reason I was stuck outside…"
"What, some Slytherin's trapped you out there?"
"No, because of what you all think of Slytherin's, they're not all bad but you Gryffindors seem too blinded by your hatred to realise that!" Arthur was lost for words, had he really been doing to the Slytherin's what that older boy had done to Merlin? "I made a friend on the train here, she was sorted into Slytherin but I didn't care so we've been spending time together and then I forgot the password and some older Gryffindor's had seen me 'consorting with the enemy' and called me a traitor and refused to let me in, that's why I was sleeping outside."

They sat in silence for a minute or so before Arthur was able to come up with something to say,
"I'm sorry… for what I said, I have a friend in Hufflepuff and I know how hard it can be to spend time with someone outside of your house, must be even worse for you because one of you is a Gryffindor and the other Slytherin, I mean our houses aren't exactly known for getting on!" Gwen accepted his apology with a smile,
"Yeah, but some friendships are worth fighting for, I mean, we just work so well together and she's not bad, even if people see her that way I know that she's not."
"Exactly, don't let what other people think get in the way of your friendship, but at the same time Gwen, you have to be careful, there are some students here who really oppose inter-house friendships, I mean to the point where they might shove you round, I've seen it happen, I've had it happen to me and Merlin. But if you ever need backup I'll always help you out, and so will the others." They could hear people start to stir in the dorms above.
"Thanks Arthur, I appreciate it. I should probably go get dressed, don't want to be running late on my first proper day!"
"Yeah, have a good day… Oh, Gwen, what's your friends name, so I know who to look out for?"
"Morgana, her name's Morgana."