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Chapter Text

It was time for another year at Hogwarts and all of the students were excited. I mean, who wouldn't be excited about another year of witches, wizards, and magical beasts! Merlin, however, was pretty grumpy. He had been trying out a new spell and had fallen asleep for what was apparently over 1000 bloody years! All of a sudden he wakes up and there are things like cars and cell phones and what-not. Not to mention a thing called a train.

The train Merlin was currently on was a blinding shade of red. The first thing (well third, his bladder had been waiting for three hundred years and man had he been hungry!) he had done was check on the development of the wizarding world. It had really gone downhill! He had even slept through an entire wizarding war concerning blood purity of all things. And it had just ended less than a year before he had awoken! He could never imagine prejudice against fellow magic users based on something so flimsy as blood, when it didn't seem so long ago that they had all been hunted as a whole by Uther.

Not to mention the fact that the entire branch of magical folk in Britain had become completely independent upon wands. When he had first invented wands to help the more mediocre magic users channel their power, he had never guessed that they would eventually be used for everything.

Then he had read up on what had happened in more detail. While in a store called "Flourish and Blotts" he had overheard a young girl asking about where the books for Hogwarts were. Merlin had instantly grasped onto the idea of Hogwarts. What better place to learn than a school? He had been there only twice before. The first time was when he helped the founders turn the abandoned castle into a school. The second was many years later when he dropped by to visit and was sorted into Slytherin by what Godric had called "The Sorting Hat".

Merlin hurried to the nearest owlery and had, for a small fee, sent the current Headmistress of Hogwarts a letter claiming to be a transfer student. (Bless the Old Religion the goblins didn't question him accessing his vaults) He had written he was home schooled before his parents were killed in the war. Later that week he received a letter stating that if he was able to pass a few tests they would happily accept him as a 7th year.

He had passed their tests with flying colors after they had a teacher who met with him asking basic questions all seventh years were expected to know. He then had to transfigure a napkin into a parrot and brew a potion that, while new to him, was well within his range.

That brought him here. He was sitting in a small room on the so called ‘train’ thinking about all of the things he had missed in his sleep. He jolted when the train gave a loud noise and then began to move. Honestly all of this new technology was giving him a headache. So many things that could only have been achieved by magic were now capable with science and new inventions. He had even seen a flying machine the other day.

He was snapped out of his musing by the door of his room opening. Standing in the doorway was a girl with dirty blonde hair and radishes hanging from her earlobes. It looked as though there was metal hanging them there. Wouldn't that hurt?

"Hello" He said to break the awkward silence."My name is Marvin."

"My name is Luna" She said quietly as she almost danced her way into the room. "You wouldn't mind if I sat here would you?" She looked at him in such a way Merlin felt as if she was staring into his soul.

"Umm, no, I don't mind. Go ahead." Maybe some company would do him good.

"You know, sleep is good for the soul. Just because the world moves while you slumber does not mean it strays from its course." Luna said softly.

Merlin sat straight up and looked her in the eyes. "What do you mean by that" He said slowly.

"I mean only that though while somethings appearance has changed, that does not mean that it itself is any different." She said with a small smile gracing her face.

Merlin, for the first time, looked at Luna. Really looked. When he felt her aura he gasped. "You're a-"

The door of the compartment slammed open.

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In the door stood a boy with brown hair and a wide smile.

"Luna! Where have you been? Harry and Ron and I have been searching all over for you. Hermione is saving us a compartment further up the train."

The boy seemed enthusiastic to have found Luna. Merlin started to wonder if there was more going on there.

"Oh hello Neville. I was just making a new friend. The Ringle-Snappers told me he would be here." She smiled at the bo- no, ‘Neville’ before turning to Merlin and continuing. "Neville, this is Mer-"

Merlin cut her off. "Marvin, my name is Marvin. You must have misheard me earlier." He said quickly out of panic giving Luna pleading look. She gave a quick look of understanding and smiled at him.

"Yes I must have misheard you. The Nargles are always loudest this time of year." She turned back to Neville who was still standing in the doorway.

"Neville this is my new friend Marvin. New friend Marvin, this is Neville." She smiled as they shook hands and Merlin smiled at her calling him a friend.

"Hey Neville! Did you find her?" A loud voice broke down the hall of the train as a boy with outrageously orange hair headed towards them.

"Yeah she's in here with a new guy named Marvin. How about you find Harry before he is tackled by his fans and I will take them up to our compartment." Neville replied. Orange boy nodded.

"Okay mate, see you there." He then took off back down the hallway in a hurry to rescue his friend.

"Who was that?" Merlin asked. He had guessed that it was the 'Ron' boy from the earlier conversation but he wasn't entirely sure.

"That was Ron. Hey, do you want to come sit with us? Any friend of Luna's is a friend of ours." Neville gave an encouraging smile as he helped Luna take her bags down.

"Sure!" Merlin replied happily and gave his brightest grin.

As they made their way down the train, Neville turned to Merlin. "Hey Marvin. What year are you?"

"Seventh." Merlin replied.

"Great! I'm in seventh too and so are Harry, Ron and Hermione. Luna is in sixth." Neville seemed pleased until he thought over the information presented to him. "I don't think I've seen you around though. What house are you?"

Merlin froze for a millisecond before answering casually. "I'm a transfer student, so I don't suppose you would have seen me before. As for houses, I think I will be in Slytherin." The last time he was sorted he had been in Slytherin, albeit only an honorary one. This would be his first time attending Hogwarts as a student. When he had been sorted before, he had asked the hat about his placement. Its answer was first of his ambition, how he had fought and strived for his destiny and the return of magic in Camelot. It then spoke of his cunning and of his adeptness of hiding his magic for so long. It said he would have easily fit the other houses, but Slytherin was the place for him. Godric had lost ten galleon on that bet. He smiled as he remembered the founders in all of their glory.

Unbeknownst to Merlin, following his declaration had come a awfully awkward silence- for Neville at least.

"That's great mate. Good for you. I remember I was really nervous when I was sorted." Neville said. "Oh look we're here!" His voice became instantly louder as he saw the blurred shapes of his friends through the glass doors. They opened quickly.

"Neville! You found her! And who is this?" Said a girl with wavy brown hair that was bordering on curly. "Anyway, come on in." They shuffled past her and as Merlin passed the girl smiled kindly at him and said "By the way, my name is Hermione, Hermione Granger"

"Hi, I’m Marvin." He smiled back and dragged his overly-large suitcase into the room. After he had placed it on the rack he took a seat next to Luna. Hermione sat on the opposite bench across from Neville who was on the other side of Luna.

"Those two should be here any second." Hermione said smiling widely.
She had barely finished her sentence when a black and orange hurricane burst into the room

Hermione stood up. "What do you two think you are-"

"No time Hermione! Lock the door and throw away the key! The fangirls are coming!" Ron managed to wheeze out as he attempted to yell and breath at the same time. Hermione only rolled her eyes before locking the door with a silent spell.

"Thank Merlin!" Merlin gave a small start as the black haired boy said his name before collapsing onto the bench, Ron next to him. Hermione sat back in her original seat next to Ron. Merlin knew as soon as Ron put his arm around her waist they were a couple.

Merlin took the chance to ask about the boy's earlier comment. "What about Merlin?" He questioned the group. They just looked back at him confused, so he tried again, "He just said 'Thank Merlin'. What about Merlin."

Ron looked at him oddly before saying "It's just a saying mate."

Merlin nodded, still not understanding why anyone would use his name in a saying, but deciding to let it go. If that was what they said nowadays, who is he to stop it? He didn't want the fame of being what was apparently a figurehead in their community, but there wasn’t much he was able to do about it at this point.

"Candy from the trolley." A nice looking elderly woman asked from outside the door. Hermione released the charm and Merlin opened it.

"Hello, I will take one of everything please." Merlin said peering at the treats curiously. He hoped that their candy making hadn't gone downhill like their skill of wandless magic.

"Me too!" Said the other black haired boy excitedly. They both reached into their pockets when the woman stopped the other.

"No, no Mr. Potter. After all you have done I believe you should be able to enjoy candy without having to pay!" The woman said smiling widely.

"No it is fine, really, I insist on paying." Potter's speaking was strained, as if this behavior was somehow bothering him.

Merlin's brain connected two and two together. "Wait, are you Harry Potter?" He said. Harry replied with a quick "Yeah." Merlin smiled at him before saying "I read about you in the papers, something about a dark lord, Veldenord I think."

Harry's expression changed from strained acceptance to curiosity. "His name was Voldemort."

"Ah, Voldemort, right." Merlin may be good with remembering long complicated words (you should see some of the spells he had to learn) but it was difficult finding the name of a dark wizard known only as You-Know-Who. No he did not bloody know who. "Sorry, I'm not from around here."

Harry just nodded before grabbing their candy and plunking a handful of money onto the cart. The candy lady just nodded and smiled at him before closing the door. Merlin began fishing around in his pockets before bringing out a handful of the golden coins.

"How much was that for my candy then?" Merlin asked cheerfully.

"No that’s fine, you can just have it." Harry said handing him the sweets.

"Sorry but if you must insist on paying then so will I." Merlin chuckled and handed him a few of the coins. His attention then turned to the candies.
"Chocolate frogs." He read out loud. "I'm assuming these don't contain actual frog?"

"No." Harry said "But they sure do hop like real frogs. The first one I ever opened jumped out the window of this train."

"I guess I will just have to be extra careful then." Merlin said cheerfully as he opened the box. As foretold, the frog proceeded to jump on his face and run through his hair.

"You might want to get that out before it melts in there." Hermione said knowledgeably as she stared.

"Yeah probably a good idea." Merlin ran his hand through his hair and by the time he had caught the frog it was covered in hair he had yanked out in the chase. "That doesn't look too good." He frowned at the frog before vanishing it.

"Wait, did you just do wandless magic? Do you know how rare that is? Can you teach me?" Hermione said excitedly. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

Merlin paused for a moment, bewildered, as he quickly cooked up a convincing excuse. "Sorry, but that wasn't wandless. I had my wand up my sleeve." He then conjured a convincing enough looking stick and pulled it out of his sleeve.

"Oh" She looked downtrodden. Ron looked between the two before saying in an overly cheerful voice "Hey Marvin all of the chocolate frogs come with a collectible card that has a famous witch or wizard. Who'd you get?"

Merlin grabbed his card and looked at it. Bright and clear read the name 'Merlin'.

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Merlin blinked, sure he had misread. But it was still there when he opened his eyes, blinking up at him. ‘Merlin’. He looked at the card, which seemed to hold several bits of information about himself. Apparently they knew he had invented many potions and spells. His house was left blank though. Why would they leave that blank? Merlin just shook his head and turned the card over, expecting to see more small facts about himself. What he did see nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Where did they get this?" Merlin mumbled under his breath as he looked into the face of the Great Dragoon. Merlin stared at it expectantly for a moment waiting for it to move. The sooner he remembered who had made this portrait the sooner he could get revenge. Unfortunately for him, it was a still image. "Damn it all." Merlin mumbled again. "Does anyone know where this portrait of Merlin came from?" He asked his new friends.

"That is the only known accurate depiction of Merlin. It was commissioned by Godric Gryffindor at an unknown time." Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

Merlin was plotting all of the ways he could vandalize Godric's own portrait when Ron rejoined the conversation.

"So you got Merlin then? He's a pretty cool card, except for the missing facts and him and the muggle looking picture."

"Yeah. Why is there so much missing information though?" Merlin asked curiously

"Because no one knows that much about Merlin. He was just super powerful and super smart." Ron answered back simply.

Merlin nodded and sat back into his seat. He thought about his new life, and his new friends. Harry seemed like an okay guy, if a little quiet. Ron seemed bubbly and Hermione seemed smart. Neville seemed to be just an all around good guy. And Luna... she was just amazing. When Merlin had first met her, he had been dubious. I mean, ear holes with dangling radishes. Ouch! But when she had said all of those things, and then he read her aura. It was spectacular! Normal people have an aura that sticks to their body like another skin. It is filled with the color or colors that best represent that person. Now Luna's aura had been a beautiful blend of purple and yellow, but that was not what was strange. Her aura had been pulsing, and every now and then it would spike around her head.

Merlin's own aura was not of the norm either. His was a dark blue mixed with deep swirls of gold and dashes of red. And it hovered around him like a cloud. Gaius had nearly passed out from shock when he had first read Merlin's aura (they had learned together). Gaius' own aura had been a deep burgundy mixed with slight dashes of dark blues, greens, and his own few small swirls of glimmering gold. When Gaius and Merlin had learned how to read auras, they learned what some meant. The gold in Merlin and Gaius’ own auras indicated their use of the Old Religion (A standard reading for semi-skilled magic users back in the day). The pulsing indicated Luna was of druidic descent. But the spikes had meant something much more rare.

Luna was a true seer.

She wasn't like those old women at carnivals, dressed in scarves and reading palms. She wasn't like prophetic seers either, who only spoke the words when they came. No, true seers did not need parlor tricks or prophecies to see the future. They simply knew. Merlin vowed to pull her away from the group and talk to her about her gift sometime in the near future.
The rest of the ride was spent in making small talk and contemplating about his year at Hogwarts.

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By the time the train arrived at the station, Merlin was ready to hop off and run towards the castle. Not only did he still dislike ‘trains’, but he could feel Hogwarts' magic calling to him. He smiled brightly as he weaved his way through the crowd of students.

He stopped short when he got to the carriages. He honestly could barely believe his eyes. His thestral was still alive. Being a creature of magic, all of the inhabitants of the forest called him friend, but this was a new level entirely. When he had heard of the bad reputation of thestrals, he had sought them out to either deal with the problem or fix the prejudice. One of the babies, motherless and quick to attach to a caring figure, had followed him home. He had completely forgotten about Charles! He had left the school for one day to experiment in a safe house in the woods and the Old Religion knows how that went. He had thought none of his friends would have survived a thousand year wait.

As he began a light jog towards his old friend, Charles spotted him too. Giving a great whinny he bit the reins attaching him to the carriage and sprinted towards his “father”. Most of the students who had fought during the Final Battle screamed and pulled the younger children out of the way. Merlin only had eyes for the first familiar sight in this strange new world.

He was welcomed back with another whinny and a lick to the cheek. In turn Merlin wrapped his arms around Charles' neck and hugged him tight. He then pulled out his 'wand' and conjured Charles an apple.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good thestral? Oh Charlie I'm so very sorry I left you by yourself for so long, you have to know I didn't mean it." Tears began to glimmer in his eyes. What was once a young foal was now a thestral somehow more gaunt than all the others, with touches of silver accenting his muzzle. Charles huffed and nuzzled Merlin’s cheek, he may not have understood why his dearest friend had been gone, but now that he was back all had been forgiven. Merlin grinned a watery grin as he hefted himself onto his friends back. Once he had made himself comfortable, he realized all of the strange stares he was getting.

To the older students, he had just hugged and then apologized to a thestral and then climbed onto it's back.

To the younger students, he had just talked to and hugged thin air, and now he was floating.

It was pretty shocking either way.

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Merlin was blushing from all of the attention by the time he made it to the Great Hall. After dismounting Charles and promising him he would see him very soon, he had proceeded into the castle where one of the teachers had directed him to a side chamber. He was lined up with the first years (apparently he had been supposed to take the boats) and they were all staring at him for being the only 'seventeen year old' in the group of eleven-year-olds.

Finally, a kindly squat lady had come, given them a short speech about the Houses and making new friends, and then escorted them to the entrance of the Great Hall. The doors opened and he made his way into the heart of Hogwarts once again. He felt around some of the enchantments he had put there, occasionally charging them with a spurt of magic. The most noticeable was when he charged the ceiling and a golden shooting star had flown across it.

As he stood behind the first years, the sorting hat ripped at the seam and began to sing.

"Over the hills the four founders came

To build a school for witches

They saw a castle on the horizon

And filled it with many riches.

They filled it with light and magic and love

But there was something missing

And as I speak of him even now

I find myself reminiscing.

There were days when a fifth founder taught

Alongside the others as a friend

He brought to the school a special spark

That will remain until the very end.

Gryffindor, with bravery and wit

Found himself with a new prankster

While Ravenclaw, with knowledge and books

Found to the history an anchor.

Hufflepuff, with loyalty and friendship

Found another as cheerful as she,

And Slytherin, with ambition and cunning

Found himself a mentor with glee.

And though the castle flourished

When the fifth founder was around

It soon began to crumble

When he never again was found.

A fight between Godric and Salazar

Broke out soon after his departure

And Salazar left the castle then

And his heart was locked behind armor.

This, children, is the untold story

Well, it was untold 'till now

How Hogwarts truly came to be

And how it was never the same without.

Merlin softly gasped as he learned what had happened to his friends after he had fallen asleep. 'I had only meant to be gone one day'.

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Merlin was so shocked by his friends' fates that he missed almost the entire sorting. He was only snapped out of his thoughts when the stern looking witch called "Emerson, Marvin" for probably the third or fourth time. He shook his head as he made his way up to the stool, aware of the stares burning into his back and the whispering emanating from every corner of the room. He sat upon the stool with (it was so incredibly small, he hadn’t been child sized for a very long time) and the hat was placed upon his head.

'YOU!'

Merlin winced at the hat's accusing tone. 'Yes me.'

'Where were you all of this time? The school almost broke apart because of your absence! Have you any idea of the trouble you caused? The damage you’ve wrought??' The hat bellowed into his head.

'Wait, please, give me a moment to explain. I left that day to experiment in one of my safe houses but the spell I was working on went wrong and I was put to sleep until just barely a month ago. I didn't intend to cause this mess. I had planned to be back that very night.' Merlin hurried out hoping to display how truly sorry he was.

'.' The hat almost seemed shocked. "You... didn't mean to leave. Oh dear I do see the problem." The hat seemed to deflate as it realized it had been wrong all of these years.

'Just sort me for now, okay? I will find a way to come talk later. Where are you kept?' Merlin suddenly became aware of the hushed conversation and the confused looks. “We might need to hurry, we’ve been talking for awhile now.”

'Very well, Emrys. You can find me in Godric’s old chambers, and it would be my honor to welcome you back to' "SLYTHERIN".

The hat roared the last word to the hall and light clapping broke out at the green and silver table. Merlin grinned widely as he made his way over before sitting between a boy with dark skin and a rather frightening looking girl.

The stern woman from before stood at the podium and tapped her wand against it sharply. The wand gave off several loud bell noises that quickly silenced the hall.

"Now, I would like to welcome all of the new students to Hogwarts. And the rest of you," She took a deep breath and there was a warm smile on her face as she finished her sentence. "Welcome back. First I would like to announce that Professor Slughorn is the new head of Slytherin house and is also welcomed back as Potions Professor. Next, we have a new teacher with us this year. I would like to introduce Professor Kerrigan. Unfortunately she did not have the pleasure of attending Hogwarts, but rather graduated from Ilvermorny in America"

A woman with short brown hair stood up, waved, and sat back down.

"She will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. I would also like to request that you refer to the house board in your common room for a list of rules. The major ones that all students must follow are at the top. Now, you may eat."

Merlin was slightly startled by the short speech before shaking it off and digging in to the food. He couldn't believe how much there was! There was more food here than at some feast in Camelot, and certainly much more than had been at Hogwarts the few times he had come by. At least he was allowed to eat this food. He grinned before taking another bite of some kind of pasta.

"So, Emerson, why are you here?" The girl next to him said in a slightly screechy voice.

"Umm excuse me?" Merlin replied. He wasn't sure what the girl had meant.

"Why are you here all of a sudden? Did you transfer?" The girl asked again in the same annoying voice.

"Uh yeah, kinda." Merlin scratched the back of his head as he raced for an excuse. "What's your name?" He asked to sneakily divert attention away from himself.

"My name is Pansy Parkinson, and this is my sweetie, Draco."

The boy, Draco, scowled at Pansy before muttering under his breath and returning to his food.

"Okaaaayyyy..." Merlin wasn't sure if they were actually in a relationship or not, but who was he to question other people's business? He turned away once he saw she was distracted by her friend a few seats down and finished his dinner.

Dessert came and went, and soon he was following a crown of green and silver deep into the dungeons.

"Valiant" Said one of his fellow seventh years to a blank wall before it opened and they went inside.

Merlin flinched at the password, remembering a time far gone. The word fit the snakes better than they will ever know. Merlin snorted at that and made his way into the familiar common room. It was almost exactly as he remembered. Even the few memories he had of being in here before his sleep made him immediately comfortable. He walked up the staircase to their room and jumped into the bed labelled with his name. It was so soft!

He dressed in his nightclothes and waited for sleep to take him away after such a stressful day.

Unfortunately for him, he had been having trouble sleeping ever since the accident. One does not simply dream for a millennium (especially with some of the memories he has) and then expect to sink into sleep at the end of the day. He sighed before getting out of his bed and opening his trunk. He groaned when he realized that he must have forgotten to brew more. He had been living out of this trunk for the past week at the Leaky Cauldron while he got his shopping done.

"Are you alright over there?" The same boy from earlier, Draco, had peeked his head out of the curtains around his bed and was peering at Merlin. "Did you forget something?"

"Err, this may sound kind of odd, but you wouldn't happen to have any dreamless sleep potion would you?" Merlin looked sheepish but at the same time he prayed that this boy might have some or he would be up brewing it half the night.

Draco's face softened. "You too?" He asked.

"Yeah. I've been through some pretty bad stuff lately." Merlin should be jumping around on the inside for the luck of this boy having the one specific potion he needs, but now he was only worried for Draco.

"Is that why you transferred? No, wait, you don't need to answer that." He sat up and opened his trunk, rooting around before pulling out a vial and handing it to Merlin.

"Thanks" Merlin said with a soft smile.

They both went back to their respective beds, and Merlin smiled as he drifted off and dreamt of nothing, nothing at all.

Chapter Text

Merlin awoke in the morning to the sound of his roommates rushing around the room. Rolling over to shove his head into his incredibly soft pillows, he noticed that Draco was the only one still asleep. He reluctantly sat up before inching over to his bed and tentatively poked his shoulder.

"Draco" He said. When Draco only grunted and rolled over he shrugged, deciding to get ready for breakfast and try again afterwards.

Once he was dressed in his new green and silver garb, he conjured a small gong and snuck back over to Draco's bed. Thankfully by then the rest of the boys had left the room. He stuck the gong next to the blonde's head. He tapped the gong a few times but when that did not work he swept his arm back in one swift motion and the resulting bang shook his eardrums.

Draco's ears did not fare much better. He sat up in his bed and rolled off with a wild shriek almost as soon as Merlin had struck the gong.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Draco's head peered over the bed to level Merlin with a small glare. Merlin just grinned.

"Well you wouldn't wake up so I had to get creative." Merlin said cheerily with his largest grin. Draco wasn't sure he could be angry at that face.
"Fine. Just don't do that again." He said pompously, giving Merlin a quick grin to show he was messing with him.

"Why of course Si-" Merlin quickly cut himself off and his wide grin was replaced by a stony look that didn't belong on his young face. "Umm I'll wait for you in the common room while you get dressed. I'm not sure how much time is left for breakfast."

With that, Merlin swiftly left the room.

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Later as he and Draco were walking to the Great Hall Draco decided to ask about Merlin's little slip up.

"By the way Marvin, if I may be so frank, what was it you almost said back there?” Draco knew he had to ask. The look on Marvin’s face… it was comparable, if not worse, than the looks on the faces of those being told their loved ones were dead after the Final Battle. Whatever Marvin had been through, whoever he had lost, must be behind his transfer to Hogwarts.

Merlin grimaced. He had really hoped Draco hadn’t noticed. He had been doing such a good job of not thinking of… ‘Arthur’ his mind supplied reluctantly. He was not going to refuse to think his name, but the pain, though so many years old, still felt fresh in so many ways. He had traveled so far, learned so many things, and met so many people. He knew that there were likely innumerable years before he was able to see his friend again. He would wait patiently. Some day-

Draco coughed gently, bringing him back to present day. He took a moment to reorient himself.

"Nothing, I just misspoke."

Draco knew there was more there, but he also knew when to stop a line of questioning. He decided to just let it be.

"Marvin!" They turned in unison when they heard “Merlin's” name being called down the hallway. "Hey Marvin how are you? I didn't get to see you after you were sorted." Neville asked as he came to a stop beside Merlin. “Me and Luna were looking for you."

Merlin gave a sheepish smile as he remembered the previous night and how happy he was to sink into sleep for a few hours. "Sorry, I was really tired. Big day, you know? Where is Luna anyhow?"

"Behind you." Came a voice from almost directly behind him. Merlin jumped when he realized he had not noticed her sneak up on him, and had no idea how long she had been there. "It is lovely to see you today Marvin, Draco." She nodded to each of them as she said their names.

It was Neville’s turn to be startled. "Malfoy? I guess I didn't see you there." He said as his cheeks grew a light shade of red.

"Longbottom." Draco replied cordially, if not a little icily.

"Oh look, the Great Hall!" Merlin exclaimed, hoping to diffuse some of the tension between the two. "I'm starved. I guess I will be seeing you in classes then? Bye Neville, bye Luna" as they entered the hall and made their ways to their respective tables.

"Well that was awkward. Are you two not friends?" Merlin asked Draco as they sat at the Slytherin table.

"You could say that." Draco said dryly as he began to eat. Any other conversation was nipped at the bud by the appearance of Professor Slughorn.

"Hello boys! Here are your schedules. And Emerson? Welcome to Slytherin, I look forward to teaching you." He smiled at the two of them before heading over to the next cluster of students to continue his task.

"What've you got first?" Merlin asked through a bite of bagel. Draco peeked over at Merlin's schedule.

"Basically the same as you, except I'm not taking Care of Magical Creatures."

Merlin nodded and then asked "So when do classes start?"

"In about ten minutes. We might want to get moving. First is... Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws." Draco quickly polished off the rest of his food before standing up.

"Hey wait for me!" Merlin said. Of course it didn't sound like that, not with the amount of bagel that was in his mouth. He quickly swallowed before trying again. "Slow down!"