Closed an unexpected reunion pv pyxis

@Ayla Flores

September 2nd, 2023

When Pyxis had woken up, neither the adrenaline nor his sickly feeling from the night before had worn off. He was bleary-eyed yet still pulling on his robes in record speed. This could have been a useful routine for a few months into the term only if his dormmate didn’t have to remind him to wear pants.

Even while chewing on a piece of dry toast in the Great Hall, the boy was out of it. Reality still hadn’t set in and it likely wouldn’t for a long time. Plus, he didn’t know why he was feeling so nauseated since leaving home yesterday. He was sure that magic was exciting for him and he couldn’t wait to participate in all the wand waving, but there was still that gnawing anxiety that he didn’t know how to get rid of.

As Pyxis wondered why he felt such dread for his first class, a blonde girl took the seat across from him. He nodded to her greeting, mind still incoherent, and it only took one glimpse at her face for the toast to drop out of his hands and topple off the table, landing on the floor.

“Ayla?!” He regarded the familiarity in her blue eyes and easy smile. His own eyes were wide with the shock that slapped him straight out of the state of limbo he existed in until that very moment. Ayla was the daughter of some regular Eastbourne tourists who had built up significant rapport with his parents - enough that she was a face he had been seeing every summer for the past few years. Memories of lounging by the pool when they were much younger to being allowed to show her around Eastbourne without either of their parents around (though chaperones were always involved) came flooding back to him as he stared at her with his mouth open.

“A muggle? Oh, right! I… I um… Last summer. I found out last summer… It was um, before you guys arrived last year… I wouldn’t have kept it a secret if I knew about you… Of course, how could I?” he laughed nervously, not yet matching her smile. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he’d been caught lying, and even though there was good reason for that, he didn’t like the feeling of potentially disappointing Ayla. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch you being sorted yesterday. I… was a bit out of it. Still am, really,” he looked down to his hands, then back up with a confused grin. “What about you then? Have you been secretly magical this whole time?”

September 2, 2023. Saturday morning, breakfast | @Pyxis Hellebore

Ayla nodded along as Pyxis spoke. To be completely honest, she wasn't listening as intently as she should've been; she was still too stunned by one of her Muggle childhood friends being present here at Hogwarts. Like, what were the chances? "That's ok," she said in response to his apology. "It's a lot to take in."

"And yeah, my whole family's magical." Here Ayla grinned widely, evidently proud of her family and its history. "Twyla's here too," she added, looking around the Hall for her. She wasn't sure if Pyxis and Twyla had ever actually met, but she was certain that she'd mentioned her cousin to him a few times in the past. "I couldn't tell you about this all, because... well, obviously. The secrecy laws and all that."

Ayla was pretty sure she'd passed it off as a Muggle boarding school to Pyxis the last time they'd spoken. Something like that... well, she supposed it didn't matter now. "I can't believe you're actually here!" Ayla clasped her hands together excitedly, already thinking about how she was going to share this news in a letter to her parents. It'd be nice to finally talk to Pyxis about magical things, especially over the summers spent in Eastbourne. "We're going to have so much fun together!"

@Ayla Flores

Pyxis was glad that Ayla just continued speaking without expressing any dismay at him, but he was also surprised at how easily she seemed to take in this reveal. Of course, he knew Ayla well enough to note that this was her normal personality, but Pyxis thought that something as big as this ought to warrant some moment of contemplation. Though, as he listened to her excitement, he realized once again that magic is real wasn’t some great epiphany that Ayla just had - she’d spent her whole life in it. So, even though he wanted to sink back into that headspace where his body operated on autopilot, he didn’t. He just matched her energy instead.

“Your whole family? Even the extended part? That’s crazy… er, amazing crazy.” Once again, the total scope of the magical world evaded Pyxis. Ayla and her family had spent countless summers in Eastbourne and the young boy hadn’t suspected a single thing. “I can’t believe I never noticed. Either your family were really seasoned at hiding it or living in the muggle world turns your brain to mush when it comes to magic. Gosh, I really hope it’s the former,” he tittered, hoping he wouldn’t be too out of sorts here, having been a muggle for the past ten years… Actually, he wasn’t too sure how that worked.

“I’m really glad you’re here too.” And it was the truth. “I always get super sad when you leave at the end of summer, so I’m happy that I don’t have to feel that way anymore.” And it would be great to have a friend who already knows things about magic so I don’t look like a bumbling idiot. “I feel like I’ve known Twyla since forever with how much you’ve mentioned her. You should introduce us!”