Fresh air and Sun

[Josh York]

"Well there's Alice and Joseph," Josh started to explain, choosing his words carefully as he spoke, "They're twins and they're 17 now. Then there's Laura and she's 18 now. And Tommy...Tommy just turned 19." Josh figured that sounded reasonable although it might sound kind of suspicious that they were all so close in age. Ignoring that though, he pressed on about her family. Any kind of distraction from his own was really needed.

"How old are yours?" he asked, pulling one of his legs up and turning to face Layla, actually interested in what she had to say.

[Layla Jimenez]

"Oh wow, you're all so close in age," she said, wondering how his parents handled their kids practically going through the same things. "It must have been fun, eh?" Being older than her brother and sister had always put a bit of a limitation on their related interests, but they did pretty well as kids. Sh wanted to ask them if they were all witches and wizards, but knew that during these times, it was considered ruder than usual.

"My brother Emilio is 15 and Arcelia... she's turning 12 soon." She grinned a bit sadly, knowing that she was going to miss that birthday when it came up. She remembered her own 12th birthday, it had been different from the ones before. It was the first she'd had after finding out she was a witch. But everyone had been there to celebrate, Layla felt a bit guilty that she wouldn't be able to do the same.

[Josh York]

"Yeah, it was pretty fun, I guess," Josh answered, not sure if "fun" was the word he should be using to describe his relationship with his siblings, "We all really stuck together, especially during the move." The Hufflepuff cringed on the inside, hating that he was just spurting out information without thinking. He was usually better than this, but since coming to Hogwarts, Josh had nearly slipped about 30 times. But he was glad that Layla kept on talking because it distracted him from his own idiot mind.

"Are either of your siblings here at school?" Josh asked cautiously, wondering if he had worded that in a way where she would understand what he was asking without actually saying it. He knew better than to just come right out and ask someone if they were Pureblood. Sometimes it was just better to not know.

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla remembered her own move back to the UK, thinking that it was unfair and a plot against her, etc., etc. But she would have never thought things would come to this. She loved her school and friends and had almost forgotten her first magical school, with a few exceptions. “Oh, so what part of the states did you come from?,” she asked. She knew Drew was from California and Charlie was from New York. “Do you all like it here?”

Layla felt a little bit eased when Josh asked about other magical people in her family. He was obviously cautious about being to direct, which had been her concern as well. “No,” she told him with a grin, glad he’d gotten the courage before she did. “I’m a muggleborn.” She thought about her own approach, and decided on a similar one. “What about yours?” She knew there were siblings here and there about the castle… but she couldn’t imagine having five of them running around.

[Josh York]

"Well, I'm actually from England," the boy told her, picking at the grass in front of him, "We all moved to Florida for my...dad's work. It was alright there, but you know, we ended up being the kids with the funny accent." Josh chuckled slightly, trying to make a joke out of the less-than-pleasant experience that was living in the States.

"No, my...my family's all Muggles," Josh told her, trying to grin slightly, "Kind of wish they weren't though. As it is, I'm already kind of the odd one out."

[Layla Jimenez]

She tilted her head and smiled. She hadn't expected him to actually be from the UK. "Well I'm from here too, actually. We lived in Spain until my parents stopped working on archaeological digs and traded them in for teaching positions." At the time she hadn't understood that they had wanted to be at home more, of course. "That's ok," she consoled him with a smirk, tucking her legs underneath her, "there are plenty of you funnily-accented ones around here, so you're not alone at least."

Nodding slightly at what Josh said about his family, she agreed about wishing they were magical too. She had never worded it as such, but things would have definitely been different. "They were pretty good about not making me feel like the wild goose egg. The last two years were a bit crazy though, as you can imagine." She leaned against the tree, for some reason not feeling so anxious about this particular conversation. Sometimes it was easy to talk about it. Like with Drew, or after she'd had a big meal and felt stuffed. Perhaps today it was the hot sun trying to burst through the shade.

[Josh York]

"Yeah, they were pretty good about it too," Josh admitted, "When I first started showing magical talents, they thought it was the coolest thing ever." A light yet genuine grin fluttered across his lips at the memory. That had been such a weird time in his life, when magic was starting to filter out of him. The first time he'd moved something by accident without touching it, Joseph had been the only one there. Josh would never forget his adopted brother's face.

Josh watched the girl lean back against the tree and he followed suit. He rested his head on the trunk, his eyes closing for a moment as the warm sun shone through the branches and onto his face. Even though he wasn't a big fan of nature, the sun did still feel nice on his skin. He turned his eyes to look at Layla. The way the sun was hitting her and framing her face, it made Josh take another look. The Hufflepuff suddenly realized he was staring and he turned his head quickly.

"So how long have you been at Hogwarts?" Josh asked the girl.

[Layla Jimenez]

Layla's grin mirrored Josh's and she wondered if every muggleborn's first magical memory made the smile like they were. "We didn't realize mine was what it was until after I was invited to my first magical school," she told him, giggling a bit. "I think I was about five, and my parents said I had gotten upset at something and ran out to a flower garden we used to have. By the time they found me, the patch of lilies I had sat in had wilted." At this she laughed, wondering how many times she had done something like that before she knew she was a witch. "It all made sense after a few years, obviously."

Layla remembered the year that moved back to the UK from Spain, recalling that she wasn't exactly happy about it, but glad that she'd still be going to a magical school. I've been here since my third year," she answered, smiling softly, unable to imagine what it had been like if they had stayed in Spain. "My parents pulled me out twice, but I can't help but come back." She smiled and felt something resembling pride to the loyalty she had developed for Hogwarts, and to herself. It still upset her that she had missed more than she could sometimes handle, but taking in fresh air and sun on her own terms almost made up for it.