Hero Worship ((Pay))

[Gavin Armstrong H6]

Gavin woke with a start in some strange room with his arm killing him. He vaguely remembered someone forcing him to choke down some liquid that had temporarily put out that fire and helped him sleep but that had apparently worn off. Dazed Gavin sat up in his bed with the starched cotton sheets and flinched at the sudden upstart of the searing in his left arm. Looking down he saw his thumb was a deep purple and his forearm was in a cast - when anyone had tended to him he couldn't remember. What he did remember though was shopping with Payton when suddenly the shop began to collapse. He remembered Payton throwing himself on Gavin shoving him to the ground and covering him as the ceiling and walls caved in and multi-colored lights flashed everywhere. Gavin pushed those horrid memories away as he watched the curtains around his bed sway as people shuffled past muttering quietly. Gavin hasn't the slightest where he was but there was no way he would find out just sitting there staring at his purple thumb.

As he pushed back the covers and stood up Gavin noticed he hadn't been changed from the clothes he had on that morning, or at least he hoped it was that morning otherwise he was in a heap of trouble, but they had somehow been mended after all the rips he saw occur when he was smooched to the ground. He planted his feet unsteadily on the ground and began to shuffle around until his head felt normal again. Spotting a window he saw the sun shinning high and reflecting off odd golden rings in an odd sporting field. Judging by the altitude of them they must belong to that game Payton had told him about... Quidditch?

What happened to Payton? Was he alright? Gavin knew from being so close to him that Payton had been injured as was he but something told him Payton had by far born the brunt of it... Beginning to panic with his thoughts now on his saviour Gavin searched frantically around the room with his eyes hoping to find Payton on one of the beds or in one of the many chairs gathered everywhere.

To his relief Payton was in fact there - sitting on one of the beds in fact. Gavin broke into a grin but with a slight sad twist when he noticed the seventh year's arm was in a sling. Gavin bound toward Payton with a genial smile hoping that if he ignored both their injuries perhaps they would somehow go away... In all honesty he was a little worried that Payton would not want to talk to him anymore. Maybe after what happened Payton would blame Gavin for him getting hurt rather than getting out of the area... Gavin refused to think of that though and moved happily toward his friend. "Hey there! You look well. How are you? Where are we? What are you up to? Mind some company?" Gavin asked happily when he drew up beside the bed.

[payton]

His head was still throbbing--almost like when music was too loud with he base up too high. It seemed to jump in his skull and nothing seemed to be too helpful. Madam Pomfrey had been by early and giving him something that made him feel a bit better in general, but it seemed she was too over whelmed to to much else. She hadn't even tended to minor woulds, like the scrape he had on his face or the bruises on his back and shoulders...but then maybe with all the real injuries, she was letting things that would heal fine on their own simply heal themselves.

In all honesty he didn't remember anything of the attack, he just heard thats what it was. Something about being in Diagon Alley...though he didn't exactly remember why he was there. Well, so far he wasn't exactly remembering much of anything, other than the fact after some persuasion he recalled that his name was Payton, and he did belong to the father large family who had been gathered around his bed when he awoke. This time though, he heard a voice that he knew wasn't family, but for some odd reason make him feel some sort of affection none the less. He turned slightly to see a rather small boy with a wide smile on his face. Payton returned the smile before he answered.

"Hey there Mate...and sure...companies fine."
He tried to search his memory for the boy's name. Somehow he knew that he had met the boy before...he knew that at one point he knew exactly who the boy was, but now, he couldn't quite recall it.

[Gavin Armstrong H6]

Gavin grinned sheepishly as Payton didn’t seem to blame him for his injuries and was just as friendly as ever. He scuttled over and sat down in the chair beside the bed. “So…” he said suddenly nervous and at a loss as to what he should say. “My mom is genna freak when I come home like this eh? I don’t know how I am going to convince her to let me come to Hogwarts if I come back from Diagon bandaged and bruised… How are your family going to be? They won’t pull you out of Hogwarts will they?” Gavin asked suddenly terrified at the thought of going to Hogwarts without Payton. He had only meet one other person so far and she was going to be in her first year too… He couldn’t bear the thought of going to Hogwarts with nobody who knows their way around. He would be better off at home than that – at least he would know where to go and have Jheylon around.

[payton]

He tried to focus on what the little guy was saying. He mentioned their injuries, though the the boy didn't seem too bad to him. He then said Hogwarts, which had been explained to him as where the currently were, and that it was a school for wizards, which he apparently was, though it had also been explained to him that he needed a wand, which he apparently had, but he didn't know where.

"Nah, the family seems fine. Worried I guess, but I'm still here, so I guess I get to stay for school too."
He paused for a moment, knowing that he knew the boy, and the boy seemed to know him, which made it hard to ask for his name--tended to make people worry a bit when they realized you didn't remember anything.
"I'm sure your parents will understand...the school is safer than most places."
It wasn't that he knew that for certain, but he had heard some adult say it not long ago, and it seemed the right thing to say at the moment.

[Gavin Armstrong H6]

Gavin smiled at Pay as he mentioned the school being safer than most places. “Well I am not so sure my parents will see it that way. They know nothing about this school or even what makes the outside world unsafe. Come to think of it, I don’t really even know why we are unsafe. I mean I will watch the news from time to time and they never hint that there is anything wrong… Oh Pay is it true that there is some psycho evil wizard running around? I kinda heard some people talking about it… But it can’t be true can it? What happened… that was just an accident right? I mean you guys are all magical… if there was some crazy person running around… You could catch him right? I mean… Magic…” Gavin went on fear creping onto his face.

Next thing Gavin knew he burst through the front door of the hospital room – or someone that looked remarkably like him at least. “Jheylon?!” Gavin called slightly shocked and waved his arm at what couldn’t be his twin brother. Jheylon sprinted across the room and nearly crashed into his brother giving him a huge hug – something they hadn’t done since they were five years old. “You gave us quite the scare mate. Never do that again, you hear?” Jheylon chastised as their parents came through the door looking worried out of their minds. Like she had some kind of homing device planted on her boys Korena Armstrong turned right to them and marched over – anger replacing the fear on her face as she saw Gavin was fine.

“You leave the house and don’t tell us where you are going. Next thing you know some nut is coming to our door dressed like a girl telling us you are injured in Scotland! Gavin Armstrong what were you thinking! Never have I been more worried! You and Jheylon have pulled a lot of stunts in your short years but this one takes the cake you know that! We will discuss this when we get home now lets move it!” She reprimanded.

“But Mum just listen. Mum, listen ok. I am a wizard. And before you say anything it is true ok. Mum this is Payton. Payton has been showing me around and things. He saved my life Mum. I have to stay here. I have to go to this school. How else am I going to look after myself? And you and Jheylon and Dad and Anna? Oh Mum you must understand. I am a wizard – this is my place.” Gavin pleaded.

[payton]

He didn't know what to say to the boy. He was worried about the crazy wizard and whether they really were in danger of it somehow magically everything would have been taken care of. It seemed to be the same concern that most people had. He had been here long enough to over hear more than he should probably, and he had heard a great deal about someone no one ever called by his actual name. He gave the little fellow a sympathetic look, not really knowing what else to do. His mind was still to foggy to tell him much at all. He started to open his mouth, when what he figured was the boy's family arrived. The happiest moment of which was when they called the boy by the name Gavin. Gavin...it sounded familiar.

Gavin said something about how he had saved him, and Payton's eyebrows raised followed by a slightly sheepish smile. He didn't remember the attacks, none of it. He didn't remember that he had been there with Gavin, or what he had done to help protect the boy. Now it seemed he had to come to the rescue again. After this, what muggle parent would want to send their son off into this world?

"Hi...um...I'm Payton Moore." He felt for a moment that he should tell the woman how he met Gavin, but he didn't remember, no matter how much he wished that he did. "I know your probably think its all a bit mad. Being here and suddenly talking about magic and wizards. My Mum and Pops probably thought about the same thing when my brother and I got our letters. Its all real though--magic, witches, wizards, the whole thing. Sometimes...normal people have magical children. Thats what Gavin is. Its what I am too." It was strange. As he spoke, he started to remember things. They came from his mouth before he realized it. "I know its hard to imagine, but Gavin belongs here--just like I do."

[Gavin Armstrong H6]

The whole family watched the boy – Payton – as he plead Gavin’s case for him. A sharp look from her son’s kept Korena’s mouth shut as she was about to retort how right he was in saying it sounded mad. “Mum it’s true. You have to believe us.” Gavin pleaded and Korena sighed with exasperation.

“We will discuss this at home, got it?” She said to him with her eyebrow raised and Gavin positively beamed – she was giving him a chance. “Why exactly are you in the hospital though? The man in the dress didn’t say much but he had us all worried sick. If this is what is going to be like Gavin Armstrong I am telling you right now the answer is no.”

At those words Gavin was stopped short and he looked to Payton as if pleading for some help. How could he condense the story so much? How could he tell them without infuriating her and destroying all chance of going to Hogwarts? “Well…” Gavin began tentatively biting his lip. “You see… You may not remember but I got this letter… And I thought it was Jheylon trying to trick me but I checked it out anyways. And so I went into this pub and meet Payton and he explained to me about Hogwarts and stuff. Then today he went and took me shopping to find all the stuff I would need to get for school when I had gotten your permission. See I hadn’t asked you about it because I wanted to know all I could about it first. And then when we were in one of the shops the walls sort of started to collapse and… and… Payton saved me. He pushed me onto the ground and pinned me there so that the falling stuff wouldn’t hit me… He saved me… And next thing I know I woke up here.” Gavin ended weakly with a shrug. At the end of the story the whole family – Gavin included – stared at Payton in earnest. Korena, Scott, and Jheylon were just in shock and Gavin was afraid if he said anything more he would burst out into tears.