A girl's first steps to popularity Open

Credit to Marigold Wesley

@Violette Corbeau

Alejandros didn't know how to feel about starting at Beauxbatons, so like most things in his life, he had decided to feel anxious. His Abraxan feather had turned into a sad-looking thing, wrung out by his sweaty palms and tight grip. Worse, he'd noticed the skin of his palms turning purple and scaly while his mamá fussed over him and his father stared on a metre away, arms behind his back, eyes sharp as always. He must look silly in his uniform, even though it had been fitted to perfection. Small and stupid. Still not able to stop himself from shapeshifting with his emotions. When he noticed his father's gaze dropping to his hands, the changes only creeping further every time he spared a worried glance, he was quick to tuck them behind his back. Copied posture. His throat bobbed when he tried to meet his father's eyes.

Starting school could be exciting. There were so many interesting things to learn and people to meet, and he'd get to spend as much time as he wanted with Rina without their fathers around. But there was so much he could mess up. This feather had come to him, but what if he didn't deserve it? What if he was the worst wizard to ever bear the Espinosa name? He couldn't know yet, but it didn't seem like any wild guess to say he might be terrible at magic. He was sort of terrible at a lot of things.

—Te amo, Ros. I love you He looked at his mamá again, her small, bright smile. She adjusted his collar and smoothed back some of his curls. —Espero que lo disfrutes. I hope you enjoy it

He looked to his father one last time, because he thought it would be wrong not to. They were family, too. And maybe he would say something loving, like he used to before bed when Alejandros was really little, since he was leaving for so long. Now would be the time. Alejandros waited for those dark eyes to soften, but all he got was a firm nod. It might have said don't disappoint me. Blinking rapidly, he tried to smile at his mamá. —Adiós—he whispered, an embarrassing squeak, then turned on his heel to let the feather do its work. He was glad he had hugged her earlier.

Alejandros managed to calm down enough by the time he got to the school for his hands to look normal and the newly orange tips of his curls to fade out. He also managed not to cry. Now he was on the lookout for Rina, but found himself unmistakably distracted by the castle coming into view. He was a lover of old architecture, the stunning spires and arches that had stood the test of time, a different kind of art. The way the years eroded, though the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic stood tall and proud, shored up by magic and care. In front of it, he felt small. That didn't feel like such a bad thing, like this.

He was very much gawking. The white stone gleamed, cloud-like and ethereal between the mountains. The bridge wove a magnificent tapestry of silver and gold. It all shone and it loomed, and... was regal and chique? Not his words, but he supposed so. The words belonged to a girl. She was pretty, put-together, possibly also a first year, and very French. She looked more relaxed than he had probably ever been, like the castle didn't make her feel small at all. Like she already fit. He didn't know what to say, and thought she wouldn't want him to say anything, so he didn't, but he would smile if she looked his way. Uneasily, without teeth. His hands had gone the tiniest bit purple again, just in the center of his palms, and with them pressed against the tails of his coat, he hadn't yet noticed.