Care of Magical Creatures: Lesson One - Thestrals (All Years)

His first year at school. Back then, he still wasn't as cold as now. Antisocial, yes, but not cold. His father was a business man, a successful one at that. When he was home, others like him would come, some bringing kids along, something along the lines of playing with Alberi, though they never got in deep conversations. Some were stuck up and simply dealt with their looks or were too boring to talk to. Others simply chose not to talk. Third felt awkward around Alberi and left him, especially when he was the visitor.

One of the families, the Vaisey family, often came over. They had two kids, a son named Edward and a daughter named Elisabeth. The boy preferred to go to who knows where, while the girl was always quiet. Alberi liked when they came over, because it meant time to read books without being interrupted. Plus, Elisabeth would often help him when he had a hard time with words. It was a nice time for him, so to speak.

However, the first day of school had came. He was excited - he still didn't know how little they studied at school, at least for him. Of course, he tried not to show it much, just like his father often did, though anyone who looked at him could see it. Back then, it wasn't that easy to simply hide in himself.

Soon, the ceremony to the start of the year began. He would admit, everything was a bit loud and the music was weird but overall, he couldn't complain. At least, not till the end had came o the ceremony had came.

At one time, he did see Elisabeth talk to her brother, it seemed as if she was crying. Alberi didn't really understand - they were starting school, why would it be such a problem for her? Or perhaps it was that crying while happy he read about, it would make much more sense. Though she didn't really look happy. Then, she ran off into the school, while her brother simply shock her head at her.

Shrugging, he continued to walk around, growing a bit bored. After a while, he decided to go and search for her - it continued to bug him what was going on and he really just wanted to know what was between those two. So, he decided to go after her.

He noticed her crying in the hallway. Okay, that definitely wasn't sounding happy. Frowning, he went over to her, simply putting his arm around her neck. He saw that that was what his father did when his mother wasn't in a good mood. Elisabeth looked up at him for a while, thinking. After that, she smiled, looking happier than she has ever seen her. So maybe she was happy?

"Thank you... Alberi, right?" she simply said, than stood up and began to walk up the stairs. Alberi watched her go, curious, both to why she thanked him and why she went away. At the top of the stairs, she stopped and turned around. "Don't follow me. And... stay yourself." she said, then continued. Alberi stayed there for a while longer, before deciding to go back. If she didn't want him to follow, he wouldn't.

A while after he went outside, he heard gasps all around him, along with people looking towards the roof of the school. Looking up, he saw Elisabeth. What was she doing up there? Somewhere, he could hear her brother yelling for her to get down. Albeir chuckled a bit- it's not like she was stupid, she knew where to walk. Just as he thought that, she began to walk to the edge. What was she doing... If she continued, she would...

Alberi didn't learn what she meant until years later. But he did know that that was what made him himself now.