Buttons and Bows [Hazel]

Antoinette Boisbouvier, herself, was at Stowe Arts & Sciences Institute in America, by herself. No parents, no nanny, no brothers, just complete and utter freedom. Netta found it typical that she finally had the freedom she had dreamed of for so long and now she had no clue what to do now that she had been let out of her figurative cage. Why should she know what to do? She'd never had to make that choice before. Knowing Honoré's secret that he paid another boy to dance for him in competition had never paid off so well for her before, and she was almost grateful that her brother was a sneaky, pesky rebel otherwise this whole trip would have never happened.

Assigned to her cabin, Netta felt a strange sense of joy of picking up her own baby pink luggage as she began trotting off to where she was supposed to go. She'd never had to carry anything before, that was her nanny's job. Her eyes scanned her strange surroundings with a twinkling glow, and a small smile spread across her face. Everything was so green and colourful. Monaco was on the water and the Celestial Coast Hotel & Spa she lived in had every glamorous thing she could ever need, but that was nothing like this untamed beauty. A breeze fluttered through the pretty, pink, chiffon dress she was wearing and for the first time in forever, Antoinette laughed. It was like she was the heroine in a real life fairytale! It was all so beautiful... expect for the icky insect that decided to land right on her at that very moment.

"Ewwww!" Netta screamed, dropping her luggage to swat it away, "Get off of me!" Whether it was her nasal, annoying screech or her ineffective flapping of her arms that drove the insect away was unclear but it was gone and Netta took a deep breath to recompose herself. A glance around to make sure nobody was near, Netta bent down to pick up her luggage and resume her walk to the cabin. As she got closer, she noticed there were so many children her age running about (like a bunch of wild trolls) and she slowed her pace down. It was proper to introduce herself to them, but Antoinette had no clue what to say. Her parents never cared, she regaled her brothers with insults and her nanny talked with her about profits for the hotel and rules for the next formal dinner. Netta had learnt not every kid appreciated those topics.

Deciding to just go to her cabin to put her luggage down, Netta didn't get very far before a group of boys whirled past and somehow splattered mud across her beautiful dress! Her nostrils flared as her cheeks grew red with fury, as she yelled at them in her stuck-up, unpleasantly tight voice, "How dare you treat me with such disrespect! You... You... Half-witted, imbecilic nincompoops!" She could feel her eyes prickling with tears and Antoinette made a sour face to try and stop them immediately. She was a Boisbouvier. They didn't cry, it wasn't proper. But, my dress! Netta wailed in her head, unaware of a young witch watching the exchange close by.

@Hazel So

Hazel had just finished another tea at what was apparently her new favourite place within this awful setting. Though she was pleased to have it on a checklist of experiences that would ingratiate her with the Ministry, she almost regretted being here. There were so many insects, so much grime, an abundance of outdoor activities she felt pressured to partake in. And, it seemed, in spite of the connections she had tried to make so far, she would not come across someone of her same ilk; someone who understood the importance of building a foundation for a strong resume, while still abhorring the necessary pillars.

She sighed, feeling the craving for another warm drink or a pastry; cakes always made her feel better. On her way to her dorm, however, a scene caught her eye. Hazel noticed the dress before anything else. It was absolutely gorgeous, adorned ruffles and neatly gathered at the waistline by a pretty pink bow. She was fixated until the shrieking broke through. The splatter of mud registered later, and Hazel frowned, making her way over. “This is awful,” she agreed with the girl, features softening into a sympathetic expression. Hazel gave her a reassuring look. “I think I can help you fix this.”

Stains were tricky; she’d learned the hard way herself. A wave of devastation washed over her at the memory of her favourite skirt emitting smoke within a Hogwarts sink. But, she couldn’t agonise too long; this girl needed her help. Where wandwork wouldn’t do the trick – though she was eager to try the spell again and get it right, she refused to take the risk – Witch Weekly surely would. She had the vague memory of a recipe for a stain removal spell in its page. But first, Hazel retrieved her wand. “Scourgify,” she said, pointing it at the end. Good, now the thicker glop of mud was off, but they’d need to get the remnants off of it.

“I’m Hazel So,” she said. “We can get the rest of the stains off, but I need to find the article. It’s at my dorm…” She left the offer open-ended.

Just as a singular tear threatened to break free and fall, a girl seemingly appeared out of nowhere providing a reassuring look and offering to help her. Netta hastily wiped her eyes and let a hand remain on the back of her neck to gently rub it. Whilst trying to get back in control of her faculties, she managed a grateful smile to the other witch and her eyes widened and focused on the girl's wand as she pulled it out and pointed it at her dress. Though Netta did have a wand by now, she couldn't and didn't know how to use it yet and, suddenly feeling a little inferior, Netta bristled internally.

As soon as she noticed that the majority of the yucky mud was off her dress and that only a little stain remained, her superiority complex was quickly forgotten and Netta smiled sweetly, swaying from side to side innocently. "Thank you, Hazel." Having a decent ability in English already, the name didn't feel too foreign to her though Netta didn't place enough emphasis on the 'H'. In fact, thanking anyone felt stranger to her than a new name. "My name is Antoinette Boisbouvier," she replied, as haughtily and with as much feigned importance as she could, just like her mother taught her to.

Hazel even offered to help her further and go to her dorm and Antoinette couldn't help but hesitate for a second. She wasn't used to people being so nice without her having to order them about or anything. Were they... were they friends now? If Hazel was now her friend, then making friends was clearly a piece of cake. Honoré was stupid for saying she'd find it hard to make friends at Beauxbatons. Clearly, he didn't know anything.

"Article? What article?" Netta asked with wide eyes, genuinely curious. Was it in a book? If it was, Netta was determined to find out the name of it so that she could buy it and read it for herself. Hearing movement nearby, Netta gripped her luggage tightly. "Let's go there before those little nitwits come back and ruin your clothes too!"