thick skin and an elastic heart

Chapter 6

Valentina was the youngest Carvajal, the baby and the apple of her father's eye. She was his sorpresa, his gift, and his little one. It afforded her leniency her siblings didn't have and more attention than they received.

After her lessons, young Valentina would hide from Chivis and the rest of the Carvajal staff, inevitably finding a way to sneak into her father's study. León would put her on his lap and bounce her on his knee or have her sit on one of the leather-bound armchairs while he wrote important letters for work. After her mama died, papá channeled all his grief into growing Grupo Carvajal. He was always working. If Valentina wanted to spend time with him, she had to do it while he worked from home.

Sometimes he allowed her to play with his wand because at seven years old Valentina could only inflict minimal damage. Or so he thought, when he caught her trying to whack the wand on his desk because, "It's broken, papá! The unicorn doesn't want to come out!"

"Con delicadeza, Valentina, por favor," he gently scolded, taking the wand from her pudgy hand. She huffed and folded her arms. Even then his hair was predominantly silver. "A wand is more than a tool. It's a witch or wizard's greatest friend, and we treat our friends with kindness."

"How is it your friend?" she asked.

"I've had my wand since I was a boy. It chose me, and one day yours will choose you as well."

"How did it choose you?" Valentina stepped closer to her papá.

"Look." León knelt and held out his wand. Valentina stared at it; from its reddish tint of the wood to the small spiral grooves on the handle.

"Wands tell a story. Mine is red cedar and cedar wands only choose loyal wizards. Anyone who meets me and knows my wand can learn this about me."

"What about Eva?" Valentina asked, bouncing on her toes. "What's her wand?"

"Eva has a fir wand. Fir chooses a strong-minded witch or wizard because fir trees must be strong enough to survive the winter."

Valentina felt as though she knew a secret, the knowledge filling her with glee. "And Guille? What about Chivis?"

"I'll tell you all about them, but only if you promise to treat all wands with respect."

Valentina nodded earnestly. "Cross my heart papa."

Valentina kept her promise, and her interest in wandlore grew as she got older, with her papá indulging her passion. She added to her book collection with rare tomes ordered from abroad, explored the magical library in Tulum, and even visited a wand tree farm in Brazil one memorable summer, all the while storing away information about the people she met along the way.

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Valentina Carvajal absentmindedly braided a few strands of her hair together while waiting inside one of the many abandoned classrooms in Hogwarts. She kept shooting furtive glances between the door and the floor beneath her feet. She paced back and forth, her shoes click-clacking against the slate with each step.

The Durmstrang champion and a small group of people were also in the room. Except Juliana.

Juliana was coming from History of Magic - she should've been here by now. Where is she? She thought impatiently. She desperately needed to tell her about this morning, when her headmistress had woken her up at the crack of dawn to reveal a shocking twist about the first task.

Valentina shook her head. She couldn't risk thinking about that right now because ministry officials were part of the group and there were rumors that they could read minds.