As a rule, High Elves didn't bother with the Academy.
It wasn't that the place wasn't a good establishment. Mostly, it was because the population was low, so the elves tended to keep their young close. Every clan had a ritual timing for children, and the Hysta'ai clan in particular had rigid timing. Every five years, two couples would be blessed by Styta, She Who Made The World, and they would each have a child. One male, one female, the two destined to be mates. They would live and work together once they'd reached the age of majority, and once the female reached child-bearing age, they'd be eligible every five years for a chance to raise a child of their own.
Of course, this doesn't always work out perfectly. The year Alexander Enjolras was born, Marianne Lestrade was stillborn, leaving Alexander completely alone in a way no High Elf has experienced in centuries. After all, children being so rare, a pregnant High Elf got the best medical care, both technologically and magically, that the clan can provide. But it can't always save the child.
So, when Alexander is old enough (7, since Elves mature emotionally and physically much faster than humans) he is offered a choice: stay with the Hysta'ai, forever known to be the lonesome one, or have a fresh start at the Academy.
It doesn't take him long to chose.
When he gets there, he's pleased to see that a Telepath is his 'randomly selected roommate.' They're friends almost instantly, Combeferre cheering him on as he physically trains, Alexander always willing to offer himself when Combeferre feels the need to test his mental limits.
Then the Empath comes.
He doesn't quite understand why he's so drawn to Courfeyrac. After all, an Elf doesn't often let baser emotions cloud their judgement, while the child seems to revel in the twists and turns of a mood. Yet, all the same, there's a strange protectiveness to their relationship that is quiet and unspoken.
He's fast asleep, the first time he's slept well thus far, when a persistant tugging wakes him up. It's Courfeyrac, looking very much like one of the youngest students the Academy has, sniffling a bit. "Is everything alright, little one?"
Courfeyrac shakes his head, sniffling a bit more. "I wanna go home…" The child climbs his way onto the bed, snuggling up with him immediately.
Enjolras smiles fondly, a little of Courfeyrac's homesickness washing over him, but mostly a protectiveness all his own."It's alright to miss home, Courfeyrac. Really." The younger boy shakes his head, though, and burrows it into Enjolras's chest. It takes a few quiet moments of Courfeyrac crying into his chest for Enjolras to realize the right words. "Courfeyrac. Styta, She Who Made the World, made us to be ourselves. She made us to eventually leave our homes and be our own people. But She also made all those around us to give us comfort when we're upset and lonely and scared. She wouldn't have given you the powers you have if She didn't think you were ready for this step. You are stronger than you think."
"R-really?" He looks up, eyes bloodshot and a little watery still. There's a light to them that hadn't been there before, though.
"Of course. Now go to sleep."
"E-enjolras? I don't wanna be alone tonight…" There's an anxious tone to it He's probably taking on some nerves from another student's nightmare or something.
"Of course." He moves over, making a bit more room in the bed for the boy, small though he is. Courfeyrac awakes a few more times during the night, but he falls back asleep rather quickly.
That moment seemed to cement their friendship, truly making it worth the cranky temper-tantrums Courfeyrac pulled the next morning from not enough sleep.