A New Life:

Chapter Three:


Ron enjoyed the feast just as much as he had the first time around and because he had new friends this time around he was able to have a different experience and he was happy for that. He was determined to make a difference this time around, but he couldn't help but feel a familiar tug inside of him. He frowned at the feeling and pushed it down, focusing on his meal instead. Soon afterwards Dumbledore stood and gave his regular beginning of year speech then he dismissed the four houses. Ron's first week at Hogwarts had gone by rather smoothly; he had managed to rack up three hundred points for Slytherin all by himself and had caused both students and teachers to be impressed by the knowledge he had shown.

He enjoyed his previous knowledge of spells and such; it helped him keep up appearances for all that mattered. He was so far ahead of his other first year classmates that Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall had offered to place him in more advanced classes with older students after testing his knowledge and seeing where he was at academic wise. He had declined but the matter had been left up to his parents and not him.

"Mum" Ron said as she and his father had discussed the possibility as a family (Professor Dumbledore had kindly offered his office for this purpose).

"I don't want to go into older kids' classes, they'll just make fun of me and then it'll be hard to have any friends because they won't hang out with a little kid and my friends will feel left out because I'm more advanced than them."

His parents shared a look between themselves and then looked at Ron. Knowing that look all too well he knew had won the argument. When Professor Dumbledore had returned, and had been informed of their decision, he had recommended a new course of action. The Ministry offered a select few students each year the chance to exchange places with another student from a different school within Europe; but sadly, not many foreign students took the opportunity to study at Hogwarts. The Headmaster offered to write the Minister on their behalf and look for a spot for Ron, the family agreed.

The months seemed to fly by for Ron, who had found his time in the past to be rather boring, seeing as he was stuck within a first-year body and unable to perform the level of magic he had become used to. He focused more on his studies this time around and making more friends, both within and without of his house. By the time Christmas break came around, he and his family had received word that he had been accepted into the exchange program and that the Ministry was currently waiting for someone to accept a spot at Hogwarts.

During break he learned that the Ministry wanted him to wait a few more years until he was older before he took the exchange spot. So after returning from break he was summoned before the Headmaster who informed him since he was considered way far advanced for his age, as had already been discussed before, the Headmaster had decided since Ron had to wait a few years and he would eventually leave the school, Ron would be better off to take the advanced classes.

So, one weekend in January he was put through a series of tests for each of the Professors to put him through to test his ability in their subject area. After this test was finished, he dropped Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy in favor of Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Muggle Studies. He was placed in all OWL level classes for his remaining classes, except for Potions, which Professor Snape refused to allow. Ron stayed in his advanced classes throughout his first three years at Hogwarts.


Ron woke up from a peaceful sleep, allowing himself a yawn and stretch before getting up and changing into his normal every day wear. He was standing there looking in the mirror realizing how much had changed since the day he had woken up in this very room four years ago. He had let his hair grow out and was a little tanner and a lot more muscular too. He headed downstairs and got himself some breakfast before he had to go out to do some shopping for his new school year.

He smiled at that thought, he wasn't going to be returning to Hogwarts, he was going to be going to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, in France. The Ministry of Magic had finally decided that he was old enough to attend the exchange program and the details had been worked out that summer.

"You know dear, I don't know why you can't just stay here and go to Hogwarts again. You don't even know French!"

Ron smiled as his mum tried to change his mind once again. After he had finished swallowing his food he said, "I've told you mum, the Ministry is going to cast me a new spell that will enable me to understand French."

"Yes, I know that dear, but what about conversing with other people? You can't just go around being mute the entire school year!"

"I know mum, but I'll learn to speak French later…I just need to understand it before I go, almost all of the classes are in French you know."

"Yes well…I still think that you should stay here. But if it's for the best then, well, I suppose." She left it off there as Ginny, Fred and George came down the stairs. Ron summoned his letter from upstairs and unfolded it so that he could read over it once again.

"Dear Mr. Weasley,

We here at Beauxbatons have received & accepted your entrance into Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (BAM). Please note, that with you coming from England & Hogwarts, that we here at BAM do things a bit differently. You will need to decide what area of magic you are interested in studying (wand lore, Charms, Healing, Auror, etc…) as this is what you will be studying while here at BAM. The list of required items is as follows:

1. Wand

2. Sets of school uniforms

1. Set of dress robes

2. Capes (1. Sky blue, 1. Black)

Please be aware that you are allowed to bring one pet that is either a cat or owl. No other animals are allowed at the school. Term starts on the First of September, you are to floo to the British liaison office at eight a.m. on that day. From there you will either side-along apparate or singly apparate to the town of Marseilles, France where you will be met by a member of the staff.

We look forward to having you this year,

- Olympe Maxime,

Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic."

Ron smiled to himself as he finished re-reading the letter. He tucked it away into his back pocket and stood to clear his dishes away. After he had finished he made his way into the living room and over to the fireplace. He was going to make his own way to Diagon Alley and go shopping for his new supplies, with a little help from the Ministry.

A few hours later, Ron returned to the Burrow with a few different shopping bags in hand. He had gotten a whole new set of robes for Beauxbatons; these were pale blue instead of black like the ones worn at Hogwarts. His mum gave him a smile and told him to go put them on, so Ron made his way up to his room and quickly put on his new uniform. When he had finished, he stood back to admire himself in the mirror for a moment.

He wore pair of white pants with a blue belt, black high boots, a long sleeved white shirt that was tucked in, a pale blue sash around his middle, pale blue ascot, and a pale blue esque hat. He also had a pale blue cape that attached to both shoulders and fell to his backside; the shoulders were outlined in gold and had the Beauxbatons symbol of two crossed wands etched onto them. He gave a curt nod of his head before he headed downstairs to show himself off to his mum and the rest of his family. He had the mickey taken out of him by both Fred and George, even Percy cracked a smile. All in all not too bad of a day for him, Ron thought with a smile playing on his face.

The day before Ron was meant to leave for France; his father pulled him aside to talk with him. "Ron can I speak with you for a moment outside?"

"Sure thing dad" Ron said, he headed out of the side door and followed his father over to where the garden was. "What's this about?"

His father looked around to make sure no one was around that could over hear the conversation before he began to talk. "As you know Ron, tomorrow you leave for France. This new education of yours is being paid for by the Ministry, as such they expect certain things from you."

"Such as?" Ron asked, a slight frown coming to his face. He had not foreseen this when he had accepted the exchange to Beauxbatons, he did not want to be in anyone's debt; ever.

"They wish you would come and work for them during the summer months; they see you as being 'intelligent enough to hold a pretty high job within the Ministry. You will not be paid, but you will be an intern. They are, however, allowing you to choose the department you want to work in, any department at all."

Ron stared at his father, "I'm fourteen year's old-"

"A smart fourteen year old Ronald, now be smart about this endeavor. You can set yourself up for a better life, a life I was unable to provide for you. Choose something that you will enjoy and something that you will be good at."

"I can choose any job I want? Any at all?"

"Within reasonable bound… yes. That is what I was told by the Minister today anyways."

"Reasonable being?"

"Auror, Hit Wizard, Unspeakable, etc…"

After a moment of thinking about it Ron had not come up with anything that he thought would interest him. His knowledge was limited to just spells, curses, hexes, etc…so he would be able to live a whole new life over. But-what job could he do that would interest him in the near future? "How about…hmmm…how about I work with the Department of International Magical Cooperation?" he asked his father, who thought it over for a moment. "I'll be in France with the liaison office, I'm going to be studying in France for the next two or three years. I'll have experience with worldly travel and other cultures."

"That does sound like a good idea Ron, to be perfectly honest…yes I'll talk with the minister tomorrow after I see you off and then I'll write you with his reply."

Ron gave a nod of his head, "Alright then, is that all?"

"Oh! Yes that's it, I'll see you later then," and with that he was off. Leaving Ron to watch with a bemused smile on his face. He shook his head and made his way inside to prepare for dinner.

The next day Ron woke up at five in the morning and found both of his parents already downstairs. His father was reading the 'Daily Prophet' and his mum was making some breakfast for the two of them. "Good morning Ronald, want some breakfast?"

"Please," he said as he took a seat next to his father, he saw that the cannons had lost their match to the Harpies last Saturday. OH well, you couldn't win them all. Ron ate three bacon sandwiches and washed them down with two glasses of pumpkin juice. After that he made his way upstairs to grab his trunk where he got one of his uniforms out and proceeded to get dressed, and then he made his way back down with his trunk in tow. Over the next hour he watched his family get ready to leave for King's Cross, when it was time, he said goodbye to all of his brother's and Ginny, then lastly, his mum.

"Have a good term Ron, and please write me as often as you can!"

Ron gave her a weak smile and nodded his head, "Of course I will mum, every day if I can. Plus, I'll be back in three months for Christmas."

His mum nodded then wiped away a tear from her eyes, with a final kiss on his cheek, Molly Weasley bustled the other Weasley children out of the Burrow and off to King's Cross. Ron was left with his dad, who would floo him to the Ministry of Magic where Ron would meet with a representative from the DIMC (Department of International Magical Cooperation). That was not for a few more hours so his father and him spent their time talking about the upcoming year for Ron. Finally the time had come and Ron's father magically sent his trunk to the Ministry, then the two of them flooed to the atrium of the Ministry. Ron was the last to leave; he cast a final look around his home, a smile on his face.


Ron stepped out of the fireplace and looked around the Ministry Atrium with some interest, he had never really stopped admire the beauty of the place. The few times he had been before, he had been too busy or otherwise to occupied to be able to take the time and stop and stare at the government of his people. Ron spotted his father talking with a younger man, maybe in his early thirties or late twenties, both of whom did not notice him as he came up next to his father.

"Very well, thanks," his father finished saying. "Ah! Ron, this is Richard Banks, the DIMC representative who will be flooing you too France. He has already sent your trunk ahead to the school."

"Nice to meet you Ronald, I look forward to working with you this upcoming school year."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. The Minister has agreed to allow you to work with the DIMC; you will be an intern in my office. This will of course prepare you for a paid position as a Ministry employee. Oh and before I forget, this is yours" he said, handing over a ID card with Ron's face on it.

"W-what is it? If you don't mind me asking that is."

Richard let out a bark of laughter, "I don't mind in the least Ronald, that is your Ministry ID, it lets anyone know that you work for the British Ministry of Magic."

Ron looked down and did in fact see the writing that read:

Ronald B. Weasley

British Ministry of Magic

Dept. of International Magical Cooperation (DIMC) Intern

British DIMC Liaison office-French division

Ron smiled as he stuck the card in his pocket; he wanted to make sure the he would not be losing that card any time soon.

"This card will enable you to enter the French Ministry, which is where we will be flooing, and working. About that, are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Alright then, I will leave you to say your goodbyes, I will be back in five minutes." With the Richard Banks walked away, leaving Ron and his father alone.

"Well, I guess this is it then, for a few months anyways," his father said, a sad awkward smile on his face.

"Yes, I guess so. But like I told mum earlier, it's not much different than Hogwarts. I'll write as often as I can and I'll be home for Christmas."

"Of course, it's just-you're my son and you'll be in a different country not Hogwarts, no matter how similar it will be. Are you sure you want to continue on? It's not too late to-"

"Dad! I'm fine. Thanks for the concern, but-I-I want to do this."

"Alright then, I guess this is it then." With that his father embraced Ron in a tight hug; only to release him a moment later. "I love you son." With that, his father turned on his heel and walked away towards the lifts, only to be replaced by Banks.

"Ready to go then?"

"Yea-"

Richard led him over to the lifts where they headed to the fifth level. He lead Ron down a long brightly lit corridor lined with dozens of doors with different names etched over or on them. Some were very strange…'Office of International Criminal hunters, Office of International Wizarding courts, French Liaison office, American Liaison office, etc…' At the end of the hall way there was a large open area with dozens of floo networks, each with large gold letters above them. Ron saw: "America, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, Ireland, Egypt," and many others all in neat rows of five, each with a jar of floo powder hanging by each grate.

"This is the 'docking bay' as we in the DIMC call it, floo networks to every country with a recognized legal magical government. You ready to get a move on then?"

Ron could only nod his head as he followed Richard over to the 'France' portal. Richard turned to Ron with a serious look on his face. "This is the hard part, listen very carefully to me, we don't want you going to the wrong place, now do we?"

"Huh, no?"

"Of course not! Alright then here we go," and with that Richard made his way to the first place and took a pinch of the familiar green powder. He stepped into the fire place and threw the powder down, a jet of green flames leaping up as Richard shouted "French Ministry of Magic, British Liaison office!" With a swirl of green flames, Richard Banks was gone.

Ron gulped to himself and made his way over to the fireplace. "French Ministry of Magic, British Liaison office!"

Ron emerged into a very similar room as to the one he had just left, the only difference was that there was only one fire place and it was labeled "England."

"Welcome to France Ronald, have you ever been here before?"

"No-never could afford it to be honest."

"Understandable, now I just need to do a few minor spells before we apparate to Beauxbatons." Richard pulled his wand out and began walking around Ron, muttering spells and the like under his breath that Ron could not make out. Even if he could, he doubted that he would understand him.

"What is it you're doing exactly?"

"I'm placing a spell on you to help you better understand a foreign language. After a few seconds of hearing French or any other language for that matter, you will be able to understand it as if you had grown up listening to it all your life."

"That's good to know, but what about speaking it?"

"That I'm afraid is entirely up to you. But you should be able to pick the language up fairly quickly. French is not very difficult if you put your mind to it."

"Good to know" Ron muttered once again. A few minutes later Richard stowed his wand back in his robes.

"All done!" he exclaimed with some excitement in his voice that made Ron smirk. "Alright then Ron, please grab my arm. I'll take you straight to the school grounds." Ron did as he was asked, and before he could even prepare himself, they were off once again.

Ron could only think of one word to describe Beauxbatons, 'beautiful',and thatwas not even close. The school was typically French, it sat on massive grounds, surrounded and protected by a wrought iron fence. "Well this is where I leave you Ronald; someone will meet you in a minute to take you up to the school. I will see you this weekend, be sure to be right here at eight a.m."

"Why?"

"We've already gone over this; you have a job right now. So be here at eight a.m."

"Alright then, I'll see you then."

Then with a small pop Richard was gone. Ron turned back and stared about him, the school was actually in the middle of a crowded city on the French coast, but yet the Muggles went about as if the school were not even there. Ron smiled to himself as he began to turn back towards the grounds, but he was stopped by an old lady. She looked at him looking at the grounds and began to speak in rapid French. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand you," he began to say. But he stopped when her rapid French suddenly turned to English and he understood her perfectly. So Ron just nodded his head and didn't bother saying anything. He didn't have to wait long for someone from the school to show up.

"Ah! You are Mr. Weasley?"

"Ron, please, and yes I am Ron Weasley."

"Ah yes, please excuse me, but I do not speak English."

Ron had forgotten he could not speak French only listen to it. He quickly thought over his knowledge of Latin. He had studied it during his last life, he took his wand out and pointed it at himself and shouted "Disputatio ope huius linguae!" Now he had to find out if it had worked. "Do you understand me?" he asked the man.

"Ah! Very good! I can understand you, though you're French is a bit rough."

"As long as you can understand me, I'm fine with being a bit rough."

The man nodded and extended his hand. "I am Sean (Juan) Francis, head grounds keeper. Please, follow me and I will lead you up to the school. Ron stepped into the open gate and followed Sean down a nice gravel path. Manicured bright green grass was on either side and small pools of nice, clear blue water lined the grass on both sides of the walk. They came to the end of the graveled walk where it split going to the left and right with a grass sculpture of two crossed wands and 3 yellow sparks each. They followed the path to the left and Ron saw the one to the right was the same path; it had just been a circular path around the sculpture. The two paths merged back into a single path and the two men continued walking on. Ron saw some men in the same robes as Sean, field green.

About a mile later the path once again split, this time a large, long, rectangular pool of water was the cause. The two men once again took the left pass, though the one to the right led to the same place. Once they made it around the pool, they came to the same path that led to the school. It was bright white with a deep blue roof; it had two turrets in the front and was four floors high. The path split to go around the school as well, but Sean and Ron took the straight one up to the front doors. A staircase lead up to a platform where two large deep blue oak doors stood, yellow or gold handles on the doors themselves. Sean opened one of the doors and Ron stepped inside.

The entrance floor was made out of white marble; it had the school crest in the middle, a grand staircase down the hall. To the right was a massive dining hall, it only had two tables, each with a blue flag above it with yellow writing on it that said: "collège" and "lycée." Unlike Hogwarts, it had places already set, with gold plates and cups, as well as silverware (that was also gold). Place cards were in front of the plates, so Ron assumed that they had assigned seating here.

"This is the dining hall, all school meals are held here. When the Headmistress enters, you are to stand. Do not sit until she sits, do you understand Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes-I think so."

Sean nodded his head, "Then I shall leave you here. I wish you the best of luck this school year Mr. Weasley!"

As Sean turned to leave Ron stopped him, "Um, w-what am I supposed to do? And where is my trunk that Mr. Banks sent ahead?"

"Do not worry Mr. Weasley; everything has been taken care of. Just wait here, the rest of the school should be arriving within a few minutes time." Then with a slight bow, Sean made his way out of the front doors, silently closing the door behind him. Ron turned around the massive entrance hall, staring up at the ceiling. It had a painting on it, and a massive chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Just as he was about to enter the dining hall, the front doors opened and students began to file in, all wearing their uniforms and most talking to friends that were nearby them. They paid him no mind, heading into the hall and towards their seats. Apparently, they knew where their seats were going to be. An older man in in rich blue robes walked in, he had slick black hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Ron Weasley?" Ron nodded his head, but before he could speak the man continued on "I am Monsieur Astor, you're Deputy Headmaster. Welcome to Beauxbatons."


AN

Okay here is chapter 3 for you, sorry if this chapter is a bit rushed, this is the final chapter that I was re-doing from my previous story with this same title. Chapter 4 & all other chapters from this point forward will be entirely new content and thus will be less rushed. Thank you to all who have read, reviewed & added this story and myself to your fav story and author lists as well as following both this story and myself. Your support means so much to me and I am eternally grateful to all of you. Please feel free to Review and I will do my best to get to you, until next time!

-Raider