((A.N. Welcome to Chapter 11, Part II. Haha it's been three months, hasn't it? Well sorry about the delay,but Part II is done and I'll update every week until Part III. I hope that Part I amused you a bit, and you got a good idea for most of the characters. Now, as our lovely Ambassadors travel to France, the plot thickens. Enjoy!))

PART II: THE GREAT DECEPTION

Who would not rather trust and be deceived?

– Eliza Cook

Chapter 11; Bonjour to Beauxbatons

The journey to France had begun.

Sunlight streamed in through the train compartment window, and it was a deceptively lovely morning. Many other aspects of their trip would be riddled with deception. Most of the Ambassadors were journeying to yet another place they had never traveled.

They went again by train, traveling south. As the journey wore on, snow began to melt, and they were reminded that it was only mid-October. The windows stopped frosting up as they traveled farther and farther away from Durmstrang's snowy heights.

Hermione suspected that the train, quite like the Knight Bus, didn't follow conventional roads. Within five or six hours, the train began to slow.

"Hermione!" Harry called, rousing her from her sleep. "Look out the window, Hermione! C'mon, get up!"

As the train chugged to a halt near the station, Hermione, Harry, and Ernie crowded around the window to get a better view. What Hermione saw was far more surreal that she had ever imagined.

It was a stark contrast to the arrival at Durmstrang. To begin with, they had docked at a train station in a busy city. And what a city it is, Hermione thought with awe.

Hermione had seen Muggle cities in France, but never a Wizarding city. The first things she noticed were the domed towers that spiraled up into the sky. Their white stems flourished into golden peaks, which glinted fantastically in the midday sun. The entire city, in fact, was a sparkling white, filled with large, airy cobbled streets and grandiose archways. It reminded her of a spectacular Renaissance painting. The city was the epitome of exquisite beauty and unrivaled elegance.

As they stepped off of the train, Fleur took Draco's arm.

"Welcome to ze Ville de Grace," Fleur said, with a smile that rivaled the glow of the city.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. No wonder the Beauxbatons students had found Hogwarts to be ungainly. The air was warm and balmy, almost, as it felt on a tropical island. Indeed, Hermione felt as if she had disembarked onto some illusive island of fantasy.

"We will walk to ze school from 'ere," Fleur announced regally. It was obvious that she finally felt at home.

As they strolled through the sparkling streets, Hermione noticed that some sort of fair was taking place. The streets were lined with myriad booths containing interesting wares, and merchants called out in the clamour.

Hermione was inexplicably drawn to a shaded booth that read 'Tahitian Black Pearls.' A middle-aged woman who was dark and slender tended the booth, and she smiled as Hermione approached. Her breath caught as she saw what lay on the stand. Arranged in various positions were strands of jet black pearls.

"Are . . . are these charmed?" Hermione asked, completely shocked. She had never been one for jewelry, but these were beautiful.

"No," said the woman. "They are true black pearls."

Her voice was deep and sultry, like the jewelry before her.

Draco had come up behind Hermione to inspect the jewelry. He had seen true black pearls before, and these ones looked identical. He was sure they were genuine.

Hermione lifted a necklace that had particularly caught her eye, almost afraid to touch it. Dangling from a delicate chain was a round black pearl embedded in sapphires. The sapphires formed an eight pointed star. It was the darkest, most lustrous object Hermione had ever seen.

"How much?" Hermione asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"One hundred Galleons, no less," the woman said promptly.

"That's all?" Draco asked in shock. He could have sworn that the woman winked at him after he said it.

But Hermione blushed and replaced the necklace. "Oh, I could never afford that. I'm sorry."

She turned to leave. "Maybe we'll get you one for your birthday," Harry said consolingly, with a nod from Ginny and Ernie.

One hundred Galleons were a drop in the bucket to Draco. He followed them back to the main road. Ava hung back at the jewel stand indefinitely.

They traveled farther through the splendid city, and at last the way opened up into a continuous, broad street.

"Ze castle eez not far," Jaime said smugly. There was a certain aspect in his tone that made Hermione suspicious. They all kept their gazes straight ahead, craning their necks, but there was no castle in sight.

Beauxbatons must be quite small if we can't see it from here, Hermione thought. She told them so.

"Our castle eez very large," Myra confirmed mysteriously.

"Is it invisible?" Ginny asked, squinting ahead.

"You can see Beauxbatons Academy from anywhere in ze city," Jaime confirmed. "It eez just ahead."

"But . . ."

"Merlin," whispered Ginny. She looked as white as a ghost and her face was pointed toward the sky.

Hermione looked twice and rubbed her eyes before she was able to believe what she saw.

The castle itself was enough to take anyone's breath away. It was pure white, but the setting sun had stained it a golden pink, and shaded it with sensuous blue and purple shadows. The turrets rose high into the sky, their tops domed and pearlescent in the evening glow. It was humongous, so much that the Ambassadors looked like ants in comparison. The castle seemed to spiral upwards instead of outwards, reaching into the sky to the upper layer of clouds and beyond. All of this went unnoticed compared to the spectacular and unbelievable fact that it was suspended in midair.

The palace seemed to be sitting in the clouds. It was the literal definition of a castle in the sky. White, puffy wisps off cloud skimmed the turrets of the castle, and the castle itself seemed to rest on a bed of luminescent silver clouds.

It was, for the second time that day, the most breathtaking thing Hermione had ever seen. Their eyes were glued to the castle.

"You . . . all live up there?" Ernie asked, blatant awe laced through his voice.

Fleur nodded then, her silver hair flashing in the gold of the setting sun. Fleur looked as if she belonged in the unreal, fantastical world they had so unknowingly entered. Hermione felt as if she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Draco had been taught never to gape at such finery, for the simple reason that it looked second-class if he did. Instead of staring like the rest, he merely turned to Fleur and quirked an eyebrow.

"Are you going to stand there and let them gape all day, or are we going to go up?" he asked sardonically. Fleur laughed at his cultured mentality, and he merely stared back. He was shocked at the beauty of the castle, to be sure, and though he had often been admonished for his lack of kindness and of sympathy, he had never been reprimanded for his lack of acting skills.

"We will Portkey up," Fleur asserted loudly, breaking the others from their reverie. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box. Inside the box was a metal cross. "Eez everyone ready?"

Fifteen hands touched the Portkey one by one, and Hermione felt a tug at her navel. She spun uncontrollably until she landed, dizzy and disconcerted.

"Welcome!" called out a high voice from in front of them. Her words rang through the air like bells.

Hermione glanced up to see Madame Maxime smiling graciously at the group. Hermione was again shocked at the woman's unnerving height. Was it really possible for a person to be so tall? Her liquid black eyes and olive skin gleamed in the adequate lighting. She was, as always, dressed in finery.

"You 'ave finally arrived! We are very pleased to 'ave you!" Madame Maxime cooed in her quaint French accent.

She quickly hugged all of her students; Hermione noticed that she did not go as far as to hug the Durmstrang and Hogwarts students.

"Ah, ze 'Ogwarts' Ambassadors! 'Ow eez Dumbly-dor?" Madame Maxime asked them.

"He's wonderful, Madame," Hermione said with a polite smile. "He sends you his greetings."

"And our burly Durmstrang delegates! I take it zat Igor eez well?"

Something aside from cheerfulness flashed through the woman's eyes as she said it.

Only after greetings and welcomes had been fully exchanged did Hermione take a look around.

High, vaulted ceilings seemed to stretch up into forever. Marble floors below them were veined with authentic gold. Hanging in midair were sparkling chandeliers that twirled around on their own accord, catching the shimmering candlelight in a flourish of crystalline radiance. Outside, all that could be seen was the deepening hue of the cherry sky, and a flurry of silver-streaked clouds. Was there any place more elegant, more grandiose, more aristocratic?

They were led up a sweeping double staircase onto the third floor. When Madame Maxime handed the Hogwarts group eight keys, Hermione frowned in confusion. There weren't even eight Ambassadors; there were only five.

"Five keys are for ze rooms. You each 'ave your own. Anozzer is for ze sitting room, for when you wish to spend time together or entertain guests. Ze ozzer two are to ze bathrooms; one for ze ladies and one for ze gentlemen."

Madame Maxime said these things as if they were obvious and natural. It was unheard of, though, to give mere students an entire eight rooms to themselves.

"Ze entire floor eez at your disposal. Ze Introduction Ball begins at eight. Please be ready as soon as possible. I 'ope everything eez to your liking. If you 'ave trouble, simply ring one of ze Brownies."

"Brownies?" Ginny questioned, confused.

"Zey are servants, little brown creatures that cook and clean," Madame Maxime explained with a smile. "I well see all of you soon."

She departed quickly, leaving five shocked students in her wake. Hermione slowly handed out the keys. Turning the lock to her own room, she diligently tried to keep a squeal from escaping from her lips. It didn't work.

A king-sized canopy bed with silk, champagne colored hangings and a matching silk quilt was the centerpiece of an unbelievable room. She opened a golden armoire to find her clothes neatly hung up and color coordinated. The floor was white marble, with a plush cream carpet surrounding the bed. A polished golden mirror hung majestically on the wall, and she realized that it followed her wherever she went.

Last of all, there was a balcony, her very own private balcony. The door opened soundlessly as she stepped into the sky.

Yes, stepped into the sky. There didn't seem to be a floor. In her excitement she had rushed outside, and now she stood on . . . nothing.

Hermione stomped. Her feet hit firm ground. She had read about these. Quite like the sky at Hogwarts, these "invisible floors" managed to project an exact image of whatever was beneath them.

She screamed, half from fear and half from delight. The sunset with all of its golden hues and the entire Ville de Grace spanned out below her. Railings indicated the place where the invisible floor ended and the sky began. In the distance, the horizon bent out of sight.

From where Hermione stood in the sky, though, the span of horizon that met her eyes was endless.

((A.N. Ah . . . a fantastical castle in the sky, an elegant ball, and suspicious characters? What a perfect place for a mu-- but never mind, we'll get to that later. ;D Review!))