Author's Note
Sorry guys that this chapter is later and shorter than usual.
Covid is spreading like crazy here in Cape Town and I'm being run ragged by my older family members running errands for them.
Hope I do Beaubaxtons and the students justice. It's never been shown in any of the movies and I don't remember it ever being described in any of the books.
Also, I apologise if you think that their accents come off as over the top but I've tried.
Finally, a couple of you have commented on this and I only realised this afterwards, but I had initially implied that Apollo's mother is dead.
In canon she did die, but in here she didn't so I'm sorry for the confusion. To make it clear, Pandora Lovegood is alive and she's the Professor of Spell Creation at Hogwarts.
The day had finally dawned. I'd decided that we were leaving on Friday. As soon as the last class finished, the students were to head to their dorms, take a shower and then change.
It was telling, the fact that nobody protested, all too excited. They were to change into a clean uniform and they were told to wear their hats as well.
Something that only happened at the Welcoming and Leaving feasts. They had to make a good impression after all.
Privately, I doubted it would matter. I'd seen Beaubaxtons myself and I'd met a number of their alumni. The French certainly thought very highly of themselves and I knew that many of their students would look down on my own.
Not that I thought the Hogwarts students couldn't handle it. I smiled then. Fred and George have likely got more than a few ideas cooking in their heads to make a ' good ' impression.
My thoughts soon turn however. There's another reason that I'm glad to be going. The British Ministry of Magic is up to something. Dumbledore himself seems to be in cahoots with them.
To my frustration, I haven't been able to find anything out. Even reaching out to Madam Bones yielded no results.
The only thing she was able to find out was that Barty Crouch seemed to be involved. That was unfortunate for me however.
Crouch was a conservative man. Not dark conservative the likes of Lucius Malfoy, but a traditionalist nonetheless.
Me taking over as Headmaster of Hogwarts would not have sat well with him. If Dumbledore was forced out, he'd have supported McGonagall, seeing as she was the Deputy Headmistress.
To his mind and those like him, I had basically come out of nowhere and taken over. Not something they would approve of.
Therefore, it was vital that I spoke to the Headmistress of The Beaubaxtons Academy of Magic. She was a level headed woman and far from a traditionalist.
I was sure that if she knew what was going on, she'd tell me. Crouch was the Head of International Magical Cooperation after all.
If he's involved, it stands to reason that something is happening in the wider Wizarding World. It's the only thing that makes sense.
The fact that I'm being excluded can be explained away, but the fact that much of the Ministry is in the dark as well, is worrying.
With this is mind, I head towards the grounds. My things had already been packed and stored away on the Dragonfly.
As I was making my way through the school, I could see students running back and forth. I nodded my head towards the staff that were staying as well.
I had decided to bring ten of the staff with me. Most of them were from the newer members that joined this year.
Not all though. Mr and Mrs Weasley would be staying. I figured that it would be better to bring the younger staff members with.
The students were difficult to wrangle on a normal day and now they were even more worked up than usual, so it was better to have people who'd have the energy to deal with all that.
I make my way onto the grounds and from there, the Dragonfly. Waiting outside is my last minute pick, Hagrid.
Admittedly, I'd only picked him because of my mother's needling. Hagrid is very obviously a half giant. So is Headmistress Maxime.
My mother seems to think that they will hit it off, hence his inclusion. I have my doubts however.
Hagrid is a half educated man of simple tastes. Everything the Headmistress of Beaubaxtons is not. Just because they have the same ancestry does not mean anything.
My mother was insistent though. I sighed internally. Hagrid and his dog, Fang, greeted me enthusiastically. He was pleased when I said he could bring his pet with.
I didn't have to the heart to tell him that most of the remaining staff don't particularly care for his boisterous, slobbering pet.
Still, he's popular with most of the students and many of those who don't like him, are intimidated by him so hopefully they'll behave.
After Hagrid and I both board, I make my way around the ship. I know there's nothing wrong with it, if there were, it would have shown up on my diagnostic spells, but using my eyes to check is cathartic.
It also gives me a chance to mingle a bit with the students. As per usual, many of the girls giggle when they see me and start stammering.
The boys are almost as bad but for different reasons. I sigh to myself. Ugh, teenagers.
An hour and a half later, all the students are accounted for, to my immense relief. Fang was driving me crazy in the cockpit.
I'm not a dog person at all. It's all I can do not to let Hugin and Munin attack him. That won't endear me to Hagrid at all.
He's still a bit hung up about the business of last year. While his faith in Dumbledore was shaken some, he still believes that he should still be Headmaster.
Not that he's said that to me, but while deep in his cups in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, he's admitted as much.
Something Aberforth Dumbledore was sure to inform me of. If there's one person that was genuinely happy to see Albus Dumbledore humbled, it was his brother.
I snort at the direction that my thoughts have taken me. While I was ruminating, Bill had powered up the Dragonfly and set it on its course.
We were currently flying over the North Sea and making our way south. I had decided that flying over the ocean would make for a nice change of scenery.
Not that the waters up here were in any way an attractive sight, but it was something different, which I was all for.
We fly at only a fraction of the speed that the Dragonfly is capable of, but it still only takes us three hours of flying, till we reach the south of France and behold in the distance, The Beaubaxtons Academy of Magic.
A near perfect replica of the muggle Fontainebleau Palace of the Kings of France, it's a vision of beauty from the air.
More style than substance, as is the French way. It lacks the solidity and strength that the towers and battlements of Hogwarts projects.
A thought that solidifies as we land. The feel of the protective enchantments wash over us and I admit to feeling part disappointed, part vindicated.
The wards of Hogwarts have no equal in its scope and power. Beaubaxtons doesn't even come close.
Then again, it's hardly a fair comparison. The families that founded this school as well as the alumni of the centuries past, are in no way comparable to the Four Founders and their puissance.
I clear my mind of distractions yet again as I disembark first, followed by the staff and then the students.
Assembled in the courtyard, is the entire student body of Beaubaxtons as well as the staff.
Taking pride of place and literally standing head and shoulders above all of them is Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of Beaubaxtons.
Behind me, I hear more than a few gasps, Hagrid's being the most conspicuous. I step forward at the same time as she does.
She extends a hand and I lightly brush my lips over her knuckles. She offers me a small but sincere smile and then she steps back and spreads her arms.
She must have cast the spell beforehand, because her magically amplified voice is heard above the whispered conversations of nearly two thousand students.
" Bonjour Monsieur Lovegood and students of Ogwarts, Bienvenue to Beaubaxtons, ze finest school of magic in all of ze world. "
I don't bother hiding my amusement. I turn back for a moment and look at my fellow Professors and my students.
The staff have polite, bland smiles on their faces, though some look to be holding back scoffs.
A number of the Hogwarts students don't bother with subtlety but most weren't even paying attention to Maxime.
Their attention was fixed on the students of Beaubaxtons, particularly the older ones. Ugh teenagers.
I cough then and speak. " Thank you for your warm welcome Madame and thank you for your hospitality. "
She nods her head graciously and gestures towards the school. I offer my arm and she accepts, then leads me and the students into Beaubaxtons .
The interior is just as ostentatious as I remember and the same thought crosses my mind now as it did then. This is inappropriate for a school.
The walls have gilt scrollwork and so does the ceilings. Massive crystal chandeliers hang from the ceilings and both the floors and walls are clad in marble.
Tall gold candelabras line the passages and the tall, wide widows give the place an unearthly feel.
I turn towards my students when we reach the Dining Hall. Madame Maxime stopped to confer with a house elf, giving me the time to look.
Most of the students are looking around in amazement, excepting most of the Slytherins naturally, who are looking on in approval.
When the gold embossed mahogany doors open, we are confronted with more gold. I groan internally. This is going to be a long weekend.