Chapter 3 - Beauxbatons Academy

The next morning, Harry woke up with his wand still clutched to his chest and a warmth flowing through him. He heard pounding on his bedroom door and the voice of his best friend calling out to him through it. "Come on, 'Arry! Wake up! It's time to get ready for school!" he then heard giggling as she ran down the stairs presumably to eat breakfast.

Harry swung his feet out of the bed and fumbled around with his left hand at the nightstand till he found his glasses which he slid onto his face, blinking the blur from his eyes. He then stood up and gathered up his clothes and a towel before heading for the shower. He washed quickly and barely finished drying in his excitement before he got dressed, throwing his dirty clothes in his hamper before bolting down the stairs and taking a right into the kitchen.

"Breakfast is on the table, 'Arry." came Apolline's soft voice.

He nodded and moved to sit down next to Fleur, who just shook her head at his ruffled damp hair. "Are you going to comb that thing?" she asked teasingly.

She already knew the answer though, he wouldn't. She took a brush from her bag and stood up, walked behind him, and began brushing his hair for him, humming. She found that while he wouldn't comb or brush it himself, he would allow her and only her to do so. Gabrielle had tried once, and he had yelled at her and told her she tugged too hard at his knots.

"Fleur, it always feels so nice when you brush my hair, I don't know how you do it, it always hurts when I try," he said quietly, leaning into the brushing quite a bit while he ate a few pieces of cantaloupe and some strawberries, moving to slather a slice of toast with butter and jam.

"Simple, 'Arry," she replied. "I simply have more practice with sensitive heads," she said with a laugh. She continued to brush through his wild hair, and by the time she was done, he looked much more presentable, at least by her standards. Harry almost frowned when she stopped but didn't. Instead, he finished his breakfast and then ran upstairs to throw a few last-minute items into his trunk for school.

Fleur, of course, had already finished packing the night before and chastised him about not having done the same. "You're so disorganized 'Arry, I don't know how you're going to make it through school, the professors are going to eat you alive!" she laughed.

Harry just shrugged, a bit of playful mirth in his emerald eyes as he stared into her sapphire blues. He had grown to love her teasing and playful side in the last few years and was grateful that she never seemed to change. "You'll eat them alive before they have the chance to hurt me," he replied with a grin.

She rolled her eyes in response but grinned back nonetheless. She had to admit she had become rather protective of the boy in the last couple of years. She never allowed anyone to bully him, not that there were many around to do so, but the fact was if anyone ever tried, they were likely to be at the wrong end of her wand within seconds.

Harry felt touched that she cared so much for him, and he cared just as much for her in return. They had become the best of friends, she was his first friend after all, and he wouldn't let anything happen to her either, especially now that he had his wand to threaten people with. He laughed at that thought and she tilted her head. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, just imagining what'll happen if anyone tries to hurt you," he replied. Fleur raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing more, instead returning to her room to fetch her trunk and bring it down to the car, only to find that her father had already done so!

"Papa!" she cried in protest. "I've told you before, I can do it myself." she crossed her arms and tapped her foot in irritation.

Sebastian just laughed and shrugged. "I'm not going to let my little girl lug something so heavy down the stairs and across the courtyard!" he replied.

Harry finally finished packing and started to lug his own trunk down the stairs. It clunked down each step loudly which caused Sebastian to run over and help him, lifting up the rear side so it no longer was clambering down the stairs and causing a racket. Harry just smiled appreciatively. They tossed it into the magically enlarged trunk of Sebastian's white Cadillac with the other two trunks and slammed it shut.

"Alright, are we all sure we haven't forgotten anything?" asked Sebastian.

"I still need to get Hedwig!" exclaimed Harry, before he took off running back into the house and up the stairs to put her in her cage which he then carried back outside and set her into the back seat of the car where he would be sitting with the two sisters.

"Alright, now are we all set?" asked Sebastian once more, and his question was met with nodding heads. "Good," he said. "Everybody in then!" They all clambered into the car, settling in for the drive.

The drive was a long one, a little over two hours, but when they finally arrived, Harry's eyes were wide. If he thought the Delacour mansion was extravagant, Beauxbatons put it to shame! There were flowing fountains and massive gardens, the building itself was a gorgeous white with pillars all around and was at least five stories tall. On what appeared to be the third floor there was a massive balcony.

"See the balcony up there?" asked Fleur. Harry nodded. "That's where the flyers tend to hang out. They can take off and practice on their brooms there without getting into trouble," she explained, his eyes growing wide. He had seen a broom shop when they had gone to gather his school supplies, but he hadn't gone inside despite wanting to.

There was bustling activity throughout the grounds, students in powder blue robes fluttering around this way and that, and there were flying carriages, pulled by white-winged horses. "There will be an Assembly to welcome the new students. Unlike Hogwarts, we don't have some sort of silly ritual to sort students into their houses. Here students are sorted mostly by relations. Since you live with us, you will likely be sorted into our daughter's house as well, Harry." explained Apolline from the front passenger seat.

The car pulled to a stop, and they all got out, Sebastian levitating the three leather trunks out of the trunk of the car and having them follow behind the small family.

"There are three houses in Beauxbatons, House Julienne, House Chantel, and House Vivienne. We are in House Chantel, and you likely will be as well 'Arry." said Fleur, standing right beside him. She saw he was nervous so she reached down and took his hand in her own. "Don't be so nervous 'Arry, everything will be fine, you'll see," she tried to reassure him, he just nodded, still looking around the grounds of the school with wide eyes.

They walked through the great double doors and into the entrance hall. There was a massive wooden staircase directly across from the entryway, a large set of glass doors to the right, and a smaller wooden door to the left. Students wandered up and down along the staircase and in and out of the glass doors.

Fleur and Gabrielle made their way through the large glass doors on the right. Waving at Harry as they went. "We'll see you in here later 'Arry, once you're sorted!" called Fleur. He just nodded.

Sebastian continued up the main staircase, the trunks floating along behind him, along with Hedwig's cage. "I have a meeting to get to with the headmistress, 'Arry, about some paperwork for your enrollment, nothing to worry about, I assure you! I'll make sure your things get to your dorm safely."

"Come on, Harry, this way to where the other first years are waiting," came a familiar voice from up the stairs. It was Professor McGonagall in her usual emerald green robes and pointed hat. Harry immediately ran up to her and threw his arms around her in a hug, which caused both Minerva and Apolline to smile. It had been a while since he'd last seen her.

"Minnie!" he cried out.

"Now, now Harry, you have to call me Professor McGonagall while here at school, alright? No special treatment," she said.

He nodded and stepped back from the hug. "Sorry Professor," he replied. She just smiled down at him.

"Come along then," she said, placing her hand on his shoulder and guiding him over to a group of students.

"Now then!" she said, addressing the group of students. "Settle down, settle down!" she called out. "Here at Beauxbatons Academy we have three houses, they are House Julienne, House Chantel, and House Vivienne. While you are here, your house will become like your family. Exemplary behavior will earn you House points, any rule-breaking or misbehavior, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. It is a great honor and every student should strive towards their endeavors with this goal in mind."

She finished her speech and every one of the students seemed enthralled. "If there are no questions then we shall make our way into the main hall through the glass doors here, and we shall begin the welcoming ceremony and sorting," she said, leading them through the doors.

There were three extremely long tables with students sitting on either side of them that ran through the center of the hall, and at the head of the room was a raised platform where the staff table stood. There was a small speaking podium situated in front of it and as they made their way up to it a very tall but elegant woman made her way up to the podium. "Welcome to Beauxbatons, school of witchcraft and wizardry!" she called out and the students erupted into cheers and applause.

Harry tried to find Fleur in the crowd of students and he spotted both her and Gabrielle sitting at the center table on the right side away from most of the other students which confused him slightly, He always thought she would be popular but she seemed to be getting glares from a lot of the other girls. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.

The headmistress started speaking again and he shifted his focus to her. "In a moment I will begin calling out the names of the first years and their respective houses in alphabetical order, and then you may all take your seats among your new housemates."

She began calling names and houses and it was quite some time before finally, she called out, "Harry Potter!" He stepped forward timidly. "Mr. Potter, you will be joining House Chantel!" she said, and he sighed with relief. They had been right and he had been sorted with Fleur.

He made his way over to her and sat down right next to her which caused some gawking and gaping from the other students. Fleur just smiled at this and only made it worse when she took his hand in hers in full view of everyone and squeezed it affectionately.

It was some time later till they got through sorting the rest of the first years but once they had, Madam Maxime spoke once more. "Again, welcome to Beauxbatons everyone, we hope you have a wonderful year! Enjoy the welcoming feast!" She then clapped her hands and the tables filled with massive amounts of food and drink, large bowls of salad, bouillabaisse, and other French dishes appeared out of thin air. One of the bowls of bouillabaisse appeared right next to Fleur as if they knew that it was her favorite.

She immediately went for it, quickly consuming a bowl before going for another. Harry and Gabrielle both opted to start with salads, although Harry picked through his to remove any tomatoes.

Once they had their fill, the hall started emptying presumably with students heading to their dorms or out on the grounds to enjoy some free time while it was still light outside.

"Come on, Harry, I'll show you to our dorm!" said Fleur, taking him by the hand and leading him back out to the entryway, and then up the staircase. They traveled all the way up to the top floor before stopping in front of a massive painting of a woman with long elegant hair in a sparkling silver dress.

"Password?" asked the woman in the painting.

"Everbloom Lilies," replied Fleur, and the portrait swung open to reveal the common room of House Chantel. It was massive with powder blue and white couches and armchairs and a massive fireplace right in the center of the room, and staircases on either side of it leading to the dorms.

"Boys are on the left, Girls are on the right," she explained. "Come on, your stuff should already be up by your bed!" she said before pulling him along up the left staircase.

"Should you really be coming up to the boy's dorm, Fleur?" Harry asked.

"It's not a problem, we are allowed in each other's dorms as long as we behave. It's to encourage studying in each other's rooms," she explained.

Harry found that his trunk and Hedwig's cage were both indeed already situated at the foot of his bed and he moved to let the snowy owl out of her cage at once. "Sorry girl, I didn't know you were cooped up in here," he said, she just cooed and tilted her head to the side while looking up at him.

Fleur sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to herself, and so he walked over and sat down as well. She took his hand into hers again and just held it there, in her lap. "I take it you noticed that I am not… well-liked at this school," she said a bit hesitantly.

Harry nodded, not wanting to speak since he wanted her to continue with this topic. "You have only really seen me at home, with family, it is different here at ze school. It is because of what I am… People look at Veela differently out in ze world, 'Arry," she said by way of explanation.

Harry nodded sympathetically. "So they think you're going to swoop in and steal their boyfriends or something?" he asked, sounding more than a little upset at the thought.

Fleur nodded back and sighed. "Ze boys all stare with blank expressions and drooling mouths when we walk by them as well. It is not their fault, but it is annoying, so we tend to stay away from them when we can, and keep to ourselves," she replied.

"That's terrible!" Harry said, looking shocked. He knew of Veela, but not of how others saw and treated them.

She just shook her head. "That is ze way of it, you are different though 'Arry, I think it is because you are used to our allure, having lived with us for so long. You grew up with it, and have developed somewhat of an immunity of sorts." he nodded thoughtfully.

"So you don't feel uncomfortable around me?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head and smiled at him, leaning over to kiss his cheek which caused him to blush.

"No, 'Arry, I do not feel uncomfortable around you," she replied honestly, still smiling at his little blush.

"Now, you should get some sleep, you have a long day of classes ahead of you tomorrow, non?" she asked, and he nodded in response, once she had left the room and descended the stairs, he changed into his pajamas before opening the window and letting Hedwig free so that she could stretch her wings after the long trip. "Be safe girl," he said, before slipping into bed and sliding under the covers, removing his glasses and setting them on a side table, and clutching his wand to his chest before falling asleep still smiling.