Hey second chapter for my Adele story. Enjoy. Xoxo LivefromLV

Chapter 2

I awoke that morning to the patter of rain on my balcony. I looked outside and was not surprised to see a gloomy cloud hanging over the rooftops of Paris. I suddenly remembered what day it was and the excitement that I had managed to store away suddenly resurfaced. Anatole, the new owl my mother had bought me, sat silently in the corner of my room in her shiny new cage.

I stumbled out of bed and slipped into the pair of Muggle clothes that I would wear until I got to the carriage. I checked over my trunk, which had the initials AB printed ornately on the front. I had packed the night before for Beauxbaton so I was ready go.

"Adele! Come get breakfast quickly! The carriage leaves at 10!" my mother called. I ran out of my room and bounded down the stairs two at a time. My mother was sitting in the dining room sipping hot coffee and reading the day's Journal Magique. Marie had already laid out a plate of freshly made crepes and tea.

I quickly gobbled it down and turned expectantly to my mother. "Can we go now?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes," she set down her coffee and pulled out her wand. With one flick my trunk, broom, and owl came zooming down the stairs obediently. "Gerard is waiting for us," we left the dining room and walked out to the landing where the Muggle elevator emptied right into our suite. I took one last look around at the house I had grown up in then stepped into the elevator reluctantly.

Mother stuffed her wand into her bag before the doors opened to avoid risk of the Muggles seeing us. The elevator doors opened into the marble lobby and the Muggles milling around. Anatole screeched and I could see the curious eyes of many of the Muggles venture over to us. We ignore them and dragged my trunk out to the silver Muggle car that was already waiting for us.

We had to physically load the trunk into the back, for we could not use magic because of the wandering eyes of the pedestrians. Life was so complicated without magic. Gerard, our over-aged driver, was waiting for us. WE had become used to dawdling in Muggle habits such as riding in a car. "Gerard to the drop-off please." My mother commanded.

Every year the drop off was on the top of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoil. To get there we had to be dropped off on the side of the road and then we had to walk through a charmed wall that would take us to the top of the magnificent arc. The carriage had been given a protective invisibility charm to Muggles, so our secrecy wouldn't be obstructed.

Gerard dropped us off at the curb while mother and I scrambled out to grab the trunk, broom, and owl. We managed to gather it all and pull it over to the wall you had to run through to get to the top. "Okay Adele you go first. Remember to run at the wall. If you don't you might get stuck in between." My mother commanded. I grabbed Anatole and my broom and ran at the wall at full speed.

Instantly I was standing on the top of the Arc looking at the sea-green carriage I had been used to sending my siblings off on. The Beauxbaton tradition horses waited patiently and silently on the landing. My mother followed quickly behind me carrying my trunk. She checked her watch. "Ah! It's 9:50. Go find a compartment!"

There were about 20 parents and children on the platform loading their stuff onto the carriage. A man was standing by the entrance of the carriage taking kid's belongings and ushering them onto the carriage. He was wearing a green suit with a matching green beret. On his chest, he bore the Beauxbaton coat of arms.

We walked over to the man and gave him my trunk and broom. I tried to hand him Anatole but he just gave me a stern look and said, "Animals are to carried with you at all times." Then he turned away from us to the other people on the platform and announced. "If you expect a ride on the carriage I suggest you board now. We will be leaving momentarily."

My mother ushered me to the entrance then gave me a warm hug and many kisses. "Remember to write!" she yelped just as I climbed onto the carriage and everything disappeared from sight.

Despite it's tiny appearance, the carriage was much larger on the inside. I entered into a hall that I couldn't see the end of. As soon as I stepped onto it the bustling environment of the Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoil seemed a world away. The hallway was serene and elaborately decorated. Compartments lined the hall and I saw students disappearing into the hundreds of rooms. I didn't know anyone that I could sit with so I found an empty compartment and set Anatole down.

I had known that Beauxbaton was famous for their intense decorating so I was not surprised when I entered the lavish compartment. The carpet under me was a plush royal purple and the walls around me were encrusted with gold spirals. There was two leather couches, one dark oak desk with magazines stacked on it, and small rack for belongings. I set Anatole on the rack and sat down on the couch.

The carriage suddenly jolted upwards and I could feel our take off into the skies. "Next stop, Madrid." A voice sounded over the compartment. I watched as kids walked by the compartment through the window and hoped that one of them would peek their head in and ask to sit with me.

My wishes were answered when a girl with light brown hair opened the door and smiled sheepishly. "Hello, may I sit with you? I'm afraid I don't know many people," She was a little bit tan and hazel brown eyes. The overall appearance of her gave me the vibe that she was very kind.

She was carrying a rusty cage that was covered with a green blanket. She was wearing very simple outfit, jeans and a Muggle tee. "I'm Annabel," she introduced herself shyly.

"I'm Adele," I answered and tried to echo her warm smile. She set her owl down by Anatole and sat down on the couch opposite of me.

"Are you a first year too?" she asked in an attempt to start small talk.

"Yes, but I have a brother and sister who went to Beauxbaton."

"Really? I'm a Muggle," she chuckled nervously. "I don't know a thing about wizarding life." I had met many Muggles who turned out to be wizards and I couldn't tell the difference between them a supposed "pure blood wizards".

"Ah, you will get used to it. I'll help you. What do your parents do?" I asked in my lame attempt to start a conversation.

"Well my Mère is a schoolteacher and my father is a factory worker for a car factory in Germany. They are divorced." She added. "What do your parents do?"

'"Well my mother is a writer, and my dad is the main advisor to the Minister of Magic of France."

"Woah, they sound important!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

There was a sudden knock at the door and I jumped up to answer it. A plump lady pushing a trolley stacked with food was standing outside. "Food from the trolley dollies?"

Annabel came and peeked over at the food. "How much is it?" she asked looking into her small money pouch.

"Well the main courses are 20, the salads and soups are 15, and everything else is 10." She responded. Annabel looked into her pouch then politely declined.

"Here I'll have 2 salads, two main courses, some chocolate frogs, every flavored beans, and two soups please," I quickly jumped in. I took the food then backed into the room.

I gave Annabel a salad, soup, a chocolate frog, and a main dish, which happened to be chicken. "You didn't have to do that! My mother packed me a sandwich. I just didn't want to waste money on food. You wouldn't believe the exchange rate between the Euro and the Argent. It's horrible, it cost my mother a fortune to just give me simple spending money!"

I nodded understandingly and started eating. The carriage's smooth sailing suddenly came to a stop in a large bolt as we touched down on the ground. "Now loading in Madrid," the same voice came over the compartment again. Students started walking down the hall again.

We ate in silence, both of us watching the new kids boarding the carriage. A boy opened the door to our compartment. He had shaggy brown hair and dark maple eyes. He was steadily built and was also carrying an owl.

"Mind if I sit in here?" he asked boldly.

"No problem, we will make room," I responded. I pushed my stuff over and created an open space on the couch. He set his owl on the rack with ours and came and sat down. "Hi, I'm Emeric, and you guys are…" he seemed open enough when he talked.

"I'm Annabel,"

"And I'm Adele,"

"Cool, are you guys excited? I've been dying to start using magic!" he stated.

We told him about our families, backgrounds, and ourselves. Turns out, Emeric was French but he lived in Spain. His family was a wizarding family so he was more comfortable with the traditions I was. The carriage ride was about four hours long. We had made stops in lots of cities like Toulouse and Marseille. Each time more kids boarded the carriage and loaded into the compartments.

When we were approaching Beauxbaton we changed into our robes. I felt bad for Annabel because she hadn't known what kind of robes to buy so hers were the wrong material and the wrong color. "See you both were lucky because your parents know what to do, mine has no idea!" she half-laughed half-regretted.

"Please prepare to unload, we have arrived at Beauxbaton." The voice finally sounded. All of the kids dashed out of the compartments and into the halls. We grabbed our owls and followed the flow of the crowd to the exit. I stayed close to Emeric and Annabel because they were the only two people I knew. Slowly the river of kids unloaded and we stepped out onto the grounds of Beauxbaton Academy of Magic.