The French version of this story can be found on Wattpad
La version française de cette histoire est disponible sur Wattpad

CHAPTER 1 - 7th year

5th August 1892, Paris, France

"Most esteemed Mr and Mrs Gaunt,

We would like to thank you once again for your support in negotiating with Hogwarts to set up the exchange for the coming year.

It is very regrettable that your son was unable to do his sixth year of study in France, as was our original arrangement. We would have been delighted to welcome him and help him make the most of the experience. However, we realise that circumstances were not conducive to such a trip and will not hold this absence against him.

There's no doubt that this final year of study, although short in our eyes, will be beneficial to both our child and yours. After all, it's common knowledge that the character of young people is forged in wonderful ways through travel and contact with their peers.

Not wishing to ask any more of you than common decency would dictate, we are pleased to inform you that all the necessary arrangements for Gabrielle's transport to and stay in London have been made. The Director seems to have taken your words to heart.

In the sure hope that this year will pass smoothly and that the friendship between our families will continue to flourish under the best auspices, we send you, Mr and Mrs Gaunt, our most distinguished sentiments.

Jacques de Lauzanne"

Ominis pinched the bridge of his nose with a weary sigh, letting his hand fall limply to his knees, his back pressed into the seat of the coach. Monsieur de Lauzanne's letter had been accompanied by another from his own father. The tone was cold and hasty, but his grievances had the merit of being very clear: this year, he would be responsible for accompanying and looking after the mysterious correspondent who had been forcibly assigned to him. He was expected to behave as a host, but above all as a perfect gentleman, in the name of a supposedly long friendship that their respective families had enjoyed for several generations.

The young man had never heard of such a friendship and the name Lauzanne was still completely unknown to him last summer, but he couldn't afford to refuse. From what little he had been told, this was an old French family of pure-blooded wizards, which explained a lot.

— So, old chap, still brooding? You've been getting so many wrinkles in the last week that people are going to mistake you for an old house-elf.

Sebastian's voice sounded far too jovial for the Gaunt son's ears. Of course, the news of this international exchange was no secret to his best friends, but neither of them seemed to grasp the irritation it could cause him. How could they? They weren't the ones who would have to play nanny to a little French princess he already imagined being smug, cruel and despicable. As if classes and preparing for the NEWTs weren't a depressing enough prospect under normal circumstances.

— It's easy for you, Sallow. While you're off drinking Butterbeer with your sweetheart between exams, I should be keeping company with 'Mademoiselle de Lauzanne'," he hissed disgustedly. You think I'm looking forward to wasting my free time talking about the purity of blood or memories of hunting Muggles? I can already imagine the picture...

— Come on Ominis, don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?

This time it was a feminine voice, soft and light. He could feel the compassion that characterised the person to whom it belonged. A person who never changed, always worrying about others and wanting to put things right. Despite himself, Ominis relaxed a little.

— You've never met her, give her a chance. She must have other things to talk about," the voice said with a clear laugh. And if she doesn't, you know you can count on me and Sebastian to get you out of her clutches!

A grateful smile finally lit up his pale features. Elizabeth, the 'new fifth year' as he had long called her, remained true to herself. Whether it was saving Hogwarts and the world of magic, or simply finding a way to avoid a little foreign pest, she didn't hesitate to throw herself into the battle for others. It was both admirable and worrying, and he knew something about it!
Sebastian made a gesture, no doubt to bring the young girl closer to him, and placed a kiss on her cheek, amusing himself in advance with the strategies they would devise to dodge the undesirable French girl, praising his girlfriend's ingenious mind in the process. Ominis felt a twinge of sadness, as he did every time he was forced to witness these two demonstrations of affection. He wasn't sure why, but the feeling was unpleasant and had been for months.

After the dramatic death of Solomon, the attack by the extremist Ranrok and the loss of Professor Fig, things had been difficult for them. Despite their decision to always stand united and cover up the truth about Sebastian's crimes, it had taken a few weeks for everyone to sort things out. So the start of the summer, marred by memories of those events, had not been a happy one. But in the face of the growing unease that threatened to divide them, the three of them had come together at Feldcroft to talk and mend fences. Their sixth year back at Hogwarts had seen them return friends as never before, ready to move forward and leave past dramas behind them.
However, things had taken a strange turn a few months later, during the Christmas holidays. While Ominis had to spend a week with his family, his two friends had become closer. Very close in fact. It wasn't long before their feelings exploded into the open, leaving the Salazar heir with a strange bitter taste. Of course, he never let anything show and never allowed himself to make the slightest comment, but his usual mixture of phlegm and sarcasm had gradually darkened. Sometimes melancholy, sometimes annoyed, he found himself preferring solitude more and more often. But the most hurtful thing was that his two friends didn't seem to notice, too absorbed as they were in each other.

Returning to his gloomy thoughts, Ominis carelessly folded the two letters and slipped them into a fold of his uniform. Deaf to his friends' jokes, he let himself be lulled by the jolts of the coach as the imposing silhouette of Hogwarts Castle began to take shape through the trees. He couldn't wait for the distribution ceremony to be over so he could get back to his dormitory.

⁂

The special atmosphere of that first evening at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry left an indelible impression on every student. For the new first years, it was the excitement and wonder of discovering Hogwarts. For the seventh years, it was the feeling of having come 'home', the joy of seeing their classmates again and a touch of nostalgia at the idea that it was the last time they would be able to experience this event.
But the seventh year was much more than that. It was a last chance to do and say everything that had been retained in previous years. It was a final opportunity to leave your mark, to entrust the castle with a memory, a declaration, a confession, before launching out into the world and experiencing the weight of adult responsibilities.

— This year, I absolutely have to find the secret passage on the sixth floor. My aunt keeps saying that she found it during her first year, but she refuses to tell me where it is! I want to knock her down a peg.

— I need to study more, because if my NEWTs are as mediocre as my OWLs, my parents are going to send me on an apprenticeship...

— So it's decided? Shall we do it? I've been practising my Bubble-Head Charm all summer, so there's no way we're getting cold feet this time, understand?

— D-Do you think Arthur will want to go to the Yule Ball with me this year? If I ask him in October, no one can beat me, can they?

The hubbub of conversation, though tiring, conveyed an energy that even Ominis couldn't fight. With his head resting against his fist, he even allowed himself a smile as he listened to the other Slytherins talking about their holidays or planning their first outing to Hogsmeade. He could recognize many voices and, if he listened carefully, he could even identify those of some of the Griffindors and Hufflepuffs on the other side of the Great Hall. Then there were the excited squeals of the first years, anonymous but devilishly loud.

As the banquet drew to a close, the headmaster rose from his seat to say a final word to the students. If there was one thing that all of Phineas Nigellus Black's contemporaries could agree on, it was that the man was not in danger of dying of his friendliness. So he would regale the school with his morgue for another year, bowing with little goodwill to the exercise of running the establishment. Sebastian often said that every time he spoke, it was as if an unpleasant odour came over Black, making him curl his nostrils in barely concealed discomfort.

— Hm. A little quiet, please. Order!

The crowd of students immediately stopped chattering and all eyes turned to the teachers' platform.

— We won't waste any time with the safety instructions, they're the same as last year. Your prefects will just have to repeat them to you once you're back in your dormitories. However, first-year students should be aware that we do not tolerate curfew breaches! As for the fifth and seventh year exams, I'm counting on excellent results from all of you. The reputation of this school depends on it, so please remember that. Now get out of here. Classes start first thing tomorrow.

The headmaster turned to face his deputy headmaster, Professor Weasley. The look she gave him was an excellent wake-up call and Phineas hastened to raise his voice again to interrupt the students who were already leaving their tables.

— U-A moment! I forgot to inform you that this year, our prestigious school will be welcoming an additional pupil as part of a... School exchange with Beauxbâtons. Hm... Miss de Lauzanne?" he called, scanning the Ravenclaw's table. Please stand up so that your classmates can see you.

A few murmurs greeted her movement. Sebastian elbowed his childhood friend, mockingly.

— There's your chore. You should go and say hello to her now, don't you think?

— Not a word, Sebastian!" hissed the young man, immediately grabbing his arm before he could do anything to attract attention. Leave it to me to decide when is the best time to take up my post and spare me for tonight, will you?

A barely covered laugh answered him. Of course, it was only to taunt him and his best friend would never have thrown him into the lion's den like that, but the idea of having to start bending over backwards on the first night made his hair stand on end.
The new arrival didn't say a word, or if she did, it was under the cover of the din that resounded as everyone finally took their leave to go to the common rooms. Ominis was both relieved and frustrated: everyone had had a glimpse of the French girl, except him, of course. He took advantage of the walk to the dormitories to ask his two companions about her.

— Oh, would Ominis Gaunt finally be curious to find out more about his mysterious pen pal? the girl who had been in almost the same situation two years earlier immediately teased him.

Elisabeth was clearly as amused as Sebastian, but there was more kindness in her voice. She had always been the mediator in their group, the one in charge of calming things down when the opinions of the two boys clashed a little too violently. While it was impossible for her not to tease the unfortunate young man, she was careful not to be unnecessarily cruel to him. And he thanked her inwardly.

— Would you like me to describe it to you?

— Not her looks, no thanks! Tell me what inspired you.

— Hmm. She seemed delighted. She didn't say anything so I don't know how well she speaks English, but she waved at everyone. The other Ravenclaws seemed to be asking her a lot of questions, so I suppose she can make herself understood?

— A blind man guiding a foreign woman who doesn't speak the language sounds like the start of a bad joke.

The three Slytherins laughed heartily, quickly moving on to another subject as they crossed the threshold of their common room, under the black lake.