Term Fifty-Three: When in France...
| House Point Totals |
| Gryffindor | 1350 |
| Slytherin | 1229 |
| Ravenclaw | 742 |
| Hufflepuff | 240 |
Plot summary by sweetpinkpixie
...try not to get burned, or worse, evicted
With the fate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry shrouded in MISTery, arrangements were made to temporarily relocate to L'Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons until further notice as the Ministry of Magic continued its efforts to discover the source of the mist and recover the castle. Arriving in France a day after the Beauxbatons students on September 2nd by abraxan drawn carriage, it was revealed at the start-of-term feast by Headmaster Trent that each house (save for Slytherin who were awarded a broom closet due to its Head of House pulling the shortest straw) would be sharing quarters with one of the three Beauxbatons’ houses: Gryffindor with Papillionlisse, Ravenclaw with Ombrelune, and Hufflepuff with Bellefeuille. Robust first year shenanigans aside, the term began rather quietly...though these misbehaviors were more than enough to give Beauxbaton’s Headmistress, Giselle Demarais, the impression that her school’s visitors ruined everything they touched. A handful of Beauxbatons students (Aesha Amin, Eugenia Bonnair, Lars Moreau, Luc Vayssière, Roch Vayssière) assembled on the reception foyer speaking in hushed whispers. There was talk of sneaking something into the Palace of Beauxbatons without being caught while Professor Mathys de Nostredame (the Beauxbatons Care of Magical Creatures professor who would be doubling up this term to teach Hogwarts’ students as well) fretted over the oddly hostile nature of the gargoyles that protected the palace.
As part of a wider wizarding educational initiative, the French school would be implementing a new Health and Wellness program and an attempt to "go green" as seen with the re-opening of their now renovated rose garden. Demarais, keen to show off her prized roses, organized a light yoga and meditation session as a means of building kinship and integrating Hogwarts students into their prestigious school. Demarais’ announcement of no formal quidditch for the term was a crushing blow to many, but redemption came with the promise of a Valentine’s Ball later on in the term - contingent on all being on their best behavior and meeting her superior standards. A firm warning for Hogwarts. But, it was not they who were the first to cast stones in the growing tensions between the two student bodies. It was the very group of Beauxbatons students seen gathered together at the start-of-term feast. Unbeknownst to all but the culprits who covered their tracks by drinking as well, potion that caused the drinker to sprout feathers and quack like a duck was slipped into the provided flavored waters. Blame was thrust upon the Hogwarts students and a quacking good time was had by none...save for Luc Vayssière who seemed all too pleased they had gotten away with it.
Early on in the term, a misfired Loricatus spell by Slytherin first year Claudine Blaze during a Care of Magical Creatures lesson held in the rose garden sent Demarais on the warpath against Hogwarts. The Beauxbatons gargoyles grew hostile towards these foreign students. Gryffindor first year, Bernadette Grantham, and Ravenclaw third year, Analiese Anderson, found themselves suspended for raising their wands against the Headmistress while Gryffindor first year, Cecelia Summers, (who had soaked Demarais accidentally while trying to put out the flames) and Blaze were banned from stepping foot in the rose garden for the remainder of the term.
Double booked classrooms and cramped sleeping quarters were the new norm, but soon these were not the only inconveniences plaguing the Palace of Beauxbatons’ residents. Torn books, broken telescopes, and random footprints were discovered in the astronomy dome, the Ombrelune Common Room found its luxurious curtains and furniture marred and ransacked, the kitchens themselves were set ablaze. Remnants of claw marks and soot the only common denominators among these seemingly random acts of vandalization only fueled the growing tensions within the overpopulated palace.
Things all came to a head in the weeks preceding the highly anticipated Valentine’s Ball when all the decorations for the event were discovered to be torn apart, torched, and rendered utterly unuseable. Discovered at the scene of the crime by none other than Demarais herself were Ravenclaw first years Phoebe James and Ilya Belrose and Slytherin fifth year Eiji Rasting. Condemned on the spot by the Beauxbatons Headmistress who had had ENOUGH, her injustice was only inflamed by Beauxbatons students Aesha Amin, Eugenia Bonnair, Lars Moreau, and Luc Vayssière spreading lies to further incriminate the Hogwarts students. Despite efforts by Trent and Hogwarts Potion Master, Professor Ignatius Noble, all were dragged to the Inquisitorial Hall to stand trial for their crimes while additional summons were also made. Judge and jury already decided, those to stand trial against a hostile court were: Ravenclaw first years Phoebe James and Ilya Belrose; Ravenclaw fifth years Trinetta Gladin, Ewan Jones, and Missa Renaldi; and Slytherin fifth year Eiji Rasting; sixth year Slyterin Kaiser; first year Gryffindors Cecellia Summers and Bernadette Grantham; fourth year Gryffindor Lucas Dakest.
Despite honest testimony from each of the Hogwarts students with supporting evidence and defensive strategy provided by Noble, Demarais found Hogwarts guilty and immediately banished them from the premises. No sooner had her sentence passed did de Nostredame come bursting into the Inquisitorial Hall with further evidence to cast doubt on the Hogwarts students, or any student, from being the ones behind the decorations massacre. It was proclaimed to be the work of a fire-breathing creature. The proof was in the pudding as soon fire licked the grounds and Demarais found her precious roses on fire for the second time this term. In the heat of the moment, Demarais pleaded with Trent and his students to help save her roses (and school) and soon all were flocking to the rose garden to battle the flames and the truth swooping in on leathery wings - a baby dragon.
Having snuck a dragon egg into the castle at the start of term, the group of five Beauxbaton students had created their own dragon family unit and were raising the creature in secret. Now on the cusp of true adolescence, the dragon had become too much for them to handle and had broken free of its restraints. It had been doing so for some time now with each incident escalating into something more and more destructive. With a harness stolen from de Nostredame’s classroom, the Beauxbaton’s students successfully calmed their ‘child’ and harnessed the dragon so no further destruction could be had and the baby dragon taken to a dragon sanctuary where it belonged. With that, Demarais revoked her earlier sentence and Hogwarts was allowed to stay for the remainder of the term.
And, thankfully, the remainder of the term was all that would be needed.
The end-of-term feast became a lavish event for Hogwarts who were granted the authority to host it as they saw fit and held a ball for its students. During Trent’s speech it was announced that the efforts of the Ministry had been successful and that they would be returning to Hogwarts - now mist and boggart free!
Au revoir, Beauxbatons!
Term 52 | Term 53 | Term 54
