Chapter 452 Belleville
Chapter 452 Belleville
August 8, early morning, Evere Manor.
Last night, Sherin and Fleur stayed in the guest rooms of Evere Manor, of course in two separate rooms.
Counting the days, Sherin has been in France for three days. Today is the day to visit Beauxbatons School of Magic at the invitation of Principal Maxime.
Beauxbatons, one of the three major magic schools in Europe, is famous for its students' emphasis on elegance, fashion and etiquette. Compared with the cold and ruthless Durmstrang, Beauxbatons is undoubtedly much more sunny and upright; compared with the tradition and conservatism of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons appears to be much more open-minded and tolerant.
It is said that Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is located somewhere in the Pyrenees Mountains. Every visitor is amazed by the beauty of this magnificent castle. The French castle located in the mountains is surrounded by vast and exquisite gardens and lawns. These magnificent garden landscapes were cultivated by medieval wizards with magical magic in the rocky and bare mountain environment. It is a record of magic overcoming harsh environment in ancient times.
Like Durmstrang and Hogwarts, Beauxbatons is an unplottable location on maps and cannot be reached by normal Apparition, Floo, or Portkeys, although the latter two can be reached with prior approval from the French Ministry of Magic and the Headmaster of Beauxbatons.
Under normal circumstances, ordinary Beauxbatons students would take a train from the magic platform of the Paris train station to the wizarding village near Beauxbatons, and then take a magic carriage from there to fly over the mountains to Beauxbatons.
At the moment, since Sherin had Fleur, who was familiar with the situation in France, leading the way, there was no need to go through so much trouble. After leaving Evere Manor, the two of them took the fairy-tale-like princess carriage of the Delacour family again and flew directly to Belleville, a wizard village near Beauxbatons.
……
It was only noon when the carriage landed in Belleville, and Sherin couldn't help but sigh at the speed of the princess' carriage, which was almost as fast as the French high-speed rail before the crossing. (Note: Although the French high-speed rail was put into use in 1981, it actually reached its maximum speed in 2005, which means that the advanced magical transportation at that time was already close to the level of Muggles in the early 21st century)
The midday sun was very warm, and the soft golden light flowed lightly on the cobblestone streets of the wizard village of Belleville. On both sides of the street, the ancient buildings had a strong French charm, and the window frames were covered with rose vines. The breeze blew, and the faint floral fragrance mixed with the aroma of freshly baked goods made the whole village exude a warm and peaceful atmosphere.
Xie Lin and Furong walked side by side in the Silver Fir Square. In the center of the square, the leaves of the Silver Fir tree seemed to be kissed by the moonlight, casting tiny silver dots of light. Furong's silver-gold hair fluttered gently in the morning breeze, as if blending with the surrounding light, making her look like a fairy in the morning light.
"It's much quieter here than Paris." Xie Lin smiled and looked at Furong beside him.
"Of course." Fleur raised her chin slightly, a confident smile on her lips. "This is not an ordinary village. Do you know this silver fir tree? Legend has it that it was planted by the first headmaster of Beauxbatons himself. Blessed by the spirits of nature, its leaves will not fall even in winter."
The nature elves mentioned here are a general term for a group of elves, which are very different from house-elves. Although they, like house-elves, also originated from the ancient elves in ancient times, they avoid contact with humans, live in mountains and forests, and live with nature. The more famous examples include forest nymphs, dryads, flower elves, leprechauns, satyrs, etc.
As far as Schelling knew, there was a tribe of leprechauns in Ireland, and here in France there were forest nymphs.
Xie Ling looked down at the few silver leaves that fell on his shoulders, examined them with interest, then blew gently, and the leaves dissipated into the air like a glimmer of light.
The two of them strolled casually on the cobblestone path and passed by the Rose Spring. The spring water was clear and had a faint pink halo. It was said that drinking this spring water would make people more elegant and charming. Furong gently scooped up a handful of water, wet her lips with her fingertips, and then looked at Xie Lin with a sly smile: "Don't you want to try it?"
Xie Lin smiled without saying anything, casually put his fingers into the spring water, then looked up at her: "If I become more charming, can you bear it?"
Furong snorted softly, but a smile flashed in her eyes. She didn't answer and walked forward. Not far away, a magic clothing store had just opened. The window displayed exquisite silk robes and cloaks decorated with starlight, which completely met the aesthetics of French wizards. Furong stopped and carefully examined a sky blue cloak embellished with light gold embroidery, with a look of scrutiny and appreciation.
"This cloak suits you very well." Xie Ling said casually.
"Oh?" Furong raised her eyebrows slightly, with a meaningful smile on her lips, "Are you praising me, or hinting that I should buy it?"
Sherin shrugged and chuckled, "It's both."
In the end, Furong didn't go in, but dragged Xie Lin forward and came to a cafe. The rich aroma of cream and honey wafted from the entrance of the store, and various exquisite magical desserts were displayed in the window. The transparent icing was like the light of fireflies, dotted on the French mille-feuille and southern French small cakes, making people salivate.
Furong ordered two cups of French latte expertly. It is said that the coffee here will change its taste with the drinker's mood. When the coffee was served, the aroma filled the air. Xie Ling took a sip and frowned. Damn, this is too sweet.
Furong covered her mouth and giggled, with unspeakable emotions flashing in her eyes, but she did not tell Xie Lin what the sweetness in the coffee meant.
Xie Ling also picked a cream puff that was shaped like a small castle. When he bit it, delicate lavender cream flowed out of the puff, and the icing on the top had a hint of fresh lemon flavor. It was rich in layers and surprising.
The two sat in the open-air seats, enjoying breakfast while admiring the leisurely morning scene of Belleville. Occasionally, students from Beauxbatons passed by and, after recognizing Fleur, cast surprised and admiring glances at her. Sherin observed these young wizards with great interest, as if he saw Fleur's glorious years in school through their expressions.
The sun gradually filled the square, and the golden morning light reflected a warm halo on the edges of their coffee cups. At this moment, Belleville was like a peaceful and dreamy painting, and Schelling and Furong were in it.
After finishing her coffee, Furong looked at her watch and said softly, "It's almost time, let's go."
Like the carriage station in Hogsmeade, there were hundreds of carriages parked in an open space at the edge of the village, which was quite spectacular. Both the shape of the carriages and the divine horses pulling the carriages were the same as those that visited Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament, except that the carriages and horses here were much smaller.
Seeing that there was already a long line of students in blue uniforms, Xie Ling couldn't help but ask, "Should we queue up too?"
"No need," Fleur said with a hint of pride. She tapped the sleeve of her left arm with her wand, and two crossed silver swords slowly emerged. "As the female student representative of Beauxbatons, I think I still have the authority to take a distinguished guest of our school in the prefect's carriage. Let's go."
The carriage rose into the sky.
The village on the ground became smaller and smaller until it was the size of a matchbox.
The carriage passed over hills and streams, passing through one peak after another. The rolling mountains inlaid in the sky reflected the glittering golden light under the setting sun, looking particularly magnificent, like a beautiful oil painting.
The carriage gradually passed through the clouds, and the outline of the Pyrenees was looming in the mist, like a fairyland hidden in the world. Just as the sea of clouds dispersed, Beauxbatons Castle finally appeared in sight.
