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BEAUXBATONS ,

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LAURIE	Posted: Oct 4 2009, 10:19 PM QUOTE.
Administrator Group: Admin Posts: 12 Member No.: 1 Joined: 3-October 09	*beauxbatons academy of magic* ACADÉMIE DE MAGIE BEAUXBÂTONS *general overview* Beauxbatons is one of the oldest and finest schools of magic. It is a proud and noble institute, rife with traditions and values. Beauxbatons students are typically French, but it is not unheard of for Swiss and Belgians to attend the academy. The school is the second largest in Europe, right after Hogwarts and is well known for its rather gentle attitude and focus on the arts. The teaching methods of Beauxbatons differ greatly from those employed in Hogwarts and Durmstrang. The staff places great emphasis on teaching interpersonal skills and encourages their students to learn as much about other cultures and viewpoints as possible. Beauxbatons is currently lead by its famous headmistress Olympe Maxime. Despite students coming from different countries, the official language in Beauxbatons is French. It is spoken inside and outside class. The Beauxbatons staff is very strict about everyone speaking French at all times. It is perceived as rude to communicate in a language that isn't understood by everybody in the school. Beauxbatons proudly follows French customs and traditions and students attending the school will often feel a strong bond to the French culture and language regardless of where they are from. The study of foreign languages is often perceived as unecessary as obviously the French language and culture is superior. Like the other two great European schools Beauxbatons is split into different houses. There are three different houses in Beauxbatons called Papillonlisse, Bellefeuille and Ombrelune. Each house has roughly an equal number of students. Similar as in Hogwarts the students of each house compete for the House Cup every year. Points are awarded to every house based on their participation in class and in extra curricular activites. The house with the most points awarded wins the house cup. Unlike Hogwarts, Beauxbatons students take their O.W.L. exams at the end of their sixth year, only one year before they take their N.E.W.T.s. *setting* Located in Southern France just southeast of Marseilles, where the Alpine foothills met the Mediteranean coast, Beauxbatons Academy is of course hidden from muggle eyes with many charms and incantations. There are stables on the school grounds to house Madame Maxime’s Abraxon horses that are used to take the students to and from school each year. There is a river that flows through the grounds of the school and a waterfall just on the edge of the property. The school itself is much like a beautiful palace from the outside as well as the inside with marble floors and rich carpeting making everyone that enters feel privileged just to be attending. There are six floors in total to the palace and classrooms can be found on the second, third, fourth and fifth levels on the East side. On the West side of the castle the third to the sixth is the library. Since the school is located so far south there is little use for fires and the students wear light robes all year round. School Layout & Stables The beautiful castle of Beauxbatons is situated on the shores of the Mediteranean Sea. The castle is in the Baroque style, with a great deal of ornamentation both inside and out. The whole gives an impression of fairy lightness, and the construction has an airiness that would probably have been impossible to achieve without the aid of magic. The castle stands six stories high, with a eight story tower in each of the four corners. Classrooms are located on the second, third, fourth and fifth floors on the East side of the building, and the magnificent library occupies the third through sixth floors on the West side. The Beauxbatons stables house Madame Maxime’s precious Abraxans, among other special horses. There is a selection of horses available for use from the student body, as well as space to house the horses of the students who wish to bring them from home. The Beauxbatons stables are part of a rather large complex well back in the park behind Beauxbatons, but as most students do not wish to walk that far, one of the doors from the ballroom leads directly to the arched gateway that marks the entrance to the student complex. The castle faces out onto the lawns which lead down to the beaches. Behind the castle stretch the beautiful grounds, with almost every sort of flower and tree imagineable. The extensive rose garden stands in one corner of the park, near the castle. The sweet smelling herb garden is behind the castle, near the kitchens. The park has many trails, suitable for either walking or riding. *the houses* Papillonise Students that are sorted into this house are naturally gifted in the arts they are thoughtful of all others around them as well as kind and gentle. Some students of this house have a tendency to have a fluttery personality and are very social people. Those sorted into this house have a tendency to be quite spur of the moment and unpredictable people. Students selected in this house are prized for their sophistication and surprising maturity at all ages, they prize beauty of the mind and beauty of appearance above many other characteristics and are always striving to improve aesthetic qualities of life. Students of Papillonlisse are often daydreamers, hopeless romantics, those that want to change the world with their idealism and undying love. They often fail to see things for what there are as they are not the most analytical of all people. Those sorted into this house value the humanist approach through to the world, they don't learn to gather knowledge but learn to become a better person. They are introvert focussed on their own internal state. Papillonlisse students are often very emotional, bring strong feelings and strong dedication into their work. Ombrelune The members of this house are very often those that prescribe to the concept of “the end justifies the means” they can be manipulative and cunning. They are very cool and calculating students who are very adverse to irrationality and prize people for making well thought-out and logical decisions. Ombrelune students are cold, rarely display emotion openly unless they see some direct gain in doing so. They are in the most ambitious of the Beauxbatons houses. They are very smart, logical and structured. They are very curious interested int he world and the intricate way it works in. Ombrelune students often strive for power and perfection more than anything else. Bellefeuille The students that are members of this house are lovers of nature with a strong sense of bravery and loyalty to all they hold dear to them. These students are caring and sensitive to peoples needs around them. They are hard and efficient workers and are characteristically book smart. The students sorted into this house think the necessities of life are what is important they prize family and friends above all else. Bellefeuille students often feel a strong connection with nature, are caring and kind to animals and respect all aspects of flora and fauna. They often have a good and quick perception of the emotions around them, know how to act accordingly in most situations. Bellefeuille students are realists through and through. May it be that they are not the smartest, they surely get their work done. Those of Bellefeuille usually find physical activities more enjoyful than those that require logical thinking, are often skilled with their hands knowing how to craft different things. *sorting ceremony* After the founding of the school, each of the three founders would interview students and sort them in agreement with one another. Bellefeuille, with his love of learning and tender heart towards flora and fauna, declared: The Sorting Song Bellefeuille, with his love of learning and tender heart towards flora and fauna, declared: Into my House I shall bring Students that savour the scent of Spring Things that grow, one and all Watching the seasons turn and fall In knowledge mine will also abound And all will heed the forest’s sound Nose in book, hands in earth Mind and body combine for great worth Papillonlisse, an impulsive artist with an altruistic love of others, spoke her piece: For those whose heart is with their friends Who believe that love will always mend Artists true with hearts so pure In my house they can be sure With maturity beyond their years Their fellows share their inner tears Kindest souls are taken in Dedicated, thoughtful, all herein. Dark Ombrelune, whose mind delved deeper than the others into arts not discussed, responded: Into my house the others I shall keep Those whose knowledge is different and deep Purer blood is key, but more can bring Sharp intellect and utter cunning The ends justify the means they use And will not tolerate those who lose Cold in heart, colder in soul Into my house the different may go. The Sorting Ritual After the deaths of Bellefeuille and Ombrelune, Papillonlisse ordered that the three founders’ wands be broken open and a new wand created out of the three cores. Once woven together and encased in solid gold, it became the Beauxbatons Sorting Wand. It was used first on the day of Papillonlisse's death, with her observing silently, grateful to see that it worked well. Now, after over three centuries of use, the wand’s handle gleams from the number of magical hands that have held it. Each student who wishes to enroll in Beauxbatons since the death of Bellefeuille, Ombrelune, and Papillonlisse has had to pass the same ritual. The Wand uses its knowledge of the three founders, imbued in the cores it contains, to make its decision. Standing before their peers, the student must hold the Sorting Wand aloft and declare that they wish to be sorted. At this, the Wand will shoot out sparkling stars, and the colors of the stars will correspond to the colors of the Houses: green for Bellefeuille, purple for Papillonlisse, and silvery-grey for Ombrelune. *student life* Musketeers Each year, select students are nominated by the Professors as examples of outstanding students and excellent models to their peers. These students are then reviewed by the three Heads of Houses and one student from each house is selected to represent the school as a Musketeer. Students who are chosen as Musketeers are given special privileges and have exclusive rights, along with having additional responsibility. They are still expected to keep their grades up and represent their houses and the school in general in a good light. Musketeers who are not fulfilling their duties as required have been known to be replaced. Thoughout the history of the school, Musketeers have usually been the ones to excel the most and go the farthest in their careers after school. Having such an honor on one's resume has rewards like none other. The Musketeers show their fellow students and their Professors their status by a beret with a golden pin with an elaborate M on it. They are responsible for assisting their Head of Houses in keeping their students in line, giving the first years a tour of the school, passing along the house password and securing their common rooms at night, as well as patrolling the corridors. They are also called upon when the Headmistress, Heads of Houses or other Professors have a need of student assistance with the student body, for example: keeping the students in line during meals and assemblies. Special Events Fête des Potirons (Pumpkin Festival) In the fall, students may grow pumpkins to prepare for the Hallowe’en celebration. It is a mandatory event for all first years, but is optional for everyone else. Most choose to participate, as it is an easy opportunity to win points for their houses. They each plant the seeds in soil of their choosing, inside one of the spare greenhouses. They may grow the pumpkins however they please, using Muggle or magical means. On October 31st, the students harvest their pumpkins and must have them prepared for judging and viewing. There are two main categories, muggle-grown and magic-grown, and then subcategories for category. Both primary categories include the following: Largest Heaviest (not necessarily the same as the largest) Smallest Lightest (not necessarily the same as the smallest) Roundest Flattest Most Interesting Shape Most Interesting Enchantment (magic-grown only) Best Natural Pumpkin (muggle-grown only). For the first six categories, decisions on winners are made based on measurable qualities. Scales, volume displacers, etc. may be used to determine most accurately who had won. The last three categories are voted on by the students, who must cheer for the pumpkins of their choice There is also a Best in Show, which is a competition between the winners of the above categories. Decisions are made based on an applause vote, and points awarded accordingly. Best in Show wins the champion 40 points for their house. Winners in the categories earn 10 points for their house, and every pumpkin automatically wins 2 points for their house. The points system makes this a very popular event, understandably. At the end of the festival, the pumpkins that are safe to eat are sent to the kitchens to be used in pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin juice. Those that are deemed inedible are enchanted to float around the castle over the course of the evening. Bal de Noël (Yule Ball) A formal winter dance held on the winter solstice (usually December 21st) just after the end of fall term exams. The Great Hall is decorated magnificently and the tables cleared out to make a large dance floor. Ballroom lessons are usually offered by one of the professors during the weeks leading up to the dance, as all students are expected to take part in the traditional opening waltz. Usually, the Professors are expected to sing carols and holiday songs as part of the evening’s entertainment. They always try to get out of it – that’s part of the tradition, as well – but are eventually persuaded to sing. No alcoholic beverages are officially served, but somehow, every year, Beurrebierre and Feuwhiskey managed to be snuck in and the Professors usually turned a blind eye to this, so long as no one’s behavior gets out of control. Fête de Saint Valentine (Feast of Saint Valentine) This is a school holiday for the students. No classes are held in honour of the event. During the day, owls deliver love notes between the dormitories. The Great Hall is set up with small, intimate tables at dinner. They are decorated in hearts of pink and red, covered in lace, and are set with candles. The students may order whatever food they desire from the kitchens, and the tables are prepared for them and their dates when they arrive. A dance is held after dinner is over, and the students are all encouraged to attend. It is more moodily lit than the Yule Ball, and this makes for a more intimate feeling. Only slow music is played, and the older students usually end up curled up with a classmate in a private corner. The next day, memory charms and contraceptive spells are readily available in the nurse’s office, no questions asked. Fête 1ère Mai (May Day Festival) Each year, a traditional May Day festival is held each year at Beauxbatons to celebrate the return of spring and the founding of the school. A Maypole is erected, classes are cancelled for the day, and students may enjoy a relaxing day by the ocean. There are also competitions and events for all to enjoy. The lower years (first through third years) may participate in the Knowledge Tournament, where they are challenged to recall practical information about any possible subject one can imagine. Past subjects have included the ingredients in Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, how to get a thistle out of a Mastifa’s shanks, and the best way to construct a sandcastle. Usually the subjects are on inane trivia, but sometimes there are questions about things they might have learned in class or around the school grounds. There is no way to prepare. There are 100 questions and the competitors have 100 minutes to answer them. It is an impossible task. The champion usually manages to answer between five and ten of the one hundred questions correctly. Anything higher than a ten is an unusually high score. The champion wins 30 points for their house. The upper years have a more daring competition, which is a race on Madame Maxime’s Abraxan Winged Horses. The course and rules change each year, but usually the competitors much each retrieve a specific object from location specified by the judges and return. Whoever returns first with the correct object in hand wins, and gains 40 points for their house. The course usually takes about an hour to run. The rest of the day is spent by the beach, with food and a carnival-like area set up for the entertainment of the students and professors. Chatoeil The older students of Beauxbatons are allowed to visit the neighboring village, similar to how students of Hogwarts are allowed to vist Hogsmeade. Chatoeil is located on the Cote d'Azur near Marseilles and serves as a port city for wizarding France. The streets are all paved with cobblestones and lined with gas lamps. It is divided into five arrondissements. one - housing two - garden three - dark (cemetaries, crypts, etc.) four - entertainment five- retail Student Services Beauxbatons is a boarding school and usually the students of the academy are from wealthy backgrounds. The quality of the rooms and food at Beauxbatons is excellent. The schools equipment and furniture is in top condition and its students are used to certain luxuries. However, despite first impressions Beauxbatons is not raising spoiled brats. As a matter of fact the Beauxbatons staff aims to educate children into responsible and kind young adults. To this aim the concept of services was introduced. As Beauxbatons places great emphasis on interpersonal skills it is common for each student to provide a service to their school and their house or the neighboring wizarding community Chatoeil outside their school education. Those services can include working in the school gardens, cleaning the school building, helping out old wizards or working in the school library. Failure to provide the service and join into the collaborative and gentle spirit of the school is frowned upon, sometimes even punished with detentions. Every active student is REQUIRED to take up a service. A service will have the benefit of earning you class posts when completed, and the disadvantage of losing you posts when ignored. Everyone is free to select a service you would like to be involved with. Note, however, that this list is not exclusive, meaning that you can design your own service and present it to the admins for approval. The purpose of services is to teach students about community values and responsibilities. Each student will be required to help out in an area of the school or alternatively the students can choose to help out in Chatoeil village. Those that want to have a Chatoeil service should be older than 13 years of age in character. The service will require you to complete one role-play topic doing your service per term, whatever you choose it to be. You will receive 25 class posts for it, therefore if you are after graduating this is something well worth doing. You are allowed and encouraged to role-play additional topics, which will also be rewarded with a varying amount of class posts as determined by the Beauxbatons staff. Failure to complete your service for the entire term will loose you 25 class posts, and yes it is possible for you to regress a year that way. If this happens we will say that you “failed the year” in character, so you probably don’t want to meet these consequences. Seeing how a term usually takes at least six month in real time to be played out none of you should suffer this fate. STABLE SERVICE: The stable service entails looking after the school’s horses. The stables need to be cleaned. Horses need to be fed and brushed. Saddles and tools needs to be cleaned and maintained. LIBRARY SERVICE: The library service entails sorting the bookshelf in the school’s library. New volumes need to be cataloged and old ones need to be mended and repaired. Library records need to be updated and howlers have to be send to those who fail to return the books. GARDENING SERVICE: Those that sign up for the gardening services are expected to weed the flowerbeds and water them on hot days. Bushes need to be cut back and the lawns need to be mowed. STORAGE SERVICE: Those that sign up for the storage service are in charge of filling the schools supply cabinets. They are required to identify potions and ingredients and put them into the appropriate places. It is their duty to update the list of stored materials. CHATOEIL SERVICES: These are really up to you to design. They can be any form of community work. Maybe you would enjoy working with old people or young children? Or perhaps you would like to help maintain one of Chatoeil’s lush parks? Maybe you would enjoy giving a free tour of one of the town’s museums? It really is up to you. Note however that it should be possible to play this out, as you will be expected to complete your services. *courses* Soi-défense et la Diplomatie (Defence Against the Dark Arts) --- OPEN Taught in one of the smaller classrooms, this class takes a more creative approach to teaching defence against the dark arts than the traditional and simple repetition and practice of wand movements and incantations. This is considered the thinking person’s solution to conflict; and this class will therefore focus partially on diplomacy as well as self-defense. Do not worry however, classic defense spells will also be taught to the students. L'Art des Potions Cordiale (Potions) --- OPEN Taught in a rather large and extremely well equipped sun-filled room, students will learn many potions to aid you with your studies and for your other classes. You will rarely, if ever, be taught to make a potion that would truly harm anyone in a serious manner before OWL or NEWT levels. This class focuses on French invented potions and potions containing specifically French ingredients, there will also be a section on love potions. Apprendre à Voler (Flying) - M Gregoire Dantes Learning to fly is always the first step to this class and it is no different at Beauxbatons Academy. The students will all learn the basic rules of the international sport Quidditch. There will be lessons on trick riding and racing; and because of Beauxbatons headmistresses love of winged horses, the students will be exposed to riding these majestic creatures and not only to the common broomstick. Sensibilité aux Plantes (Herbology) --- Mme Charmaine Cloutier Unknown to many of the other magical communities, the French Ministry of Magic has a substantial inventory of magical plants that are commonly French but not well known by many other magical communities. This class will focus on the preservation of endangered plants, as well as the care and harvesting of all plants. Most of the subjects discussed are on plants native to France and the French region as well as ingredients to French-invented potions. Occupant de la Faune Magique (Care of Magical Creatures) --- Mme Elle Dumars On the Beauxbatons grounds students will run into many fascinating and beautiful creatures. To prepare for these encounters students, are taught first about those magical creatures that can be found while they are roaming on Beauxbatons grounds in their natural habitat. Students will also learn of the many other magical animals that are native to France as well as Europe. The headmistress of Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime, is prided by many magical ministries in her breeding and preservation of some of the worlds best-bred winged horses. The students will of course learn in detail about these animals and be exposed to them personally. Métamorphose (Transfiguration) --- M Édouard Pomeroy This class is based on both theory as well as strict wand usage, many students find this to be a very demanding class and it is not meant for the weak-willed. Students will learn basic and useful transfigurations of objects as well as transfiguration on a more superficial level. Students will start with small, inanimate objects in the earlier years and slowly work their way up to large objects as well as transfiguration of creatures. Enchantement (Charms) --- Mme Louise Dauphin This class aims to teach fundamental spells needed to improve the overall quality of a wizard's life. It requires students to think outside the box to learn how to be flexible and use their magic properly in any given circumstance. Practice and theory will be balanced out and students are encouraged to showcase what they've accomplished with their magic. Études Médicales (Medical Studies) --- Armand Bachmann This class covers simple remedies for common ailments in the early years and then moves on to more complex potions and spells as its students approach their OWL’s and NEWT’s. This class pride’s itself on teaching students certain remedies known only by the French Ministry of Magic. L'Arts Créatifs et la Musique (Creative Arts and Music) --- Mme. Marine Renard This class consists of several topics: art, art history, music, and art’s impact on the magical world. How the concepts of muggle art are combined with magical properties to create an entirely new genre will be just one of the many topics students of this class will be exposed to. Students will also learn about musical instruments and how they can be altered with magic. Métaphysique (Metaphysics) --- M Peter Alva Tannenbaum In this particular class all students will learn about the art of metaphysics. They explore the philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value. Here you learn to see the future through the medium of dance, but that is merely the beginning. Le Déguisement et les Moldus (Disguise and Muggle Studies) --- M Lars Van Vechten The class is taught by an expert in muggles and a former member of the Belgian Ministry of Magic. Students will be taught all-important customs of the muggle world; this includes such topics as the use of muggle money and how to get around in muggle transportation. The goal of this course is for the students to be able to blend in with their muggle neighbors. Tirer les Ficelles du Cerveau (Hypnosis) --- OPEN This class is exclusive to Beauxbatons, students will focus on memory charms as well as charms to influence peoples opinions. This class is very complex and is only open to students who are willing to work hard and know when to use what they learn here. Very dangerous spells are discussed as well as learned here and it requires a high understanding of responsibility for students to take this class. Littérature des Sorciers (Wizard Literature) --- M Zephyrus Pavli In this particular class all students will learn some very well known French authors and their overall contribution to past and present day witch and wizard worldviews. Students will be required to read several of France’s most famous works whether fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Grades Students will be marked on the standard grading scale found throughout Beauxbatons, it is as follows (from highest to lowest mark): Remarquable Merveilleux Satisfaisant Insuffisant Épouvantable Abominable *founding* Newer than either Durmstrang Institute or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Beauxbatons Academie of Magic is nonetheless one of the finest and most progressive magic schools in the world. Founder and first Headmistress Brie Papillonlisse was born in Marseilles France in 1672 ad during the reign of Louis XIV. Gifted with the Sight, Papillonlisse had her first vision at the age of twelve: a grand palace unlike anything the world had ever known sitting shining in the Mediterranean sun, a bastion of elegance and culture for the millennia of witches and wizards to come. Her grandmother - from whom she had inherited the gift - told her it was likely a metaphorical dream, stroked her head to check for fever, and told her to go rest. It would be years before she would mention it to anyone again. The 17th century was an interesting time to be a wizard. The Sun King, Louis XIV, ruled muggle France as if by the gravity of his charisma, giving security to her people and the magical population that lived among them. The balance of politics and religion were so intertwined that they often seemed to be wielded by the same hand, all but transparent to those out of Louis XIV’s inner circle. France seemed indomitable, sophisticated and graceful, indeed the jewel of Europe. The secrecy between the magical and muggle worlds had not yet become quite as absolute as it would in the next four centuries; however, the tides were already turning that direction. Two centuries earlier Kramer and Sprenger, under orders by Pope Innocent VIII wrote the Malleus Maleficarum - a manual to systemize the identification and eradication of witchcraft. By the late 1600’s witch burnings had become acceptable, even commonplace. Naturally it was very rare that a real witch was ever burned, as the ability to apparate even a short distance would make it nearly impossible for muggles to imprison a true witch. Nonetheless, certain wizarding bodies took up the cause, suggesting that the magical community needed to do something to ensure that ‘innocent muggles’ were not being slain for being mistaken for witches. This movement’s power and influence waxed and waned for centuries. Kindhearted Papillonlisse was an early proponent of the separatist movement, that wished to divide the magical and muggle populations completely. She never married, but apprenticed under a great Seer in Paris, eventually returning to Marseilles to teach a form of divination that involved becoming in tune with one’s inner muse and allowing the sight to guide one’s hand in creative works. Her youngest apprentices learned to channel that gift into writing, drawing, or paint; then later into the manipulation of clay or wood; and in advanced classes, the students would learn to mold stone at will. These were always her favorite lessons to teach, for her heart had never given up on that shimmering childhood vision of a magical paradise. Working with the stone made her wish for that day, and perhaps that was why whenever she would surrender herself to the muse, it was that shape - a majestic palace with glittering clear glass and balconies that overlooked manicured gardens and the shimmering ocean. Bellefeuille owned an apothecary in Marseilles, not far from Papillonlisse’s home. The two became friends over the years, though Bellefeuille was nearly twenty years her senior. Though his first love was for nature, the graying wizard had always found divination fascinating, so that much of their friendship was based on a sort of mutual tutoring between the two. Bellefeuille and Papillonlisse would walk in the woods or along the beach and cliffs and discuss the stars, the plants, and the change of the seasons… There was much speculation that they were lovers and much hope among Papillonlisse’s family that they would marry. In truth, neither was inclined. Papillonlisse had come to feel that Bellefeuille was important to her vision somehow; and Bellefeuille had a secret ambition that he was unwilling to share until he knew whether or not he would be successful: he was working to become an animagus, even at his great age. It was nearly unheard of, but he sought wisdom in the stars and in his friend’s talent, hoping to see his eventual success in her occasional visions. The stars declared 1706 to be momentous year, though as the two friends sat discussing it beneath the New Year’s night sky, their conversation was more about the weather and what new apprentices the year might bring. That spring Bellefeuille was successful in becoming an animagus: a centaur - his new shape reflecting his love of the mystical and of nature. Less than two weeks later, Lothar Ombrelune, one of the wealthiest wizards in Southern France at the time, died at his estate in Marseilles. His only son, a famed wizarding architect, was recalled home to take care of his father’s final arrangements. Papillonlisse had met young Ombrelune in Paris years before when he had accompanied a friend to one of the ‘separatist’ meetings. He had been singularly unimpressed by what he saw as a group of idealists who wished to treat the muggles like a child race. In reality, he did not care what happened to muggles, but the meeting would later prove significant. When Papillonlisse saw the young man at the funeral, she collapsed into a vision - the first time she completely blacked out since that first time at the age of twelve. In this vision she saw young Ombrelune digging a hole in dress robes while Bellefeuille stood by with a sapling, ready to plant it. At first the three seemed alone but suddenly a rush of children pelted by them on both sides, drawing her gaze to the ocean, from which they seemed to be materializing. Spinning about, she found not Ombrelune and Bellefeuille planting a tree, but the palace of her earlier vision, doors open wide to admit the hundreds of children running towards the building. It took her three days to recover enough that she could tell Bellefeuille what she had seen, confessing her conviction that she thought the three of them were to build the academie together. As her friend, he wished to comfort her, but a palace? How would they ever get the money for land, materials, and labor? And young Ombrelune was expected to return to Paris as soon as his father’s estate was settled. Why would he even agree to see them? But he did; and Papillonlisse knew the moment she saw the old chateau overlooking the sea that this was the location. Grasping onto Bellefeuille’s arm, she pointed to the sea, whispering, “Here… it will be here.” Bellefeuille did not know what to say. He had no wish to build a palace. Papillonlisse was his friend, but her vision was overwhelming to them both. Ombrelune had not been fond of his father - a sentiment his father had returned. He had no love of this house, stately as it was, and had been debating burning it to the ground since he was fourteen. This was his first time home in nearly twenty years - when he had left to study architecture in Paris. Ombrelune had been born with a gift for hypnosis - a gift he had used to get his way even before he knew what it was. Once his father found out about the gift - considered dark by most wizard’s standards at the time - he nearly disinherited his own son. At the age of fourteen his skills had not been enough to sway his father to his side; but now that he was grown, educated, and experienced he had often dreamt of returning to make his father beg his forgiveness. Certainly he had had the power, but somehow he knew it would never feel like a victory. Papillonlisse and Bellefeuille found Ombrelune to be charming, attentive, and vague. In truth he was inclined to dismiss them out of hand, as they were both… unsophisticated by his standards. However, Papillonlisse was persistent and there was one thing that intrigued him: building such a great edifice. Certainly he had his father’s fortune now, and he owned the land. Papillonlisse even agreed when he half-heartedly suggested that this dream-school teach hypnosis. For months the idea rattled around in his head until he found himself idly doodling elevations and floor plans. Years later he couldn’t even say when he became enamored by the idea, save that Papillonlisse’s passion was contagious, and that for the first time he had the time, money, and inspiration to create the ‘something grand’ that he had always believed himself capable of. After some debate, they razed the chateau, using only the old cornerstone in the foundation of the new structure at Papillonlisse insistence, which is still clearly visible in the southwest corner of the kitchens. It took six years to build, even with magic, a six-story tall building with four eight story tall towers on each side. Up a short flight of stairs from the ornate and massive foyer, a grand ballroom serves as the main dinning hall, beyond which lay what would come to be the crowning glory of the school: the domed glass atrium. Bellefeuille’s influence on the school design was two-fold: this majestic atrium which replaced the greenhouse in Ombrelune’s original design; and the stables, which were designed to be equine friendly with back doors to the stalls leading into grassy enclosed paddocks and a system to ensure that each stall always had fresh, flowing running water. Both as a centaur animagus and as a nature lover, his concern was always more for the grounds and animals than for the students that they were meant to be teaching. The new Beauxbatons Academie for Magic was dedicated by the three founders on the night of the spring solstice, 1712 with an elaborate picnic on the grounds at dusk followed by a ceremony in the atrium which the trio stood before the small group of staff and students and declared their loyalty to the school and her tenets, shooting sparks into the air as one to signal the start of an elaborate fireworks show Ombrelune had arranged out in the bay. The school had begun accepting students before construction was complete, mostly older students wishing to study hypnosis, architecture, care of magical creatures, herbology, the arts, and divination; so that there were less than thirty souls there to witness the grand event. Over the years as they recruited a more diversified set of professors, they drew younger and younger students until like Hogwarts and Durmstrang, they were teaching basic magical skills to their younger charges while still maintaining the school’s reputation as the most advanced academie in Europe for the study of the arts, nature, and the social sciences. For sixty-three years the trio ran the school together, dividing the initiates between them according to their talents and temperaments. The towers of the palace became the residences, one for each house and the fourth for the staff. At Ombrelune’s insistence, the public was granted the use of the central atrium for rent for elaborate functions, as the school was easily the grandest building in all of Europe during its day and the architect wanted it seen (though this practice was eventually discontinued). But allowing outsiders into the magnificent school added to its prestige, until wealthy parents from as far away as Algerciras and Amsterdam applied to send their children to Beauxbaton’s Academie. Bellefeuille, the oldest of the three, was the first to die, leaving behind him a last gift for the school: the elaborate cloak broach he had worn daily for decades. After his passing Papillonlisse carried it with her, finding to her surprise that it wept whenever nature was violated on the school grounds. The enchantment, though certainly sad, always made her smile. It was just like her friend to think more of the trees and birds that called the school home than for the students it launched into adulthood. Ombrelune followed him only thirteen years later, leaving his own gift: the small snuffbox he had always carried, though apparently full of dust and not snuff. His instructions were that it was to be carried by the headmistress or headmaster of the school everyday and opened only in the event that the school was in desperate need of protection. The snuffbox made Papillonlisse weep bitterly, for Ombrelune had always cared more for the protection of the palace that he had built than for the children it served; for Ombrelune’s instructions were clear: If the snuffbox were opened and the dust released, a flurry of shadow demons would emerge from their captivity, destroying any and all that would harm Beauxbatons. For decades the three had debated on the future of the school: How could they ensure that the values the three of them prized were passed on to future generations? But it was not until four years after Ombrelune passed away that Papillonlisse had the vision that led her to the solution. She had been sitting in her office on the fifth floor, a block of wood in one hand and the crystal meditation orb she often used held unheeded in the other. For hours she had sat watching the sea wash up the beach and then retreat in the soft rolling rhythm that had always called to Bellefeuille’s soul. She missed them, her two unlikely and long-time friends. How could eighty years have passed so fast? It seemed just like yesterday that the three of them had stood, wands aloft and tips together, swearing a wizards’ oath to each other and the school in the then-empty central atrium. The vision was so intense that it nearly killed her. In a spinning, whirling blur she saw thousands, even hundreds of thousands of witches and wizards walking out of the ocean carrying the same golden wand, standing on the shore and declaring their desire to serve Beauxbatons Academie just as she and Ombrelune and Bellefeuille had done so many decades ago; but instead of shooting forth three colors of sparks, as the founders’ three wands had done, one color was displayed for each student… thus passing on the sacred trust of the founders on year after year after year. The students served the school; and school returned that service by instilling in them the proud culture that the Beauxbaton’s represented; molding them into more than mere educated adults, but completed individuals that recognized beauty in all its forms: spiritual, natural, and logical. When they found Papillonlisse unconscious on the floor of her office, the block of wood had been transformed into a statue of the three founders, wands raised and tips together, a model for the grand fountain that graces the central atrium to this day. Her mediation orb - which she had worn on a chain around her neck since she was thirteen, was still clutched in her other hand, now glowing so brightly that it was impossible to look directly at it until after her death. The force of her vision had been so great, that it had imprinted on the orb a sort of echo of Papillonlisse’s experience and wisdom. The enchantment came at the cost of her vitality; for though she would live another seven months, Papillonlisse would never speak again. She ordered a casket made for the three objects - Bellefeuille’s weeping broach, Ombrelune’s snuffbox of demonic guardians, and her orb of wisdom - so that they might be passed down together to each of her successors. Finally, she conveyed her wishes to have the wand cores of her two friends combined with her own. The gentle seer lived just long enough to sit on the dais as the new Beauxbatons’ sorting wand was used for the first time. Upon her instructions, the initiates were led up from the shore and sorted before the gathered students and staff, their backs to the sea, facing the school, as each one declared his or her service to the school, raising the wand and sending a shower of sparks into the air as an orchestra continuously played the school’s anthem. Papillonlisse slipped away in her sleep later that night, leaving behind her a legacy of love, beauty, and grace that survives to this day. Welcome, child, to Beauxbatons Academie… your sorting awaits. © MAGICAL HOGWARTS WIKI; doesn't belong to us!
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