The Not So Perfect Potter

3 ~ The Arrow

The carriage came to a halt on the stone flooring. The students gracefully climbed out of the doors and lined up in two parallel lines, one for first years and new students and the other for normal students. Clementine and Sylvie waved her off saying they'd find her later as their line moved on through the doors. They took this time to admire the palace that stood before them. The palace had architecture like no other, from a distance it looked to be made entirely of ice, but when they were close enough to it, they could tell that it was a crystal white in colour. It seemed to grow right out of the ground like a glacier and it reflected the light like many shards of glass in the afternoon sun.

The palace was high upon the hill overlooking the surrounding mountains, it's many pointed towers giving it the look of an eccentric crown. The walls were a white stone that glistened in the low sunlight, every stone was even and square, as if those who built were set on perfection.. Surrounding the castle was a long thick moat, containing various sea animals and aquatic creatures. The castle itself was enormous. It filled around 714,000 square feet of land and stood taller than any of the surrounding mountains. It stood there as if conjured from the storybook of a child. Beautiful enchanted fountains dot the landscape of Beauxbatons, as well as series of opulent gardens lining the entrance.

A small, thin woman emerged from inside the castle. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement, her blonde glossy hair swayed down her back as she walked. Her eyes were a deep blue that glittered as she eyed each student individually. She nodded towards the carriages and each of them flew off in turn, over the top of the castle and back down to the field behind it. The woman turned her attention back to the students and smiled.

"Good afternoon all, I hope your carriages were pleasurable and that the winged horses treated you well. Welcome to Beauxbatons, here you will learn elegance, grace and power. To control and use your magic when needed, not a moment before or a moment after. My name is Opal Vixen, you shall call me Madame Vixen. We will take you to the placement room shortly and introduce you to Madame Maxime, the headmistress of Beauxbatons but first I will explain some of our most important rules." The woman reached for a piece of parchment in in her long, plum purple robes and began reading it aloud.

"First, you shall not dual or fight in the halls. If you are caught, you will be expelled immediately, I trust that doesn't require any more explanation. Second, you must not leave your rooms after curfew unless absolutely necessary. Doing so will result in a detention and possibly worse. Thirdly, the mountains are dangerous places containing beasts of all natures, do not leave the castle grounds for risk of death. Finally, perfect uniform must be worn all week, you may only wear ordinary clothes during weekends and after lessons have been completed." The students listened silently, taking in every piece of information.

"Follow me and we shall begin your placement." Madame Vixen guided the students in through the large entrance doors and into an elegant room. Placed around the Entrance Hall were the most ostentatiously detailed pillars, painted in brilliant white. Inside there were no doors on the ground floor, only arches. The flagstone floor was made with a marbled stone of soft blue hues that had never before been seen in the district. All stair rails were ornate mahogany, carved and polished so that it shined. Portraits were painted in oils and hung in gold frames positioned around the hall. The air was scented with fresh flowers as they continued down long, glass window panelled corridors. At last they came to a large white room with the left wall being entirely glass windows. It appeared to be empty except a table and an archery target at the far end of the room. On the table were objects that Isabelle couldn't make out what they were yet.

"This is the Placement ceremony, you will each in turn fire a silver arrow towards the target. It will then burst into sparks of the house that reflect you most. We have three houses, Bellefeuille. The house for the brave, sensitive, loyal and lovers of nature. Your house crest would be five leaf star." She pointed to a green gem on the right side of the room, behind it was a flag containing the house logo. (Shown below)