Chapter 234: Madame Maxime: Nicolas Flamel's Student Has Indeed Arrived
Inside the Thestral-drawn carriage.
Leonardo and Reiman sat on the leather sofa. Reiman leaned back and sighed with appreciation.
"This beats the Hogwarts Express by a long stretch. The only comfortable spot on that train is the prefects' compartment."
Leonardo nodded. "It really is something. The Thestrals fly at considerable speed, but you can't feel any turbulence inside at all."
Thestral-drawn carriages were, in a sense, something of a Hogwarts speciality. After all, the Forbidden Forest was home to one of the largest Thestral herds in Britain.
Leonardo had learned from Hagrid, during one of their conversations, that the herd had originally started with a single male and five females. Hagrid had tamed the male himself and given him the name "Tenebrus."
As he listened to Hagrid describe how he had raised Tenebrus and later found companions for him, the whole story began to sound increasingly familiar.
Thinking back on it, it was essentially the Acromantula situation all over again.
He had to admit, Hagrid truly had a gift for caring for magical creatures. Whatever the man raised always seemed to grow into a thriving colony.
"By the way, Reiman — I heard you call Professor Shafiq 'Auntie' when we were leaving."
"Ah, the connection's actually pretty distant." Reiman leaned back against the sofa. "She's my mother's first cousin once removed. But for what it's worth, you were the one who assessed and selected me in the qualifying round. I'm not some charity case."
Leonardo smiled faintly.
"So Professor Shafiq handing the assessment over to me on the spot was her way of avoiding a conflict of interest?"
Reiman waved a hand dismissively.
"Honestly, families like ours are all tangled together one way or another. Two or three of the other competitors in that room could probably have claimed some connection to both me and Professor Shafiq if they wanted to."
...
Time passed. The Thestral carriage cut swiftly through the clouds.
"Get yourselves ready — we're nearly there."
The bedroom door opened, and Shafiq's voice carried into the sitting room.
She stepped out, and the transformation was striking. The loose, voluminous black curls had been pinned up, and the plain grey-white robes had been replaced by a black dress.
Without the curtain of hair, Leonardo could finally see her properly. She had fine, clear features, and those pale grey eyes still held their characteristic trace of drowsiness.
She was actually quite young, at least compared to the rest of the staff. Probably around the same age as Snape, he guessed — somewhere in her thirties.
Reiman grinned. "Auntie, it's rare to see you like this."
This time, Shafiq didn't bother correcting the address. They weren't at Hogwarts anymore.
She gave a resigned shrug, which immediately let the laziness she'd been suppressing creep back through.
"We are representing Hogwarts on this visit, after all. Tedious as it is, it still…"
"Anyway, never mind that. Have a look out the window — we should be entering Beauxbatons' boundaries."
Leonardo and Reiman moved to the window. Below them stretched a vast mountain range, sweeping and dramatic beneath the clouds.
The Pyrenees. The home of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
As the carriage continued forward, Leonardo felt a subtle shift in the surrounding magical atmosphere, as though they had passed through a veil — a thin layer of enchantments.
Then, between mountains that had seemed completely barren only moments before, a magnificent palace complex slowly emerged into view.
Beauxbatons.
Before long, the carriage descended smoothly and touched down at the entrance. Professor Shafiq led the two of them out.
Beyond the grand stone gates, several figures were already waiting.
One woman stood out immediately. She was enormous, roughly Hagrid's height, yet her features carried a completely different kind of presence. Her olive-toned face was strikingly elegant, framed by a high, sharp nose and large dark eyes with a deep, liquid quality to them. Draped in magnificent robes and adorned with an array of jewellery, she carried herself with effortless poise and refinement.
Leonardo recognised her at a glance: Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons.
"Welcome to Beauxbatons, our guests from Hogwarts."
Madame Maxime stepped forward and drew Professor Shafiq into a gentle embrace.
"A pleasure to see you, dear Professor Shafiq."
Shafiq was tall by any ordinary measure, but beside Maxime she seemed almost dainty, folded into the larger woman's arms like an elegant little doll.
Due to her immense height, Madame Maxime looked down at the two students. When her gaze fell upon Lucian—and especially those uncommon, deep-green eyes—the smile on her lips grew even wider.
So, he really came. Nicolas Flamel's student.