Chapter 235: The Fountain of Beauty
Parting from Shafiq, Madame Maxime turned to Leonardo.
"Leonardo Grafton. The youngest recipient of a first-class Order of Merlin. So you really are one of Hogwarts' representatives."
During the summer, when Maxime had brought Fleur to visit Nicolas Flamel, she had caught only a fleeting glimpse of his student before the moment passed. She had learned afterwards that the boy was enrolled at Hogwarts, but hadn't pressed for more than that.
Still, it hadn't taken her long to work out that for a tournament themed around Alchemy, a student of the legendary alchemist would have every reason to attend. The exchange was partly meant to warm up for the Triwizard Tournament, which was being revived after a century's absence — and seeing Leonardo in person would be a welcome addition to the occasion.
When word had reached her that a young Hogwarts student had been awarded a first-class Order of Merlin, Maxime had felt all but certain it was Nicolas Flamel's pupil.
Hearing Madame Maxime address him by name, Leonardo stepped forward and greeted her with a proper bow.
"I hope you are well, Madame. It is an honour to visit your school."
As he straightened, the corner of his eye caught a girl standing just behind Maxime. A faint silver radiance emanated from her, soft and constant.
Her beauty was startling — the most striking face Leonardo had seen on anyone, without exception.
She was tall and slender, her golden hair shimmering under the silver light. A pair of vivid blue eyes watched him steadily.
Then, all at once, Leonardo's heartbeat quickened. Heat crept into his face, and his breathing turned faintly uneven.
She was like a current tugging at his attention, drawing him in.
The signs were unmistakable. So this was what being enchanted felt like.
Something shifted within him. His brow furrowed slightly as magic moved quietly through his body, and the dark green of his eyes deepened.
The feeling vanished instantly, as though it had never existed at all.
Fleur Delacour. Even with her Veela heritage diluted through generations, the effect was extraordinary.
The group continued into the school grounds.
Walking through Beauxbatons, Leonardo looked around with genuine curiosity. The style was entirely unlike Hogwarts.
Where Hogwarts was restrained and mysterious, Beauxbatons embraced grandeur and elegance without reservation. Hogwarts centred around a single massive castle; Beauxbatons, by contrast, was a sprawling complex of palaces, broad and expansive rather than towering, with most buildings rising no higher than three or four storeys.
They walked along the central colonnade, where graceful statues and decorative details brought a distinctly French sense of romance to every turn.
Then they reached the courtyard.
They heard the sound of water before they arrived.
A great fountain stood at the centre, encircled by more than a dozen smaller ones. Each sent up steady arcs of water that linked together through an intricate network of channels. Despite the cold, not a single fountain had frozen. The water flowed freely.
Atop the central fountain stood two stone figures, a man and a woman. Both held their wands aloft, and clear water streamed from the tips, cascading into the pool below.
Leonardo recognised them immediately. His teacher, Nicolas, and Madame Perenelle.
They were still some distance away, but his eyesight was sharp enough to make out the inscription carved into the side of the fountain:
"Forget not youth and beauty — Nicolas Flamel & Perenelle Flamel"
He thought back to the conversation he'd had with Hermione before leaving. She had told him quite a bit about Beauxbatons, and the Fountain of Beauty had naturally come up.
When it did, she had been uncharacteristically bashful, going on about how curious she was whether the fountain truly made people more beautiful and youthful, and how much she wanted to study the magical principles behind it, and so on.
Leonardo had seen straight through that, of course. He reflected, not for the first time, that the desire to look beautiful seemed to run through a woman's entire life without interruption.
He found himself wondering whether he ought to develop some beauty and skincare-oriented potions and alchemical products. How had he overlooked such an enormous market?
[Ding! Loan triggered: Advanced Earth Elemental Inscription]
[Loan Task: Improve the Fountain of Beauty at Beauxbatons]