The cruise ship crossed the English Channel, traveling from Britain to France.
The Pyrenees.
These mountains formed the natural border between France and Spain. Nestled amid the mountain scenery stood Beauxbatons Castle, a secluded paradise created through magic.
If you asked a British wizard which was the best magical school in the world, they would tell you without hesitation that it was Hogwarts.
If you asked a French wizard, they would tell you that the Brit was talking out of his arse, and that Beauxbatons was the best magical school.
The magnificent, romantic castle was built in the French palace style so beloved by the French, with magically constructed gardens and fountains surrounding the school.
When the breeze blew, you might hear woodland nymphs singing in the gardens.
"Professor, why are we here?"
John felt rather frustrated. Dumbledore had said he would take him to find Nicolas Flamel.
But after arriving, he had first taken John to the Paris Opera House for a moving opera, then visited a Ladies' Hat Shop to buy himself a ladies' hat he fancied.
This was their third stop in France: Beauxbatons Castle, also France's school of magic.
Dumbledore smiled at John and said, "John, while we must never cease our pursuit of knowledge, we are currently on holiday."
They passed through the gates of Beauxbatons. In the garden stood a towering woman who looked like a female version of Hagrid.
"Dumbledore."
Olympe Maxime.
The current headmistress of Beauxbatons.
She had an olive complexion, large, dark, liquid eyes, and hair swept back from her face.
She was dressed from head to toe in black satin and wore many magnificent opals.
She looked like an oversized grand lady.
She extended her hand, and Dumbledore stepped forward quite naturally to kiss its back.
Despite her immense size, her movements were elegant.
"Madame Maxime, thank you very much for agreeing to let my student come here."
Dumbledore was already quite tall, but he still fell short beside Madame Maxime.
At his words, Madame Maxime looked down at John standing nearby.
She spoke English with a slight French accent. "Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel is a school governor of Beauxbatons. I would not refuse his request."
Dumbledore smiled. The two seemed to be speaking in riddles.
John watched, utterly bewildered.
Madame Maxime then approached John. As she looked over his smart little suit, a hint of approval appeared in her eyes.
"Now, perhaps you need a few changes."
She drew her wand and tapped John lightly.
Sensing a change, John looked down to find that his clothes had transformed.
His suit had become pale blue robes. On the chest was an emblem of two crossed golden wands, each emitting three stars.
An instant wardrobe change. John was a little stunned.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, bringing John out of his daze.
"John Wick, from this moment on, you will spend this holiday at Beauxbatons as a Hogwarts Temporary Exchange Student."
The old man who loved sickeningly sweet Cockroach Clusters wore the smile of someone whose scheme had succeeded.
Only then did John realize that the old bee had tricked him.
He had promised to find Nicolas Flamel, yet John had ended up an exchange student instead.
Oh no, I've become a stand-in.
Alarm bells rang in John's head. Had Dumbledore discovered that he was studying dark magic and decided to expel him from Hogwarts outright?
Did he have to be so ruthless?
He had already unconsciously forgotten the word "temporary" that Dumbledore had mentioned. Now he was panicking.
"Professor, if there's anything I've done that you're unhappy with, please just tell me." John felt like crying, but no tears came.
Dumbledore blinked, patted John's shoulder, and said mysteriously, "John, every magical school is full of mysteries. With those observant eyes of yours, you can discover and find them. You can also enjoy the gardens and fountains of Beauxbatons. My old friend is very fond of them."
Everything he said seemed to hint at something. Dumbledore added quietly, "Rest assured, Hogwarts will not expel a little wizard simply for being curious about magic."
Well, that finally put John's fear of expulsion to rest.
Madame Maxime led him into Beauxbatons, where he would spend two months as an exchange student.
Madame Maxime could hardly personally show a student around, even if that student had been brought by Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the century.
As it happened, there was a student currently staying at school because of a temporary matter she needed to attend to.
John received help from a girl.
Her name was Fleur Delacour. She was a beautiful girl, three years older than John.
The graceful Pheobe was so beautiful she hardly seemed mortal.
She was slender and elegant, seeming to float across the ground as she walked, with a faint silvery glow radiating around her.
Her silver hair reached her waist, and she had large, deep blue eyes and a set of straight, pearly white teeth.
Only when she walked up to John did he come back to his senses.
He searched his mind and decided there was only one phrase he could use to describe this girl.
"You're really bling-bling, like someone added a duang effect."
He said it with complete sincerity, but Pheobe looked utterly confused.
What did "bling-bling" mean? And what was a "duang effect"?
Had she known that classic line from Jackie Chan, the master of the furniture-store domain expansion, she might have understood that he was praising her for looking as beautiful as someone enhanced with special effects.
In truth, John was curious too, because he really could see a silvery glow surrounding Pheobe.
This girl seemed to possess some other sort of bloodline, much like his dragon blood.
"Hello, I'm John Wick. Just call me John."
John held out his hand. Pheobe, too, felt a little instinctive fondness for this good-looking boy.
Her small hand clasped his lightly, and they separated after a brief touch.
John did not dwell on it. He was busy staring curiously at twelve enormous winged horses.
"Those are Abraxans. Madame Maxime raises them," Pheobe explained to John.
As John stared at the twelve horses, only one thought filled his mind.
I need to find a way to get some materials off these horses.
He had only just enrolled, and he already had his eye on their horses.
If Madame Maxime knew she had invited a wolf into her home, she probably would not let this fellow into the school even if Nicolas Flamel came in person.
John took Dumbledore's words very much to heart, and an idea stirred in his mind.
Hogwarts had the Room of Requirement. As its counterpart, the chances of Beauxbatons having no such place were extremely slim.
And Nicolas Flamel was not only a school governor of Beauxbatons, but also a former student.
John certainly remembered Dumbledore saying he would take him to find Nicolas Flamel.
He did not believe Dumbledore would break his promise. Either Nicolas Flamel was here at Beauxbatons, or something connected to him was here.
Whichever it was, given that Flamel was a master alchemist, obtaining it or meeting him would surely be tremendously beneficial.
At that thought, John perked up.
It's just sneaking around at night in a different place. It's not as if I haven't done it before.
So he shyly approached Pheobe and asked with a perfectly harmless smile, "Do you happen to know whether there's a Restricted Section or somewhere like that here?"
Pheobe was even less able to make sense of how this little wizard from Britain thought. A Restricted Section? You're asking me?
This was Beauxbatons, not Hogwarts. They would never leave a Restricted Section sitting out in plain sight.
And so the answer John received was exactly what he had expected.
There was one, but he could forget about getting in.
Well, John had no choice but to remain a lonely stranger in a foreign land. That night, he cast his level-four Disillusionment Charm and began exploring Beauxbatons after dark.
Rumor had it that stories of a haunting spread through Beauxbatons during that period. Wandering footsteps could always be heard in the middle of the night, yet no one was there. Even professors who came to investigate found nothing amiss.
Someone once spotted a ghost near the Flamel Couple Fountain, lying on the ground and searching for something. His face was as pale as a vampire who had been hung upside down for three days.
It frightened that Beauxbatons student so badly that they hid in their dormitory for several days and covered their windowsill with garlic.
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