3 Apr 2023, 00:28
Courting the School
10:17 am
A team of Abraxan winged horses could be seen in the overcast sky. A light sprinkling rain made the morning feel a bit colder as the carriages circled around the courtyard. The Beauxbaton students often take this trip as an opportunity for a leisurely journey across the landscape where they briefly explore muggle cities and spend the evening in a wizard-owned establishment. 'Life is meant to be experienced and experienced grandly,' their headmaster would often remind them. Their journey was for the most part pleasant but also a bit awkward.
On the morning that they left Beauxbatons one of the fifth year students was accosted by a stranger. It was a failed kidnapping that has left the student body and staff unnerved. The perpetrator had fled, leaving no evidence of their attempt. The young man described the perpetrator as 'old', likely in his twenties or thirties with a long, narrow face and a biggish nose. He was wearing a brimmed hat and a heavy overcoat so it was hard to make out his build or his features beyond his face. Thin lips, light eyes, but nothing particularly distinctive. The student appeared unharmed but was not particularly helpful in subsequent interviews insisting that all he wanted to do was to 'go back home' to Hogwarts.
The carriages were all in good working order, ornate and comfortable. The teams of horses would come to a halt on the north side of the courtyard, using the west side of the courtyard as a runway of sorts to land. The yell of house elves reminding students to keep a clearing for the incoming carriage would herald the landing. The carriages would come to a rattling stop and over the huff of teams of exhausted Abraxans, the carriage doors would open and the students would start to filter out.
They had pastries procured on their journey to Hogwarts - meant to share. Delicacies from the south of France, delights that would make for a wonderful brunch before they settled in for the day and watched the rest of the schools arrive.
A team of Abraxan winged horses could be seen in the overcast sky. A light sprinkling rain made the morning feel a bit colder as the carriages circled around the courtyard. The Beauxbaton students often take this trip as an opportunity for a leisurely journey across the landscape where they briefly explore muggle cities and spend the evening in a wizard-owned establishment. 'Life is meant to be experienced and experienced grandly,' their headmaster would often remind them. Their journey was for the most part pleasant but also a bit awkward.
On the morning that they left Beauxbatons one of the fifth year students was accosted by a stranger. It was a failed kidnapping that has left the student body and staff unnerved. The perpetrator had fled, leaving no evidence of their attempt. The young man described the perpetrator as 'old', likely in his twenties or thirties with a long, narrow face and a biggish nose. He was wearing a brimmed hat and a heavy overcoat so it was hard to make out his build or his features beyond his face. Thin lips, light eyes, but nothing particularly distinctive. The student appeared unharmed but was not particularly helpful in subsequent interviews insisting that all he wanted to do was to 'go back home' to Hogwarts.
The carriages were all in good working order, ornate and comfortable. The teams of horses would come to a halt on the north side of the courtyard, using the west side of the courtyard as a runway of sorts to land. The yell of house elves reminding students to keep a clearing for the incoming carriage would herald the landing. The carriages would come to a rattling stop and over the huff of teams of exhausted Abraxans, the carriage doors would open and the students would start to filter out.
They had pastries procured on their journey to Hogwarts - meant to share. Delicacies from the south of France, delights that would make for a wonderful brunch before they settled in for the day and watched the rest of the schools arrive.
There is something about ambition, how it not only propels you but also defines you.
5 Apr 2023, 16:08
Courting the School
Reducio
word count: 203/200
interactions/ mentions: n/a
Reducio
Lloyd was glad when they finally arrived at Hogwarts. He had a very hard time not moving or fidgeting, he was made to move and dance and sing, and all of those things were slightly frowned upon while stuck in a small space with other people.
Stepping out into the courtyard at Hogwarts, Lloyd straightened his baby blue dress shirt and grey vest, and his grey slacks. Over his school uniform, Lloyd was wearing a warm blue trench coat, and on top of his messy shoulder length hair a blue beret. He was wearing nice blue dress shoes, and many silver rings. He had silver and pearl cuff links, and he had also replaced the blue buttons on his coat with matching silver and pearl buttons.
Fidgeting with one of his rings, the one that had french engraved on the inside, lloyd looked around hoping to see a familiar face, or one that at least looked friendly.
Last edited by Bailey Glade on 6 Apr 2023, 15:54, edited 1 time in total.
we are all born beautiful. it is a tragedy we are convinced that we are not”
iNPC: Lloyd Matthews Thomas
Main account: Bailey Glade
6 Apr 2023, 02:36
Courting the School
April was an exciting month. Finally, Mathis could go to Hogwarts! He had been excitedly awaiting this day, sending multiple letters to his parents about how excited he was to visit the foreign school. Not to mention, with the rumors circulating from older students who had visited prior, Mat had really worked himself up.
And then the day came, and in the morning before they headed to Hogwarts, his mood had seriously been dampened. The hushed whispers of an apparent attempted kidnapping of one of the older students had caused everyone to be seriously on edge. Whispers were exchanged in both the halls and in the carriages of rumors and allegations. This was no time to celebrate going to Hogwarts.
But the excitement had become reinvigorated in Mat once he actually got to Hogwarts. It was, well, beautiful simply wouldn't be an adequate enough adjective to describe how grand the castle was. There was so much life in just the exterior of the castle walls, Mat wanted to go inside and discover the secrets for himself.
But he knew the rumors, and groaned when he remembered just how many staircases were at Hogwarts. Ugh! Not being able to see out of one of his eyes really sucked!
Once they finally got off the carriages, Mat was excited to stretch his legs. Ah, finally he could move around and not be stuck a billion feet in the air. He quietly thanked his parents for flying him around when he was younger- just the thought of being unprepared for the carriage ride was making him queasy.
"Lloyd," Mat called, walking over to the older student. "Avez-vous entendu parler des rumeurs selon lesquelles ce type aurait failli être kidnappé avant notre départ?" Did you hear about the rumors that this guy was nearly kidnapped before we left? Mat shuddered, running a free hand through his hair. "Effrayante." Scary.
do not attempt this at home, ciel is a professional cowboy!
6 Apr 2023, 17:00
Courting the School
April 2023
mid-morning
French
Achille was thoroughly perturbed by the time the Beauxbatons carriages finally landed on the grounds of Hogwarts. He'd been nervous enough as it was to leave the now-familiar territory of the French school of magic. The school that he had also finally gotten used to, as he had half-convinced himself that his first instance of magic, as it was called, had been a dream. But, nonetheless, he had received the admission letter promptly after his eleventh birthday, and Genevieve won the long-running argument that it had indeed happened, and that Lisette's sister had not been making things up in her letters describing the wizarding world.
It'll be alright, love. His mother had written in French. This is an exciting opportunity to meet others like you, outside of France. Scotland is lovely, and I'm sure you'll make lots of friends before you know it. If it's the translating you're worried about, perhaps that older boy Lloyd you mentioned in your last letter can assist? I do know it's been a long time since we spoke any English at home. I'm fluent, but your mother isn't as much, and I feel like you understand more than you can really speak... The letter had drifted off into an update on how things were at home, Gen's trying to convince me to ask Amélie for some wizarding currency so we can have our own owl, but does she seriously think I'll get a bird, with my allergy?, and it had more or less put Achille's anxiety at ease as it provided a welcome distraction.
Until that morning. An attempt was made to kidnap one of the older fifth years, and while Achille didn't really know any of the older students aside from Lloyd, it left him shaken and questioning just how safe it was to be going on this trip. And he already felt out of his depth, not only as someone who was half-deaf, exaggeratedly tall, and what was referred to as a "muggle-born." He'd also heard another term, in passing (and sometimes in reference of him, while he was close by) that made his skin crawl and made him feel like dirt. (Though, if 'mud-blood' was any indication, that was probably the very point of the word. To insinuate that people of his 'type' were, in fact, dirt.)
But now, as Achille stepped out of the carriage and onto the ground (thank goodness they had landed. Combined with the rocky flying of the Abraxans and Achille's heightened anxiety about the trip, he had been feeling a bit ill prior to landing,) he took a moment to take in the castle in front of him and make a mental note to go exploring later when he felt a bit safer to do so. However, his thought process was interrupted when he overheard the voice of Mathis Aloysius, a -perhaps the only- close friend of his. The two had bonded over both having disabilities (or impairments, there were so many ways to describe them) and the frustrations that came with them.
"Did you hear about the rumors that this guy was nearly kidnapped before we left? Scary." Achille couldn't help giving a noise of assent, nodding and turning to face Mathis, who stood nearby with Lloyd. Achille's good ear had been closer to the two, which was how he'd been able to pick up on it at all. Speaking of, he fished his hearing aid out of his pocket and re-inserted it into his ear. The difference in air pressure hadn't agreed with his hearing aid, and so he'd removed it. It helped, since it reduced his hearing and it allowed him to lay his head down for a bit to get some sleep.
"Couldn't agree with you more. As if the prospect of flying here in carriages hadn't been enough to give me anxiety," He attempted to give a light laugh, though it came out stilted. "Not to mention my English hasn't been that good since I was under four feet tall." Achille rolled his eyes, taking a stab not only at his limited bilingual ability as well as his height. He absently adjusted his hearing aid, scowling as he waited for the frequency to fix itself.
ReducioInteracting with Mathis Aloysius | @Ciel Saskia and Lloyd Thomas |@Bailey Glade
6 Apr 2023, 17:09
Courting the School
Reducio
word count: 213/200
interactions/ mentions: @Ciel Saskia as Matthias and @Rhys Read as Achille
french || english
Reducio
He smiled when he heard his name, coming from a familiar and frendly face. "Mathis!!" he greeted the younger boy with a smile. "i did hear - from so many people. do you know who the fifth year is?" he replied to mat's questions. He shuddered in unison with Mat, and agreed - "yes very scary - and kinda ominous, don't you think?"
Another boy, the one Lloyd had started owling a few weeks prior, named Achille joined them. Lloyd smiled at the new arrival, saying "heyy Achille!!"
The boy mentioned not being the best at english, and the stress of flying and lloyd said "awww well hopefully you are less stressed now, that we're on solid ground. and don't worry about your english, its like requiring all of the hogwarts students to speak french. we will be just fine with what we know of english."
we are all born beautiful. it is a tragedy we are convinced that we are not”
iNPC: Lloyd Matthews Thomas
Main account: Bailey Glade
6 Apr 2023, 22:48
Courting the School
Unsurprisingly, Lloyd had heard of the events too. It seems that the rumors had spread like wildfire. Mat shouldn't've been surprised, Beauxbatons seemed to be a school of rumors and gossip much less than one of arts and magic. Just by keeping his head down and not saying anything, he had heard some intense rumors from the other kids.
"Non, je ne sais pas qui c'était." No, I don't know who it was. Mathis shook his head, he had heard a few students mention that it was a friend or a classmate supposedly, but beyond that, he didn't have a clue. "Eh bien, espérons que le problème sera bientôt résolu." Well, hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.
To, once more, not a surprise, another student joined in on their conversation. Mat knew the guy pretty well, Achille. The two had bonded over their impairments; but also, any friend Mat could get, he would take. Beauxbatons had been a rather lonely school, especially when he could no longer see his muggle friends everyday. Vaguely, Mat wondered how they were doing without him. Had they already forgotten he existed?
"Haha, Achille, peut être je vais te donner des cours d'anglais. J'ai toujours connu l'anglais, mon papa vient de Grande-Bretagne, en fait." Maybe I'll give you English lessons. I've always known English, my dad is actually from Britain. Mat had actually visited England before, but it was only for a while to meet some family friends. Just thinking of the family friends' daughter made him queasy, and he ignored the urge to pull a face.
"Ah, do we need to talk in English now?" Mat asked the two boys. "We're at the school now... would it be polite to?"
do not attempt this at home, ciel is a professional cowboy!
10 Apr 2023, 13:40
Courting the School
[quote]
[quote]Cassie was one of the first people out of the carriage, stumbling into the open air with a gasp and spreading her arms wide. "Hello Hogwarts!" Never before had she felt particularly stifled on the journey across the English channel, but this flight had been the worst yet. She'd been dramatically bored, having nothing much to do except play noughts and crosses for several hours, and the view from the windows lost its appeal as soon as the only thing below them was the sea. Yes, the time spent exploring random cities had been fun, but non-stop travel got monotonous fast. Now, though, she was back in Hogwarts, a place she knew fairly well by now, and she'd be able to see Drew and Ro, and she could broomrace in new territory.
It sucked that the rest of the International Student Squad wasn't here. Cassie figured this was probably the time to give up on any of the other members returning to Hogwarts ever again. At least there was still the possibility of seeing them in future holidays, but who knew at this point? Maybe it was better to let go. Still, Cassie could have a fun time without them. It was their losses if they didn't want to be here, after all. Cassie still had Drew, and Ro, and her friends from Beauxbatons, even if not all of them came on the trips to Hogwarts.
None of the other schools had arrived yet as far as she knew, but they would soon - Cassie couldn't wait! Catching some of the words of a group near her, she turned to the younger kids with a huge grin on her face. "English to the English, French to the French..." she said airily. "As long as you know how to ask where the toilets are, you'll be fine." A wink. Cassie pointed in the general direction of the campgrounds, pleased that she remembered Hogwarts' layout. "They're over there, roughly." She was enjoying being the experienced older student in this scenario.
| █ █ █ █ █ |
roleplaying as Beauxbatons iNPC Cassie Heather McGregor-Martin [ @Ciel Saskia as Mathis Aloysius • @Bailey Glade as Lloyd Thomas • @Rhys Read as Achille Lévesque-Auclair ] English "#26687E" • French "#72267E" • FSL #72267E
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It sucked that the rest of the International Student Squad wasn't here. Cassie figured this was probably the time to give up on any of the other members returning to Hogwarts ever again. At least there was still the possibility of seeing them in future holidays, but who knew at this point? Maybe it was better to let go. Still, Cassie could have a fun time without them. It was their losses if they didn't want to be here, after all. Cassie still had Drew, and Ro, and her friends from Beauxbatons, even if not all of them came on the trips to Hogwarts.
None of the other schools had arrived yet as far as she knew, but they would soon - Cassie couldn't wait! Catching some of the words of a group near her, she turned to the younger kids with a huge grin on her face. "English to the English, French to the French..." she said airily. "As long as you know how to ask where the toilets are, you'll be fine." A wink. Cassie pointed in the general direction of the campgrounds, pleased that she remembered Hogwarts' layout. "They're over there, roughly." She was enjoying being the experienced older student in this scenario.
│= | #00308F ency • cassie heather | =│ | breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out Part-Veela • Alluring • Perfectionist • Scream • Sta 9 • Eva 9 • Stre 4 • Wis 10 • Arc 8 • Acc 9 | │ |
10 Apr 2023, 16:00
Courting the School
April 2023
mid-morning
French | #a984d7 | English | #9084e1
"Well hopefully you are less stressed now, that we're on solid ground." Lloyd said after greeting Achille with a smile. "And don't worry about your English, its like requiring all of the Hogwarts students to speak French. we will be just fine with what we know of English." This put Achille at ease, and he nodded, smiling his thanks as Mathis also spoke.
"Haha Achille, maybe I'll give you English lessons. I've always known English, my dad is actually from Britain." He said good naturedly before switching to English, asking if it would be polite to make the switch now that they were at Hogwarts. Ah, yes, manners. The obligation to be poli, polite as the French were so famous for being. Save for Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps.
"Well, as Lloyd said, perhaps there isn't a need to?" Achille said in French before making an attempt to also switching over. "But I guess it would be good for prac-tice," He pronounced the last word carefully, trying not to stumble over the short i as he did so.
Achille's concentration, however, strayed from the effort of correctly pronouncing in English to the slightly taller form of the older girl who had approached them. She had a huge smile alight on her face, and offered her own input on the conversation, saying something about being fine as long as knowing how to inquire about where the bathrooms were. Achille halted, ignoring the urge to point out that he could read and understand English, but when it came to speaking or translating was when he ran into issues.
"Mm, merci," He mumbled under his breath, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes as he looked towards where the older girl had pointed. Achille would definitely be exploring on his own later, unless Mathis or Lloyd happened to find him on his way. He didn't mention anything about how he'd be taking a look around for himself, instead crossing his arms and tilting his head as he looked around. "Well, at least my hearing-aid's decided to work again," He said this last part as a somewhat joking remark to Mathis. "How about you, my friend? All well today?"
ReducioInteracting with Mathis Aloysius | @Ciel Saskia, Lloyd Thomas |@Bailey Glade and Cassie Heather McGregor-Martin | @Lucia Fox
Translation: 'thank you'
17 Apr 2023, 16:55
Courting the School
Reducio
word count: 324/200
interactions/ mentions: @Ciel Saskia as Matthias and @Rhys Read as Achille @Lucia Fox as Cassie
french || english
Reducio
Achille joined them, and Lloyd said "i speak some english, it could be better, but we can always practice together if you want!"
Lloyd smiled when Mat asked if they should speak english. "i guess that would be polite.... but they are not expected to know french, so i guess some french would not hurt either?"
An elder student, a fourth year if he was not mistaken, by the name of Cassie came up and her comment caught Lloyd off guard, and he let out a chuckle. the toilets are an important place to know how to locate he thought, smiling at cassie and saying "why thank you - that is something we should all know how to locate."
Lloyd stood there are Mat and Achille chatted a bit. He glanced around, interested to see what all was there at Hogwarts. He had half a mind to go off and explore, but would rather do so with friends, than alone. would mat and achille be game to join me? he wondered, debating asking them to accompany him.
With one more glance at the wall, Lloyd decided to ask, and so he said "Would either one of you, or both of you, be interested in..... exploring the castle and grounds a bit?"
If any of them accepted, or if no one did, Lloyd would soon go off, exiting the courtyard near where Cassie had indicated the toilets were, as not to raise too much suspicion.
we are all born beautiful. it is a tragedy we are convinced that we are not”
iNPC: Lloyd Matthews Thomas
Main account: Bailey Glade