Aurorebelle

After watching the sight of the waterfall for a moment longer, I decided to eventually head out of my room and downstairs to the main area of the barge. Tons of students were squished up near the windows, still all watching the surroundings in awe as we entered into the mountainous region near Beauxbatons.

Some of the older students who had seen this sight many times before had instead convened in the middle of the barge, sat around and chatting about various subjects and topics. The atmosphere was warm and filled with excitement as we drew nearer to our destination.

Heading down the stairs, I found myself an empty table and sat down, waiting for the next instructions to be given to us before we had to head off of the ship. 

It only took a few moments of me sat by myself until Madame Cosette sat herself down opposite me, a beaming smile on her face directed my way once again. This woman seemed to hone in on me every time I appeared in the main area of the barge.

"It's quite a beautiful sight don't you think? The waterfall and the mist" She commented, stretching slightly as she got comfortable in her seat.

I sighed. "Yes, it's definitely unique…".

Her expression flashed for a moment, showing some exasperation before returning to her normal gentle smile. 

I was already starting to get sick of this.

I knew what she was trying to do but she was making it too obvious, the flashes of pity and trying to get me to 'enjoy' myself was really getting on my nerves.

She didn't notice my internal plight over her actions as she continued to speak.

"Soon we will be heading to Aurorebelle" She explained. "It's a small town within the mountain borders near Beauxbatons. It's quite nice there, there's a lot to- "

"Madame Cosette". 

My words came out quite icily as her excited tone disappeared. She stared at me, attempting to keep her expression still with no signs of weakness. 

I don't know what drove me to start speaking as I did, but something deep inside me boiled up as words started to flow out of my mouth.

"I know what you are trying to do. I can already guess you are aware of my 'situation' to some degree considering how you have been treating me this entire trip thus far…".

As my tone grew darker, I felt this inky black emotion buried deep within bubble up. I had my share of being cold to people, being despondent and trying to ignore the situations around me. 

At this point though, I had reached a mental breaking point where I was getting so aggravated over the constant worry surrounding me, that anger was starting to boil up.

This woman wasn't bad and I knew she was just trying to help deep down, but she was too much of a busybody. She kept talking to me the entire trip whenever she could and even if my mental age was the same as my body's age, it would be obvious what she's trying to do even to a normal 11-year-old.

I only wanted to tell her to knock it off, but it was naturally coming out colder and more vicious than I anticipated. A product of bottled anger over the years since my time in that damned forest.

"I've seen my fair share of shit Madame Cosette and I know a pitying gaze when I see one. Considering how you've 'honed' in on me, I can only guess that either Randolph told you about me or some other faculty member who Randolph said he was friends with informed you of my situation instead".

As I continued to speak, Madame Cosette's gaze which was at one point whimsical and soft was becoming complex as I picked apart her intentions.

Leaning forward in my seat, I spoke with a deep tone. "If you are under the impression that exchanging pleasantries will simply 'fix' me then you are far too naïve. These are feelings and emotions I need to work on myself. So, stop trying to force yourself into these conversations with me. leave me alone". 

My voice had raised quite a bit during this talk, enough so that some of the surrounding students overheard the final parts of my words to Madame Cosette. 

Madame Cosette's expression was really colourful in this moment. I think she started to realise that I wasn't simply an 11-year-old boy with some trauma but there was something more. Her eyes locked onto mine for some time, before she quietly stood up from her seat with a solemn expression.

"We will be arriving soon Axel, make sure you group up with the other first years soon". Her tone was completely different, the usual excitement had dimmed. 

At first, I felt a bit bad deep down cutting her off so brutally but that was washed away with the feeling of relief that she would hopefully now leave me be.

The surroundings students all started to whisper to each other again, words now being exchanged about how rude I was to Madame Cosette, but I didn't care.

I would rather their thoughts and gazes towards me be filled with 'hate' than 'pity' at this point as that was easier to deal with. Pitying gazes constantly reminded me of my weaknesses and past experiences whereas at least with gazes of hate I felt some comfort.

Was this the right way to go about this? I knew it wasn't deep down… but it was easier to be hated by others than it was to be respected.

I relaxed in my seat and closed my eyes, shutting off the surrounding conversations that reached my ears. 

Eventually I heard Madame Cosette's voice again, this time though she was speaking to everyone on the barge.

"Students, please gather in groups in the main area of the barge, first years please make a separate group to the side here, I will be guiding you myself. Second years and above please head towards the school yourself via the usual route when we arrive. Second years, if you are confused just follow some of the older years-".

Her tone had lightened a little bit since our talk but noticeably it was different compared to the announcement she made about the enchanted mist veil earlier. Following along with her words, I stood up from my seat and wandered over to the group of first years who were all chatting away happily, filled with excitement at the prospect of finally learning magic.

It didn't take long until the barge stopped, finally arriving at its destination. 

Madame Cosette opened the exit of the barge and let the second years and above out first. Seeing them all leave gave me a hint as to what was being prepared here. 

At Hogwarts, first years would enter into the school a bit later than the other years so they could be sorted. I wondered if Beauxbatons had houses to be sorted into and it seems as though they might, considering the current course of events… or maybe it was just going to be some big welcome party, it was still anyone's guess at this point.

As all the older students funnelled out, a couple of the first years started to walk over to the stairs down into the storage of the barge aiming to get their luggage. As they approached the stairs however, Madame Cosette called out.

"Don't worry dears" She spoke. "Your luggage will be taken to the school for you and placed within your dorm rooms. No need to worry yourself lugging it through Aurorebelle yourselves".

The two first years ran back to the group with embarrassed faces as another first year girl put her hand up, wanting to ask a question. Madame Cosette giggled softly seeing this and pointed her out.

"What is it dear?" She smiled.

The first year lowered her arm and stuttered out a sentence in English, her accent suggested she was italian. "W-what is Aurorebelle?".

Madame Cosette began to explain brightly. "Aurorebelle is a small town that is within the borders of this mountain range. You see, the area we are in currently after passing through the veil is actually entirely surrounded by mountains like one big circle, protecting us from any outsiders. Beauxbatons is located at one of the far edges of this 'circle' and it takes up a decent portion of it, but not all of it. There are other places within the borders here as well like the Mumurwood Forest and Lake of Stars. All places you will have the chance to visit in the future…".

The surrounding students all seemed to gawk hearing Madame Cosette explain how big the area was that surrounded the school. Beauxbatons was already described to some of them as a massive school and now they were trying to grasp the surrounding area being even more expansive than that with other locations.

Hearing about how we were surrounded by mountains though my mind trickled into another field of thought. This place was like a natural base, a fort of a kind that would be perfect in a war. Tucked away from the outside world, blocked by the enchanted mist veil and magical transport being needed. 

I had to wonder what this places first purpose was before a school was built here. 

Maybe Beauxbatons that was described to be like a 'palace' was actually home to a ruler of sorts in the past before even being a school…

One of the students near me seemed to be whispering to his friend in German, the compass translated his words for me as I heard him state. "Murmurwood forest is a place my brother told me about! Apparently, you can hear whispers in the wind there! I think my brother said people believed it was home to wood nymphs outside of the school, whereas some people think its home to dangerous beasts deep within that can speak!"

Talk of wood nymphs and beasts were interesting. I remember that apparently Wood Nymphs were said to serenade students within Beauxbatons as they ate, fleur mentioned that within the books at one point if I recall properly. I wonder if the serenading is truly pleasant or an acquired listening experience.

​Beasts that could speak on the other hand reminded me of that dark beast in the black forest...

Madame Cosette clapped her hands together firmly, stopping all the different conversations amongst the first years in their tracks. "Now, we will be heading through Aurorebelle and whilst strolling through take note of some places I point out. There are some useful shops there you may want to memorise…"

As the students all excitedly clamoured once again, I started to compare both Beauxbatons and Hogwarts again. This Aurorebelle sounded like a carbon-copy of Hogsmeade, however I guess it does make sense to have a town with shops near a school considering the commerce students brought in. 

Madame Cosette waved her hand with a grin, signalling us to now follow her. "Let's get a move on then dears!".

As the first years all headed off the barge, I followed as well. As I walked past Madame Cosette who stayed at the exit of the barge, seemingly doing a headcount as we walked out, her gaze went sullen for a split second as she counted me as part of the first years.

She was quite a young teacher, factoring in my true age altogether I was probably older than her. Maybe my words were a bit harsh as it seemed her 'idealistic' views had been smashed by me after a simple reprimanding.

Oh well… She'd have to grow up at some point…

.

As we exited the barge, we stepped out onto a dock with other boats nearby. Some of them seemed to also have students on as well as streams of students headed off into the town in front of us, filling the streets.

Aurorebelle was definitely similar to Hogsmeade but the glaring differences could be seen purely from the different building structures here. 

Unlike the medieval English vibe Hogsmeade had, the shops and buildings of Aurorebelle had a touch of elegance that mirrored what Beauxbatons was described to be like. Lush green plants littering the cobbled streets, many different witches and wizards walking up and down the roads all from different walks of life. 

Hogsmeade was a hub for British witches and wizards but this place seemed to have not just French witches and wizards but other nationalities as well, much like the student body of the school.

As the other first years from other ships and modes of transport gathered where our group was, Madame Cosette spoke to some other teachers with a smile, before waving them off as they apparated away. Some of the muggle-born students jumped as they saw a couple of the teachers disappear as they did.

It seemed Madame Cosette was acting as a role similar to Hagrid, being the guide for the first years specifically whilst the other teachers kept an eye on the older students and headed to the school first.

As the first years surrounding me all chatted away, scattering remarks about the beauty of Aurorebelle and the size of the town, the discussions were cut off quickly as Madame Cosette called out with a smile.

"Okay then first years! My there is quite a lot of you this year around… Please follow me through the town carefully, try not to split off from the group!".

Madame Cosette then began to lead us through the cobble streets of Aurorebelle. As the large crowd of first years wandered down the streets, different shopkeepers seemed to exit their shops and smile at us all, waving at us as we walked down the different roads we trod through. 

This place really had quite the number of shops, from Potion shops to Herbology shops to Broom shops and so on. There were also market stalls similar to those in Wunderwasser wharf with materials and food being sold at each one. 

As we all walked in our group, the students surrounding me kept marking remarks at each part of Aurorebelle. From comments like "Wow, isn't that the nimbus 2001?! They have it in stock here!" to "Look how pretty the plants are in that shop!", there sense of wonder was palpable as the residents of Aurorebelle smiled brightly seeing their excitement.

The smell of market food in the air also had a lot of students groaning in hunger, looking at the food being prepared with magic. Pots and pans moved autonomously from the witches and wizards managing the stalls, cooking dishes that filled the cobbled streets of Aurorebelle with a rich smell of cuisine. 

As some students remarked about the smell of the food in the air, Madame Cosette spoke. "Magical Cuisine is truly prevalent here which is part the reason why we teach it as an optional class at the school. The food being cooked around you all have their own cultural differences yet share the same hints of magic throughout. If it looks so delicious to you now, just wait until you see the food we have at the school!".

The pace from some students noticeably increased at words of a feast waiting for us at the school. I had to admit that Madame Cosette was a good teacher in this regard, getting the students attention and keeping them on track with anticipation of what Beauxbatons would be like.

There were also a few pubs here as well in Aurorebelle, with beer gardens outside that boasted a number of witches and wizards all drinking happily, some maybe too happily as they cheered loudly as we walked by making slurred remarks about us starting our 'magical journeys' and reminiscing on their times at school.

As we entered into the towns centre, what greeted us was a fountain in the middle of the town. A marble fountain that seemed to have four Nifflers all holding up a golden ball that shined brightly. 

The fountain was really well made and seemed brand new despite it obviously having been here a long time. I couldn't help but wonder though why Nifflers were the centre piece of this fountain…

Luckily that question was soon answered for me as a student spoke loud enough for Madame Cosette to hear. "Nifflers? Why are Nifflers on the fountain?".

Madame Cosette giggled hearing the student exclaim this. "Estelle Duvalier, the founder of Aurorebelle, was someone who loved Nifflers dearly. She decided to make this fountain as a homage to that love for them. The golden ball they are holding up shines incredibly bright when it gets dark, illuminating the town centre beautifully".

Estelle Duvalier… I wonder if she created this place before or after Beauxbatons was founded. Considering the location of this town, it was most likely made with the intention of being a 'safe haven' of sorts. The feel it gave off, the feeling of protection surrounded by the mountains around us, this place may very well have been a hideout during a time of war initially and evolved into a place of commerce.

Another student asked excitedly next. "Are we able to come here whenever we want!?"

Answering again, Madame Cosette explained. "The school gives you some free time here and there as we value independent study. If you use that time to come here and relax a bit, there isn't any problem with that. Just don't let it get in the way of your core studies!"

Madame Cosette continued to answer some of the other first years questions, appeasing their curiosity as we stopped for a moment in the town centre. Noticeably her mood seemed to improve with each question as her mind was distracted from our talk earlier. 

Other witches and wizards occasionally walked by the big group of us first years smiling our way. 

There was one witch I spotted wearing a unique robe that seemed to have 'moving' designs on it, seeing this made me wonder if the class 'enchanted tailoring' that Madame Cosette mentioned to me allowed you to create such clothing that was animated as well.

After answering a few dozen questions, Madame Cosette clapped her hands together. "Now dears, you can ask more questions after we have got you all settled into the school. We are going to be late at this rate. Come, let's head off quickly".

We continued to walk through Aurorebelle as the sky noticeably started to become darker and darker. As night descended on the town of Aurorebelle though, the light within the town didn't dissipate as the streets were lit up brightly by street lamps lining the cobbled paths. 

As the streets noticeably thinned with people, I could see some of the market stall owners packing up their shops with a simple flick of their wands, storing the entire stall away quickly into small briefcases they could carry off into the nearest pub to get a drink at.

Eventually, we arrived at the other end of the town. Walking further on we eventually arrived at an area where just before us was a tall jagged mountain that plateaued decently high up. 

Madame Cosette stopped as we all grouped up behind her, everyone's eyes looking up at the mountainous region before us.

She smiled as she spoke. "Beauxbaton's is just up there, sat on top of the mountain before you".

All the first years looked around, myself included, wondering how we were even going to get up there. 

There was no path up, no transport visible nearby either. Madame Cosette however seemed to be enjoying this moment though as I was the only one to notice her expression that seemed to be laughing internally at the innocence of the first years around me.

One student next to me couldn't contain themselves any longer as they blurted out. "Madame Cosette, how are we getting up there?".

Madame Cosette raised her wand as the student spoke, waving it gracefully as different coloured lights seemed to glimmer out of the wand. Just in front of her, a path was conjured that zig-zagged up towards the top of the mountain.

The path was translucent, and seeing how this path not only stretched so far but seemed to have protection on both sides so anyone walking on it wouldn't fall off, it was clear to see that whilst Madame Cosette was young, she was incredibly adept at magic to manage this feat. 

Part of me guessed that this path was actually set up prior and Madame Cosette revealed it with magic rather than conjured it all by herself though. Again, this pathway up seemed to suggest that this place was built with a different intention at first seeing how 'out of the way' it was.

As I was musing over how the path worked, the other students all stared at the path stretching up to the mountain with wonder plastered all over their faces. A… Larger student near me though seemed to grumble in another language as he remarked that we still had further to walk.

Madame Cosette silently started to walk up the path, signalling us all to follow as well. As the first years all carefully stepped along the path, their confidence visibly started to grow with each step as they all turned to look at Aurorebelle now viewable from a top-down perspective. 

We walked for a long while as a group, with students constantly remarking about how high up we were. Some students who were afraid of heights though kept to the centre of the path looking dead ahead, not daring to look down.

Eventually we reached the top of the path and the clouds seemed to part as a green paradise appeared in front of all the first years. Compared to the rustic nature of the grounds of Hogwarts, the Beauxbatons school grounds seemed incredibly well-kept with each bush and tree trimmed beautifully. 

Hedges were cut into shapes that resembled different magical creatures and the streams of water that came out from the fountain in the middle of the main courtyard of the school all glimmered beautifully despite it now being so dark. 

A chateau boasting an immense size stood high in front of us. The lights from the school all seemed to give the entire mountain area a soft glow, the chateau despite its immense size only took up a tiny portion of the area we were in, the grounds of the school seemed incredibly expansive just from seeing the entrance of the school grounds alone.

As the students all looked at the enormous chateau in awe, Madame Cosette smiled and proudly proclaimed.

"Welcome, to Beauxbaton's Academy of Magic!".