Little Talks - A Draco Malfoy Love Story

1

When Faris saw the horse-drawn carriage painting in the Louvre Museum, she didn't think she was ready for her fourth year. Three years ago today was her first day of attending Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and now she is moving into her fourth year at the school.

Of course, she wouldn't be at Beauxbaton, she wouldn't be anywhere near the grounds of Beauxbatons, because she was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Triwizard Tournament. A once-in-a-lifetime event, said the Ministry of Magic.

She had been extremely nervous all morning. The idea of going to a new school for the school year was unsettling to her, it did little help knowing her friend Pansy was also at the school.

She gripped the leather handle of her bag till her knuckles had turned ghostly pale, the painting she had grown to love now seemed sickening.

She always thought it was a lovely painting; very detailed and colorful, but that was usually what caught a kid's attention. Brightly colored flowers and plants, winged horses pulling a dark blue carriage. It was every little girl's fantasy.

But the painting moved. It moved in delicate strokes like silk or water in a puddle. The green grass rolled over the hills, and colorful flower petals and leaves danced in the wind. The winged horses were dressed in reins of blue, with feather plumes atop their heads.

Fluffy white cumulus clouds slowly moved across the bright blue sky, the horse clomped their hooves against the soft grass impatiently, flapping their feathery wings.

The painting was a rare piece tucked away in its own room in the Louvre, guards swarming around the door like fish in the sea. The Ministry couldn't possibly risk a muggle getting in and discovering a hidden moving painting. Only people with magic running in their veins could see it.

Faris slowly moved closer to the painting taking a few deep breaths, her palms started to sweat, and she began thinking her bag would slip out of her firm grip and the contents inside would spill across the marble floor.

She wasn't even this nervous on her first day at Beauxbatons, in fact, she was excited.

You know it's not too late to turn around and head for home. Hitch is probably procrastinating on the drive home and buying snacks at a gift shop.

But Faris was cut out of her thoughts when her body made contact with the painting. A familiar sensation took over her body like she was walking through a waterfall and the strong force was weighing on her but she continued walking through so she didn't get stuck in between the barriers. All the pegasus became blurs of white, the carriage became a dark blue blob as she walked through the blurs of the painting. Suddenly she caught her breath, and she was now standing on the green grass instead of the marble floors of the museum.

The carriage was enhanced so it was now sitting on the dewy grass, the pegasus clomped their hooves on the small stone pathway. Faris walked into the carriage being welcomed by the sweet aroma of pink lemonade. She walked past the kitchen where some of the Beauxbaton students were rambling about their summers. She walked up the spiral staircase being greeted by a few of her friends but she was only looking for her best friend.

She made it to the third floor of the carriage, she threw open the door at the end of the hallway where she found Bouilloire unpacking his trunk and folding some of his clothes in the top drawer of the dresser. His head turned and his face lit up like a child's on Christmas. He squealed, running over to her and enveloping her in his arms.

"Faris, ça fait si longtemps! J'ai tellement de choses à vous dire sur le chalet!" He said lightly kissing both her cheeks, Faris returned the warm welcome.

"Eh bien, nous avons un long trajet jusqu'à Poudlard," she smiled, sitting on the foot of her bed and tossing her leather Beauxbaton bag on a chair.

~*~

The carriage swooped through the air over the Black Lake as the fog rolled over the mountains, the dark castle known as Hogwarts stood tall, and all the windows in the castle lit up with a buttery yellow glow.

The carriage flew to the ground, the pegasus almost hitting a very tall and bushy man who seemed to be holding marshaling wands, he drew out of the way, tumbling to the ground. The carriage landed near a dark forest filled with mist and distant pine trees; the pine needles of the trees dripping with water, the cold drops splashing into the mud.

The Beauxbatons students hopped out of the carriage, their bodies being greeted with a gush of cold wind and droplets of rain. The students peered at the peculiar sights in front of them, having never seen a castle be so bedraggled yet welcoming at the same time. One of the many things that were noticed upon arrival was a small cobblestone cabin, with a wooden roof and a garden full of unusually large vegetables. Like the students ran on a timer they all pulled out their umbrellas, rain gently padding on the fabric.

Madam Maxime cleared her throat, pulling out her own umbrella, one that could easily be used at a picnic table. "étudiants, avons-nous tout le monde avec nous?" The students nodded their heads saying a chorus of, "yes." "à ce moment-là, ne rigolons pas, vous n'avez qu'une première impression après tout," she said, striding over towards the castle in the dewy grass.

"Are you nervous?" Faris asked her friend Hazel, who was one of the very few students at Beauxbatons who spoke fluent English and French.

"Erm- not really- I mean after this year it's not like we're gonna see any of these people again," she mumbled, running a hand through her flaming red hair.

"I don't mean about the entire year, I mean like the entrance that we have with Durmstrang. It's just a bit ridiculous, don't you think?"

Hazel snorted, "Oh well, yeah, the entrance is a bit dramatic," she chuckled. "Anyways, whose idea was it to walk on the grass with heels on?" She whined, yanking her shoes off of her feet, and in seconds her feet were covered in a thick layer of mud.

"That wasn't your best idea, now was it? Besides you should be happy the heels are only two inches, it could be worse you know, they could be six inches."

"Don't give Madam Maxime any suggestions or we may look like strippers when we graduate," she sighed. "I just don't understand why we have to wear such . . . girly uniforms."

Faris chuckled, ignoring her pathetic attempts of mockery. "You know if you were wearing your black tights like the rest of us this wouldn't be such a big deal. You could just peel them off and dispose of them."

"You know I hate wearing tights, Faris," Hazel scoffed.

The castle in front of them was grimy and looked very old, while most wizarding schools were centuries old a lot of them still managed to be very clean and pristine. Except for Hogwarts. Just the name alone seemed dull to Faris, but she was used to teachers with hair slicked back tightly and perfectly trimmed trees and bushes, windows that looked new and untouched.

The castle was warm though, that was something that she was grateful for, her list of gratitude was short considering she was homesick and wished to have a normal school year.

Faris noticed the trail of mud Hazel was tracking in and rolled her eyes at the careless girl. With a swish of her wand Hazel's feet were free of mud "Slip your shoes on before we go inside," she whispered, dropping her umbrella in a pile along with all the other students.

"Lord save me," Hazel begged under her breath.

"You're not the only one who hates to be in the spotlight, love."