Magic Isn't Always Beautiful

Magic Practice

Zara and Clara made it across the swaying bridge and onto the roof of Beauxbatons. The early morning sun shone, making the gardens visible. Zara looked over where she saw the dragon yesterday, but all she could see was a large cloud of smoke filling the air. The winged beast could not be seen at the moment, but Zara would come back later to look at the poor, trapped creature. She wanted to free the dragon, but she knew that was out of the question, if she wanted to stay at Beauxbatons. Well, at the moment she did, but what if one of her friends were killed in some dramatic accident, like that boy that fell off the bridge.

However, her utmost important worry was The Selection. What if she failed and was forced out of the school? She didn't think that she could bear that. Where would she go? There must be other magic schools, and now that she was an orphan, she could travel the world, wandering until she heard news of another magic school that she could attend.

Why am I thinking so far ahead? Zara thought. I'm going to pass The Selection, for my parents. They would have wanted it for me.

Clara and Zara walked over to the side of the roof, setting their spellbooks down and took out their wands. Then, they sat down and hung their legs over the edge of the roof. One push from behind them, and they would tumble to their deaths.

The stardust wand sparkled in the sunlight, making it seem like dazzling crystals were bursting out of the wands.

"Which spell should we practice first?" Clara asked.

"Well, we should try important ones first, like curses and defences, but then we should try stuff like charms and transfiguration," Zara replied.

"Well, charms and transfiguration can be important in a duel too. My aunt said that she saw a witch conjure up fire, then turn it into daggers that went flying at her opponent, so they can be useful. I mean, there are important things," Clara responded.

"Yeah, you're right, let's work on those too, let's try this one."

She opened her spellbook to the page that she had marked, then read it aloud.

"The Reductor Curse can cause instant damage to its target, blowing it into tiny pieces. Using the incantation, reducto, you can blast your opponent to pieces in a duel. Use with caution." Zara read.

Zara stood up and held her wand out, about to send the curse up into the sky.

"Reducto!" Zara yelled.

Nothing happened.

"REDUCTO!" Zara yelled.

Again, nothing.

Zara breathed deeply once, calming her nerves. Slowly, she lifted her wand up into the sky.

"Reducto!" Zara said.

A flash of blue light flew up into the air at a barreling speed. After a few seconds of watching the curse fly, it flew into the clouds. The sky lit up and rain began to fall upon them.

"I did it!" Zara yelled through the patter of the rain hitting the roof.

"I know you did!" Clara yelled back.

Even though it was raining, the continually practiced spells, until they had mastered a handful of curses, jinxes, hexes, charms, and other important spells.

"C'mon, we'd better get inside!" Clara yelled.

"Okay!" Zara replied.

The water from the clouds poured down on them as they ran back to the Maison. The bridge swung in the wind as they hurried back inside.

When they finally got across, they opened the door and stepped inside the tower. A warm gust of air hit their face, and somehow, their clothes had instantly dried off.

"It's a charm," Clara said. "It's all around Beauxbatons. Once you step inside, anything that could cause the castle to get dirty is forced off of you. So stuff like dirt, rainwater, and other things don't get tracked into the castle."

"Well, it makes sense. I mean, I wouldn't want this beautiful castle getting dirty constantly," Zara replied.

They ran back into their room, where some of the other girls were getting ready for The Selection. Zara hadn't quite learned their names yet, so she put that on a mental to do list. Then, they put away their spell books and made their way back to the center part of the Maison.

After a few minutes, a professor came in through the door.

"Hello, my name is Professor Briar, the Head of Feuincendie Manoir. I will be taking you to The Selection today," she said grimly.

Clearly, The Selection was something new, and most of the professors didn't like it.

It made Zara feel like they had tried to put a stop to it.

However, it was obvious Flora didn't listen to their demands.