BeauxBatons Academy of Magic IV
June 23rd, 1972
Jeanne and Agnes were walking down the sunny corridors while discussing the newest hit song from their favorite rock band: The Flashing Rockets. They were all over Jeanne's magazines, advertising their latest album which the girls had listened over and over for the past week.
Today was the last Quidditch game of the season, as the final examination had just finished and students were about to go back home to their family. Pierre and Antoine had been practicing every day of the month, claiming their team had a real chance to win the tournament. Beauxbatons counted three teams based on the school houses: Millefeuille, Ombrelune, and Papillonlisse.
Pierre and Antoine had joined the millefeuille in their first year. They had not questionned the reason why the team captain had picked them in particular, as they were beginners having just learned how to fly with a broom.
They had heard later that the Millefeuille had lost all of their matches for the past two years and were at the lowest possible rank (the best being the Ombrelune). However, for the first time in a while, the Millefeuille had won against Papillonlisse who had then be giving bad looks towards the two muggle-born boys.
Agnes and Jeanne hurried their walking pace as they could hear the screams of the crowd already loud and clear coming from the stadium. Once they had reached their seats, Jeanne's older brother Jean Delacour was already waiting for them.
- Jeanne, about time! The players are already warming up. He said, looking quite excited.
He was wearing a large hat with 'Go Millefeuille' written on it. Agnes had already met Jean a few times, and they had spent a few days together when she had visited Jeanne during holidays. Jean was a few years older than the girls, and was already in his 6th year. He was a book smart student who was also part of the mentors team. He was very fond of Pierre and Antoine, who he had helped get ready for the quidditch team selection two years prior.
Jean looked quite different from his sister, who was a beautiful young girl with blonde wavy hair and mesmerizing green eyes. Jean had brown hair and thick eyebrows. Although quite strange, he was polite and friendly, always open to share his interest on his latest foundings.
The match began after the referent blew on his whistle. The crowd started shouting passionately to support their team. The Ombrelune players seemed all older, most of them must have been 6th or 7th year students. They looked like professionals and seemed confident and smooth in all their movements. A player even flew so high Agnes could not see it anymore, until he flew back down at high-speed and marked a point.
It was not a good start for Team Earth. Indeed, Pierre and Antoine were flying around, trying to avoid bludgers while their teammates struggled to catch up on their opponents. But when the team captain finally managed to put the quaffle into the hoops, the crowd screamed louder than ever, so loud that Agnes was sure Jean would lost his voice by the end of the match.
The three friends started cheering more passionately, and it seemed to have an effect on the players, as they marked more and more goals. Although the Ombrelune had a large advantage in terms of points, the difference was tightening.
After one long hour, the Ombrelune had unfortunately marked so many points they were up a hundred, which they saw as their already-earned victory. Jean and Jeanne were both fuming at the presomptuous attitude of the Ombrelune supporters. They were looking down on the Millefeuille which ended up annoying Agnes as well. She trusted her friends' skills. They had trained a lot for this, and she knew that they had to practice twice more as other wizards to prove their worth as muggle-borns.
She truly hoped they won. Joining her hands together, she felt her heart bumping harder in her chest. Her breath slowed down as her eyes focused on Pierre who was aiming for the golden snitch, a bludger following him closely. She did not know if she prayed for it so loud, or if her wish had transformed into a magical spell, but a moment later, she felt her body envelopped in a strange powerful atmosphere. She could feel her senses awaken and her magic sharpen into her veins. She could feel everything so precisely, so deeply. The wind seemed to intensify as her eyes were still locked on her friend. In the split of a second, she saw her friend being transported at high speed by a strange force, and his right hand just had time to grab the snitch.
The next second, Agnes came back to reality, and the loud screams from the crowd polluted her ears again.
She had to catch her breath, a hand on her chest. Jeanne and her brother were not paying attention to her as they were celebrating (and Jean looked as if he was about to faint). Agnes felt strange. It was like she was the one who had controlled Pierre's broom into speeding up towards the golden snitch. Had she prayed for it so passionately she got too emotional? Such a weird sensation. She suddenly felt really cold and energically brushed her hands against her arms to warm up.
- THE BEST DAY OF MY ENTIRE LIFEEEE! screamed a kid behind them.
People around were happily celebrating. Later, they had decided to join the victory party for the winning team, where Pierre was held as a hero by his teammates. When they had entered the common room in the dorms, Jeanne had run towards her friend and hugged him tightly. She gave him a kiss on the cheek which seemed to please him as his face started to blush intensively. Jean also intended to kiss him on his other cheek, but the young boy pushed him away with a laugh.
The quidditch tournament's results had surprised everybody at school and even the professors came to congratulate their students who had participated.
Agnes had decided to forget about the strange incident during the game, and enjoyed her last days of school with her friends. Life was good.
***
March 1st, 1973
Agnes's 15th birthday was quite special, since it was on a school day, but she had obtained the permission to miss her last History of Magic class to meet her mother in the nearest town. She had missed spending her birthday with Murielle since she had entered Beauxbatons. They had promised each other that her mother would visit that very day.
They spent the whole afternoon shopping for sweets and new clothes, stopping by a restaurant for dinner to try out the best bouillabaisse in town. Hours flew by so fast it was already time for curfew at the dorms. With a last embrace, the mother and daughter spend a moment in silence. Agnes loved her mum dearly, as she was her one and only family. She knew she had flaws and had made some mistakes, but she had always been there and tried her best for her daughter. She was committed and loving.
- I hope we can spend my 16th birthday together next year as well! Told Agnes, while her face was hidden in her mom's hug.
- Next year, I will prepare a bigger gift for you! And maybe we can spend more than an afternoon together. Answered Murielle with a tender smile. I will see you this summer.
Once they had separated, Agnes had silently walked back to her dorm room, where Jeanne was waiting for her with a home-made blue cake where candles had been replaced by small fireballs levitating above the icing. All four roommates spent the night eating and talking endlessly about who the best looking guys was in their school, Antoine Deguire and a 7th year named Michel Lecroc coming first, while Jeanne defended Pierre as a 'cute-looking muggle' type of boy.