The Tale of the French Prince !

The Ball of Honour (part 2 of 2)

07/31/1987

Palace of Versailles, Kingdom of France,

The Prince de France's Ball of Honour was quite exceptional. Organized in the Hall of Mirrors (itself subject to an extension charm and several runes to power it), the event was simply sensational, and for several reasons.

First, the place. In three hundred years, only ten events allowing non-French had been held in Versailles, including six in the Hall of Mirrors. The latter obviously dated 12/05/1945 to celebrate the defeat of Gellert Grindelwald by Albus Dumbledore, although the latter refused to participate. For the occasion of the Prince's birthday, statues of ice and crystal were installed on both sides of the Gallery while endless food tables were placed at the ends, leaving the centre of the Gallery to the dancers .

The music was performed by the Royal Orchestra of the Opera of Paris, a magical orchestra directed by none other than the ghost of a renowned orchestra composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully. He was obviously not content to play his own music, and so could be heard at Versailles music and symphonies from around the world, be it Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Von Beethoven or more recent composers such as Marc Reift, a Swiss squib.

In addition, there were renowned guests present. Whether it was Pharaoh-Consort Horus and his son Ahmès of Egypt or Prince Akihito of Japan, all were very important. All the great families from all over the world had sent their members, be they House leaders or their heirs. One could see Prince Zaifeng Aisin Gyoro of China, Tsarevich Aleksey Romanov of Russia, the heir to the throne of the German Empire Louis-Ferdinand Hohenzollern and of course, Harry's cousin, Sebastian Habsburg-Lorraine, Crown Prince of 'Austria. Not to mention the many Capetian descendants.

Finally, the presence of the Royal Family of France, known to appear only in very rare cases to avoid all forms of assassination following the murder of the previous King of France at the hands of Grindelwald. Not to mention that Prince Harry made his first appearance in public.

\Break/

Harry moved closer to his parents who were quietly sitting on their thrones overlooking the festivities. Catherine immediately reacts to seeing her son and the redness on his face.

" A problem, darling?" The queen asked in a softened tone.

Harry turned his big, innocent eyes on his mother's face before shyly nodding.

"I ... I do not know how to mix with people ...", he replied shamefully.

King Louis present next to his wife could not help laughing at his son's reply. He was always the first to start the conversation and to be reckless and is now intimidated by the crowd. He sighed slightly, thinking that it was probably his fault, having pampered and protected his only heir of all. This lack of social relations was obviously the reason for such shyness.

For her part, the Queen widened her eyes slightly before beckoning her son to approach. Once Harry was at hand, she hugged him before kissing his forehead.

"The guests brought their children with them, and I'm sure you'll be able to make friends with them, and do not forget your many cousins here, who I'm sure will be cheerful to introduce to their friends." murmured the Queen only to be heard by her son and Louis.

Harry nodded while sticking to his mother under the amused gaze of his father and his Chambellan. Seconds later, Duke Aurélien Malfoi approached with his son Valentin. After bowing to the royal family, Aurelian spoke.

"Your Highnesses, allow me to introduce you to my son, Valentin, aged 8. I hope my son can develop a relationship of trust with your son just as I did with you." Said the Duke in a quite amiable tone.