The Years of Blue [2]

Chapter 35: Back to Beauxbatons

Rosalie and Gisele were waiting for Jacqueline and I in the carriage, eager to hear how our summers had gone. After exchanging kisses on the cheek in hello, we promptly sat down in time for the carriage to fling itself into the air. I watched from the window as my mother and grand'mère got smaller and smaller before turning around to see Madam Benoît, our school governess, walk past, making Jacqueline go still.

"Not afraid of her, are you?" I asked comically to my dark-haired friend who rolled her eyes as if fear were below her.

"Pft! As if anything could scare me, let alone Benoît!" Jacqueline replied, sitting back into her booth seat confidently while Gisele scoffed. Rosalie, who sat next to Jacqueline, adjusted the pearl earrings consciously on her ears so as to understand the French conversation better.

"You can't not be afraid of anything. That's not possible," I mused only to get a conspicuous look from Jacqueline.

"Oh, she does. It's seaweed of all things," Gisele prompted causing Jacqueline to kick her friend hard under the table. "Don't deny it!" Gisele went on ruefully as she bent down to rub her leg. "Your bogart told us everything."

"Bogart?" Rosalie questioned, with a frown.

"A creature that turns into your worst fear," Gisele explained, as she sat back up. "Hides in dark places until confronted by someone. Which Jacqueline did, and it portrayed murky seaweed!"

"Seaweed is disgusting and a highly misunderstood danger in the water," Jacqueline said back promptly with her nose in the air, causing the lot of us to giggle.

"I take it then that you don't care for swimming in oceans?" I asked bemused. Jacqueline gave a curt nod before moving the conversation on.

Our summer vacations were each discussed in detail, except for Jacqueline's who kept repeating how she had a glorious time being lazy at home.

"By the end of the summer I wish I was home," Rosalie said woefully in broken French. I was impressed by her growth in the language since last I saw her and by the looks of the other girls, so were they. She could barely string two words together let alone speak in sentences in the spring. But that was what happens when you spend most of your summer traveling around France and Europe speaking the language.

"My mother wouldn't let me speak English for most of the day. Even when we visited her friend in Madrid, she made me introduce myself in French!" Jacqueline snorted while Gisele gave Rosalie a faint pat on the hand.

"Well, we notice your improvement. Soon you will be able to speak more fluidly."

"What do you mean speak more fluidly? Aren't I already?" Rosalie asked ruefully only to get sharp shakes of the head, prompting her to drop her head to the table in defeat.

"It'll get easier soon," I promised only to get another snort from Jacqueline.

"You're one to talk. Your French has gotten worse since the summer."

I spit out my tongue in response as the other girls laughed and turned to Gisele to ask about her internship. Turns out, it was a boring experience for her, though she heard plenty of gossip about the Quidditch Cup amoung other things.

"You were there, weren't you?" Rosalie asked, sitting up. I shrugged before explaining just how involved I was in the Quidditch debacle. By the time I had finished my story in full and had answered all their questions, the mountains of the Pyrenes were coming into focus and Madam Benoît was calling everyone to attention to prepare for arrival.

Ana was the first one to find us when we stepped onto the station platform, as the Belgium carriage arrived first in the lineup. All I saw was a glimpse of a white blonde bob coming at us before she bear-hugged the group, blocking the carriage exit for a moment.