Sentimental Reasons

1. Hogwarts

Audrey Bardot. She belonged to the famous French family of Bardot; they were renowned for their wealth and blood status. They were part of the sacred twenty-eight. At 11, she was integrated into the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. However magical and illuminated as it may have been, Audrey never liked it there, and Madam Maxime never liked Audrey's heavy character. It was with luck that the Bardot family decided to move to England. There, she integrated Hogwarts. Younger, her mother was in Beauxbatons, but her father was at Hogwarts. He was thrilled to know her daughter would experience the same magic he knew back in the day. 

Audrey's POV : 

"Bye dad, bisous maman! (kisses mum)" I said while the train started to whistle.

"Don't forget to tell Dumbledore my best regards!" My dad reminded me as I nodded and rolled my eyes for the hundredth time.

"Au revoir ma chérie, et n'oublie pas de nous écrire (goodbye my dear, and don't forget to write us)." My mother told me while a tear spread down her cheek. 

I gave them one last kiss goodbye before heading towards the train. It was truly magical, just like my father had described. He had told me everything about it, from the little chocolate frogs to the Whomping Willow. My father was sorted in Slytherin, and my mother would've been a Hufflepuff. I turned around before stepping onto the train to look at my parents one last time. They were looking and smiling at each other with so much love. A love I wished I would find one day.

I stepped inside the transport and saw a horde of kids about 11 years old running along the train's corridors. I tried to make my way to a free compartment when I finally met someone who looked my age. 

"Excuse me?" I started. The boy turned his attention to me with his bright grey eyes. He was beautiful, with dark hair falling on his eyes and a chiselled jaw. "Do you know where I can find a free compartment? I'm kinda struggling here." I continued just as a little kid bumped into my shoulder. 

"Of course! You can come to my compartment if you like. Those kids can be annoying." he joked. 

"Thank you, you're saving me," I replied. "Audrey, by the way." I presented myself.

"Cedric. Nice to meet you. I can't help but notice. Do you happen to have an accent?" He smiled with his oh-so-handsome smile as he led me to his compartment.

"Yes, I'm French. I was in Beauxbatons; I just transferred here." I let him know. 

"Oh, that's why!" He exclaimed. "I thought I was going crazy, having not met you ever. I would've never forgotten such a face if it was the case." My cheeks started to turn pink when he said that. I looked down at my feet, hoping he wouldn't notice. 

"Here we are!" he exclaimed. In the compartment were two other boys and a girl. "Guys, this is Audrey. She's new here, so don't be mean."

"Hi." I presented myself. One boy lifted his hand for me to shake it. But of course, as stressed as I was and unprepared for this British acquaintance, I went in to kiss his cheeks as we do back in France. The boy was startled but let it happen. Finally, he burst out in laughter. 

"Moving fast, aren't we?" The boy joked as the girl started to laugh, and the other boy seemed excited for his turn. 

I looked at him with furrowed eyes. I was confused as to what I did wrong when I realized it. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry. I'm from France; that's how we greet ourselves, but we don't do it here. Noted." I apologized, embarrassed. 

"Oh, no need to apologize. I'm glad we got that kiss out of the way." The same boy winked before Cedric punched him playfully in the shoulder. "I'm Owen." he presented himself while running his hand through his chestnut hair.

"Anthony." the boy sitting next to him said while I shook his hand. 

I turned around to see the girl who had bright brown eyes. "Hannah. Are you going to kiss me too? I'm only teasing you, sorry." She joked with a solid Irish accent as my cheeks turned pink. "Come. Sit." She proposed as I put down my luggage.

"So, where do you think you'll be sorted, Audrey?" Cedric asked. "Hopefully, Hufflepuff," said Owen with a smirk. 

"I don't know yet. My father was a Slytherin, so maybe there." I informed them, but I noticed their face being disgusted. "What is it?" I asked them.

None of them dared to speak up until finally, Hannah spoke, "It's just-" She looked around trying to seek help from the boys around her. Notably, they weren't up for the task so she continued, "It's known to have all the dark wizards." She spat out without shame. 

"Well," I raised my eyebrows shocked at the reputation I never heard about, "My father turned out just fine." 

"Yeah, you're right, but just looking at the statistics practically all of You-know-who's followers come from this house." She said but whispered 'You-know-who''s part. How cowardly. 

"Well. Let's see if I turn out to be a dark wizard." I dared say, tired of those ridiculous stereotypes. As soon as I let out those words, their faces turned white. "Or not." I suddenly felt their eyes becoming darker, seeing me as their enemies already. What a great start to finding new friends in a new country. "I just mean that I would be honoured to break those stereotypes and become an Auror from the Slytherin house like my father." The group started to look at me with suspicious eyes after my explanation which didn't seem to convince them.

"Yeah, you're right!" Cedric jumped into the conversation. "It's like Hufflepuff; everyone thinks we're soft when we're not, as I proved them with the Triwizard Cup last year." He exclaimed with an exaggerated tone while everyone else started to laugh. He looked down at me with a smile. I mirrored his expression as a 'thank you note' for backing me up. 

The group and I started to bond for the next hour before, finally, I looked out the window only to be greeted by an enormous castle on a hill next to a vast lake. I started to smile as it was exactly how my father had described it. 

When the train finally stopped, I grabbed my bag and headed outside the station with my new friends. We climbed on a carriage pulled by a creature named a thestral, but it was only visible to someone who'd already seen death. It was all so much more fascinating than in Beauxbatons. Everything was so mysterious and beautiful at the same time. 

Finally, we arrived in front of a big entrance. A teacher with a pointy hat headed towards me, seeing I was the only one without a robe. 

"Ah, Miss Bardot. It is a pleasure to meet you finally." She smiled. "Now, off you go, the rest of you; the sorting is going to start soon," she told the rest of the group. 

"Good luck Audrey! We'll see you there!" My new friends exclaimed with bright smiles as they headed toward the castle.