Elaine's former Charms professor had been a young, astronomically tall woman, who everybody at Beauxbatons knew of that she was a half-giant, though she carried herself with such grace and pride that one would be foolish to have put her in one category with mountain-moving, goat-eating, uncivilized creatures.
Her new Charms teacher was a man so tiny he could have been a goblin or a dwarf, with a head not even reaching his table and a stack of books supporting his weight so he could look over the class. Professor Flitwick was no doubt a very kind wizard, with eyes sparkling full of wisdom and knowledge, as it was expected of the head of the Ravenclaw house.
As the group of Gryffindors made their way through the door of the Charms classroom, the rest of the class, consisting of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, had already moved to their seats. As the marauders decided to sit down at the back of the class, Lily led the girls over to Olivia, who was already in the room and conversing quietly with another girl, whose blond hair was glowing in the sun.
"Elaine, this is Alice Fortesque, another Gryffindor sixth year who is in the dorm next to us. Alice, I'm sure you have heard of Elaine, Gryffindor's newest addition", Lily introduced the two girls. Elaine smiled shyly at Alice, aware of the other's interested eyes.
Alice was no doubt a very kind person, as she had a motherly aura around her that automatically made one feel at home.
"Nice to finally meet you, Elaine. I have indeed already heard quite a bit about you", Alice smiled at the French, who tried to give a smile back, aware that it would be easy to tell the force behind it.
Did she even want to know the stories being spread in the castle right now?
"Alright class, please calm down and find your seats everybody. Before we start, could Miss Sauveur please join me up front?", Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice disrupted the awkward silence. As Elaine mad her way to the teacher's desk, the other girls found their seat at the tables next to Olivia and Alice.
"Miss Sauveur, a pleasure to meet you. I am aware of the fact that you have not taken an exam equivalent to our O.W.L.s yet, but I am sure that I will find as much talent in Charms as it is present in your cousins that I have taught before.", Professor Flitwick told the girl excitedly.
Half the lesson, a few stepping pineapples as well as a color changed teacup with legs later, Flitwick appeared to be satisfied with Elaine's knowledge in his subject and left her to find a seat in between Mary and Luana.
However, as Flitwick did a once-over the class, he shook his head and instructed: "I will absolutely not have Potter and Black sit next to each other in my class again, neither will McKinnon and Dolohow. I want Potter in the first row, next to Evans and Sternsland, McKinnon on Sternsland's other side, -"
The rest of the lesson continued in the same attire, as Flitwick moved student over student, until he smiled at the new seating order.
Elaine had found herself seated in between a Ravenclaw whose name she did not know and Sirius, who was already busy leaning back in his chair to talk to another flustered Ravenclaw girl.
Said Ravenclaw who was sitting on her left smiled at Elaine as she sat down and extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Elaine. I'm Dorcas Meadows.", she introduced herself with a slight accent. Elaine took her hand, shook it, and examined the girl in front of her. Dorcas was absolutely gorgeous, with chocolate colored curls, a caramel complexion and a winged eyeliner sharp enough to kill. Her nose was adorned with a nose ring while her ear was pierced from the top to the bottom.
"Nice to meet you as well, Dorcas. Are you by any chance from Northern Europe?", Elaine answered, immediately feeling incredibly dumb.
Who asks someone if they are from Northern Europe after they introduce themselves with one single sentence?
"Uhh- yeah, I am actually. Well, my mum is. She grew up in the north of Sweden and moved to England for my dad", Dorcas answered, a slight hint of surprise in her voice.
"It must be beautiful up there", Elaine smiled, remembering the times she had visited Sweden before. "It absolutely is. In winter, there is just snow everywhere, and reindeers even come to the forest next to the house. And then in summer, everything is just full of flowers and the sun doesn't even set at all"
"Are you coming with us to Herbology, Savvy?", Sirius pulled her out of the conversation.
Looking up confused, Elaine realized that her entire Charms lesson had indeed been spent revising a few spells and then moving through the classroom. Packing her stuff up, she smiled at Dorcas. "I hope to catch you in some other lesson. It was nice meeting you, Dorcas." "Likewise", the brunette answered, giving Elaine a smile in return.
As Elaine turned to Sirius, she saw the rest of her group already standing at the door.
Making their way over to them, Elaine once again realized the scurrility of the whole situation. There she was, a Sauveur expected to follow in her families' footsteps, graduate from Beauxbatons and climb her way up in the French ministry.
Instead, she was a Hogwarts student, who was not only not sorted into the house most prestigious for housing pure-bloods, but now she had already found a group of people apparently caring enough for her to not be noisy about everything that had happened at Beauxbatons. These people were so kind, so accepting and overall sweet, that Elaine was unsure how exactly they were putting up with her.
As the group of Gryffindors made their way from the Charms classroom down to the greenhouses, Elaine found herself walking next to James, who was trying to charm Marlene walking a few metres in front of them.
"It is not nice to hex people who have their back turned on you, vous connaissez?", Elaine interrupted the Black-haired boy in whatever spell he was trying to hex on the poor girl.
Said boy turned to her, giving the French a 1000 watt smile that Elaine was sure left countless girls in the castle salivating after the troublemaker.
"And it's not nice to scold people in a language they don't understand, so I guess we're even, eh?", James answered cheekily.
"I did not scold you though?"
"Whatever you say, little Savvy", he grinned, pulling the smaller girl to his side. His former mischievous tone forgotten, he lowered his voice to say: "Just so you know, we may seem quite... insensitive at times, but if you want somebody to talk, we-", he gestured slightly to the three other marauders walking close by, "are always there to lend an open ear."
"Thank you.", Elaine replied sincerely, trying not to show the surprise in her voice.
"No probs. Now, if somebody bothers you, tell us as well. We would be furious to miss out on a chance to prank somebody"
After James heartfelt confession, Elaine's first day at Hogwarts continued quite uneventful. While Professor Sprout, a young professor teaching Herbology, had went quite easy on Elaine, Professor McGonagall had made sure to test the French's skill in Transfiguration. Both classes were shared between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, so Elaine was quite anxious what her last class of the day, Potions, that was shared with Slytherin, would bring.
Apparently, it was obvious to her friends that she was worried slightly, as Lily sat down next to her at lunch and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, are you alright El?", she asked the French, while stealing a bite of her quiche.
Giving the redhead a death stare in return, she put her arm around the plate, trying to protect it from the fork coming closer once again. "Leave my food alone, voleuse", Elaine muttered, continuing the protection.
"Oh c'mon, the spinach one is the best!", Lily exclaimed, not giving up on her quest of eating yet another piece. "Well then take your own!", Elaine uttered back, uncaring of the looks they were beginning to receive.
"It's empty!" At this point, Lily was almost shouting. Realizing they were about to start a commotion, Elaine muttered a few colorful French curse words before she took a piece of her beloved quiche and stuffed it right into the other girl's mouth.
As she looked back up again, she saw Sirius smiling at her. Still in a bit of a foul mood, she shot at him "What you looking at, Black?" As he realized that Elaine had caught him staring, his face immediately turned back to a stony facade.
"You being a little child, Savvy", he answered dismissingly, turning his attention back to the tower of food in front of him.
Swallowing down her anger, Elaine turned back to her food. She figured it would be unnecessary to start a fight with somebody like Sirius black on her first day of school.
There was more than enough time to make some enemies.
So, instead of being sassy, Elaine took some time to take in the magnificence of the Great Hall again. As her gaze wandered over the four house tables, she realized there was somebody already staring at her. It felt almost like a déjà vu to the situation she had experienced with Olivia that morning, as a brown-haired guy in black and green robes smiled at her from the table closest to the opposite wall.
A surprised sound left Elaine's mouth as she was able to sort the guy into a category in her head. Swiftly, she got up from her seat, ignored the surprised looks of her friends, and rushed over to the table she knew was the one of the Slytherin house.
"May, how nice of you to finally grace me with your presence as well", Liam Marchbanks greeted her with a smug smile on his face, pulling the French into his arms.
"Lima bean, still not over the nicknames?", Elaine answered her ex-boyfriend, relishing in his familiar embrace for a second before taking a step back and examining the boy she hadn't seen for years.
"Never, tournesol", he answered, British accent prominent in his French as always.
"You told me you were to visit Ilvermorny, not Hogwarts", Elaine frowned, choosing not to dwell on the old pet name, "Weren't you moving with your mother?"
It was impossible to ignore the hardening of Liam's face. "She went without me. I stayed with father and the twins"
Well, there was a closed topic. As Elaine was lost for words, not knowing how to change the topic, the Slytherin took the initiative and led her to sit down. As she turned her head to look at the other people sitting there, she was met with quite the number of eyes trained on her. Some surprised, curious even, while others had a clear glare on their face.
There was the infamous Gryffindor vs. Slytherin mentality, she thought to herself.
"Guys, this is May, my ex-girlfriend. Guess you all heard of her.", Liam introduced her to his house mates.
"Ex-girlfriend, Marchbanks?", a black-haired guy with clear aristocratic features asked Liam unbelievingly.
Addressing the elephant in the room immediately, how great, Elaine thought to herself.
"I said so, didn't I, Avery?", Liam sneered.
As everybody was still staring at her Elaine became uncomfortable, obvious in her fidgeting around on the bank. Hearing a boy she remembered as a sweet and kind guy being so obnoxious felt surreal.
"Well, May, whose name I thought was Elaine Sauveur, ex-girlfriend of Liam, it is lovely to meet you", an actually really attractive guy (sue Elaine for all you want, she was only a girl) smiled at the Gryffindor, holding out his hand. "I am Louis Dolohow, I am sure you have met my sister"
Afterwards, Elaine felt dumb at not having seen the family resemblance immediately. Louis was just as attractive as his sister, though he did kind of have a teddy-bear look that was unseen in Luana.
She took his hand, shook it, and decided to give him a smile. "Nice to meet you too, and yes, I have indeed met Luana. Oh and it is Elaine, Liam has just decidedly ignored my first name for fifteen years and opted for the second one instead" Elaine answered Louis, feeling kind of satisfied when she received a thousand-watt smile from him.
"Elaine May?", he inquired interested. "Maëlys, actually", she corrected.
Louis looked at her like a lost puppy. "Miley?", he tried to pronounce the name.
Elaine couldn't help herself, as she broke out in a laugh.
"Dolohow, how dull can you be. It's obviously not Miley", Liam moved in on the conversation.
Elaine chose not to mention him still not pronouncing her name correctly after 15 years of knowing each other.
"Elaine Sauveur, colour me surprised to see you at this table", a shrill voice disrupted the awkward silence.
In front of Elaine stood a girl that looked like a female version of Sirius Black at first. Long, curly black hair was styled in a complicated up-do, framing the delicate face of the girl. Her mouth was formed into a cunning smile, black eyes sparkling with a sort of brutality that scared Elaine in a way she hadn't thought to feel so soon again.
"Bellatrix, is this necessary?", Louis asked the girl with a sigh.
Bellatrix. Bellatrix Black. Elaine was in deep shit.
"Why shouldn't I be sitting here, Black?", Elaine asked the girl, trying to make her voice sound as steady as possibly, knowing that her accent made it impossible to take her completely seriously.
"You tell me, Sauveur. Nobody but you knows all of the details of Tuesday, eh?", Bellatrix asked, her voice making it obvious how much she enjoyed the whole ordeal. Enjoyed how intimidated Elaine was, as both girls were aware that the people responsible for the French being at this school had children sitting right in front of her. Moreover, the thread was clear in her voice. If Elaine had felt safe and at home mere minutes before, she was now once again painfully aware of the fact that there was no such place where she would be safe.
"The fact that I am indeed sitting at this table should tell you everything you need to know, Black. And now excuse me, I have a lesson to attend" Elaine got up from her seat, shot a small, tight-lipped smile to Louis, and made her way to the door of the Great Hall.
Why was she exiting this room in a hurry for the second time in one day, her first day even?
This time though, she glad to be joined by her friends, who caught up to her at the door.
"Did those fucking Slytherins hurt you? I swear I will break every single bone in their body and make them feel sorry for existing", James exclaimed, fury lacing his voice.
"I'm alright James, thank you", Elaine sighed, still wound up from her encounter with Bellatrix Black.
"What did my lovely cousin tell you then?", Sirius asked her, seemingly quite interested.
Elaine stared at him for a moment as she tried to reclaim her language over the Blackish family tree, before finding the right connections. "Her mother was a Rosier, wasn't she?", she asked, knowingly not answering his question.
"I- yeah, she was. Married Cygnus at Sixteen though", Sirius answered her, confusion evident.
"Les chiens ne font pas des chats", Elaine murmured to herself, remembering the few occasions she had met Rosiers, having always despised them.
"Alright, I am sure we all don't want to know what you just called the Rosiers, so let's get going to everybody's favourite class of the day, potions!", James exclaimed with his signature 1000-watt smile on his face.
"I didn't even- whatever", Elaine muttered, not bothering to correct James that she had indeed not cursed.
"One of her sisters is quite nice, actually", Sirius voice whispered from beside Elaine. Looking up in shock, she only caught his back as Sirius hurried to walk beside Remus.
"I mean the whole Bellatrix thing is interesting and stuff I know, but can we please talk about the way Liam fucking Marchbanks hugged you?", Marlene exclaimed suddenly. Flinching at her cursing, Elaine took a second to register her words. "What's the thing with Liam?", she asked confusedly.
"Hasn't been seen with a girl since he arrived here. Some thought he was gay. Others said he is already married. Him hugging you? That was weird, man", Luana explained to Elaine. The latter's jaw dropped at those words.
"Liam Marchbanks? Not being seen with a girl? You are kidding me, non?", she asked, sure there was a joke going on that she was too new to get.
"Why do you ask?", Sirius inquired. "Because we are talking about Liam Marchbanks here. Liam-I-have-two-girls-hanging-from-every-arm-Marchbanks. Liam-new-girlfriend-every-week-Marchbanks. Our relationship was the only one that held longer than a month!", Elaine exclaimed.
Every head around her suddenly turned to look at her. "You went out with Liam Marchbanks?" "He is actually not gay?" "Why the fuck do you know everybody at this school?"
Elaine felt like a deer lost in the headlights. "Huh?", she could only ask, not really sure whether she even understood one of the questions correctly.
"Guys, I'm sure that this is all awfully interesting, but could we get going to potions finally? The lesson will start in as hot minute", Lily's voice saved Elaine from the awkward situation. The French had half a mind to just fall around her neck. Not wanting to cause another scene, she instead opted for a mouthed "I love you", that was met with an air-kiss by Lily.
At the next staircase, the group divided itself and Elaine was left with James, Sirius, Remus and Lily, as they were the only ones of the group still studying potions. Luana had apparently narrowly missed the "Exceeds Expectations", the equivalent to the French capable de survivre en tant que sorcier, short cdsetqs, or 'casquette', as the students called it.
French grading systems were weird.
Admittingly, not as weird as the conversation Lily and James were having, though.
"I am not going to go out with you, Potter, get that into your thick head!", Lily screamed at the black-haired boy.
"But Lily-flower! Darling! Sun of my life!", James exclaimed, making Elaine's eyebrows shoot up in bewilderment, "you need to give me a chance! Doesn't me trying to get a date with you for five years count as something?"
"He has been doing this for five years?", Elaine asked Remus beside her, shocked to no ends. "Yup", said boy replied, his uninterest in the commotion making it obvious just how used he was to their antics.
"It counts for you being a thick-headed idiot!", Lily screamed, only lowering her voice as they reached a wooden door.
She had good intention in doing so, as a man that Elaine presumed would be their potions teacher was already waiting in the room, which was filled with students from both Gryffindor and Slytherin. Elaine spotted Louis Dolohow as well as Liam, Bellatrix, the infamous Lestrange brothers and multiple other students that she knew to be offspring of famous pure-blood families.
Said presumed teacher (or was he a walrus? Elaine couldn't be sure.) realized the five of them joining in in his class and his face lit up like a goblin being showed money.
"Miss Evans! Mister Potter! Oh, and you must be Miss Sauveur, I have heard of you! What an absolute pleasure to have you in my course, Miss Sauveur. Admittingly, I was quite disappointed not seeing you be sorted into my house, but I am sure the Sorting Hat knew what it was doing. Come in, come in, take a seat! Not next to each other, Potter and Black, you should be well aware of that", the man-walrus exclaimed, the words leaving his mouth in a tumble that made it hard for Elaine to understand everything, so she just resumed to nodding and smiling.
Lily pulled her to a table right in front of the class, next to the one Louis and a second Slytherin student were sitting at. Upon seeing Elaine, the twin's face formed into a smile, and he leaned over to her. "Fancy seeing you so soon again, Elaine. That was quite the dramatic exit back at lunch"
Elaine didn't get a chance to answer, as their professor chose that moment to start his lesson.
It soon became obvious to her that she was quite a bit more advanced to the course around her, as they started off by brewing a Potion for Dreamless Sleep that she had studied a year prior.
Her professor (she had thankfully figured out his name after a few minutes) realized the same not long into the lesson and made sure to praise her continuously, going as far as spending at least half of the lesson in front of her and Lily's desk, praying the girls to no end. The end of the lesson couldn't come soon enough, as Elaine started to get really exhausted from being incessantly reminded of some distant relative that Professor Slughorn had taught before.
Finally, it was time to leave the smelly and dark dungeon, that made Elaine feel slightly claustrophobic. Realising that her first day at Hogwarts was already close to being over, she let Lily pull her to the big lake in front of the school, where the other girls were already waiting.
Basking in the September sunlight, that may not have been nearly as warm as the French September, but warm enough to make her feel all glowy and sated, Elaine fell on her back and drowned out the noises around her.
It had been a long day, after all.
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corona sucks lol