Kyle remained composed and respectful as he shook Fleur’s hand lightly.
“Hello, Fleur Delacour,” she greeted him with equal poise.
Despite not knowing French, Kyle understood her words as though an invisible translator hovered in the room. Nearby, Nicolas sat beaming, munching on popcorn, while a House-elf dressed in a race car driver’s outfit stood beside him, holding a glass of white wine.
“I’ve heard of you,” Fleur said, her gaze appraising. “You saved over fifty people and became the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin.”
A few days ago, the Order of Merlin’s decision to award a Level 2 medal to a twelve-year-old had sparked a stir across the magical community, and Fleur was naturally aware of it. Beauxbatons had only two Order recipients aside from the honorary Professor Nicolas Flamel: Headmistress Maxime held an Order of Merlin, Second Class, and Professor Victor, the alchemy teacher, held an Order of Merlin, Third Class. Now, a Hogwarts student younger than her and in the same year had achieved the same recognition as Madam Maxime. Curiosity about Kyle had been inevitable.
Some at Beauxbatons, however, doubted the legitimacy of his accomplishment. When Fleur learned that Kyle would be visiting Nicolas Flamel in France, she had asked Madam Maxime to bring her along, and to her surprise, Maxime had quickly agreed—perhaps due to the connection as alumni, with Nicolas being a proud graduate of Beauxbatons himself.
Yet after meeting Kyle, Fleur’s first impression was surprisingly favorable. As a quarter-Veela, Fleur naturally emitted a subtle allure that often rendered those around her a bit clumsy upon first meeting her, even among her professors. But Kyle’s gaze remained steady, unclouded and sharp, unaffected by her charm.
“It’s hard to believe you were able to face such a fearsome creature,” Fleur remarked, genuinely curious.
“I just got lucky,” Kyle replied lightly. “Two professors were there with me, so I had backup. I just ran in without thinking.” He smiled. “I bet if you’d been there, you’d have done the same.”
“Of course!” Fleur said proudly, lifting her chin slightly. “Students from Beauxbatons never lack the courage to face danger.”
Her voice carried a confident conviction, and it seemed as though her charm intensified in that moment. Her long, silver hair shone more brightly, as if illuminated from within, and the enchanted ceiling above appeared to dim in comparison.
McPhail, who had briefly relaxed, now looked tense again, clearly concerned about Kyle’s reaction.
But Kyle remained entirely unaffected. His mastery of Occlumency not only shielded him from Legilimency but also fortified his mind against most forms of enchantment. He had worked meticulously on this skill in preparation for dealing with Voldemort’s Horcruxes, leaving no gaps in his mental defenses.
Fleur’s Veela charm was powerful, but it was no match for the rigorously practiced Occlumency shielding Kyle’s mind. Even if her full-blooded Veela grandmother were here, the outcome would likely be the same. Kyle felt a twinge of pity.
As she watched Kyle and Fleur conversing pleasantly, Madam Maxime’s smile slowly faded... only to reappear on McPhail’s face. “Well, Olympe, it seems your little plan hasn’t gone quite as expected,” he commented with a smirk.
Maxime raised an eyebrow, her tone smooth. “What are you talking about, Dugald? They’re getting along wonderfully, aren’t they?”
McPhail chuckled oddly, choosing not to press her further.
“And as for you, Dugald,” Maxime said coolly, “weren’t you off to brew Baruffio’s Brain Elixir? What are you still doing here? Are you certain you even remember how to make such a complex potion?”
Both the Brain Elixir and the Awakening Potion required intricate steps and precise timing. One misstep, and the whole potion would be ruined—an undertaking even veteran potion-makers found challenging.
“As I recall, you haven’t touched a cauldron in over a decade,” Maxime continued, her expression skeptical.
“Nine years!” McPhail corrected indignantly. “I was invited to the Potions Competition that time and personally awarded the winner’s trophy!”
“Ah, yes, that time,” Maxime said in an indifferent tone. “If I remember correctly, they mistook your Scintillation Solution for an Invigoration Draught and even sampled it… quite the spectacle.”
McPhail’s face flushed, and he retorted with forced confidence, “I only did that to lighten the mood! I was aware of the mix-up from the start, it was deliberate... it wasn’t an admission of error!”
He mumbled on about the “universality of potion-making” and the importance of “keeping things lively.”
Nicolas, watching the banter, couldn’t help but smile. Witnessing old friends squabble was one of his greatest pleasures—second only to attending the opera. He only wished Dumbledore were present to join in on the fun.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Fleur continued their polite conversation, discussing the educational methods of their respective schools and exchanging tentative plans to “work together for progress.” Their topics remained focused on school life, as they didn’t know each other well enough to dive into anything deeper.
After a while, Fleur glanced at Kyle’s hand, noticing a suitcase he was gripping. “I was meaning to ask… why did you suddenly pull out a suitcase?”
“Er… it’s just a habit,” Kyle replied nervously, swiftly moving his hand behind his back. “Nothing to worry about, it’s just an ordinary suitcase I use for… carrying things.”
“A habit?” Fleur repeated, looking puzzled.
Kyle’s explanation seemed odd—who carried a suitcase while chatting? She had certainly never encountered anyone at Beauxbatons with such a quirk.
“Ah, it’s just… one of my little hobbies,” he replied, growing more flustered. In reality, he had acquired a bit of a reflex at Hogwarts due to his extensive collection of magical creatures. The mention of Fleur’s Veela heritage had caused him to reach for the suitcase instinctively.
Fortunately, the real magical suitcase was with Dumbledore, and the one he held now was merely an ordinary case. If he had mistakenly used Newt’s suitcase and accidentally slipped Fleur into it… well, leaving Paris in one piece would have been unlikely.
To defuse the awkwardness, Kyle opened the suitcase and took out a handful of candies. “Here, these are for you,” he said, offering them to Fleur.
Fleur accepted them instinctively. “Candies?”
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you, so I didn’t have time to prepare a proper welcome gift,” Kyle explained with a smile. “But these are some of the most popular treats at Hogwarts—they’re delicious.”