CHAPTER 815: CHAPTER 815: ALCHEMY

The three of them walked along the passage beneath the fountain for nearly twenty minutes, and Kyle felt like he had crossed the entire Beauxbatons.

Strangely, though, the water surface above them remained visible the entire time, as if they had just been circling the fountain.

It wasn’t until a different kind of light appeared ahead—completely unlike the lighting in the passage—that Kyle noticed something had changed. A golden door shimmered ahead, glowing brightly under the lights.

Fleur, walking at the front, reached for the handle and gave it a gentle push.

"I was just wondering who might be sneaking into the fountain’s secret passage—turns out it’s you," came Madam Maxime’s voice from the other side. "What brings you back to the school?"

"Long time no see, Madam Maxime," Fleur said. "But I’m not the one who wanted to come—he is..."

She stepped aside to let Kyle and Kanna exit the tunnel.

"It’s you?"

Madam Maxime looked surprised to see Kyle, as though she hadn’t expected to run into him here.

"It’s a pleasure to see you again, Madam Maxime," Kyle said politely, looking up at the Beauxbatons headmistress, who towered over both of them.

He’d grown quite a bit over the past few years, but when facing Madam Maxime, it felt like nothing had changed—he still had to crane his neck just to meet her gaze.

"Welcome," Madam Maxime said as she walked over. "And welcome to you, beautiful lady. I believe your name is Kanna Prince, isn’t it?"

"Yes, Madam Maxime," Kanna replied with a graceful curtsey. "I didn’t expect you to remember me."

"It’s not that I remember—it’s that you made quite the impression," Madam Maxime replied. "Would you be interested in working at Beauxbatons? We’re always in need of exceptional Potions professors."

Kanna looked momentarily stunned and instinctively glanced at Kyle.

"No rush to answer," Madam Maxime added warmly. "Just know the doors here are always open to you."

Then she turned to Kyle, her tone light and cheerful.

"So, have you finally come to your senses and decided to transfer to Beauxbatons? If you ask me, this place suits you far better. Hogwarts doesn’t offer much of a future."

"I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I haven’t really thought that far ahead," Kyle said with a smile. "I’m just here for a short visit during a break."

"A break?" Madam Maxime asked, puzzled. "Has the situation over there been resolved so quickly? Albus didn’t mention anything."

"No," Kyle shook his head. "It’s just been put on hold for now. The Death Eaters haven’t made any moves recently, so I’ve had some rare downtime while we try to figure out their next move."

"But things like that are handled by the professionals. I can’t really help."

"I see." Madam Maxime nodded. "War always brings unexpected twists. Taking a break is a good thing. Staying tense only makes mistakes more likely."

"I agree," Kyle said, smiling.

"Then feel free to look around. I’ll ask Fleur..." She glanced at the girl beside her, then seemed to reconsider. Shaking her head, she added, "Actually, better let Gabrielle show you around—wouldn’t want you earning the wrath of Fleur’s legion of admirers."

"Just walking around with her would be enough to make them hate me?" Kanna asked, surprised. "Isn’t that a little much?"

"If you had even half a Veela’s blood, you’d know it’s not that hard to understand," Fleur said breezily.

"She’s right," Kyle agreed with a nod.

A Veela’s innate allure was like wearing perfume made from Amortentia—it could cause people to act irrationally without even realizing it.

That was why Fleur usually wore a hat to cover her face in public. The world outside school wasn’t as safe, and her strength wasn’t yet enough to deal with every bit of trouble that might come her way.

"But isn’t Gabrielle your sister?" Kyle asked. "Isn’t she just like you?"

"She’s still young," Fleur explained. "And she has a bit more wizard blood, so the effect is much weaker."

"And she speaks the best English out of all of us."

"You didn’t have to bring that up," Kyle said with a dry chuckle. "Honestly, there’s no need to go through all this trouble. I won’t be staying long—half a day at most. It’s not like they’ll chase me all the way back to England."

"I’m not worried about you..." Madam Maxime shot him a cool glance. "I’m worried about my students."

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Is it really that hard to figure out?" she said with a soft laugh. "Even though I’m in France, I’ve made it a point to follow your exploits... your actions, your reputation. Let’s just say, I’d rather not have my students faint out of nowhere, or end up with a broken leg or something."

"There must be some misunderstanding," Kyle said.

But before he could explain, Madam Maxime continued, "And when I spoke with Mr. Flamel, he seemed to share my opinion. He also believes you’re not quite as... gentle as you appear to be."

"Of course, that’s not a criticism," she added, walking over to a nearby table. She picked up several standard-sized teacups and gave a small flick of her finger—immediately, they filled with steaming tea.

Pinching the cups delicately, as if they were popcorn, she placed them down in front of Kyle and Kanna.

"In the magical world, kindness is a rare and precious virtue. But if a wizard possesses only kindness, then he becomes a complete fool. Similarly, I won’t allow someone like that into Beauxbatons."

Kyle didn’t respond—he simply took a quiet sip of tea.

French wizards really did know how to enjoy life. Even he could tell that this tea was far superior to the ordinary stuff he’d had at Dumbledore’s place.

Once they finished their tea, a knock came at the door.

"That should be Gabrielle," said Madam Maxime, motioning for Fleur to open it.

"Madam Maxime, the Magic Mirror said you wanted to see me... Sister? What are you doing here?"

Sure enough, it was Gabrielle Delacour. She looked much taller than before, and her features had become even more refined—almost like she was catching up to her sister.

It made sense. The last time Kyle had seen Gabrielle was during the Triwizard Tournament, when she was just a first-year. By now, she was probably in her fourth year.

Gabrielle hugged Fleur tightly before noticing Kyle and Kanna.

"It’s you... Kyle! Kanna!" she squealed, even more excited. "Are you two coming to work at Beauxbatons?"

Instinctively, Kyle glanced at Madam Maxime.

Like principal, like student. Why did everyone at Beauxbatons keep trying to recruit them?

Madam Maxime stared straight ahead, deliberately ignoring Kyle’s look... not that it was hard for her.

"Gabrielle, what class do you have this afternoon?" she asked.

"History of Magic."

"Take the afternoon off. With your grades in that subject, skipping one class won’t hurt," said Madam Maxime. "Spend the time giving these two a proper tour of Beauxbatons. Help them understand the school’s heritage and the wonderful atmosphere we cultivate here."

"I understand, Madam Maxime. Leave it to me," Gabrielle replied seriously, as though accepting an important mission.

Kyle understood exactly what lay behind those words. They wanted to win them over, make them fall in love with the place, and stay.

Madam Maxime wasn’t even trying to hide it, and Kyle acted like he hadn’t heard a thing. He set his teacup back in place, stood up with Kanna, and followed the eager Gabrielle out of the room.

"This is such a surprise! I never imagined you’d come to France... and to Beauxbatons, no less."

Gabrielle was practically bubbling with excitement as she chattered nonstop.

"I’m telling you, Beauxbatons is truly the best wizarding school in the world—even better than Hogwarts..."

"Sorry, I mean, I think it’s better than Hogwarts. That castle is way too dark. Even in the daytime, some parts need torches to light them. But we don’t have that problem here."

"It’s fine—it’s true," Kyle said.

Because of the castle’s design, Hogwarts did tend to be a bit gloomy. But in a way, that was part of its charm.

Beauxbatons, on the other hand...

Kyle looked up. The ceiling looked like a single, enormous sheet of glass, with sunlight streaming down and illuminating every wall etched with exquisite reliefs, the spotless tiled floors, and the students’ stylish blue silk uniforms.

He had to admit, visually at least, this place outshone Hogwarts by a mile. Especially on a sunny day—just walking around here lifted your mood.

No wonder France had produced so few Dark wizards. Maybe the bright, radiant campus environment had something to do with it.

"I’m really happy today," Gabrielle said, walking ahead. "I always thought I wouldn’t see you again until my sister’s wedding."

"Your sister’s wedding?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.

"With Bill Weasley... That’s his name, right?" She thought for a moment. "What, you didn’t know?"

"We knew," Kyle said, "just didn’t think she’d tell you about it."

"It’s not just me. My whole family knows," said Gabrielle. "It’s rare for my sister to meet someone she truly loves. Our entire family supports her, and we’re all ready to attend their wedding anytime... This way."

She led them past a row of towering columns that looked as if they were carved from jade and brought them to an even more breathtaking platform.

It was nearly the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, with intricate magical runes etched across the floor.

Above the platform was a series of circular corridors. Kyle counted—there were six levels in total.

"Where do you want to go first?" Gabrielle turned around and asked, "Or should I decide? There’s so much to see here—one afternoon might not even be enough."

"Let’s start with the Alchemy classroom," Kyle said without thinking, as if he had already planned it. "I heard it’s the most popular class at Beauxbatons."

"That’s right. A lot of people love Professor Viktor’s class—me included." Gabrielle nodded, then walked onto the platform. Clearing her throat, she spoke clearly in French:

"Alchemy classroom."

The runes beneath their feet lit up, and countless stones detached from the floor, gathering around them to form a simple lift that carried them upward.

"Oh wow, this design is incredible!" Kanna exclaimed.

"It was designed by Mr. Flamel, including the fountain in the square," Gabrielle said proudly. "It’s one of a kind—you won’t see anything like it outside of Beauxbatons."

As they spoke, the lift reached the third floor. The guardrail ahead parted to form a gap, seamlessly connecting to the elevator platform.

"This way." Gabrielle extended her hand. "Right in front of you is the Alchemy classroom, but there’s a class going on right now, and Professor Viktor has a bit of a temper—so we’ll have to observe from outside."

"But once class ends, I can ask him if we can go in. You’re guests of Madam Maxime, so it should be no problem."

"No worries, we’re fine just looking from here."

Kyle looked up.

He could swear he’d never seen a classroom this big—it took up nearly a third of the floor.

Through the windows on either side, he could clearly see what was going on inside.

The room was filled with a white haze. Kyle stepped forward a bit and could just make out that the smoke was coming from a massive brass furnace at the center of the room.

Whenever a student placed something into the furnace, smoke would rise from vents around it—mostly white, with the occasional tinge of gray.

Each time this happened, the professor—clearly the one in charge—would loudly scold the student who had done it.

"Kyle, look over here."

Kanna suddenly tugged on Kyle’s sleeve and pointed to three prominent lines of text on the classroom door.

"What does this mean? It doesn’t look like French."

"Oh, that’s..." Gabrielle started to explain, but Kyle spoke first:

"Those who enter this gate must remember: restrain inner greed, abide by the law of equivalent exchange, do not trespass into the realm of the gods, and never attempt human transmutation."

"These are the core principles of alchemy—every beginner has to know them."

"You can read that?" Gabrielle looked at Kyle with wide eyes, as if she were looking at some kind of rare creature.

"I don’t know what Fleur told you," Kyle said, rubbing his forehead, "but that’s not French. Of course I can read it."

"Then what is it?" Kanna asked, puzzled. "It kind of looks like Runic, but not quite."

"It’s the oldest form of Runic—never translated," Kyle explained. "That quote’s straight from the Emerald Tablet, copied exactly as it appears. Pretty professional, honestly."

A mocking voice came from behind them. "And since when do we need a Brit to tell us whether our alchemy class is professional?"

Kyle instinctively turned and saw a group of boys behind them, not much younger than himself.

The one who spoke seemed to be the ringleader. When Kyle looked at him, the boy immediately lifted his chin and stared back with a defiant look.

But Kyle also noticed him sneaking glances at Gabrielle every now and then.

"Jaffer, what are you saying? They’re guests of Headmistress Maxime," Gabrielle said angrily.

But that only seemed to get the boy more fired up.

"Guests? They’re just a couple of Brits," he scoffed. "Judging by the way they look, they must’ve just graduated. Probably scared of that Dark wizard and came here to hide out. I’ve seen plenty like them."

They were speaking in French, so Kyle didn’t understand a word.

"This cliché again... but I guess there’s no avoiding it," he muttered quietly.

He could pretty much guess this guy was one of Gabrielle’s admirers, just trying to show off.

The kid had practically gotten in his face. Should he hit him? Or maybe go into the classroom and blow everyone away with his alchemy skills?

Kyle stroked his chin, clearly torn.

This wasn’t his turf, but the setup was too classic. If he let it go, he’d feel like he missed out.

Unfortunately, just as he was hesitating, the class bell rang.

"Jaffer, copy The Basic Alchemy Manual thirty times, or don’t bother coming to my class again."

The words came in a gentle voice—but the boy who had been acting all tough a second ago instantly deflated, didn’t say a word, and practically fled the scene.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the classroom.

"Professor Viktor," Gabrielle called sweetly.

"Mm." The man nodded at her. "Have you finished your homework?"

"Can I hand it in tomorrow?" Gabrielle pulled a face. "You saw it—I’ve been busy all afternoon. Headmistress Maxime gave me a mission."

"Tomorrow afternoon at the latest," Viktor said. He then looked over at Kyle and Kanna. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

Kyle blinked.

He didn’t understand what the professor said, but he figured Gabrielle was probably introducing them and saying hello... yeah, that was probably it.

"Ah, hello, nice to meet you," Kyle said in clumsy French.

The room went dead silent.

Kanna covered her face with her hands, pretending she hadn’t seen the bewildered expression on Professor Viktor’s face.