Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

"*Thought to be situated somewhere in the Pyrenees, visitors speak of the breath-taking beauty of a chateau surrounded by formal gardens and lawns created out of the mountainous landscape by magic.*"
— Description of the landscape around Beauxbatons[src]

**Beauxbatons Academy of Magic** (French: *Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons*)[*citation needed*] was the French wizarding school located in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France. It was was one of the three largest wizarding schools in Europe (the other two being Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Durmstrang Institute).

The school took many of its wizarding students from France, as well as large numbers from Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. It is unknown if students from other countries were allowed.

The school's coat of arms consisted of two golden wands crossed over one another, each shooting three stars.

## Contents

* 1History
* 2Castle and grounds
* 3Traditions
	+ 3.1Uniform
* 4Reputation and rivalry
* 5Known students
* 6Etymology
* 7Behind the scenes
* 8Appearances
* 9Notes and references

## History

Founded sometime before the 1290s, Beauxbatons had many noteworthy students over the years. Most prominent were Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist famed for discovering the Philosopher's Stone, and his wife Perenelle.

Apart from the Flamels, famous ex-students of Beauxbatons included Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques, who escaped the Terror by casting a Concealment Charm on his own neck and pretending that his head had already been cut off; Luc Millefeuille, the infamous pastry-maker and Muggle-poisoner; and Fleur Delacour, who fought in the world-famous Battle of Hogwarts, married Bill Weasley, and was awarded medals of bravery from both the French and British Ministries of Magic. Olympe Maxime, Headmistress in the mid 1990s, was (in spite of her protestations to the contrary) a half-giantess; clever, elegant, and undeniably awe-inspiring.

Beauxbatons participated in the Triwizard Tournament that was held in 1792 and the tournament that was held in 1994. During the 1792 tournament one of the tasks involved catching a cockatrice. However, the beast went on a rampage and injured three of the judges; one of the injured was at the time the head of Beauxbatons. In the 1994 tournament, Fleur was selected school champion and finished in fourth place behind the other three contestants. During the 1994 tournament, Madame Maxime served as head of the academy.

In 1927, French wizarding newspaper *Le Cri de la Gargouille* reported a potion scandal involving Beauxbatons students.

## Castle and grounds

*Main article: Palace of Beauxbatons*
The Palace of Beauxbatons was a beautiful chateau surrounded by majestic gardens and fountains magically created out of the surrounding mountains. The school looked very impressive despite having stood for over seven hundred years. In the Dining Chamber, Wood Nymphs serenaded the students while they ate, and at Christmas, the hall was adorned with great, glittering, non-melting ice sculptures.

It was said that the stunning castle and grounds of this prestigious school were part-funded by alchemist gold, for Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel met at Beauxbatons in their youth, and a magnificent fountain in the middle of the school’s park, believed to have healing and beautifying properties, was named after them.

## Traditions

"*As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.*"
— The Beauxbatons' carriages arrive at Hogwarts[src]

Students and staff were transported by use of the Beauxbatons Carriages (French: *Le carrosse de Beauxbâtons*[*citation needed*]). The carriages were light blue, pulled by a dozen winged horses. Despite being used as transportation by Beauxbatons, travelling in an Abraxan horse-drawn giant carriage the size of a house was a breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. The Abraxan horses only drank single-malt whisky.

The students at Beauxbatons Academy were taught to stand at attention from when their Headmistress entered the room, only sitting down when she sat herself, showing their great respect for her.

At the Palace of Beauxbatons, they had ice sculptures all around the Dining Chamber at Christmas. The ice sculptures didn't melt, and were like statues of glittering diamond. According to Fleur Delacour, the food that was served at the school was superb, with choirs of Wood Nymphs that serenaded students as they ate.

Fleur also implied that Beauxbatons valued order and did not admit mess, as she claimed a poltergeist would be quickly expelled out of the palace.

### Uniform

*Main article: Beauxbatons uniform*
The students' uniforms were pale blue robes made of fine silk.

## Reputation and rivalry

Education at Beauxbatons Academy was of a similar calibre to the education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. However, there were differences, such as Beauxbatons students taking their equivalent of Ordinary Wizarding Levels in their sixth year, rather than their fifth like their Hogwarts counterparts.

Typically, Beauxbatons Academy enjoyed a very warm, cordial relation with Hogwarts, as even during the Triwizard Tournament the two schools enjoyed a healthy rather than bitter rivalry; Beauxbatons won the Tournament sixty-two times and Hogwarts won sixty-three.

In the last of these tournaments, from 1994-1995, their relationship with Hogwarts was somewhat more strained, due to Lord Voldemort's servant placing Harry Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire thereby giving Hogwarts a second champion, though the relationship did not become outright hostile (as individual Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students remained friendly towards one another and some even attended the Yule Ball with one another). In addition, Madam Maxime returned to Hogwarts for Albus Dumbledore's funeral, demonstrating that the cordial relationship continued between the schools.

## Known students

Nicholas Flamel

Olympe Maxime

Aurélie Dumont

Celine Castillon

Fleur Delacour

Gabrielle Delacour

* Perenelle Flamel
* Luc Millefeuille
* Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques
* 1792 Headteacher
* Davet Dumont
* Various unidentified students
* Ministry Witch

## Etymology

Beauxbatons was likely devised from the French *beaux bâtons*, literally translated as "beautiful sticks". In French, *baguette* is the word used for "wand" but *bâton* might be a reference to it, although it would be more likely translated as "staff" (e.g. Mad-Eye Moody's staff).

## Behind the scenes

* Some Beauxbatons students and Madame Maxime attended the final of the Quidditch World Cup in England in 1994. It's unknown if Beauxbatons, like Hogwarts, has summer holidays in August and, if they have, if there is a regular option to stay at Beauxbatons during the summer or if this was a special arrangement for the Quidditch World Cup only.
* In the book, it's suggested both the male and female students of the school are relatively good-looking.
* In the UK and US audiobook editions of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, the pronunciation of "Beauxbatons" sounds more French, as both Stephen Fry and Jim Dale respectively not having pronounced the S at the end of the name. *Pottermore* confirms Fry's pronunciation, styling it as Bo - batton.
* In the film adaptation of *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*:
	+ Beauxbatons is incorrectly pronounced by Dumbledore as boh-BAT-tons. This appears to be an error of pronunciation on Dumbledore's behalf, seeing as the French students pronounce it correctly.
	+ The Beauxbatons coat of arms is a shield surrounded by golden lines with two gold wands on the top; in the book it is two crossed wands emitting three stars each in the middle.
	+ Beauxbatons is pictured in the films as an all-girls school, which is directly contrasted in the novel. At least four boys are in attendance in the book and Davet Dumont, Nicholas Flamel, Luc Millefeuille and Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques were students in earlier decades, showing it is a co-educational establishment. It was likely intended in the films as a contrast to the students of Durmstrang, who, in the film, are all male.
	+ Gabrielle Delacour appears to already be a Beauxbatons student; the book does not explicitly identify her as such, though she does come to Hogwarts with the other Beauxbatons students. As *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* reveals Gabrielle to be eleven by that point (marking her as eight at the beginning of *Goblet of Fire*), this suggests that Beauxbatons students start school at a much earlier age than Hogwarts ones.
* The students of Beauxbatons likely buy their material like books and wands on Place Cachée.