#love how he changed his accessories and jewelry from gold to silver like yes king

[enviousbug2]

EMO KURAS HAS DIFFERENT COLOURED EYES HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT B4

[alice-beaumont-ravenclaw]

From Paris, with Love

A/N #1: Part 7 of my Celestial Ball series is here! In this fic, we meet Alice’s french grandmother and learn a bit more about her family... Anyway, here are the other parts of the series: You’ve Got a Friend in Me | Distraction | Something There | One Step Closer | Fashion Emergency | Get Your Head in the Game | Der Walzer von Alice | Of Quidditch and Ballgowns (there’s a sketch of the dress at the end of that fic) 

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The Celestial Ball was fast approaching and Alice had yet to see her gown. Andre had taken her measurements a few days after they had selected the style, and she knew he was working on it, based on the plasters that were appearing on his fingers as the days went by. She also knew he had already made Charlie’s dress robes, as Charlie’s excitement was apparent during one of their dance rehearsals.

“You’ll see it on the day of the ball, but I’ll give you a hint so you can imagine how amazing it is: Dragons!” he had said as they waltzed with the other prefects.

Alice was pretty sure he was more excited about the dragon part of his robes than the robes themselves. Lost in those thoughts as she watched the first snow falling from a window in the common room, she didn’t hear Andre barging in and coming towards her. 

“Alice!” he exclaimed, standing right next to her.

“What?!” she said, turning her head towards him, her eyes wide in shock.

“Your dress is ready!”

“Really? Can I see it?” asked Alice, excited.

“Well, of course. We need to choose your accessories!” said Andre as he dragged her out of the common room.

“Accessories? I don’t think I brought many with me… Unless you put some in my trunk without my knowledge…” replied Alice, looking at her friend suspiciously.

“No, of course, I didn’t. I didn’t know there was going to be a ball. No… I invited someone over to help us with that,” replied Andre, looking away.

“Invited someone here? At Hogwarts? Was Dumbledore okay with that?”

“Well, seems like they know each other, so yeah, he was fine with it,” he replied as they stopped in front of a door.

“Who the hell does Dumbledore know that could help with accessories?” asked Alice as she opened the door. The person she saw inside the room made her stop dead in her tracks. 

That person was a tall and slender elderly woman with regal beauty. Her white hair was in a French twist, and she was wearing a navy Chanel skirt suit. When her piercing blue eyes met Alice’s green ones, a small smile appeared on her lips.

“Alice, ma chérie!” she said as she approached Alice before giving her two kisses on each cheek. 

“Grand-maman?” said Alice, too startled to reciprocate the bise as she stared at Andre.

“Yeah, well, I wrote to your mother regarding pieces of jewelry to go with the dress, but the letter I got back was from your French grandmother…” started explaining Andre while fidgeting with his hands. “She told me she would come to Hogwarts with a selection of jewelry we could choose from.”

“Albus was so nice to let me come! He hasn’t changed at all! I will go have tea with him while you two choose what you need! But before I go, Alice, j’ai quelquechose pour toi,” said her grandmother as she opened up a little box. Inside was a tiara adorned with stars and celestial waves. Strings were attached to it to fasten it to the wearer’s head.

“Une tiare?” said Alice, slightly frowning.

“Oui, bon, ça peut l’être, but you can wear as a headband or at ze back of your head. I asked my… hum… how do you say ‘joaillier’… Jeweller! Yes, well, I asked him to make something versatile zat could be worn in different ways because my granddaughter does not like wearing classic tiaras.”

“Wait! You had this made especially for the occasion? It’s too much, I can’t…” started saying Alice before being interrupted by Andre.

“It will look amazing with the dress!” he exclaimed.

“Andre…” muttered Alice, trying to get him to calm down, in vain.

“I know! When I saw the sketches you had sent my daughter-in-law, I knew my favourite jeweller would be able to create something wonderful!”

“Sketches?” asked Alice, looking at Andre with a raised eyebrow. “Plural?”

“Yes, I also sent a sketch of the shoes I made,” explained Andre.

“Shoes? You made shoes?” 

“Didn’t I tell you? Guess I forgot. Anyway, thank you so much Mrs. Beaumont!”

“Please, it was no problem at all! Now, I will leave you to it while I go see Albus,” she said, waving as she left the room.

“I can’t believe she knows Dumbledore… Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Alice as she stared at the now-closed doors. 

“How come?” asked Andre as he started opening the jewelry cases.

“Well, Dumbledore knows a lot of people, and so does my grandmother,” said Alice turning toward the jewelry.

“Oh, Merlin!” exclaimed Andre as he looked, wide-eyed, upon all the glittering pieces of jewelry laid out in front of him.

“Honestly, that’s just showing off,” grumbled Alice as she looked on, rolling her eyes.

“I’m sure she just wants you to have as much to choose from,” said Andre, who was already covered in jewelry.

“Maybe, but she likes to remind people of who she is,” said Alice as she took a pair of very small crescent moon stud earrings covered with white pavé diamonds and set it aside.

“She likes people to know she’s a Beaumont?” asked Andre, admiring the rings on his fingers.

“Not exactly… The Beaumonts are a very reputable family in France, but…” she started saying, before pursing her lips. “Anyway,” she interrupted herself, “you haven’t shown me my dress or my shoes yet. How am I supposed to make a decision if I don’t see what I’m going to wear?”

“Oh! You’re right!” Andre said, getting up from the table he was sitting up. Pushing a screen to the side, he revealed the dress and the shoes.

“Oh, Andre! It’s simply gorgeous!” said Alice as she looked at the dress and shoes. 

The sleeveless dress was covered in sparkles, except for the black shoulder straps. From the waist, it was a dark blue, and the blue got lighter as it got closer to the edge of the dress. From the waist up, the material was very thin, making the blue of it appear very light against the nude lining of the bodice. There was a little bit of tulle under the skirt to give it some volume, but not too much. The shoes were high-heeled sandals with butterfly wings at the back. They were in sparkling silver and navy blue, with a cross ankle strap and glittering stars.

“So… You like it?” asked Andre as Alice touched the skirt of her dress.

“Like it? I love it! It goes with the theme, but not in an ostentatious manner!” replied Alice.

“I’m so glad you like it,” said Andre, smiling. “Now, let’s go back to the jewelry and you can tell me everything about your grandmother.”

“Ugh… Do I have to?” asked Alice, making her way back to the jewelry case.

“Well, I’m intrigued. Such a stylish and regal woman, and it doesn’t have to do with the Beaumonts, but, I’m guessing, her side of the family,” said Andre, taking out a diamond bangle with moons and stars, and putting it with the earrings Alice had put aside.

Alice let out a sigh. “Fine… Before being Aurore Beaumont, she was born Aurore Valois, from the Capetian dynasty.”

“Is that supposed to ring a bell?” asked Andre, raising an eyebrow.

“Outside of France, probably not. In France, the Capetian dynasty is also known as the House of France. Starting with Hugues Capet, a King of France in the 10th century. All the Kings of France after that were his descendants. All the way down to Louis-Phillipe 1er. Technically, the Valois branch was considered extinct in 1589 and was succeeded by the Bourbons. But that’s on the Muggle side of the family. On the wizard branch, the Valois kept going. The first wizard of that line may not be entirely legitimate, but that didn’t seem to matter at the time. So they managed to maintain a certain level of influence in the wizarding world as well as in the Muggle world. In the Muggle world, they are seen as just vaguely being related to the House of France, but even that is enough to impress. France may be a Republic, but they do treat descendants of French noble families with deference,” explained Alice, looking at a necklace paved with diamonds in white gold. “Boucheron, of course,” she mumbled as she looked at the clasp, putting it with the earrings and the bracelet.

“Wow… That’s… detailed,” said Andre, staring at his friend.

“Yes, well, I have heard the story many times, and believe me, that was a summary. All this to say, my grandmother can be a bit of a showoff. She won’t say it, because it is just vulgar to do so, but she will make people feel how important she is.”

“Is that why you never told us? Because it’s vulgar?” asked Andre, smirking.

“What? Of course not. By now, you should know it’s not something I care about,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, I kinda regret muttering about my grandmother. If I hadn’t said anything, you wouldn’t have asked anything, and you would be none the wiser.”

“Oh, even without your mumbling, I would’ve asked questions. Like, why is she wearing Muggle clothes? Why didn’t you tell me you had such a stylish grandma? Can I come with you next time you visit your French family?”

“Yeah… Figures. She wears Muggle clothes because she likes them. She personally knew Coco Chanel and Christian Dior. I didn’t tell you because, why would I? And I guess you can come with me next time I go to France, though I don’t see why,” answered Alice, smirking as she rolled her eyes. Andre could be so predictable sometimes, hence why seeing her grandmother had shocked her. She knew that Andre would be curious about her, would want to know more about her. It was better if he asked his questions in an empty classroom than in a room full of other people that might ask questions themselves. “Now that I’ve answered your questions, you have to promise me to not breathe a word about it. It’s bad enough that people stare at me because I’m the ‘Curse-Breaker,’ let’s not add ‘French Royalty’ to the mix. I definitely don’t want Charlie to act even more strangely around me.”

Andre stopped what he was doing and stared at her. Was she on the verge of realizing her feelings for Charlie Weasley?

“I mean, ever since he saw my house in London, he’s been acting strange, as if the fact my family is well-off disturbed him. I’m pretty sure that if he hadn’t seen my house, he would have asked me to the ball way sooner. We are friends and prefects, after all, so it was the logical thing to do, but took him so long to ask me, I was on the verge of doing it myself!” exclaimed Alice.

“So… You would have asked him to the ball if he hadn’t? You wouldn’t have asked someone else, like, say… Barnaby?” asked Andre, doing his best to hide his smile.

“Barnaby? Well, if Charlie had asked someone else, then I would have asked Barnaby, but he’s not a prefect, he doesn’t NEED someone to dance with. Charlie and I were in the same predicament, so it just made sense to go together.”

“Yeah, but if none of you were prefects, who would you have asked to the ball?” probed Andre.

“No one. I would just have gone to the ball with all my friends,” said Alice as she started to close the jewelry cases.

“Ugh… You are hopeless,” muttered Andre.

“What did you say?” asked Alice, closing the last jewelry case.

“Nothing, nothing…” replied Andre just as Alice’s grandmother entered the room.

“So, you have found everyzing zat you needed?” she asked, looking at the closed cases.

“Yes, thank you. Very nice of you to come all this way,” said Alice with a stiff smile plastered on her face.

“As I said, it was no problem at all. Gave me a chance to catch up with Albus. He told me very interesting zings about you,” her grandmother replied. With a flick of her wand, all the cases floated towards her open purse and got inside it.

“I can imagine…” grumbled Alice.

“I was also very happy to see you,” she said, kissing her granddaughter’s forehead. “You haven’t visited Paris nor Sarrians in a while. You should come next summer.”

“Sure…” replied Alice.

“Andre, it was a pleasure meeting you,” said Aurore, turning to the other Ravenclaw. “I’m sure you will be a great fashion designer one day.”

“Oh! Thanks, but I actually want to be a Quidditch player,” replied Andre proudly.

“Really?” replied the elderly lady as she looked back at the dress. “Quel gaspillage… Oh, well, I hope you enjoy the ball. Au revoir!”

After she had left, Alice started placing the jewelry they had chosen in a little velvet pouch until Andre suddenly realized something. “We forgot to choose a ring!”

“I have one,” said Alice, unperturbed as she tightened the strings of the little pouch.

“You picked one? I didn’t see it,” pointed out Andre, rubbing his chin.

“Already had it. A white gold eternity ring with blue coloured stones. Parents gave it to me after I was sorted into Ravenclaw,” explained Alice as they left the room. 

“Are you sure it’s going to work with everything else?” asked Andre.

“It will,” replied Alice as they stood at the entrance of the Great Hall and could see their friends eating and happily chatting. “Now, remember what I told you. Not a word about my grandmother or her background to anyone, or your chance of ever coming to Paris with me will be null.”

“An empty threat. You didn’t look like you wanted to go visit your grandparents in France,” pointed out Andre.

“Well, maybe I’ll change my mind, especially if I know it’s something I can hold over your head,” said Alice, a sly smile appearing on her face as she made her way toward her friends.

“There are days when I think she should be in Slytherin…” mumbled Andre to himself before following her inside.

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A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed. I was loosely inspired by the 2018 HPHM Fictober prompt “First Snow” (loosely as in “the story does not revolve around it, but that prompt led me to write this fic”). So the main fic of the series is approaching... Which means I’ll have to write a ball scene with dancing and everything. If anyone has tips on how to write a ball scene, let me know. (I may have looked at the various ball scenes in War & Peace...)