66The first of month of Ron's stay in Beauxbatons was something he found difficult only because of two things: the language barrier and the food.
Upon the first day of classes, their professor informed them that a student would be able to learn French within the year especially in an environment where it's commonly used, so after that lesson, Ron had this pressure which weigh heavily upon him. This was the reason out of all of the classes he had, he took his French classes seriously. The only comforting thought was his French professor Lucille Renaud was very pleasant and patient. She answered every student's questions, corrected their pronunciations without sounding condescending, and made learning French easy and fun. But of course, he also was grateful to Daniel who helped him provide additional clarity on certain things as someone who was already ahead of learning the language.
As for the food, it was something he had to get used to. It wasn't like the food wasn't delicious, Ron enjoyed the fact he got to experience trying out something new, but he always had to ask what kind of food it was and how it should be eaten because he was very much conscious with his actions, especially with the likes of Jacques and his goons nitpicking everything they see. It was a good thing Axel distracted him by talking and explaining him a lot of things like his culture, and among other things.
He also joined the Chess Club after a week since the start of the school year, and he loved spending time there. He met new people there and other two students in his year who liked playing the game named Henrietta Baudelaire and Renard Castillon.
It was very hectic but it was something he managed.
On one windy October, Ron found the time to write two letters, one for this parents, and the other for younger sister Ginny. He did his best writing everything he could in half a roll of parchment because he wanted to assure them he was doing well from the other side of Europe. Once he was done, he told both Daniel and Axel where he would go before leaving the dormitory.
As he walked towards the Owlery, he had the unfortunate run-in with no other than Jacques. "And look what we have here," snarked the blonde boy.
Ron ignored him but his ears went slightly pink. He remembered Axel and Daniel telling him the best way to piss off anyone was to treat them like they never existed. If only that was easy.
The redhead's feigning ignorance annoyed Jacques. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me, you vache espagnole!"
Ron turned around so fast his right fist was already raised which frightened the other boy. "You say that one more time, and I'll make sure you'll be speaking in limericks for a whole week!" he said threateningly. He was grateful for Daniel who told him the common French insults because he was told any learner needs to know when they're being insulted.
"Is there a problem?" a familiar voice spoke behind Ron.
Ron turned around and saw Emma along with some other students in her year.
Jacques began speaking French and Ron had a feeling he was telling them the exact opposite of what happened. "Actually, he called me une vache espagnole when I decided to ignore his pathetic existence while going to the Volière," he said to her flatly.
Emma and others gasped and frowned at Jacques and his friends. "This will be reported to Madame Maxime!" she said sternly and Jacques's face paled. "Mister Weasley, you may go to the Volière," she said in her heavy accent.
One of Emma's friends approached Ron and said, "Do not mind the young boy, he is quite immature. You will do well with your French, yes?" she spoke with very heavy accent, but he was able to understand her well. When Ron looked up, he felt all of the air vanished from his lungs. The student in question was tall and willowy, and quite beautiful – no, very beautiful, so beautiful everything around her seem to fade. She had long shiny silver blonde hair which shined under the sun's rays, dazzling blue eyes sparkling like sapphires, and perfect glowing skin which radiated her even more.
"I – I will," he stammered, his eyes wide.
Another student caught the blonde's attended and all of them left with Jacques being forced to follow. After they left, Ron seemed to have regained his consciousness and was left staring at the path where Emma and the other students, especially the beautiful blonde student, were last seen.
"You must have met Señorita Delacour," hummed Axel during dinnertime.
"That's her name?" spluttered Ron.
The Spanish boy shook his head while chuckling. "That's her surname. Her full name is Fleur Delacour. She's a fifth-year and the most popular witch here in Beauxbatons. And she's part-Veela."
"Part-Veela?"
Axel nodded. "Despite a quarter-Veela, she still has a strong pull on men. It's common for men to act loco when around a Veela, full or not," he told them. "How was la experiencia?"
Ron chewed on his Bouillabaisse first, then swallowed, and answered. "It's like my mind went blank, and I couldn't breathe at all," he told them embarrassedly. "I don't want to feel that way again, though. I don't want to make myself an idiot."
Daniel patted him on the back. "We get you."
The next month went slightly smoother. The classes became more interesting as the students were finally able to learn spellcasting, and in French class, they move past the number system, greetings, and phrases, and were now formulating basic sentences. The temperature dropped quickly that Ron changed to his winter outfits after remembering Beauxbatons is located in the Pyrenees Mountains.
Speaking of December, it was already Christmas season and the whole school was more enchanting than ever. There were icicle sculptures around the dining chamber, wood nymphs serenading, the high ceiling with magical snowflakes falling beautifully down, tall Christmas trees decorated with bright ornaments etc. On one fine Saturday morning, Ron noticed a particular owl landing right in front of him with a letter tied on its left leg. "For me?" he asked in a surprised tone.
The owl let out a low squawk. Ron took the letter and expected the owl to fly off but didn't. "You don't get to see a Pharoah owl every day," mused Daniel.
"Pharoah owl? So it means -" Ron hastily opened the letter and his eyes widened. "It's from Bill!"
"You mean your older brother who works in Egypt?" inquired Daniel before taking a bite from the croissant he's holding.
Hi Ron,
I hope you're doing well in Beauxbatons. I've managed to ask for two weeks off (20-December to 03-January) from work so I can spend time with you. I'll pick you up at the assembly area in France. I'm sure you want to practice your French so this would be a good opportunity to immerse yourself with locals. Let me know if this fancies you.
Your oldest brother,
Bill
"What did your brother tell you?" asked Axel curiously, peering over Ron's shoulder.
"He's asking me if I want to spend Christmas with him in France!" grinned Ron, showing him and Daniel the letter. "I suppose he knows French, right?"
"There's a huge number of French speakers in Egypt, so I think your brother would be well-versed with the language on top of Arabic," informed Daniel. "Are you going to take up his offer?"
"Of course I am! It's been two years since I last saw him," nodded the redhead. He fished out a piece of parchment, quill, and inkpot, and hastily wrote. "You're waiting for me to reply, huh?" he asked the Pharoah owl with a lopsided grin. The owl gave out a squawk in response. Ron tied the letter to the owl's left leg and said, "Take this to Bill."
As soon as the owl left, Ron was more than convinced that he made the right decision to study in Beauxbatons.
And that's the end of the chapter. I know it's short but I feel it's best to end it like this. Ron finally met Fleur Delacour and he's excited to meet Bill again. What do you think will happen in the next chapter?