Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
From Harry Potter Wiki
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| Beauxbatons Academy of Magic | |
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| School information | |
| Location | |
| Headmaster | |
| Behind the scenes | |
| First appearance | |
| Latest appearance |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only) |
Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is a magic school located near the city of Cannes in southern France.[1] Beauxbatons's current Headmistress is Madame Olympe Maxime. The school Coat of Arms is two golden wands crossed over one another, each shooting three stars. "Beaux bâtons" is French for "beautiful batons." The "batons" are likely representative of wands.
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[edit] The School
Beauxbatons is similar to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Academy has existed for over seven hundred years. During the 1994–1995 school year, a delegation of senior Beauxbatons students and their Headmistress stayed near Hogwarts Castle in Britain to participate in a new Triwizard Tournament. The group arrived in a pastel blue coach pulled by twelve huge, winged horses. The carriage door was embossed with the golden coat of arms and opened to reveal golden steps. The horses also were golden-coloured, with red eyes, and fed on single-malt whiskey. From October until the end of the school year, the entire delegation stayed on Hogwarts grounds, sleeping and presumably studying inside the coach, and eating in the Hogwarts Great Hall. The school champion was Fleur Delacour. They did not win the Tournament
[edit] The Castle
The Academy is a glittering palace, most probably newer and brighter than the Hogwarts castle. Both Hogwarts and Durmstrang are in castles; however, Fleur Delacour described Beauxbatons as a palace. The food at Beauxbatons, at least according to Fleur, is delicious, but much lighter than the food served at Hogwarts. Students are serenaded while they dine by choirs of wood nymphs. At Christmas time the dining hall is adorned with great, non-melting ice sculptures. Beauxbatons is Unplottable, so no Muggles or even wizards from rival schools can find it on a map, and then it is disguised so that no one can really see it unless they know to look for it.
Some have speculated that since bouillabaisse was served at the opening feast of the Triwizard Tournament, and this fish soup is generally served in south-east France, Beauxbatons could be somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, perhaps Marseilles. Also, Hagrid tells Harry, Hermione and Ron that he pretended to go towards Beauxbatons to shake off followers(while going to find giants), then told professor Umbridge that he had been in southern France.
This would also explain why Beauxbatons students are so cold when they are at Hogwarts. Beauxbatons uniforms are made of light blue silk. Other indicators are perceived accents and the confirmed ethnicity of student Fleur Delacour. Like Fleur says "ze" instead of "the" which is commonplace for French people speaking English.
Beauxbatons students stand at attention from when their Headmistress enters the room until she seats herself. They also seem to care more about their studies and their school's reputation.
According to Fleur Delacour, Beauxbatons students have their first exam after their sixth year.
[edit] Known Students
- Fleur Delacour - Triwizard Champion of Beauxbatons during the Triwizard Tournament in 1994.
- Gabrielle Delacour - Fleur Delacour's younger sister.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- In the The Goblet of Fire film, Beauxbatons appears to be an all-girl school. However, the book makes scattered references to male Beauxbatons students.
- In the The Goblet of Fire film, Beauxbatons is pronounced wrong. Dumbledore says boh-BAT-tons, but in reality, if Beauxbatons is a French school, it would be pronounced BOH-bat-ton. This appears to be an error of pronunciation on Dumbledore's behalf, seen as the French students pronounce it correctly.
- In the movie all Beauxbatons girls appear to be attractive, whereas in the book Fleur Delacour, as she is part Veela, seems to be the only standout.
- In the movie, the Beauxbatons Coat of Arms is a shield surrounded by golden lines where as in the book it is 2 crossed wands shooting sparks. However, two crossed wands can be seen at the top of the film-version coat of arms.
[edit] Etymology
Beauxbatons was likely devised from the French "beaux bâtons," literally translated as "beautiful sticks"; however in French the word "bâton" is also used to mean "wand."
