Beauxbatons

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Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons)
Harry Potter School
Established	1300s or earlier
School type	Witchcraft and wizardry
Head	Olympe Maxime
Location	South of France
First appearance	The Goblet of Fire

Beauxbatons Academy of Magic (French: Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons) is a fictional magic school similar to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series of books. It was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and existed at least 700 years ago, as that was when they began participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Beauxbatons is located in France and its current headmistress is Olympe Maxime. The school coat of arms is two golden wands crossed over one another, each shooting three stars. The French translation of Beauxbatons is "Beautiful Sticks", but in this case, "Beautiful Wands".

1 Location
2 Uniforms and Study
3 The Palace of Beauxbatons
4 Film Changes
5 See also

[edit] Location

Bouillabaisse was one of the foods served at the opening feast of the Triwizard Tournament, and it was received with enthusiasm by the Beauxbatons students. This fish soup is widely served in the southeast of France, therefore Beauxbatons could be located somewhere on the Mediterranean coast of France, perhaps around Marseille. This may also explain why the Beauxbatons students were so cold when they arrived at Hogwarts, which is located further north in Scotland. When Hagrid and Maxime set out on a secret quest for the giants at the end of book four, Hagrid is questioned about where they went (in book five). He airily replies that he went to the South of France.

[edit] Uniforms and Study

The students' uniforms also suggest they are accustomed to warmer weather than they encounter at Hogwarts; Beauxbatons robes are made of light blue silk.

Beauxbatons students follow a strict system of protocol concerning the behaviour of students towards their professors, noticeably absent at Hogwarts, standing when their headmistress enters the room. (This is actually fairly common in normal French schools; Rowling herself once lived and taught in France.) They also seem to care more about their studies and their school's reputation. The French school follows a different examination system as well. At Hogwarts, major board exams are taken in the fifth and seventh years. Beauxbatons students sit for their exams in the sixth year. There are also alot of veelas at Beauxbatons.

[edit] The Palace of Beauxbatons

The Academy is housed in a glittering palace, brighter than Hogwarts Castle, as befitting its distinct Mediterranean feel. The food, at least according to alumna Fleur Delacour, is delicious but much lighter than the food served at Hogwarts. Rather than suits of armour, the halls of Beauxbatons are flanked by statues of ice that glitter like diamonds during the Christmas season. The palace contains choirs of wood nymphs, who serenade the students while they eat. Beauxbatons is Unplottable (as most magical buildings are), so no Muggles or even wizards from rival schools can find it on a map, and it may be disguised so no one can really see it unless they know to look for it. "Beaux bâtons" is French for "beautiful sticks". The "bâtons" part is presumably a reference to magical wands. The French word for "magic wand" is "baguette magique", which would make most people in the English-speaking world think of a loaf of bread, so it is not surprising that Rowling did not use it.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Beauxbatons competed in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament. The champion for Beauxbatons turned out to be Fleur Delacour. Neither Fleur nor the other Beauxbatons were very impressed with Hogwarts; Fleur spent much of her time bragging about how much better Beauxbatons was.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Olympe Maxime journeyed with Hagrid to get the giants on Dumbledore's side before Lord Voldemort could. Also in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Fleur Delacour is back as Bill's fiancée.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Film Changes

In the film adaptation of The Goblet of Fire, it is implied that Beauxbatons is an all-girls' school. This differs from the book: male Beauxbatons students are clearly mentioned in The Goblet of Fire novel. Hogwarts student Parvati Patil even briefly dates a Beauxbatons boy.