It was an exquisitely detailed oil painting, depicting a naked young woman bound to a cross. Beneath her, a roaring fire fueled by stacked logs was slowly rising, little by little devouring her body.
As Jon stared at the painting without blinking, the girl bound to the cross suddenly snapped her eyes open and shot him a fierce glare.
Startled, Jon hastily turned away—
Fortunately, the girl in the painting didn't make a scene.
Opposite the painting stood a statue. It depicted a rooster—an enormous one at that. Jon estimated it stood nearly two meters tall. Behind the statue, the rooster appeared to be guarding a bronze-colored door.
The rooster statue lifted its head arrogantly, gazed down at Jon from above, and spoke in a human voice.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
Standing before such a gigantic rooster, Jon couldn't help but feel an indescribable sense of pressure and unease.
"I'm Christopher Patrick!" he answered quickly. "I'm here to see Headmistress Madame Maxime… um… I have something I need to speak with her about!"
"The Headmistress is inside," the giant rooster said coldly. Then it swaggered to the side, clearing a path for him.
Staring at the completely unobstructed bronze door, Jon was momentarily stunned.
No password. No questioning. Not even an announcement.
He hadn't expected it to be this easy for a student to meet the Headmistress at Beauxbatons.
"Hurry up!" the giant rooster snapped impatiently.
Dragging along robes that were slightly too large for him, Jon hurried forward, pushed open the bronze door, and stepped inside.
...
Passing through the bronze door, Jon entered the Headmistress's office.
In an instant, he felt as though he had wandered into the land of giants from Gulliver's Travels.
The desks, chairs, furniture, and decorations—everything was nearly a full size larger than what Jon was used to. For example, there was an object nearly as tall as one and a half people that he only recognized as a teapot after a great deal of effort.
On the other side of the room stood a bed the size of a small house, raised more than a meter off the ground. Jon felt that climbing onto it would be no easy task.
Madame Maxime seemed to sense the disturbance inside her office. A cold snort echoed through the room.
Jon immediately turned his head and saw the Headmistress of Beauxbatons seated behind a desk at the far end of the office. She held a magnifying glass in one hand and a document in the other.
"What is it?" she asked coolly.
"Well, Madame Maxime…" Jon hurried forward. "I'm Christopher Patrick, from—"
His words came to an abrupt halt.
As he approached, the towering desk completely blocked his view, leaving him unable to see Madame Maxime at all.
Just as he was about to step back, the floor beneath his feet suddenly began to move.
Like an earthquake, the marble slab under him rose sharply upward. Jon had no choice but to steady himself and remain calm to avoid falling.
The floor lifted by nearly a meter. Now, most of Jon's upper body was visible above the desk, and he could finally see Madame Maxime clearly from close range.
She looked entirely accustomed to this arrangement, as though she had prepared for it long ago.
A strong scent of perfume drifted from the Headmistress. Jon noticed her rough, olive-toned face, her jet-black eyes, and her sharply pointed nose. The enormous opal jewelry she wore glittered dazzlingly before his eyes.
Madame Maxime set both the magnifying glass and the document down on the desk. Jon noticed that the normally sized file was almost as large as her palm.
"Christopher… Patrick?" she murmured, frowning slightly.
She then waved her hand toward the pile of documents to her right. Instantly, a stream of papers flew into the air. Most of them promptly returned to the stack, but one document drifted into the Headmistress's hand.
Madame Maxime picked up her magnifying glass again and began reading the file carefully.
...
After about a minute, she set both the magnifying glass and the document aside once more.
"Transferred from Durmstrang a year ago, correct… and then spent a year as an exchange student at Hogwarts," she said sternly, clearly having forgotten her brief encounter with him the previous year. "So, Mr. Patrick, what is it you need? If you're asking about matters concerning new students, you should speak with the fifth-year prefect, Melanie Thierry."
"It's like this, Professor Maxime," Jon replied calmly. "I would like to apply for a leave of absence."
"A leave of absence?" The Headmistress's expression changed instantly. "Mr. Patrick, are you certain? If I'm not mistaken, you're a fifth-year student. The O.W.L.s at the end of fifth year are among the most important examinations of your life, and there are no second chances. You intend to take a leave during this period? Do you have a special reason?"
Naturally, Jon wasn't about to say something as arrogant as I don't think I can learn anything at school.
He lowered his head, forcing his voice to sound heavy and sincere.
"Professor Maxime… a very close friend of mine has fallen gravely ill. It's nearly incurable. She doesn't have much time left and could pass away at any moment. I hope to take a leave of absence so I can be with her during this time."
"If I remember correctly, there haven't been any Beauxbatons students suffering from terminal illnesses in recent years," Madame Maxime said. Her cold, severe tone softened slightly as she continued.
"She isn't a classmate… I met her in England," Jon answered honestly. "The healers at St. Mungo's say she likely won't make it past Christmas. I hope you can understand. I want to accompany her during the final part of her life."
"What exactly is the illness?" Madame Maxime asked gently, her expression softening further. "There aren't many truly incurable conditions in the wizarding world. Tell me, and I'll see whether there's anything I can do, or any advice I can offer."
Jon froze.
Only then did he fully realize that the half-giant witch before him was, in fact, one of the most accomplished witches in all of Europe.
Despite her unusual appearance and troubled lineage, she had risen to become the Headmistress of the largest magical academy on the continent. Madame Olympe Maxime's mastery of magic might be even greater than Jon had imagined.
She might truly be able to offer something useful.
Jon took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn.
"It's a blood curse, Madam."