Fairy Tale? No, Wizard's

Welcome to hell i.e. My life

Here am I, staring at her, listening to Aerosmith's 'Just Push Play' for the third time and mouthing the lyrics, as usual. Everyday is the same. "Love me, Jaded" a low whisper came out of my mouth, to my own surprise. I wasn't planning to sing the song out loud and I became red, as I usually did. I noticed three girls looking at me and giggling. Great. At least tomorrow is Saturday and I'll be out of here.

But before talking about anything, I think I'm supposed to present myself, am I not? Hum, ok... I'm Conrad Sconfox, a sixteen-year-old boy, in my sixth year of school in Beauxbatons Academy, the most awful place to study on the whole planet, period. I won't say anything else about the school because I don't want to shock you. Well, what else should I say about myself?

My looks? Yeah, maybe it would help you a little. OK: I have green eyes, I am 175cm tall, I weigh around 65 kg, I have not-too-long dark blond hair, it hangs almost by my shoulders, I don't know how to explain it, coz my fashion vocabulary sucks. I have well-toned muscles, especially in the arms and in the chest. I wear glasses to read and I'm usually dressed like a normal student, in a Beauxbatons light-blue robe. Outside school, I prefer to wear something more casual, like jeans and a white t-shirt or no t-shirt at all (I'm a drummer, what did you expect?).

Oh, I didn't say that before, did I?? I'm sorry about making it sound so obvious. I'm a drummer in a rock band, called Drakma, and in a mixed styled one, named Heat Fusion and I practise during weekends in a friend's house in the local all-Magical village, Stranfraise. He has a nice drum kit and he usually lends me it, since he became a bassist. We also play in the local bar some Muggle rock songs. Our favorite is The Darkness' 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love'. It's a killer song and the lyrics are very nice actually (ok, not that nice, but the tone the guy sings with is cool... and slightly funny). I'm a songwriter also, but I limit myself by doing only the instrumental part on my computer (and playing the drum part, of course). I'm kinda good at it and my work is well known in the places we play.

Yeah, I'm sure this is the good part of my life. The bad part is when I have to come back here, for school. Well, I have nothing against the school itself, I guess, except for one thing: they teach in French and, though I understand everything they say, I don't speak it fluently, as most people here. I speak with a certain difficulty, a lot of pauses and a bunch of English words and expressions in the middle of sentences. This surely drives native people nuts, so I prefer to not speak at all, with some exceptions. I was born in Scotland and English's my first language. When I was 2, we moved to London because Dad was transferred in his work. There, I attended a Muggle school till I was nearly 10 years old and then my parents moved to a house near Geneva, in Switzerland. And as Beauxbatons was the best school near, I'm bound to study here. Such bad luck, isn't it? I really preferred being in Hogwarts, but, unfortunately, that was not my decision.

I'm seen as nerd around here, due to my high averages and the quantity of books I usually carry. You probably assumed that my posture isn't the best since I walk everyday with 5 books in my backpack. I'm really a bookworm, I confess. But I'm curious and I like to know about things. And reading is an efficient method to do so. Like that, I discovered the Episkey spell, which we are taught only in the middle of this year and the secret grounds of the school.

But, before I start talking about the secret things of the school which I discovered, I should give you a brief idea about the school and how it works, because I think you don't have any. Yeah, I know Hogwarts is a thousand times more famous than Beauxbatons and people tend to know everything about it and nothing about this southern French school. That annoys me a little, but I can't change it.

Ok, let's go then: the school is a palace, which was built after Hogwarts and Durmstrang. It's a beautiful place, fully decorated with enchanted ice sculptures and famous paintings, which gives the school the air of an art gallery. Like other famous schools, it is divided into three houses, which are named in French. I'm a Chouette (owl, in French), which means, I'm in Saivert's house. Saivert symbol is an owl, coz its founder, Duke Richard R. T. Saivert, was considered to be a wise wizard and he did have an owl as a pet, which was very loyal to him. Well, I suppose you're curious about the names of the two other houses. They are: Wolfgangs house (Pantheres) and Felicius house (Dragons). Now about the outside, which I think it is the most beautiful part of the Academy.

The school grounds have a little enchanted garden-maze, which always looks different, no matter how many times you've been there. The maze holds the most beautiful flowers of the season and the arrangements are always well done. Well, I'm a flower appreciator, what can I say? The front doors lead to the lake, which has beautiful crystal clear waters and is very deep (we had a class about Grindylows and we had to dive into it. It's colorful and beautiful); to the Quidditch courts (yes, there are 3): one for practising, one for school games and an official one (the furthest one, by the way). The official one is the most famous in France and often holds the national Quidditch cup and the European cup; to the greenhouse and to the cliffs not too far away from the school, where you can be delighted with the vision of the bluest sea in French territory. They also have a fountain in front of the doors, with Beauxbatons' symbol, two wands crossed and their tops expelling water. It's really a beautiful sight.

But, before I end the subject of me, me, me and other things related to me, you're bound to ask me the question: "why do you compare your school life to hell? It sounded so nice actually!" Well, during vacations, I confess I have no complaints about anything in my life. Until I come back here and face the truth. Oh, that's a little hard to explain, so I'll try my best, as the poet I am: when you want something which is not bought, even with billions and billions of pounds, happiness isn't that easily achieved. And in my case, that something is so unreachable, so painful, it's a deep cut in my heart. I bet Cruciatus is no match for it.

Have you ever lived in a constant tension, wondering how close the edge can be without falling down? Well, this year I fell. Onto a hard, cold ground called reality, where dreams have no space and poets, no hope. But that's enough with depressing metaphors. The fact is: I am in love.