"Good morning, Lucien."
Lucien had just stepped into a garden composed of crystalline ice sculptures and hardy magical flora when a crisp greeting reached his ears.
He looked up to see Fleur walking toward him. She was bathed in a soft, silvery glow that seemed to diffuse gently through the crisp, cold air.
"Good morning, Fleur," Lucien responded with a smile.
From a distance, Fleur had glimpsed Lucien with his head down, speaking into a notebook. Now that she was closer, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Were you just... um, 'voice chatting' with someone?"
She pointed to the SwiftSpeak in Lucien's hand.
"It's a video call," Lucien explained. He shifted naturally, angling the book so Fleur was included in the frame. "Perfect timing. Aunt Penelope, let me introduce you. This is a friend I made here at Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour. Fleur, this is my aunt, Penelope Grafton."
On the screen, Aunt Penelope's features were clear, exuding an air of elegance.
Fleur immediately offered a polite, ladylike smile to the image on the page. "Hello, Mrs. Grafton."
However, several seconds ticked by without a response. Aunt Penelope's expression remained exactly as it had been, as if the image had frozen.
Just as Lucien was about to explain that this was due to international signal lag—
"Little Lucien," Aunt Penelope's voice suddenly drifted from the page, speaking at a leisurely pace but carrying that familiar, nagging concern of an elder. "Summer break is only a few months away. Should we arrange for you to meet the second daughter of the Swinton family? I know you aren't in a rush to consider dating or marriage, but you're young—it never hurts to know more outstanding people your age. Besides, you're the only child in our family, and I was just thinking..."
This standard "matchmaking lecture" echoed clearly through the quiet ice sculpture garden, instantly freezing the air for a solid second.
His fingers unconsciously rubbed the cover of the notebook as he turned his head slightly.
This desynchronization of audio and video—this severe lag—really needed to be prioritized...
Clearly, his aunt hadn't "seen" Fleur appear or heard her greeting yet.
The lag was screwing him over!
Perhaps it was time to design an alchemical device similar to headphones, or add a privacy charm to SwiftSpeak...
"Ahem." Lucien cleared his throat, scratched his cheek with his index finger, and unhooked the film camera from his neck, handing it to Fleur with feigned nonchalance. "Fleur, could I trouble you to take a few photos for me? The ice sculptures here are quite unique."
Fleur blinked, pretending she hadn't heard the "family business" just now, and quickly accepted the camera.
"Of course."
She skillfully adjusted the camera settings as she spoke. "When I first arrived at Beauxbatons, I loved taking photos everywhere, too. I'd send them to my parents and my little sister, Gabrielle. Gabrielle is adorable and really looks forward to coming to Beauxbatons, but she's too young. It'll be a few years before she can enroll."
"That sounds lovely," Lucien agreed, standing next to an ice-sculpted rose. "Beauxbatons is beautiful. It's all worth recording."
During a pause in the photography, Fleur remembered Madame Maxime's request. She hesitated, her red lips parting slightly before pressing together again.
Raising the camera and focusing on the boy and the ice sculpture, she asked, feigning casualness:
"Lucien, what do you think of... Beauxbatons?"
"The environment is beautiful, the academic atmosphere is strong, the students are well-mannered, and the professors' courses all have their own unique characteristics," Lucien evaluated objectively.
Fleur's fingers gently grazed the cold metal casing of the camera. The question hovering on the tip of her tongue finally came out, her voice softer than before:
"Then... would you consider staying at Beauxbatons for a while longer? Madame Maxime would certainly be accommodating, and..."
She paused. The phrase "and it's much safer here than at Hogwarts" swirled in her throat, but she ultimately swallowed it back, leaving it unspoken.
Lucien responded with a smile that was both understanding and apologetic. His tone was gentle, but firm.
"Thank you for the offer, Fleur. But I'm more accustomed to life at Hogwarts."
Mainly, he had to rush back to organize the Valentine's Day arrangements. Having just taken on the "Fire Element Rune" loan task, he needed to start the warm-up activities at Hogwarts—whether it was the campus questionnaires or the new products that "Workshop Seven" needed to launch simultaneously.
It was simply more suitable to push these projects forward in the familiar environment of Hogwarts.