I thoroughly enjoyed this -- a story that preserves Xeno's oddities without making him some sort of ineffable weirdo. You really bring him fully alive here as intelligent and vivid. And I like Albus, too; he's complex and believable. Horace is a delight, in his totally Horace-ian way -- a comfy hedonistic security blanket of a man. Like other commentators, I adore your delicate-but-strong Beauxbatons, and the academic politics make me feel right at home /g/. Finally, the dirigible plum is the perfect unifying device for this particular trio. Thank you! A treat of a story.