Olympe Maxime

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Olympe Maxime is a character from the Harry Potter series, created by J. K. Rowling. She is French and is the headmistress of Beauxbatons, the French wizarding school. Maxime's preferred mode of transportation when travelling with her students is a great powder-blue carriage drawn by twelve winged palominos(seven in the film) (Abraxan winged horses, which Madame Maxime breeds). She is played by Frances de la Tour in the fourth film.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Olympe Maxime was first seen in the fourth book (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) when she and some French students arrived at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. Due to her huge size, it was found that she was a half-giant. She fiercely denies this, but in view of her great height like Hagrid, the conclusion is inescapable.

Hagrid flirted with her briefly, but she was repulsed when he admitted to being a half-giant himself; she may have been in denial, or may have disliked Hagrid's bluntness on the issue. They became involved, however, by the end of the book.

She is described as being elegant and wearing black satin robes in the novel version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She is also described as having olive skin and handsome features (when applied to a woman, 'handsome' means attractive but not quite pretty).

She is mentioned in the fifth book (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) by Hagrid. He tells Harry, Ron and Hermione that Madame Maxime and he visited the Giants during that summer. Hagrid describes her spellwork as "brilliant", when faced with the giants.

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Madame Maxime is among those paying respects at Dumbledore's funeral. She hadn't been mentioned throughout the novel, but it appears that she and Hagrid still enjoy a warm relationship as they comfort one another.

Olympe is the French word for Olympus, the mountain home of the Greek gods; it presumably refers to her size and imposing looks. Maxime is French for "principle", a play on her being the "principal" of her school. It is derived from the Latin "maxima", the feminine form of "maximus," meaning "greatest" or "biggest." "Maxime" is also Latin for "principally", or "particularly."

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