Around 1:00 PM

It was days like these that Delphine Devereux lived for. The buzzing of the crowds, the music, and above all else, the knowledge that she was in a foreign country made Del's face feel like it was going to split from smiling so much. Though, even if it did, the springy girl would probably continue taking in the festivities with the same vim and vigor she was now. From the music to the food, everything was an absoute delight. She was certain the only thing that could make it better was if she were to come across Samuel, the Salem boy who had been her penpal, and whose picture she kept in her back pocket for reference.

Between bouts of dancing, sampling food, and scanning the crowd for Samuel, Delphine had taken to collecting opinions and reactions from those in attendance, for a huge international meeting like this was not about to go unreported by the aspiring journalist. She had her bright, rainbow-colored notebook in hand, with a glittery purple ink pen nestled in the wire spine. Her excitability was working against her craft on this day, for she was prone to bounding off at the sight of anything interesting- which, for Del, was everything. She only had a few quotes written down, scratched haphazardly in her favorite violet ink. Believing it time to get some more opinions, she approached someone with their back turned to her, stood up on her tiptoes, and tapped them on the shoulder.

"Excusez-moi, pourrais-je vous demander quelque chose?"[1]

1.	"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"

Josh was enjoying himself at the dance that had been put on for students to get to know people from the other schools, and was just leaving the dancefloor, when someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind. Hearing a rather familiar voice ask him a question in french, he spun around. It certainly looked like it was... he hadn't seen her in years, ever since that holiday they spent at their holiday home in France. "Delphine?" He asked, his voice incredulous. He was so surprised, he hadn't even answered her question.

The unexpected use of her name made Delphine look up from her now open notebook. With her brow furrowed in confusion, she switched to English (noting that the speaker was British) as she lifted her head, "Yes... how did you--?" However, she interrupted herself when she discovered the face of someone she thought long lost. Her hazel eyes widened with the recognition, and a face-splitting grin graced her face once more. Josh had certainly changed since that summer three years ago, but there was no doubt in Del's mind that it was him. "Josh!" she squealed, dropping her book and enveloping the boy in a tackle-like hug (though of course Delphine's tininess could never bring down the muscular young man Josh had become). "Mon dieu, it is truly you! What are you doing here?" In the haze of her excitement, it never occurred to Delphine to think about the possibility that the young British wizard she met on holiday in France went to Hogwarts.

It was. Delphine Devereaux. the 11-year old he had known had got taller, although still short. Other than that, she hadn't changed much. Whne she hugged him, he leaned down slightly and returned the hug, smiling widely. "Yes, it's me. As for what I'm doing here, you know I'm British, so I'm here as a Hogwarts Student." Josh said, his voice lightly teasing. He knew full well Delphine was just excited, or she'd have made the connection before now.

Delphine released him and playfully slapped her forehead with her palm. "Of course!" she exclaimed, giggling off her brain-lag. Remembering her notebook, she stooped down to pick it up and placed it roughly back in the striped bag she carried on her shoulder. Del took a small step back and clasped her hands together, making the colourful plastic bracelets on her wrists clack together.

Three years didn't seem all that long to most, but for Delphine it was like a lifetime. When she and Josh had first met, she had not even started at Beauxbatons yet- her unbounded excitement at finally being able to attend the magic school was the reason her parents decided to take a holiday. Ultimately, it had been an attempt to calm or distract their overwhelmingly enthusiastic daughter. Three summers ago, she was still a child; and now, she fancied, she was a woman. And Josh was without any doubt a man now: though plenty athletic when they met, he was now muscular- and tall! "You must tell me about Hogwarts- everything!" she blurted out, seemingly unaware what a vague request that was.

Josh didnt comment on Delphine's overexcited inability to think, although it was amusing it had apparently not stopped yet. Still, Delphine was clearly still the same as when they met. she'd been overexcited then, as well, and Josh found it just as amusing then as he did now. "You'll need to be more specific, Delphine, and we should probably find somewhere to sit down. We'll likely be talking a while. besides, I'd like to hear what Beauxbatons is like.

"Right," she affirmed, taking the older boy's hand and tugging him toward a table set up not far from where they were standing. However, she fond Josh to be quite sturdy and unable to be budged by what little strength she possessed. So, Delphine began to walk over to the table and beckoned her once-lost friend to follow her, "Come, here!" After practically flinging herself into one of the chairs and dropping her bag to the ground beside her, she cupped her chin, searching her mind for the best question to start with. Finally, she settled on "How have you been doing? What has happened since I last saw you?" Her voice was as high and passionate as ever, and her hands moved wildly as she spoke.

Josh followed Delphine to a table, finding her attempts at towing him to the table amusing. "I've bee doing well, generally. A year of not much happening, then utter insanity. Remembering Day last year kicked everything off. An Auror got murdered, along with a Wizengamot member. One of the 7th years got accused of the crime, then ran. turns out he was innocent, but was murdered before he could be told. That and there seem to be all sorts of things going on.  Still, on the good side, I've been playing Quidditch, made prefect last year, and we have a new Headmistress. Who, while I was away on a schooltrip to Egypt, went missing." Josh said, frowning. Headmistress Snark still hadn't been found to Josh's knowledge.

Delphine's eyebrows looked about ready to jump into her hairline as she listened with rapt attention to Josh's news. "Murder? Kidnapping? Oh mon dieu!" She seized the boy's much larger hands, "Did they find the murderer? And the Headmistress?" Although Del was interested in the other events, like Josh's appointment to prefect (whatever that was... but it sounded important) and his trip to Egypt, would have to be discussed later. This was front-page stuff! She wondered briefly why they weren't told of the Hogwarts headmistress's disappearance. Was Madame Bisclavret hiding something?

Well, that could also come later. She shook away the thoughts- literally, with her thick hair bouncing with the motion- and tucked them away in the back of her mind to ponder at another time.

"I don't think they ever did solve the Remembering Day Murders, no. I'd rtaher not tlak about ti, if you don't mind, since I was there at the time, and knew the student accused of the crime. he was innocent, and was himself murdered before he could be formally exonerated." Josh said, shuddering. "And the Headmistress is still missing, I think they're going to appoint a temporary Headmaster until she's found so the school can open in September. Deputy head quit, too." Josh said, thinking about anything he could have forgotten. "Oh, and there's one thing that's happened recently. I'm an animagus." Josh said.

Delphine's face fell at the thought of upsetting him. Her curiosity could be so meddlesome sometimes... "I am so sorry," she said softly, her accent thicker due to the blow to her confidence. She made a point to meet his eyes, "Forgive me." Her small hand gingerly reached to touch his in apology. "I will not speak of it anymore."

However, she resolved to save her thoughts for later, so she flipped open her notebook, clicked her pen and scribbled Remembering Day murders and Headmistress kidnapping on the first available page. Maybe Monsieur Gries or one of the teachers from the other schools knew more. Satisfied, she closed the book with an audible "thud" and slapped the pen down on top. Her attention was once again focused on Josh, her eyes widening at the word "animagus". "An animagus!" she chirped, her perkiness returned to her, "What do you turn into?" Delphine had come to understand that one's patronus and one's animagus form were based on personality, and maybe even one's very soul. Perhaps she would take up animagus training... the fourth year hoped she would turn into a beautiful bird of some kind- but then, she hadn't even cast a patronus yet. "And what is a prefect?" she asked abruptly, a question from before suddenly coming to her.

"Don't worry about ti, Delphine, you wouldn't know. Juts be careful talking about it, especially the kidnapping." Josh said, hoping to dissuade her from irritating anyone. "I haven't been an animagus long. Actually, I'm still-"Josh was cut off at this point by a ministry owl arriving. Frowning, as he hadn't done any magic recently to get a warning for underage magic, he took the letter from the owl, the owl flying off. "let me just see what this is ,it can't be a warning for underage magic unless Charles has been doing something." Josh said to Delphine. slitting the envelope open, he looked at the letter. OK, it was the confirmation of him being registered as an animagus, and a letter of congratulation for achieving it. " What I was going to say is i was still waiting for my registration as an animagus to come through, that owl was the confirmation. means I can show you my animagus form." Josh said, then heard Delphine's second question. "A prefect is a student given powers to help enforce the rules of the school within their House. Essentially, we patrol the corridors part of the nght, and can take points or assign detention to any member of our House. In my case, Gryffindor." Josh replied.