(August 5. The date is negotiable, but needs to fall within the timeline for Hogwarts Acceptance Letters...)

It all began as an ordinary shopping trip. Before the next term began Dilly's guardian, Tulojow Nagde, would need a great many supplies...especially with the upcoming Tetrawizard Tournament. Dilly had witnessed the arrival of the other schools on August 1 and was very excited about the coming events. Though she was not yet a student, Dilly hoped that she would be allowed to watch some of them...or if not actually allowed, that she would find a way to sneak in. It would not be the first time Dilly had done this. Fortunately she had never caused much harm with her mischief, probably because Madame Nagde had an uncanny way of turning up at precisely the most incriminating moment. Which is no doubt why Dilly was now uncommonly experienced with a muck rake...

However, Madame Nagde was also very understanding for a grownup. Which is probably why, rather than drag Dilly along on all her errands, she had dropped her off at Sugarplums. The Diagon Alley sweet shop was not quite to the standard of Honeyduke's, but  it would do. Particularly since Dilly had enough money in her pocket to buy herself a treat. 

Dilly wandered to and fro in the shop, torn between Chocolate-Covered Strawberries...which looked positively mouth-watering...and Chocolate-Covered Grasshoppers...which  sounded  repulsive but might be fun sometime in the future. If Madame Nagde did not find out and confiscate them first. Which in turn might mean Dilly would not be trusted on her own next time around...

Sighing, Dilly settled on the strawberries.

Just as she was reaching across the counter for her bag of goodies, an owl came flying into the shop. By now Dilly was used to owls just showing up any old where, so she thought nothing of it.

Until the little old man who'd taken her money untied the scroll attached to the owl's leg, and cleared his throat.  "Erm, Miss...might yer name be Delia Morris?"

Dilly winced. "Yes," she  said warily. "Why? I didn't do nothing."

He chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure it's nothing like that. But...it seems you've a letter."

More suspicious than ever, Dilly took the letter from his hand, as if fearing it might explode.

Miss Delia Morris, she read silently. The checkout counter at Sugarplums, in Diagon Alley. Alarmed that her unknown correspondent knew her whereabouts so precisely, Dilly almost tossed the envelope and ran. But at last curiosity overcame alarm, and she opened it warily. She'd heard of a thing called Howlers...

However...as she began to read the two enclosed pages, her eyes grew wider and wider.

Page the First

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Herschel Reid
   
Dear Miss Morris,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than August 15.

Yours sincerely,
Ignan Storm (Deputy Headmaster)

Page the Second

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Uniform

First-year students will require:
   1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)
   2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
   3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
   4.One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags

Course Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
     The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
     by Miranda Goshawk
     A History of Magic
    by Bathilda Bagshot
     Magical Theory
    by Adalbert Waffling
     A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
    by Emeric Switch
     One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
    by Phyllida Spore
     Magical Drafts and Potions
    by Arsenius Jigger
     Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
    by Newt Scamander
     The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
    by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Of course Dilly knew that sooner or later such a letter would be coming. However...she had not been expecting it for another year.

Which is why, in addition to alternately jumping up and down, and running around waving her arms like a maniac, she uttered a blood-curling screech.

Gerard was finding that settling into life abroad in the magical UK was more in depth than he had previously considered. It wasn't the culture nor a language barrier that troubled him. Rather, a feeling like nostalgia, but nostalgia for false memories. It had begun at Hogwarts Castle and his time acclimating to Hogsmeade. He had been thinking a lot of the things Dorothy had said to him about attending school at Hogwarts and living in this country, his imagination further extrapolating these tales are he saw the locations where they could have taken place. These were a clear contrast to the terse visits he had made in years past. He realized he had never had a chance to enjoy what this country had to offer.

So, on a day after the Beauxbatons delegation had settled, Gerard found he had time to be off. Most of his business would pick up as the school term approached. There were no pressing needs from the headmistress or the students. His journey took him to London and the infamous Diagon Alley. There would be much time throughout the year for him to visit but the summer weather would not last for long. And Gerard Gries was a people watcher, catching the populace in the summer would be more stimulating.

Breakfast was from a sidewalk cafe where Gerard poured over the Daily Prophet, a practice regular since his arrive to the country. In-between articles he took in small details of passerby, never lingering his gaze for long. After that was window shopping, although he could think of nothing to buy until he came to a sweet shop. Gerard never ate much candy but he was known to keep a bowl of hard sweets at his desk when meeting with students. Perhaps a local variety would please the students he oversaw.

Upon entering the establishment, Gerard heard something unexpected. The shrieking of a child. His nerves fired to the ends, his stance shifted, a rare but familiar sensation in times of panic. He reached for wand but hesitated. What wrong could there be in a sweet shop? Once his eyes grew accustomed to the shop interior, he noticed the screaming was coming from a small girl scampering about who appeared to be under no threat of danger. A bewildered shopkeeper behind the counter shared Gerard's feelings of surprise and concern.

Keeping the wand to his pocket, he stood firm at a point where the girl was running towards. "Is everything aright?" he asked in a calming voice.

Gerard wasn't the only person to hear Dilly's shrill scream.  Most heads in the vicinity of the little candy shop turned towards the source of the sound.  The nature of the scream was difficult to detect by sound alone.  Tulojow was a far cry from an over protective, dotting hen but she also was no fool.  She knew well enough that Dilly had made more than a few unsavory acquaintances in Diagon and Knockturn before the Ministry put the girl in her care.  Tulojow had left the girl unsupervised in the candy shop with clear instructions on which few shops the girl could travel to on her own and which she couldn't. 

But, at the sound of the scream, Tulojow didn't hesitate to hustle as quickly as she could back to the Sugarplums.  Her wand was in her hand when she stepped through the shop's doorway.  Tulojow approached the girl and the gentleman that had stopped to help her and crossed her arms across her chest, her knobby wand still between the fingers of one hand. 

"Is everything aright?" he asked in a calming voice.

Tulojow offered the gentleman a grin and nodded in greeting.  "With a scream like that that's probably sent the Aurors running from clear across London, I hope not-"  Tulojow's gaze flickered to the parchment grasped in the girl's hand.  She, much like Dilly, hadn't been expecting a Hogwarts admittance letter for another year.  So, when she unfolded her arms and reached for the letter, she was expecting some unexpected heralding of bad news.  And, given the girl's reaction, there was no telling what they'd be. 

"Is everything aright?" asked a kind-looking gentleman, who Dilly thought she might have seen when those foreigners arrived at Hogwarts. Both he and the shopkeeper looked concerned, and it occurred to Dilly that her behavior most likely was behind those worried looks.

"Erm," she stammered, suddenly embarrassed and (most remarkable for Dilly) at a loss for words.

But Madame Nagde had come in before she really had a chance to reply. Grinning, Dilly's guardian said, "With a scream like that that's probably sent the Aurors running from clear across London, I hope not-"

Dilly hadn't thought about Aurors rushing in. Though she wouldn't have minded seeing Archer again as she had a bit of a crush on him...

But she was too excited to think of much of anything for long, except her letter. Thrusting it at Madame Nagde's hand she jumped up and down again, and tried to spin her around (quite forgetting that Madame Nagde might find this difficult).

And then she yelled, "Im in, I'm in, I'm in!"

It didn't take long for Gerard to put the pieces together, with a school age child screaming about getting 'in.' He chuckled. "Ah, you must have been accepted to Hogwarts, I take it? A very exciting time for your first year, with the Tournament."

He took in the woman beside him. He'd seen her during the opening ceremonies. "My name is Gerard Gries, here on the behalf of Beauxbatons, though we haven't been introduced. Are you on the Hogwarts staff?"

He would have added if this one was hers but there was no physical resemblance between the girl and the woman. If there was an explanation he wouldn't prod it. Instead he said to the young one "Perhaps a celebratory treat is in order? You'll have to show me what the most popular candies are in this part of the world."