Meanwhile, later on the evening of Monday, October 3rd, 1994, Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily got their first opportunity to have Fleur and Emily sit with them at dinnertime.

To Fleur's and Emily's delight, French dishes such as Bouillabaisse and Croissants, the popular French dessert of Soufflé, and the popular French drink of Orangina were all being served at this meal. They both hoped that the students and staff of Hogwarts would enjoy the French meal.

After a set of quick introductions and handshakes, it was time for the conversation to begin.

"Well, " said Emily in a businesslike voice, "Fleur and I would like to tell you about ourselves at this meal. We can learn more about you at another meal. "

"We understand zat it will ave to be dinner as one of your number doesn't eat ze ozer meals with you, " added Fleur.

"So," inquired Hermione, "Fleur, Emily, what are you favorite academic subjects?"

"I prefer Carms, " piped up Fleur, "Carns is a subject zat allows me to produce beautiful magic."

"I always liked History of Magic, " responded Emily a nanosecond later, "But, my absolute favorite is Alchemy. "

"Alchemy is taught at Beauxbatons?" inquired Harry in surprise.

"Not only is it taught at Beauxbatons, " replied Emily, "But it is one of our core subjects."

"You'd know that already if you'd ever read An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, " interjected Hermione impatiently.

"Is se always zis fussy zat no one else reads as much as er?" Fleur asked the group at large.

"Yes," chroused Harry, Colin, Dennis, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily instantly.

"I like reading myself, " acknowledged Emily, "But I can't ever see myself becoming a bookworm."

"Eizer way, " said Fleur, frowning at Hermione, "Ermione is coming across to me as being a bit on the rude side."

"So," asked Lily, sensing a need to get the conversation back on track, "You've told us your favorite subjects. What are your best subjects?"

"Carms," replied Fleur, "I ave a strong talent in Carms. It's my best subject as well as my favorite subject."

"I'm in the opposite boat," explained Emily, "While I have a strong interest in the subject of Alchemy, I'm no Alchemist. My best magic is actually Transfiguration."

"Do you like Transfiguration or are you just good at it?" asked Luna in a dreamy voice as she stared off at the nearest wall.

"I have a natural talent for it," replied Emily, "But it's honestly a bit meh to me. It lacks the importance of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the day to day usefulness of Charms, and the fascination of Alchemy."

"It may not be as important as Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Transfiguration is a very important subject because lots of jobs in the Wizarding World require Transfiguration skills, " said Susan matter of factly.

"There is some truth to that," agreed Emily, "But there are plenty of jobs out there that don't require Transfiguration. I don't deny it's a valuable skill to have in your arsenal though. Alchemy and History of Magic will always be of the most interest to me because of my being a descendant of Nicolas Flamel."

"Emily," said Harry, looking her eye to eye, "I'm really sorry about what happened to the Sorcerer's Stone. Dumbledore was a massive piece of shit to destroy it when that should have been Nicolas's decision alone."

"You are thoughtful and compassionate, Harry Potter, " piped up Lily.

"Harry," said Emily patiently, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather not discuss that over this dinner. I think it's better to focus on the positive and the cheerful."

"Totally understandable, " nodded Harry quietly.

Hoping to lift the mood, Colin asked, "Emily, Fleur, what are your favorite colors?"

"Blood red," quipped Emily at once, "Red is a really interesting color because of how many different things it can represent. Love, hate, danger, life, power, etc, can all be represented by the color red. I'll also always have a fondness for the color red because it was the color of the Sorcerer's Stone."

"What about you, Fleur?" promoted Dennis.

"My favorite colors are silver and wite, " smiled Fleur, "Because they represent beauty and purity. Zink of the purity of a unicorn or ze beauty of snow. Zat Beauxbatons, during ze Cristmas season, we ave beautiful ice sculptures at Beauxbatons. Zey do not melt of course. Zey are like diamonds."

"Does Beauxbatons have a castle like Hogwarts?" Harry asked Fleur.

"Beauxbatons as a grand palace zat is far superior to Ogwarts castle, " said Fleur loftily, "It is surrounded by majestic gardens and fountains created by magic out of the surrounding mountains. Zis castle is nothing compared to Beauxbatons Palace. And ze building is not ze only way that Beauxbatons is superior to Ogwarts. Last nigt Emily and I sat with a group of Ufflepuffs zat included Ernie MacMillian and Anna Abbott. Ernie and Anna informed me that Ogwarts students sit exams after five years of magical education. At Beauxbatons, we sit our exams after six years of study. Aving zat extra year under our belts is elpful. O, well, at least I'm still ze best looking person ere."

Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, and Emily all shook their heads and shot frowns at Fleur. Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily were all none too pleased to hear their school being criticized and negatively compared to another school. Emily, meanwhile, was disappointed in Fleur's attitude. This was not the way you talked about someone else's house when you were a guest in it.

Emily tried to deflect the awkward moment by asking Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily what they thought of the French food.

"Wonderful!" chroused Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, and Lily.

"I went to France during summer vacation of 1993," Hermione informed Fleur and Emily, "I had Bouillabaisse while I was there and it was quite nice. I'm happy for the opportunity to have it again."

Emily and Fleur smiled at Hermione. Fleur thought to herself that perhaps she had been too quick to judge Hermione as rude.

"I am glad to ear zat," said Fleur happily, "It's nice wen ozer people can appreciate my culture."

"That was the whole point of creating the Mini Student Exchange Program," remembered Susan, "To expose people to different cultures."

"So," inquired Ginny, "What are the most popular sports in France?"

"The most popular wizarding sport is Quidditch and the most popular muggle sport is soccer," answered Emily, 'That's really the case for the majority of Europe, especially western Europe, " answered Emily.

"Cycling is an extremely popular activity in France,' added "Fleur, "Ze Tour De France is the most popular bike race in the world and cycling in general is an extremely popular recreational activity in France. "

"That said," admitted Emily, "Neither Fleur nor I are much into sports."

"I sould note zat I ate riding on any object, be it a broomstick, bike or watever," added Fleur, "I prefer walking or running to my destination. If distance is an issue, zen I prefer zestrals or portkeys."

"I'm the same way, " said Emily matter of factly.

"What about music?" asked Lily.

"As of now, ze most popular song in France is 7 seconds by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry," replied Fleur "It as topped our carts for eigt weeks now."

"Wow, that's an impressive run," said Dennis cheerfully.

"Emily and I look forward to our second dinner with you lot, " said Fleur, "As it will interesting to learn about you all, but, Emily has one last surprise for you."

Next nanosecond, Emily dug her left hand into her left hand pocket and retrieved two bags of candy. One was the muggle French candy Dragibus made by Haribo. The other was a wizarding chocolate whose pieces came in the shapes of bicycles named Velo en Chocolat.

"Ze Velo en Chocolat will make bike noises zen you bite into zem," explained Fleur.

Opening both bags and passing out a few pieces of each type of candy to each person and said, "Enjoy, " in a bright and cheery voice.

"You are sweet and kind, Emily Explore, " piped up Lily.

Harry, Colin, Dennis, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Susan, Lily, Fleur, and Emily all had a good old time enjoying the candies and they took their time to savor and enjoy them.

It was a very pleasant night.

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