Marseilles

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's foot was tapping rapidly against the stone of the French cafe. The sun was out, birds were trilling sweetly and the hustle and bustle of the city elevated her mood all the more. She was full of pent up energy that had collected during the last few weeks at Hogwarts New Zealand. The Ravenclaw girl had been more than happy to get out of school for the summer, having hopped on the train as soon as it pulled up to the school's station. Fit to burst with excitement, the girl was envisioning her summer. It could only be glorious, considering that she was spending a good part of it with Katerina, the Durmstrang girl that she had befriended in her fifth year. She was more than eager to explore her newfound freedom as an adult- now that she had her apparating license and could use magic outside of school.

The girl had only her backpack of space next to her. Considering they'd probably be making a stop in New Zealand anyway, she had left all of the things she didn't need at Brunhilde's apartment. Sipping at a latte, she drank in the sights about her. Turning seventeen was the best thing that had ever happened to her. And now that she had her summer, she didn't have to take orders from anyone.

 

[Katerina Ivanova]

Remember the three Ds Katerina reminded herself, as she stood inside her grandparents house in Marseilles. She knew where she was going - very secluded part of Marseilles, where nobody would see her appear - and it was near where she was to meet her good friend, Estrella. Katerina struggled to contain her excitement - after all, after the difficulty of her sixth year at Durmstrang, she needed a friend. Yvan was there for her, of course, but a boyfriend was slightly different to a friend. Besides, she hadn't seen Estrella since the end of the eventful (although ultimately a non-event) TriWizard Tournament. Which reminded her, she should write to Katalina and Rhyspa at sometime soon. She wondered how those girls were going. Dom seemed to have eased off - although he had graduated now - but Nic still seemed to be the same smug prick he always was. At least he was gone, too. Now Katerina had to worry more about Svetlana, Dietrich, Demitris and Hayden. Only one more year. Do not think about that now.

With a loud crack, Katerina disappeared from the house and to a street near where she was to meet Estrella. She started walking briskly towards the cafe, a smile illuminating her face. Upon reaching the street, she looked around and saw the Hogwarts New Zealand girl. "Estrella!" Katerina called, rushing over to her.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella's latte nearly found its place in her lap as she jumped, a familiar voice reverberating in her ears. Setting the cup down on the table and completely forgetting about her backpack, she leapt up from her seat and turned to see the girl she had been expecting. A giant smile broke out on her face as she raced towards the girl. "Katerina!" she squealed, holding back just a little bit so she wouldn't bowl the girl over. She wasn't sure if the girl was accustomed to hugs, but she was getting one. Wrapping her arms tightly about the girl and then pulling back, she exclaimed, "Well, long time no see! And in my opinion, it's been way too long!" She wasn't sure what else to say at that moment, simply happy to be in the presence of her friend. After a moment she asked, almost out of breath, "I take it you made it here okay?"

 

[Katerina Ivanova]

Katerina embraced Estrella, so happy to see her face again. "It has been! I missed you!" It was so nice to finally see a friendly face again. Especially the friendly face of someone she had so much in common with. Katerina often wondered what it would have been like had she attended Hogwarts New Zealand, and not Durmstrang. She certainly would have had a good friend and confidante. 'Course, she was relatively happy with her education at Durmstrang, and she had Yvan, but still, Hogwarts may have been less...painful?
"Fine, my grandmother lives here so it was pretty easy to get here," she smiled. "The trip wasn't too difficult?" she asked.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Every inch of Estrella was bursting with happiness as she stood across from Katerina. She suddenly remembered her backpack and strayed back towards the table- she knew that Europe was notorious for pickpockets, and considering that she had left a considerable amount of money in the backpack of space and didn't want to part with it. "I've missed you twice as much, I bet!" the Ravenclaw girl laughed.

"Oh yeah, you mentioned that your grandmother lived here," Estrella replied, "No, wasn't too difficult at all. I think my grandfather was a bit nervous about me going off for the summer and touring Europe," she gave Katerina a sly grin at this, "But he managed to get me here okay, and the fact that he left me alone counts for something." Reaching for her latte, she took a sip of it, her eyes wandering around the place before falling back on Katerina. "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Estrella's stomach chimed in, but she didn't wasn't going to gorge herself if they had things to do first. "Or is there somewhere better we can go? I can't say that I've ever been to France before." Her grin was warm as she drained her latte and dropped it into the nearest wastebasket, and she waited for the Durmstrang girl's reply. She was sure there were so many things to talk about- they time they had seemed so little, although Estrella knew that they were lucky to have it.