I'm Sorry, I Don't Understand

After discovering that all this magic stuff wasn't a joke, she was sent on her way to Paris. Her mother had to stay behind, but her father was happy to come along with her while she did her shopping. Though he didn't know anything about magic, he was proud of his little girl and was very happy for her. It would take some time for Aleta to learn French, but she had been studying since she had learned Beauxbatons wasn't some fake place. She was rusty at it and preferred to use her Spanish. Even if people didn't understand her.

The pub was full of all kinds of people, she assumed they were all witches and wizards. There were some people that looked to be her age and she wanted to make friends as soon as possible. "Vuelvo enseguida," she said to her father before walking away and approaching the first person she saw that was around her age. "Hola," she grinned.

translate: I'll be back

Luna was sitting at an empty table at the grubby pub drinking a butterbeer. Her mother was checking to see if she could get a room in one of the hotels in Amethyst Alley, so Luna was stuck waiting. She twirled a piece of her blonde hair around her finger and looked around the room. All of the people there looked very much older than her, and she wouldn't want to risk getting a bad reputation before the term even started. So she refrained from talking to anyone and ate her small lunch.

Luna jumped a mile when a girl who looked eleven approached her. She had no choice but to say hi back. "Hi..." she said awkwardly to the girl, still fiddling with her hair.

She hadn't expected the girl to be shy or whatever she was. She expected everyone to be bright and positive like she was. But that was clearly not was the case. Of course she had met people before this moment, but each time they weren't shy when she said hello. Then again, everyone spoke Spanish where she came from. This was France and in France people spoke French. And her French was no good. But she did understand that the other girl was greeting her.

"Yo no entiendo muy bien," she said softly. Maybe she should have studied more French. "H-hello," she spoke in French. There was no way she could hold a conversation with anyone until she learned more French.

Oh boy. Luna didn't think the girl would respond. Being shy was a good thing for her, which meant she could listen to distinct conversations and trade secrets like a spy. But going to an overseas boarding school meant you had to communicate with someone or else your school life will absolutely suck.

Luna heard the girl speak some Spanish. And then a bogus attempt at French. Luckily, Luna had a class in Spanish at her Muggle school. "Tuviste suerte esta vez. Hola, soy Luna." she said. She spoke Icelandic, French, Spanish,  and English, which was pretty lucky for her, since people usually struggle with learning.

Translation: You got lucky this time. Hi, I'm Luna.

Aleta was take back by her knowing Spanish. How did she when everyone else seemed to be speaking French? She just had to ask. Of course, her Spanish wasn't as perfect as her own since it probably wasn't her first language like it was to Aleta. "¿Cómo sabes español?" It seemed a bit weird that she just knew what she was saying and could reply back.

Aleta believed her to be a poser and she didn't like anyone who tried to be someone they weren't. She crosses her eyes and stuck out her hip in a sassy way. Her parents were always telling her she was a bit sassy and she was sure they were right. But she didn't care.

Translate: How do you know Spanish?

Luna was pretty thankful for those Spanish classes, because right now, it would either give her a friend or an enemy. She was hoping she would have at least one friend to expect at this Beauxbatons. Luna eyed the girl who was now crossing her eyes. She resisted laughing or giggling.

It took some seconds to process the Spanish in her head. She then replied with, "Oh, tuve una clase de español en la escuela primaria. Usted ve, yo vengo de Islandia, y los niños no tienen nada mejor que hacer."

Translation: Oh, I had a Spanish class in primary school. You see, I come from Iceland, and kids have nothing better to do.

Haruhi was embarrassed to admit she needed help and even more embarrassed that she didn't know who to ask for help. She had left the pub briefly only to realize half-way through her robe fitting that she had left her little bag in the pub and returned to the busy establishment without a clue of where to look first. She wished her grandmother was still with her, but she had to stay back in the shop to hold their order while Haruhi fetched her bag.

She knew the smart thing would be to ask one of the staff, but they made her nervous, so instead she walked towards the table where she was sitting at before. Two girls about her age stood by it, speaking in a tongue she didn't understand. "E-excuse me," Haruhi interjected in French. "I don't mean to be a bother, but have either of you seen a little purse? I accidentally left it here about fifteen minutes ago. It's pink and it has a little kitty embroidered on it," Haruhi described, hoping at least one of the two girls understood what she was saying.

Aleta couldn't help but roll her eyes at the other girl. Just because you took one class didn't mean you could speak perfect Spanish. No one could speak perfect Spanish unless it was their first language or took more classes than just one. This girl wasn't fooling her, she was nothing more than a poser and Aleta wasn't going to have anything to do with it. "Usted no sólo puede dominar español durante la noche," she rolled her eyes as she spoke. If she only took one class then that meant she would only know the simplest words and the basics of the Spanish language.

Just then another girl came up to them and began to speak in what Aleta assumed was French. She bit her lip as she went over the words in her head. The only one she had recognized was pink and that was only because it was her favorite color(and she just had to tell everyone about it). "Pink?" she repeated softly. A pink what? "Yo no hablo bien el francés," she explained in her native tongue.

Translate: You can't just master Spanish over night. I don't speak French well.

Haruhi could've sworn the girl understood her, for she seemed to have perked up when she said the word 'pink.' She had hoped it was because the girl new of the little pink purse she was talking about, but soon found herself scratching that idea as the girl continued to babble in Spanish. Haruhi wasn't good at other languages. She grew up learning French and only knew a handful of phrases in Japanese. She looked towards the other girl for help but then concluded she'd just have to try her best.

"Yes pink!" She replied. She scratched her chin as she wondered how to convey specifically what she wanted. "Purse," She said and drew a rectangle in the air about the size of her little bag. "With a kitty" She traced her fingers across her cheeks to mime out whiskers and then turned her hands into kitty ears. "On it." She wondered if the girl understood her. It must be hard being surrounded by people who didn't speak your native language. "Have you seen a purse like that around here?"