Come Together KeeperPawsOffMe Chapter 14

Neville, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Draco along with Arthur and Molly Weasley, Tonks, Professor McGonagall, Alice and Frank Longbottom and Sirius spent a whirl wind July exploring all of the schools and attending all of the parties, everyone of the Hogwarts students had their own favorite school that they visited. Ginny's favorite was a small school in France called d'Enseignement Maison de Sorcellerie, at this school there were not many students enrolled in grand total a little less then half of what was enrolled at Hogwarts. Ginny loved the closeness of the staff to the students. Harry, Neville, George, Fred and Ron all felt the school appeared too lacking on the sports and DADA for them. The group spent four days in and around the school. Prof Flitwick came with them to this school for EMS was well known for their Charms curriculum. A simple translation spell helped everyone understand each other much better. Alice did like the idea that this school taught English, Italian and Japanese as second languages and she spoke to Frank about their boys learning another language as no matter how they were taught to believe the sun no longer does not set on the British Empire, Britain's need to stop being such elitists and realize this.

Fred and George really enjoyed the next school that the group went to when asked they said it was the concentration of potions and transfigurations offered at Matterhorn Schule fuer fortgeschrittene Zauberei (the Matterhorn School for Advanced Wizardry) ,the Swiss school, but Harry knew it was actually the very fetching girls that went to school there. Beautiful and brainy a great combination George confided in Harry.

Neville's favorite school was the one in Northern Italy. It had a great four yr course in local lore and a herbology program that made Neville go weak in the knees. The headmistress of the greenhouses told him they even had a graduate program he was more then welcome to apply for once he was a 6th year at Hogwarts. She would even work with him on a correspondence level until then. She was very impressed with his knowledge of herbology. Alice just beamed when she heard the praise for one of her boys.

Hermione's favorite school was Pompeii Procedura Guidata di Istituto (Pompeii Wizard Research Institute) the research ability at this school was amazing. Books that Hermione had been told were lost to the ages were there where she could touch them and learn from them. Of the days they spent there Hermione spent as much time as possible in the main library. One of the junior librarians showed her a copy spell that allowed her to make copies of any book as long as it was for personal use. They even contacted the head elf at Hogwarts and had the many copies transported back for Hermione or there would have been no room for anything else in anyone's luggage but Hermione's books.

Draco, Harry and Ron all thought the school in central Germany was the best. der Hexerei Lernen Garten (Witchcraft Learning Services) concentrated on defence, offense and strategy as well as mathmatics and muggle sciences. The school also had courses in magical international law and physical self defense. Harry tried to talk his folks and Sirius into allowing him to attend there the next summer. All three said they would have to think about it.

Frank and Alice talked about it out of the boys earshot and agreed that maybe it would do them both good to spend the summer with an intensive study course of what they both loved. But having both of them half way across the continent with out each other was something that they would have to alk about in depth later.

Sooner then anyone thought was possible the whirl wind tour of the contintent was over and everyone was home just in time for the joint birthday of Neville and Harry.

Everyone was still tired and rather stressed from their tour so a party and dinner was held at the Longbottom Manor with Gran Longbottom coming so she could hear all about thier adventures.

Tonks and Remus were kept on their toes for the rest of the summer vacation. Each of the kids were working on independant projects from thier favorite school that they had visited earlier in the summer. Remus and Tonks oversaw all of these projects as well as kept them up to speed in the classes they were already taking. As Ginny said they had spent so many years prior to Hogwarts studying and getting ahead it would have been a waste of their time if they suddenly became equal to thier peers schooling wise.

Draco and Ron both grumbled alittle about summer being for vacations but a few sharp words and glares from Ginny brought them back around to her way of thinking; if for nothing else to just keep the peace.

Before they knew it September 1st was apon them and they were all heading back to Hogwarts. Minerva had been over often to keep tabs on the independant studies and had promised the students that there would be some changes at Hogwarts when they came back but she would not tell them anymore then that. Fred and George tried their best to charm the information from her to no availe and Draco even tried bribing her with catnip even that didn't work. She told them they would just have to wait and see like the rest of the students. But they did have a slight adveantage since they were the ones that went to the continent to visit the other schools.