Wrestling With This N That N a little more of This

And we're back!  
This last couple weeks has been a blur of illness, cooking, frustration and success.  In other words, Autumn.  For those curious about Autumn in these parts, it pretty much looks like this:

Grey, drizzly, cool, and colorful

Mulled cider

Since we are at roughly the latitude of Vancouver, days have gotten very short.  We get up before sunrise and pick the kids up from school after dark most days.  Highs are in the low 40's (F) and overnight lows are starting to dip into the freeze zone.   I cope by catching all the rays I can, mainlining the hot beverages, cooking seasonal treats, and enjoying snuggly blankets and jammies!

Unfortunately, our whole family came down with a nasty autumn head cold.  The kids got it first.  DS was through it in a day or so.  But, DD got it for a full week.  Unfortunately, that week happened to be a week of vacation which annoyed the, er, snot out of them... cough.  Then David caught it. 

He actually was sick enough that he went to the doctor and got a special note that they call an  "Arbeitsunfähigkeits-bescheinigung" (try saying that with a head cold!).  Here, when you are sick for even a day or two, you need an excuse from your doctor.  In this case, she told him to take 3 more days before trying to go infect all his co-workers.  David very rarely takes sick time, but this was a nasty cold.  I was extremely glad to have him home because by that time I was also sick, however the kids were over it and back in school.  So, trying to do all the driving to and from France was not going to work well if I had to do it alone.  We did make it through with the help of home made chicken soup and a lot of the softest kind of tissues we could find.

In other autumn news, duck seems to be a seasonal food in the markets now.  Our usual roast-chicken stand now carries roast duck, as well.  I got one out of curiosity.  This is how it came:

Yup, looks like 1/2 a duck!

Not bad, but next time I will make an orange sauce and wild rice at home to serve with it!

Black Forest Games Happenings:

Black Forest has taken to doing a weekly webcast, updating viewers on what is going on in the Black Forest Gamingverse and introducing team members, etc.  Last week David was the Chosen One to be interviewed- he tried hard to get Monkey on air.  Here he is practicing and making sure Monkey is well fed before his close up:

Hey, I want some!

Nom Nom!

DD couldn't resist the photobomb

 Sadly, in the end Monkey was pre-empted for more serious "gaming news".  But, David still got to share the screen with Lovely Sarah and the Evil Owlverlord.  I sent cookies for the team:

Orange Ginger Bread
They went over well, but the Germans considered them spicy,
I am told.  To me, they were very mild indeed.

Speaking of Spicy:
This is a wonderful gift!  Grandma Connie and Mom sent me Penzeys Cinnamon.  First off, Penzeys is simply the best cinnamon I have every had.  If you haven't tried their Vietnamese Extra Fancy, then you are missing out on one of the truly beautiful flavors of the world.  Nuff said.  But, more apropos to this blog, American cinnamon and European cinnamon are not exactly the same.  In Europe they use primarily what we would call "Ceylon" or "true" cinnamon.  It is very nice- a little lighter, mellower and more citrussy than what we are accustomed to.  In the US we rely on a sharper flavored cousin of true cinnamon called cassia.  In the states I would seek out Ceylon Cinnamon for a change of pace.  It is fabulous, for instance, in bread pudding or custardy pies.  Here, though, I have yet to find a source for cassia.  I prefer it for things like cinnamon rolls or cinnamon cookies where the brighter flavor can really shine.  So, getting this gift in time to do my holiday cooking was a wonderful pick-me-up!

In other seasonal spicy news, DS and I have been slowly making pomanders.  When DD got back from the dentist yesterday I thought they had used oil of cloves on her teeth- but Nope!  It was just the cloves from the pomanders. 

Lady's Luncheon:
Sunday I met one of David's newest co-workers for an afternoon coffee at a local cafe.  Being the complete food geek, I took pictures not of my new Canadian friend, but, er, of the canapes that I ate for lunch!  Look!  They are filled with ham!  And nothing but ham!  How... German! 

Poor camera etiquette aside, we had a lovely 4-hour lunch and got acquainted.  We figure that as two of a very small number of North American Women in Offenburg, we ought to pool our powers of awesomeness and help each other forge ahead through our mutual German adventures!  I recommended my English speaking doctor.  And she is teaching me some ways to get US television shows.  Also, she introduced me to the fact that local animal shelters let you come be a volunteer Dog Walker!!!  She and her hubby have done this a few times and had a blast. David is afraid we will fall in love and be bummed, but I think it is a win/win.  Borrow a dog for a while- dog gets loving attention, you get loving attention!  Hooray!  Weather willing, we are going to try this out sometime soon.

The Canelés/Cannelés Bordelais Saga:
So, a while back an American friend turned me onto the re-emergence of a regional French "cookie" that has been dubbed Canelés or Cannelés de Bordeaux.  Apparently there is some debate about the proper inclusion of the second "n", and, being French, people on both sides care very much!  But, whatever you call them, these little sweets are a rather pleasant treat, so I set out to try to make some.

First off you need a special pan.  The traditional ones are copper lined with tin and cost something like 15 EU a piece.  For one "cookie".  Yeah, not going there.  Silicone versions are available for much less, but don't get quite the level of browning that true aficionados look for.  I figured I would cope.  Luckily I was able to find one of these silicone pans alongside their copper counterparts at the first French gourmet shop I went to.  So, huzzah!

The next tricky bit was indeed trickier, though.  Traditional canelés are made with... well- what do you think that is there?

A hunk of cheese?  No, think again

 Bee's Wax!  Yes, you use a mixture of wax and butter to give them the right shiny, crispy, brown exterior.  I tried making them without and wasn't satisfied.  So, we went in search of wax.  The recipe was from the states and said that often farmer's market honey vendors will have some wax in back.  So, we decided to try out our local weekly street market.  Now, I want to give serious props to my hubby here.  Acquiring edible bees wax is an advanced move even when you speak the language.  In this case we needed to convince Germanophone honey vendors that selling us off-menu wax was a good idea.  Awk-ward!  But, as soon as we got a Saturday with good weather we set out with a mission.  The first honey-seller we found raised his eyebrows and scoffed. "Bienenwachs? Pfft- Nein!!"  But, interestingly, this time of year almost a 1/3 of the stalls at the markt seem to sell honey!  So, we tried the next likely spot, a place run by an elderly couple.  David asked.  The man looked surprised, but thoughtful.  What would we be using it for?  French cookies.  Hmm..  How much did we need?  Just a little.  He looked askingly at his wife and then they began to rummage around at the back of the stand.  They pulled out a bag that had two chunks of wax.  We motioned to the smaller one.  4.25 EU he said.  We paid and left- now the proud owners of a cheese-like hunk of bees wax!

Here are my results:

Shiny and delicious, but not as dark as many of the examples on the web.
I am going to guess that is because of my silicone molds

Here is the wax and butter mixture I used to coat the molds

Just a little bit, but it made a difference- oh, and this
is my silicone cannelés pan.  It makes eight 1/4 cup cakes

The thing you are going for with canelés is a creamy, custardy inside with a dark,
caramelized outside.

Since I can't leave anything alone, I changed the recipe slightly.  I don't like rum, so I used Cointreau instead.  Also, the recipe I used said to freeze the molds before cooking.  But, I found that to be wrong.  If you want the outside to cook the fastest, let it heat up fastest.  So, I tried it both ways and decided I was correct.  Batter should be chilled, molds are fine room temp.

Coming up: Stephanie is working on a new web site, DD got braces, and DS may get braces.  Also, The Holidays, and maybe, Dog Walking.

Back to School Night at Hogwarts

Last night was back to school night for the upper grades at Hogwarts (DD's class).  They call it a "Parents/Teachers Meeting" and it is definitely something that must be experienced to comprehend.  There is a second one this evening for the younger grades (DS's class). but I am not sure we have the stamina to attend two such events in one week!  Luckily, it is probably not necessary.  Since the school is small most of the teachers teach most of the students.

The event is structured differently than similar ones I have attended in the US.  Instead of having parents move to the teachers, the teachers come around to different classrooms and present themselves to the parents.  So, basically you have a parade of different teachers coming through and introducing themselves to various classrooms full of parents.  From the teacher standpoint it must feel like a Judging Gauntlet.

We are all grouped by which class level our children are in.  I imagine this causes havoc with parents who have kids in multiple levels, but, again, it is a small school so presumably the information will get out... Also, these parents are pushy!  Not in a bad way, mind you.  But, figure Hogwarts families are not exactly the usual stay-home and go-with-the-flow sorts who populate the majority of the planet.  These are people who have 1) chosen to live in a foreign country and/or 2) chosen to send their children to a school that specifically caters to an international crowd.  This is not a population prone to Shy Wallflower Syndrome.  These folks know what is important to them and are willing to speak out to get it.  The group dynamics are fascinating to watch.

This year there are a lot of new teachers in the Hogwarts faculty.  What are they like?  Well, some are pretty typical teachery-types- professional educators like you might find at any school.  But, interestingly enough, a lot of them are a little different.  They truly do seem like people who might be cast as Hogwarts instructors.  You can practically see the floo powder still in their hair!

Highlights:
The upper-grade History/Geography teacher is what DD terms "not exactly a great teacher, but very, very interesting".  He is an aging, auburn-haired Francophone with a slightly-forward-leaning carriage.  His spiky hair should long-since have gone grey if the crags in his face are to be believed, but I detect nothing bottle-died about it.  On the other hand, it is not entirely natural-looking either, having fascinating variegations and speckles.  DD says he has the unfortunate habit of pacing the room with his hands behind his back and perching above students to observe their work.  Her first impression was "vampire", but I think he is  more bird-like with a quick, questioning eye, sharp nose and angular features.  Perhaps a carrion-bird of some kind, or one of the larger birds of prey- definitely something large enough not to be easily startled.  I am going to settle on Buzzard for now, but not in the ideological sense. Last year she had the Ghost Teacher for Geography, so a likely-animagus is an improvement. 

He seems to be a self-assured master of his subject matter and according to DD makes the attempt to ensure that his students are getting the information they need.  However, the poor gentleman has the misfortune of teaching two of the classes that are this year designated to be taught in the students' second language (L2)- French.  For students who have lived in Strasbourg for a while and/or attended Hogwarts since the beginning, this is not much of an issue.  Their French is up to the task.  But, for students like DD and several others who came in late, the fact that they have several classes in a language that is still a challenge is, well, challenging!  One recently adopted dad started up the conversation about what was being done to get the late-comers up to level on the French, and 1/2 the room piled on.  Mr. Buzzard did his best to deflect imperiously, but he was standing right in the line of fire with no real answer other than "this is how it is done".  In the end, a more diplomatic father suggested that perhaps learning support for French was something that the Home Teacher could address instead of the man whose job it was to teach Human Sciences, and the parents let the regal bird depart, feathers in tact.

(Edit: I just remembered who he reminds me of!  Uncle Deadly!!! Only, you know, Redder)

     The new Technomancy Teacher is somewhat simian in presentation, with cropped dark hair, thick eye brows, and long, hair-covered arms. So, for the purposes of the blog I will imagine that he is, indeed, a full-blown were-ape.  But, he is also awesome!  He has a rich, thickly French accented baritone, but claims to teach English students exclusively in English.  So, points there.  But, more essential, he is re-invigorating the Tech course with, holy crap, actual technical knowledge!  The first thing he said that made me prick up my ears that the he thinks they have done enough word processing and spreadsheets.  Indeed they have.  The next thing he did was tell us what he will be covering instead: binary/hex, video/film editing, 3-D modeling and actual coding topped his list.  Hello!  DD had opted out of Tech this year because her last teacher was so uninspiring.  She figured she would learn more just asking us things at home.  But, this gentleman is actually teaching things I don't know.  So, kudos!  We sent a letter today requesting that DD be allowed to add the class.  Unfortunately, it will make her schedule late twice a week, but I think you don't pass up an opportunity like this if you can take it.  Wish us luck! 
(An awkward aside- we were busy telling DD about the new teacher and his class as we walked by him in the hall.  I only noticed his presence after I stage whispered that he was 'Awe-some!'  Whoops.  Well, if I had to be over-heard, I am glad it was probably while saying something that will make his evening :)

     There are going to be some Big Tests coming up this year.  Apparently there will be 'Long Tests' in October, and then full 'Exams' in December.  I guess this is a European thing, since most of the families seemed to understand the context.  Given our testing-heavy American society it feels a little weird.  Our kids are tested all the time, so what is the deal with Long Tests and Exams?  But, I get the impression these are sort of like a cross between Finals and State Testing and the SATs all rolled together.  For this year I think that these are mostly used internally, but that the ones they take their last two years will go toward their Baccalaureate, which is basically their High School diploma... only, there are some layers to it.  Like the OWLS in Harry Potter.  Honestly, I am still pretty confused.  But, I guess all we can do is encourage DD to do her best. 

     Today they released yet another set of schedules for the students.  The good news is that DS no longer has a 10-hour school day on Tuesdays.  But, apparently there is still some confusion on some of the other particulars.  For instance, on DD's schedule there is a blank shown on Monday mornings.  But, the English teacher swears that she has the students during that slot.  The parents hadn't all gotten to see the new schedules, yet, so my copy was popular before the meeting.  Most of the parents were relieved that the open slot was actually filled.  With the upper and lower grade classes on different schedules, it is already a bit of a nightmare trying to coordinate start-times when you have more than one Hogwarts kid in the family!

     DD's French teacher does, in fact, speak French with an Anime voice.  Which is both hysterical and wonderful.

     Contrary to popular rumor, the English teacher does not seem to have a speech impediment.  However, she does have a particular kind of French accent that leaves her pronouncing 'r's like 'w's.  I might not have been sure about this if another of the parents had not had exactly the same accent!  Now I am curious to know where it is from. 

Big Talk 

We got to hear a lot of the parents speak, actually, because about 2/3 of the way through the discussion shifted from academics to Issues We Have With Teenaged Children.  And, wow was that fascinating to watch.  It is difficult to assess in a room like that how many of the differences in parenting style that we were seeing had to do with individual ideals and how many were cultural.  But, one thing that became clear in listening to the parents discuss their woes and possible solutions was that while teenagers the world over may be very similar in their wiring and behaviors, parental responses vary wildly!  I did notice some trends, though.  The French and Spanish parents seemed to advocate for communal solutions while the American and UK folks were much more concerned with personal responsibility. 

Here are the things parents of 15-16 year old kids are worried about at Hogwarts: Smoking, Drinking, Sex, Facebook.

Sounds familiar?  I am pretty sure the same list shows up in just about every industrialized society, and the rest probably just leave Facebook off.

Proposed Solutions:

• Set up parenting seminars on how to address these issues. 
• Band together and make Facebook rules for all the kids in the class so that the kids can't say "but so and so is still online" at 1 am. 
• Police your own darned kids. 
• Somehow stop the kids from smoking near the school because it sets up a 'bad attitude'. 
• Ignore the kids smoking near the school because you can't control it.  
• Worry more about Facebook Bullying than Cigarettes.  
• Worry more about Cigarettes than Facebook. 

An Irish Mom and the Spanish Mom seemed to be most vocal and most at odds with one another.  Irish Mom seemed to think Spanish Mom wanted a 1984 Nanny State, while Spanish Mom seemed to think Irish Mom didn't understand the idea that the actions of a few can affect the lives of all.  The French all wanted group meetings and support.  And we are, apparently, the hard-nosed Americans since David kept just saying "Say 'No', its hard, but you have to do it!"  My Filipino friend and I just sort of sat there taking it all in with our jaws only slightly askew.

Eventually one of the administrators not-so-subtly came by and changed the schedule on the door to the one for tomorrow night.  All the other classes had already cleared out and we were still sitting around having a mini-EU meeting for S4!  Grin.  Well, the teachers all say that our kids are the talky-class.  I guess the parents are, too!

Dursley Update: While we were in talking with the parents, the administrator who had helped us deal with the Dursleys chatted some with DD.  He told her that after he had spoken with one of the other Admins, they had actually taken the Dursley girls on a little walk to have a conversation with the police!  It seems there were three complaints about the little darlings that day and they felt that the best way to nip it in the bud was a little Scared Straight action.  Wow!

I still see the girls hanging around outside the school every day, so let's hope it had an effect.

Giana Kickstart Party- Belated Supplemental

So, this happened and was cool!  But I missed posting about it because of Hogwarts and Malfoy and the Dursleys etc.  So, check out this excellent event:

On the final night of the Kickstart for Project Giana, the team held a party, complete with Live Webcast hosted mostly by Schmitty and Elena.  It was a fun and somewhat surreal event reminiscent of Public Television Pledge Drives... Only, Geekier.  They interviewed all the team members, answered questions from the Net, had the Composer on Skype from America, ate pizza and drank soda, played some games and generally had a wonderful, techy, fun time!
Here are a few photos DH took behind the scenes of the event as it was going on.

Original Concept art from the 80's

Florian- and some soda bottles

Recent Art- and, yes, a very green hallway.

Manuel, Rolf and Schmitty- and the Owlverlord

The Control Room
Sarah, Jacomi, Manuel, the Owlverlord and Schmitty

Andreas on his tablet

Elena, Marc and Niko-- and more soda bottles

David with the Owlverlord

Adrian and Patrick

Schmitty and Eric

Made It!!!! WOOT!

Hogwarts Revisited, or Zwei Kinder dans La Chambre des Secrets

So, today was DD's return to Hogwarts and DS's triumphant entry into the Wizarding School.  And an eventful day it was, too......

Please, Dear Mother.  Save me from this Horrible Homework Troll!!!

But, I get ahead of myself.  First....

The Morning:

I like to think our household is far more like the Weasley abode than Harry Potter's.  Minus a few kids, of course, and the liberal dose of Ginger.....  Our loss, I am sure.  But, whatever the case, we started the day far too early with homemade biscuits (from homemade buttermilk!) and eggs.  Then we took the obligatory First Day of School photos,  hopped in the flying car and headed on over to Hogwarts.

DD was considering transferring to a degree in transmogrification.
Here is her attempt at becoming a Gremlin.
What do you think?

Magic Supplies are HEAVY

We need some sort of
Portable Hole for school supplies

Swish and Flick!
Or maybe a leviosa spell would help!

Buck up, Brother!  It's Sorting Day!
Think you will be in Slytherin?

 Obligatory Mom photos...

Awww

A little squinty, but still cute

Arrival:

Once we arrived at the school, it was time for the Homeroom Sorting Ceremony.  We walked over to where the ceremony was held last year- only to discover a man on a microphone reading off names and sorting the dregs of a group of kids into .... Wait a minute- we were still 1/2 hour early!  Had we made a mistake?  Luckily, no.  Turns out this was the Muggle School that shares the same grounds going through their first day ceremonies!  Doh.  So, we set about to waiting.

And waiting.

I remind you at this point that Hogwarts is located in France.  We were meant to arrive at 9 AM.  We got there around 8:30, but found parking far quicker than anticipated.  Now it was... hmmm

Yeah.  Still waiting.

Happy to have put backpacks down!

The good news is that many of DD's friends had arrived by now and were milling about.

MoOoom!  Stop taking pictures!

But I had to get a shot of this lovely
present one of her friends brought her.
I suspect it was bought in Hong Kong

Hogwarts, being a truly multicultural school, has students genuinely from all over the world.  And many of them visited friends and relatives over the summer, or just headed off into unexpected regions because- well, that is what Hogwarts families do.  It was fun watching everyone's T-shirts as they arrived for school.  Of the students I know personally, I can confirm that the places the shirts mentioned were places the students had recently traveled!

The New Headmaster
Shortly before 9:30 the new Headmaster arrived and took up the microphone to welcome the students and introduce himself. Oddly enough, he seemed an awful lot like a somewhat smaller, less loquacious version of the old headmaster!  The old headmaster, incidentally, is apparently setting up a new school in Marrakech!  I told you, these wizards get around! 

Doesn't really look like Dumbledore-
Maybe in his earlier years?

Our new leader was a little nervous, but pleasant enough.  He has been a principal/headmaster/director* before, but this was his first day with students at this school.  He only gave his speech in French, but greeted us briefly in English and German, as well.  Returning to the photo for a moment, look just behind and to the right of our new headmaster.  I would really not like to be on the receiving end of Madame Umbridge's baneful gaze!  She is actually the Assistant Director.  Nowhere near as unhinged or nasty as Book Umbridge, but definitely not someone I wish to run afoul of!
* (we use all three terms since it is the same role and people here are as likely to use one as another)

After his speech, he handed off the microphone to the teachers who read off their class lists, gathering their new students.  DS got exactly the teacher we had hoped and expected that he would!  I am going to say that of the Harry Potter group, Mr. Purcell (Pronounced PUR-suhl) is probably most like McGonagall, though much more outgoing.  Middle aged, smart, charismatic, passionate, friendly, and with a wonderful Gaelic accent- though his, I believe, is Irish (accents get a little tricky when you are dealing with folks who speak 3-4 languages each, all in a tight little cluster- I think I have mentioned that DD often comes home with a rather modified British accent that she can't shake for hours).  He teaches Ethics, Social Studies and History so both kids have him as an instructor.  DS trotted off with his new class and started right in trying to get to know people.  We were pleased to see DS was not the only tall kid in his class- I think the African boy on the left with the short cropped hair is taller, though he is scrunched in this photo.

DS got right to work introducing himself

Hogwarts Annex

This year the Upper Grades have moved into a new quick-built building across the street.

Not this building down the street

Nor this one, a couple blocks away

Nice stone cottage.... in the quad

The buildings next door.... Again, stone.  Oldish. Grand.

And, here is the new building:

Ummm, Think anyone will notice the Wizards next door?

DD joined her class. 

This year DD's principal teacher is the Maths instructor, who I believe is from India and has a wonderful British Indian accent.  This will not help DD shake her off-kilter British accent, I suspect!  I will call this teacher Septima Vector :)  She and DD usually get along fine because they both have an ultimate love of all things logical and mathematical.  Though, they do sometimes clash over DD's lack of manners and tendency to speak out when she senses something is wrong.  Interestingly,  DD will have the other Maths teacher, Mme Lardge (whose name is too wonderful to change) because she is taking the advanced course.  Mme Lardge also teaches Physics, so she will be seeing a lot of DD!

The Malfoy Incident
Malfoy is German and currently a second year.

Last year DD had a few issues with wandering groups of bored, surly students seeking her out to give her a hard time.  Yes, Bullying exists in the wizarding world, as anyone who has interacted with Slytherins will certainly attest.  The worst cases were reported and dealt with.  But, one group of younger boys largely slipped through the radar.  They were first years, so DD was just vaguely amused by their antics at first.  For instance, when one of them ran over and touched her ankle on a dare.  But, as they got more bold and aggressive she grew more concerned.  They took to calling her Ugly Betty, which she thought was silly, but largely harmless- except when they refused to leave her alone.  Their leader was a small animated boy whom she initially took as a clown.  By the end of the year she was fed up with them.  But, she had been unable to identify them to anyone in authority, so nothing really came of it. 

When she is unable to find her groups of friends- or just feels the desire- DD likes to sit in a quiet place and draw during the recesses.  Often students will come watch her or request specific drawings, and that is fine with her.  But, usually they will just leave her alone, and that is sometimes preferred.  DD likes to have some quiet space in her life. 

So, it was that yesterday at first break DS found his sister sitting alone quietly drawing.  The two of them exchanged stories about their mornings and compared schedules, discussed teachers, etc.  Soon, a group of boys approached and encircled them. Malfoy was their leader.  They started out taunting DD, calling her Ugly Betty.  Then they demanded to know who DS was. 

"Do you like him." taunted Malfoy,  "Is he your....."
DS and DD replied almost in unison "brother!"
"Of course" sneered Malfoy, "Now I see the family resemblance!"
(cue unpleasant chortles from his followers- Crabbe, Goyle, Frankenstein, Monster and the rest- I am told there were 5-7 of them)

At this point DD decided it was time to make their exit and stood up to put away her drawing supplies.  Perhaps he wanted her to sit back down, or maybe the negative energy just overflowed at that instant. Whatever the case,  Malfoy gave DD a shove. 

"Leave my sister alone!" responded DS, shoving Malfoy in return.  He hadn't just spent a year in Durmstrang for nothing.  He understood the German ritual of a shove-fight.  It can be done in fun, or it can be more aggro.  DS had learned this the hard way early last year.  This match got aggro quickly.  He and Malfoy singled each other out, while the rest got into a tussling free-for-all with a lot of jostling going around.  At this point many other students had gathered and some of DD's friends were trying to separate the groups.

"Come on, Let it go." DD told her brother, trying to draw him away.

Seeing that people were trying to diffuse the situation, he acquiesced.  He turned to follow his sister out of the area.

But, Malfoy wasn't ready to back down quite yet.  He took the cheap shot and shoved DS's head while his back was turned.  When DS popped back up and pivoted to meet the attack, Malfoy hauled off and smacked him in the face.  The blow was hard enough to knock tears into DS's eyes ("I wasn't crying, but my eyes did water!" he points out.  We assured him that  a blow to the face will have that affect).  It also made his face quite red and- most alarming to the crowd- quickly caused his lip to swell up like a sausage!  ("It felt like one of the tumors on the rats," he descriptively conveyed.)

"Oh!  Are you all right?  I didn't mean to!" etc. was stammered out unconvincingly from the offending party.   This is because by then some of the older girls had managed to seek out Yard Duties.  All the key players were moved into a small office where the questioning commenced.

The Aftermath
The yard duties speak primarily French, but one of them had a little English.  Apparently DS's swollen face, Malfoy's reputation, and the corroborating testimony of DD was enough to convince them that this was not a mutual-aggression sort of situation.  The kids are a little light on what exactly went down in this talk, but believe Malfoy claimed that he and his friends were just there to 'find out who DS was', as The New Kid.  The yard duties told them that "you pen in animals to test them, you don't pen in people.  You can't treat people like animals!"

DD explained that she found this whole train of conversation a little perplexing, but as long as they were giving Malfoy the What For, she was largely OK with it.  After the initial questioning was done they were released.

A little later, Malfoy showed up to fetch DS to the new Headmaster.  DS was asked to tell his side of the story, which he did.  Always considerate and, by now, an accomplished non-native communicator, DS relayed the events using many hand gestures and pantomimes. He was, after all, unsure of the headmaster's English skills.  After that, the headmaster apparently turned his attention to lecturing Malfoy, though DS was unable to follow the French conversation at all.  (Malfoy speaks German, but prefers French- as does the headmaster).  Then, apparently the headmaster turned to talk exclusively with Umbridge.... and the boys, confused, slunk out of the room wondering if they had been dismissed.

Finally, DS encountered Mr. Purcell/McGonagall.  After retelling the story a third time, DS was reassured that should anything of that nature occur again, he should definitely tell him.  Then the proactive, imposing teacher sought out Malfoy and put him on notice.  It was in French, again, but DS believes the general message was clear: I have my eye on you!!!

So, yes, after a day like that, we have decided that DS has definitely been sorted into Gryffindor.

Such a ham!
By the time DS got home the swelling was gone.
Indeed, when I picked him up I had no clue anything
had happened until he told me about it!

DD putting protective arms
around her wounded brother

Other Hogwarts Developments:

1. DS got into the L2 German Section, which means that his primary second language will officially be German.  He won't need to start learning French for school until next year, and his first non-English core classes will all be in German.  We tried to get this for DD last year, but she was the only one in her entire class who wanted it, so they couldn't do it.  This will give DS more time to adjust to the third language, which is definitely a good thing!
2. DS reports that he likes his German teacher.  But, "She is very into work, I guess you could say."  She was the only teacher to give homework on the first day of class.  And, the second! We had teased him about having to face a Troll on his first day.  Now he knows that we meant the Great Homework Troll!!!
3. There are NO days when the kids start or finish class at the same time.  
4. But, DD's schedule this year is really a lot less complicated.  No alternating week schedule.  Hooray!  She starts school at the same time every day, gets off at five PM three days a week, and around 1 the other two days.  Makes for a long school day, but she has some open sections in the middle of the day, so she should be able to draw and get homework done.
5. DS unfortunately does have an alternating week schedule.  He starts school 15 minutes before DD (no big deal), but has 7 different ending times depending on the week!  Oof.  Mondays are going to be trickiest because he gets out of school between 2-3 hours earlier than DD that day.  I am thinking he and I may spend some quality French Shopping and Exploration time on Mondays.
6. Pretty sure DD's calculator will have more computing power than my first 5 computers, combined.  "Ah, but can it play games?" asked a friend... Yes, says the internet!
7. Our bank in Offenburg does not use paper checks.  Period.  Will not.  Cannot.  No teller checks, no certified checks, nuthin'!  What does this have to do with school?  For purchasing the calculator, we were supposed to send a check to Hogwarts in order to get a 46 EU discount through a group deal.  Germans typically do direct transfers and wanted bank account info. But I think the check was made out to the company we were purchasing from, not the school.  Eventually Hogwarts just told us to send gold coins.
8. DD will be expected to dissect a rabbit next week for Biology.  She is not liking this aspect of Bio.  But, given that rabbits are a common food item around here, I am thinking many kids may already have seen many of the bunny insides.
9. The bells at the old school play the theme to the exorcist.  But the bells at the new building play Close Encounters of the Third Kind!  Hee.
10. Pretty much the entirety of France and Germany is one giant Road Project right now.  There are detours and delays all over.  Sort of nuts trying to get to and from Hogwarts on Muggle Roads.

French Road work- by committee

German Roadwork, very orderly.  Still slow, but orderly.
(block one lane, siphon people through taking turns!)

Blocked French Road

That is usually a road... Now it is a detour

And more...

What do French people do when faced with detours and road work?
See the black car at the right?  He is driving down a bike and walking path.
They also honk and shout.  Not sure how that helps.

Once the kids got home, they grabbed popsicles and headed out onto the balcony, where this wonderful Magic Creature landed and sat to hang out and say hello.

Hey there, beautiful!

Day Two Addendum: Knock Wood today was much smoother.  But, everyone is exhausted and cranky.  Still trying to get our sleep schedules and general flow down for School!  DS reports that not only did he fail to see Malfoy, he didn't see DD.  She reports that this is because at the new building, she is not allowed to cross the street unaccompanied (insurance liability), so she has to take Wednesday break in the other quad.  Given that the older kids tend to be more into their own business and less in hers, that may just be fine.

Bonus:
A random picture of David with a Degu

DH bonding with Tristana

Next up: Learning languages, fighting moths, and whatever else comes up!