Ford was rather annoyed by the implication that he would be incapable of handling logistics to get her to and from France — how hard was it to buy a boat ticket or requisition a portkey, anyway? — and so his tone was a touch harsher than what he normally used with his siblings as he replied. "Vous pouvez pratiquer votre français chez soi," he pointed out — you can practice your French at home. All the Greengrasses spoke French, not that Ford had ever found it particularly useful. He seldom used more than a sentence or two at a time, and she might have gotten more sympathy from him if she'd said she wanted to holiday at the bottom of the Black Lake to practice her Mermish. But French was what was fashionable, so they all spoke French, and presumably she thought that was a good enough reason to allow her to run off to another country for two weeks.

And what was so great about Bastille Day, anyway?

"I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sorry in the least. "But you're not old enough to go cavorting around another country by yourself."

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