Santario grew up watching and hearing of her grandmother’s politics. Although her grandmother was not a political figure in an official office, she did come from some of the oldest money in France which made her a formidable old biddy and ruthless. Once she committed to something there was no stopping her to any degree, she didn’t care who she had to step on or shove aside to get what she wanted. Although Santario was not as cruel as her grandmother she did learn very well and very fast. She was the kind of girl that wanted to learn the rules of the game so she could make them work for her because what was the point of playing if you didn’t win?

“We stay in the Midi-Pyrenees a region in southern France it is more historical than the more touristy places up north. Nice and quiet without many people to bother you unless you are Toulouse. Oh I guess they call it Occitanie region now. My grandmother’s family has lived there probably since the dawn of time.” That was where her grandmother’s vast estate existed, and it was nice and quiet because it had plenty of acreage it was at least a 4 hour walk into town if one where to walk. If there was one thing her grandmother valued, it was privacy she knew when to expose just enough to catch a rodent in a trap everything else stayed locked away tight. “The weather is a bit warmer than here as its boarders Spain so we are closer to the equator, but it can still get decently chilly in the winter. I recommend doing the tourist stuff at least once in the off seasons and then go find the historical quieter places.”

She would catch the small hint of a apologetic notion in Margo’s eyes but until she got to know her better, she would question its sincerity. Watching people be fake or manipulative was something she was used to which is what made her pick up on people’s undertones so well. It was a skill she had honed for 4 years.

When the girl said her favorite subject was potions a small smile played at the corners of her lips. “The same actually that and herbology. I help my mom make potions at home well the parts that can happen without magic use anyway and we have a decently sized garden where she grows ingredients and a small portion inside for the trickier ingredients.” Those were the ingredients that she wasn’t allowed to help with she could stand by and watch but she wasn’t allowed to touch.

That was when the girl brought up playing a game or cards and for the first time her face faltered from its stony state. She didn’t know how to play games as she had never played any at home her parents were always too busy to play games and her grandmother thought they were silly. Her Grandparents in Ireland liked to play different games like word games nothing with cards though at least not with children. “I-uh… I’ve never actually played any card games before. I wouldn’t mind learning though I am a decently fast learner I’d like to think. If you have the patients to teach me.” 

"Wow, that's so cool." The second year remarked at Santario's description.

Margo tried to imagine a historical French village, and Santario roaming its alleyways. Without having actually been to a place anything like that, the young Slytherin was a little stuck, but that's what imagination's for, right? Margo just pictured Santario's home as her own and then made all the changes necessary. She imagined a sprawling estate where her, much more modern house stood, and a golden field of corn where the forest was. She imagined the air to be much dryer than in rainy Scotland and the sky a clear blue, without a cloud to be seen.

Of course, the places one visualised were often far from accurate, but it was fun to do so anyways. Margo smiled internally at the image she'd created, and then returned to the matter at hand- potions and herbology. The two girls both enjoyed the subjects, but for entirely different reasons. Whilst Margo enjoyed the exciting change they brought from growing up around people who specialised in what their wands achieved, Santario enjoyed them because of the fond memories she had of them. "That's interesting too. Does your family live with your grandmother, or just close by?" She asked curiously, still trying to get information out of the girl, even though she'd just given a lot away. It seemed like Santario was from a mostly wizarding family- not that it mattered to Margo, but it was still good to know.

After Santario spoke again, Margo realised that she wouldn't be getting the competitive battle that she'd hoped for. No matter, she could teach Santario a game so they could play ruthlessly in the future. 

"Okay well, I know Gin Rummy. That's a good two player game. There's also Snap and Slap Jack, they're fun and easy to learn. I prefer Snap but whatever. Also- Oh wait" Margo rummaged through her bag once more. "UNO! This one's great." 

"Okay, so we have 7 cards each and the aim of the game is to get rid of them all from your hand. You have to match your card to the top card on the deck. So if you have a green and the card on top is green then you can put your card down." Margo tried to explain, whilst nervously shuffling the cards in her hands. "So, uh, it's your choice if you want to play uno or maybe something easier like snap?"

Santario had no problems giving away information that she would give to just anyone she met at Hogwarts it was other things that Margo wasn’t hitting on that would be harder to wriggle out of the girl. After all she more often than her parents knew watched her grandmother play political intrigue like the people around her were chess pieces and she was a master player. Santario had learned quite well from her grandmother and had deemed certain information of no consequence. “No, we live in a different country. We are in-between my parent’s respective families.” Santario noted that Margo asked similar questions to things she had heard other people ask her parents and her grandparents.

As Margo listed off the games she knew and then exclaimed that there was a game called uno and started to kind of explain it, it made it seem like the girl was more excited to play uno than the others. That made her choice easier. “Uno sounds just fine to me. It seems simple enough from what you have explained so far.” She watched Margo’s hands shuffle the deck. “Besides something a little more complicated seems like it will be more fun. Don’t you agree?” She asked moving her eyes back up to the girl’s face while she waited for cards to be dealt.