[Juniper Kelly]

"Shit! God damn it! Where is it?" June walked swiftly into the living room and looked under a pillow. Her mother looked up from her magazine and frowned. "Honey, calm down. Look, your favorite show is on- The Jetsons!" Juni glanced at her mom and looked at the t.v in disgust. "Ma, I don't even like that show anymore. No one watches it anymore." At that moment, her father walked in and glanced up from over his glasses. "I still watch it!" June rolled her eyes, =but with a smile. "Dad, you'll watch anything." Then, remembering why she was here, she turned to her mom. "Mom can you move, pleaseeeee? Mom!" Her mother sighed and got up, allowing her daughter to lift up the cushion. "It's not here!" She rolled her eyes and ran to her older brother's room. She made her way through dirty clothes to his piggy bank and opened it. She crouched down and hurriedly dumped it on the floor. She grabbed a hand full to her chest and shoved it in her pockets, running out of the room and straight into her brother in the hallway. "Woah, slow down-" She smiled and ran past him, not keen on being in the house when he realized she stole from him. Just as she was grabbing her skateboard- "JUNIPER!" Tony had found out. "I'll pay you back!" She ran out the door and got on her skateboard, pushing off the ground as her brother came bursting out the front door. "JUNI GET BACK HERE!" She only waved and turned the corner.

She made her way to the arcade and ran to the game Space Wars. She held the top score and she was keen on keeping it that way. She pressed the coin in and focused intently on the game before her, not allowing anything or anyone to break her concentration.  

[Bobby Cashmore]

Bobby hadn't quite known what to make of Ireland, if he was honest. He was from a modestly sized town, and his folks were very ordinary in their way, even his being a wizard was unexpected, but the family made do as best they could.

So the news of Geoffrey's family inviting them to stay in Dublin for a few days had been most unexpected; Bobby himself had only met his grandparents a few times, usually at Christmas, when they came to visit and stayed in the spare bedroom. He had wondered how the two of them fitted into the spare bed they had. So staying in Dublin was quite an adventure, and as it was a little later in the summer, the family thought it could be like a birthday outing as well as a holiday.

They'd spent a couple of days exploring the city - Dublin had a lot to recommend it. And he had, of course, read all the books in his local library about the place, its history and so on, but he was finding that it wasn't always enough to read a book, that sometimes someone had to go and see it for themselves. Sort of like what his dad used to say about train engines, before they discovered that Bobby was a wizard.

Today though, his grandparents wanted his parents to stay behind and discuss something important, and thought Bobby would be better off with a small purse of money, a map of the city and directions to a place his grandparents understood all the local kids hung out - an arcade. Which, of course, seeing how none of them were magical, had made a lot of things potentially complicated.

For example, they had suggested that Bobby bring a friend or two, their newfound position had given them enough wealth to have a large house, far larger than they really needed - but the nature of dragging teenagers and/or friends along for the ride had been something no-one had really considered. The ex-pats had always been lucky rather than grounded, and so no-one had really considered what inviting the family plus friends over from the mainland might look like - best part of 18 hours on a ferry. What they couldn't have known, of course, was that Bobby was wizarding, and wizarding folk had ways - so Bobby had organised them a portkey to the Dublin harbourside to be picked up when convenient.

So bringing the family, and even a couple of friends along was no bother in actuality. He'd invited a couple of kids from school - folks that would be hard pressed to describe as friends but certainly fellow students he felt some kinship with, and that had some muggle background and so would know how to behave. Oddly he'd never felt entirely connected to his own housemates in that regard, but the unlikely friends he'd made in the form of Grace Pemberton and Sebastian Matthews, that he'd met through a sort of 'open day' for Arithmancy he'd been to when trying out classes for his third year.

But as he meandered through Dublin, just exploring as young folk are wont to do, he found himself staring at the entrance to the arcade he'd been told about, though he hadn't planned to come here, his feet had just led him here anyway. It wasn't quite the sort of thing they had back home in Dudley - though he had heard about such things in Birmingham, just it wasn't the most convenient journey to be made.

From inside he could hear bells and buzzers ringing - and he knew there would be things to explore. It was a bit loud as he first stepped inside, and it wasn't only the machines with their noises, it was also the kids cheering their friends on, making encouraging noises.

While there were newer-fangled electronic games, Bobby was more interested in the pinball machines. His dad had talked about them and he was fascinated by the idea of a mostly mechanical game like that. One of the tables off to the side was empty, no-one even queueing, so Bobby took the opportunity to take a proper look.

It hadn't even occurred to him anyone here might be anyone he actually knew, so he just let himself be engrossed by the machine he'd found. It had a name printed excitedly on it, 'Jive Time'. Huh, it wasn't his favourite kind of music, but he didn't think the machine would actually play jive at him. But instead, he put a coin in, gave the flippers an experimental fiddle, as if to sense them out, and pulled the plunger - and the game began.

[Grace Pemberton]

It was the strangest of days and Grace was very excited. Just when she'd resigned herself to the summer being long and unspeakably boring something exciting happened. An unknown owl had arrived, bringing Grace an invitation to a birthday party. She hadn't quite expected one. Her best friend Edith's birthday was in May and Gemma's birthday was in September like her own. Still, an envelope was now resting in her hands with the words 'birthday invitation' on it.

The only curious thing was that she wasn't especially close with the sender of the invitation: Bobby Cashmore. They'd met at Hogwarts and had been grouped together in some cross-year Arithmancy lessons. Reading on, Grace made big eyes. The party was in Ireland? What! She hadn't known that Bobby was Irish. He'd sounded pretty English to her ears.

She walked over to the living room to show the invitation to her mum. There was no way she was going to allow this. Travelling to Ireland with Bobby and his parents was a lot to ask for.

"You never even mentioned a Bobby," her mum objected pretty much as expected. "But I suppose it could be a fun diversion. You've been cooped up here all summer. And Mr Cashmore is a good student and very responsible."

Grace perked up. Really? She'd be allowed to go? She couldn't believe her ears. Usually, her mum was pretty strict and going to a foreign country with a boy she didn't even call a close friend  seemed a little crazy even to Grace. But who was she to argue when her mum was happy to go along with it. Apparently, she liked Bobby and couldn't stop herself from gushing about how much time the young Ravenclaw spent in the library. Maybe she should be spending more time there as well if that meant she was going to get permission for something amazing.

-

The day of the party came and Grace was so excited she couldn't even put it into words. Her mom walked her down to Hogsmeade to take a portkey from there. It wasn't her first time travelling that way, but it was the first time she'd be going on her own. She was a proper grown up now.

A little while later she arrived in Dublin and met up with Bobby and his family. Mr and Mrs Cashmore seemed like very nice people. They had a lot of questions for her, because apparently they hadn't ever met a child that had grown up in the wizarding world.

"I don't know if my mum pays income tax," she responded to one of Mr Cashmore's questions. Why would he ask that? And more importantly what was income tax? Grace was sure her grandfather had talked about that before. Wasn't that some Muggle thing to do with owning a company? "I'm really sorry, Sir."

While all the questioning was happening Bobby himself had strayed further and further from the group. Suddenly Grace couldn't see him anymore. "Where's Bobby she asked?"

Mr Cashmore, being a lot taller than Grace could still see him and pointed at the arcade. "Why don't you catch up with him and tell him to wait for us," Bobby's father instructed.

And with that Grace was off and sprinted towards the arcade. In all her life she had never seen a place quite like this. Her grandparents were muggles and they did play games with her, but it was mostly Snakes and Ladders or Cluedo, though Grace wasn't very good at the latter. Somehow, grandpa always figured it out before her. But this, wow, this was just bomb. Fab.

"Hey Bobby, wait up!" She called after him trying to wrangle her way past a number of guests. She accidentally shoved a Muggle girl with red hair, giving her an apologetic look.

"So sorry! Just trying to catch up with my friend."

[Sebastian Matthews]

Sebastian had been quite surprised when he received an invitation to join Bobby Cashmore in Ireland for a couple of days. The Hufflepuff would not have described them as friends due to the age gap. Sebastian assumed the younger boy was at an age where things like his first trip to Hogsmeade and whether to take Ancient Runes or Arithmancy were his primary worries while Sebastian was preparing to begin his NEWT and was looking increasingly towards life after Hogwarts. He knew he wanted to become a famous actor on the West End, but how would he go about reaching this dream?
 
However, he had always gotten on with the Ravenclaw. Bobby was friendly, extremely smart(more intelligent than Sebastian, truth be told), and their shared muggle-orientated background meant they had someone to vent their exasperation to when their pureblood schoolmates were particularly idiotic. Seriously, some of the statements his classmates came out with were hilarious! It was as though they thought they were living in the 1870s rather than the 1970s. No electricity, arranged marriages, the sacred 28, house-elves. At times the wizarding world felt like something out of those period novels his mother liked to read.
 
It was for that reason he had accepted the invitation along with the fact he had never been to Ireland before! It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and get to know somewhere new! Sebastian was surprised when his parents agreed. His mother was reluctant. However, the sixth-year's father argued the boy was sixteen now, practically a man, and he should be able to handle a few days away, especially since he would likely be under the direct supervision of Bobby's parents for most of the trip.
 
The trip was going well so far! Mr and Mrs Cashmore were welcoming hosts though Grace had gotten more of their attention, which he was thankful for! While he understood what taxes were, his father had grumbled about them often enough, Seb had no idea if his mother paid them for her job at St. Mungos. He honestly had not thought to ask. His mind usually drifted away when matters of finance came up. The Matthews family were closer to poor than rich, and that was all he needed to know.
 
Sebastian gave Mr Cashmore a polite nod before he followed after Grace. The teen smiled as he entered the arcade! This place was the bomb! He watched as Grace accidentally bumped into the random red-headed muggle girl, but the Hufflepuff chose not to comment as the Gryffindor had the decency to apologise. Instead, he made his way over to them and waited for Bobby to decide what game he wanted them to try first. He was the birthday boy, after all!

[Juniper Kelly]

Juniper squinted and focused so intently that not even an earthquake could get her attention at that moment. Her heart raced at every move, every action she took. She was not going to lose her top score and she wasn't going to die- not before she beat her very best. She ignored the open door and the kids that headed in, quite excited about something. Whatever it was, she didn't care. Some boy stopped at a game a bit further down, but Juniper didn't even glance his way. She was dimly aware that she was in the middle of the path, kids were making their way around her. At that moment, someone walked into her. More like, shoved her. "What the-?" She stumbled from her stance and her hand slipped from the game. She gave no mind to the girl's apology as she saw the game to come to an end- meaning game over for her. "No no no! Come on!" She kicked the game and turned to the girl. "Seriously? Do you know how long it takes to get that far in this game? You see that right there?" She pointed to the name at the top of the score list- which had just flashed on the screen. "That's me. I was trying to beat that score." She huffed and turned back to the game. Juniper imagined briefly the possibility of turning the girl into a toad- but she knew no spells at all. She had only just received a letter to a place called Hogwarts. Juniper doubted it was even real. She was pretty sure the only school she'd be attending once summer was over was her usual one. But still, a girl could dream. Her mother insisted it was real, but Juni was sure it was a joke. "Whatever." She finally said, the only thing keeping her from shoving the girl back was the desire to not get kicked out of the arcade.

Who even was this girl? She's never seen her before. At all. not that Juniper knew everyone here, but she knew many faces in this area. And the accent- it was different. Maybe she was on a family trip. Juniper fought the urge to roll her eyes. tourists. Just the absolute worst.

[Bobby Cashmore]

Bobby froze for a moment mid-game, and the balls all tumbled through the jaws between the flippers and a disconcerting tone played out on the bells in the machine.

But at that point, he was roused by Grace's voice, apologising. He turned - he'd accidentally left them behind a bit, so entranced by the arcade - and saw Grace having nudged a local girl playing in the arcade. There was something about a high score, and Bobby went over to apologise - after all, he was responsible for them all being there, but the girl seemed dismissive of all of them.

He apologised anyway, and introduced the group. "Hi, I'm Bobby - this is Grace and Sebastian, and we're just here on holiday. Sorry we interrupted your game." But the girl didn't seem particularly interested, she had already dismissed them with a 'whatever' and perhaps that was that.

Bobby was intrigued by the game being played though - it was always worth seeing how others played these games first; his father had always told him about 'getting the lay of the land', after all.

He turned to Grace and Sebastian. "I've heard about places like this but we don't have any in Dudley, so I guess I was a bit excited. Are there any games you'd like to try? I think I might watch a few people first, I wasn't very good at pinball..."

[Grace Pemberton]

Grace was surprised when the girl didn't seem receptive to her apology. Was she really that upset over a game? Despite having Muggle grandparents, Grace had never actually been to an arcade before and didn't know much about it. There wasn't anything like this in Preston where her grandparents lived or if there was she certainly didn't know about it. What was so important about that game or having a high score?

The cold 'whatever' really bothered Grace. She hadn't meant to ruin the girl's game and wasn't sure what she could be doing about it now, after the fact. She lit her lower lip and gave the girl an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry. I... I can pay for your next game."

Grace was a bit worried how expensive that would be, but her mum had given her a bit of extra pocket money to have fun. If she had to spend it to make it up to this girl, well, that wasn't great but it would be fair. She had ruined the girl's score after all. She reached for her purse and opened the coin compartment.

"How much is it?"

Meanwhile, Bobby was joining them to make introductions. At least he seemed super excited, though Grace found herself wishing she didn't have to be here. She found it difficult to get excited when that girl was still giving her that look.

Meanwhile Bobby was asking what games they should try. Grace gave a shrug. "I haven't played any of them before, she said. Do you know anything about these?" Grace pointed back at the thing the girl had been playing with.

"I don't think I've seen anything like it before. Do you know how that works?"