He was pretty sure that he had earned detention in Defense Against the Dark Arts as thanks to Nemesis he had lost his bag during the first activity AND he and his partner, Ashley, decided to keep their own wands because the girl had been right, he was NOT going to hand out his wand that easily and he certainly wasn't going to take it from a little first year who just started using it. But, when he heard that detentions were given, his name had not been on the list of people.

In other words.

He. Won.

So using this loophole, the Hufflepuff was in the technology lounge, smashing the buttons on the controllers of the arcade. He didn't know when the people were serving their detention but he would be here, battling video game characters.

His character was hit by an enemy up above and Minjae moved his fingers quickly to pick a bow and arrow combination. A special attack. In the time he did this he was a second too late and the character was hit again, falling on the ground and the screen turned black before the game over title screen appeared. "AAARGH ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" he shouted loudly with his hands in his hair, messing it up before he leaned even closer to the screen and pressed the continue button. He was going to beat this level even if it was the last thing he would do!

Ashley walked into the technology lounge. She had heard that there was one, but she hadn't been able to find it. But there was a sound of yelling in a corridor she hadn't investigated yet. She peeked in, and Surprise! it was the tech lounge. The yelling sound turned out to be Minjae failing a video game level. Okayyy. She quietly sat down and started to play some super smash bros against an npc. She didn't say anything to Minjae. It didn't seem like a good time to interrupt him from, well, whatever it was he was doing. "Ha! TAKE THAT LINK! YES LUCINA! GET HIM! YES!" oops. Didn't mean to yell that.

Attack, attack, shield, back jump , air attack , roll!

Minjae's fingers were flying over the buttons as he pressed the combinations. He was so focused on his game that he had not even noticed Ashley entering the room. And since she didn't say anything either , the Hufflepuff continued to play until he managed to defeat his opponent.

A wide grin played on his face as he put his hands up in celebration and then literally jumped in the air in fright when he heard someone yell behind him. Where had she come from?!

He turned off the arcade and walked over to the young Ravenclaw on the couch. With his right hand he hold on to it and with a tiny bit of force he jumped over the couch and falling down next to her. Looking down on her screen he bounced his legs up and down. "Forward airstrike! now!" she might have been quiet earlier but he certainly wasn't . "Dolphin slash! BAM!"

Now it was Ashley's turn to jump as Minjae parkoured over the couch and started yelling out moves. Where did he come from? Of course, it made sense that he saw her, because she was literally yelling, but she had been too focused to noticed him. She won. "AHA! I BEAT YOU COMPUTER! I WON! HA HA HA!" She cackled loudly. Wait. Was this rage-winning? She remembered that Minjae was sitting next to her watching her yell at a screen like a maniac. She smiled partially. "Hi Minjae. What's up? Don't mind me, I'm just crushing this video game... Sorry if I scared you or something." She eyed the controller. What a fun game.

Watching someone play games was just as exciting to him as playing them himself. Gaming kept him focused and his mind busy. He wasn't one to usually pay much attention in classes but with games he was completely immersed in the worlds and story lines. Especially at home when he could log in and send his guild members in to battles. The feeling of being in control over a group of people was amazing. That just wasn't his thing in real life.

He grinned as the first year began to yell at her screen like a maniac and he clapped when he saw that her character in the game had won. "You have this game at home as well?" he asked before leaning back in the seat, his eyes caught the singed jukebox in the corner and he felt a pang of guilt. He had been the one to destroy that thing last year....though by accident... "Nah you didn't scare me" she had scared him earlier but he was not going to admit that. He looked back at the girl and then at the door in case anyone would enter. "You still have your wand, right?" he still had his safely tucked in his wrist holster.

"We should battle! A game battle" he pointed at the device in her hand. "I'm pretty sure we can plug it in to the tv and use controllers" he looked around to try and find them.

"Yup. I play this all the time. Especially when I'm angry at my family and then I go to my room and fight npcs." She had gotten really really good. "Yup. I still have my wand. We should totally game battle that would be epic." Plus, this was something Ashley had a chance of winning at, although of course she had no idea how good he was.

"I forgot you are a muggleborn as well" he said. "But why would you be angry with your family?" he asked as he got up from the couch and walked over to the tv. Good. She still had her wand. He wanted to tell (mostly brag) her that his name was forgotten on the list of students that had to serve detention but immediately decided to not say a word. The less people knew, the harder it was to get caught. He grabbed a few cables and plugged them in the back of the screen and lightly threw a controller at the first year for her to use. "Do you play other games as well? I have a VR system at home and i love playing horror type games on it" the scarier the better, he loved the adrenaline feeling. "Im also a guild leader in a mmorpg, which is fun" he smiled and pressed the play button on the controller.

Choosing Link as his character, the Hufflepuff waited for Ashley to pick out hers.

"Because my family is annoying, that's why," she said flatly. Bit of an understatement there. She nodded. "Yeah I do vr too but not as much. I mostly just play this and racing. I don't play mmorpgs tho. I just stick with rpgs." Ashley picked Lucina, because that was her favorite character.

Annoying. Wasn't everyone's family annoying? He had a little brother who he both loved and hated at the same time. "You want to talk about it?" he asked. Now that he thought about it , he knew absolutely nothing about her apart from her being in Ravenclaw and having accidentally set her on fire once. Oops.

"Racing is cool" he said while nodding his head. "Do you like Mario Kart? It was my very first game" he hadn't played it in a while though.

It was a shame she wasn't into mmorpg's cause he still needed a Healer in his team. But he wasn't going to push it either. He watched as she choose Lucina again and waited for the game to load.

Once it did and the fight began, Minjae pressed the buttons on the controller to control Link and attacked Ashley's Lucina with Link's sword. His eyes were glued to the screen as the only thing he could think of was winning.

"No," Ashley said flatly. Surfing was better. Or video games was good enough. Better than 'talking about it'. "Yeah I play mario kart. I play a lot of other racing games too." Ashley waited for the game to load. She started frantically stabbing at link. It reminded her a little bit of that one detention where they stood in sewage and tried to beat each other up. Not fun times.

Finneas was exhausted, but there was still one other student to meet with and he couldn't just slip away for some alone time like he wanted. Some days were like years. AnYwAy.

A change of scenery is just what he needed to clear his head and seeing as his classroom was still a post-war zone, he opted to lead Violet to the technology lounge instead. Closing the door behind him to make sure they'd have the space to themselves, he sighed. Of course he used his wand to lock the door as well because with the way things were going today, it would be just his luck that someone would try to barge in and interrupt. "ERr... One moment," he offered her an uneasy smile before dragging two beanbag chairs to the corner of the room.

"Err... Come sit, Ms. Blackthorne."

Violet eyed what looked like two large, squishy pillows with some trepidation--were they supposed to sit on these? She had never seen seating like that before, but Professor Schmoe was settled on one, so Violet made an effort to lower herself onto the other with as much grace as a 14 yea old can muster.

She was having misgivings about coming to see Professor Schmoe in the first place--this was the first time in her two years at Hogwarts that she had voluntarily gone to speak to a teacher one-on-one. But she didn't have anyone else to talk to about this and Schmoe, being the Muggle Studies teacher and all, had seemed like the logical person to ask. But now she was having misgivings about how to start this conversation without him thinking she was a racist or something. Violet wished she were better at talking to people in person--if she were writing a letter, it would be easy.

At least they were away from his office and that classroom--the class on Pollution and his meeting with those older students earlier had seemed to put him in a very bad mood, but he seemed a bit calmer and less stressed now that they had come to this room full of Muggle technology. Violet hadn't come in here before, but she recognized some of the machines and devices from the year she had spent with her father in New York.

Well, better begin. "Uh, Professor Schmoe...do you know...I mean, you probably know some Muggles, right?...I mean, the ones you've met...some of them are okay people, aren't they?" Violet heard herself and thought she sounded pretty stupid, but there it was--you can't erase words once they're spoken.

Though Finneas kept beanbag chairs in his office for his students, he always sat at a proper chair behind his desk. Thus when it was his turn to sit in one of these low, floppy beanbags... It was with very little grace that he did so. He long limbs dangled awkwardly off the strange trap contrapption and he uncomfortably sank all the way into it. What a great way to continue the already terrible day.

He was, however, curious to know what it was that Ms. Blackthorne was here about. If she had any part in sabotaging the class activity, hopefully she would admit to it now and they could get the hard part over with. So he simply waited, letting her marinate in the awkward silence in hopes that she would share whatever was on her mind without first needing prompting.

All of this being said, her question to him by complete surprise! A topic he actually LOVED speaking about. HA. The grin of relief that made it onto his face was SO wide. "I know MANY of them, quite personally," he began, sitting up as straight as he could whilst still being consumed by the beanbag he was currently smushed in. "Some of the best people I know! Are you looking to meet them?" Did she need a contact?

Violet was taken aback by the sudden burst of enthusiasm from her professor. She had assumed he would still be in a bad mood after the chaos of their last class, but on hearing her question, he suddenly looked like a kid at a surprise birthday party. And he did know some good Muggles! Violet just knew there were some, even after last year with her father.

"Uh, well...maybe...though I don't think my grandfather would approve it. He doesn't like Muggles--my mother married one and she had to leave home. I...that is... Violet really hadn't meant to go into the particulars of her personal business with anyone, especially a teacher, but she really needed to get this straight in her head and with Miss Howard gone, there was no one else to talk to. This might be her only chance.

"My grandfather and my uncles always told me my father wasn't a nice person and they made it seem that was because he was a Muggle. So that made me mad and I didn't believe them, and I started wanting to meet him. And then about a year ago, during my first year at school, my father started writing me letters, and he asked me to meet him so we could spend some time together and get to know each other. So I....I kind of ran away from home, and I went with my father to New York. But the thing is...well, it turns out he really wasn't a very nice person. In fact, Violet thought, he was kind of a crook, but she couldn't bring herself to say that.

"And none of the other Muggles I met when I was with him were very nice, and...and I know that was probably just coincidence and that there are good Muggles and I just haven't met them, but I...I sometimes sort of started thinking that maybe my family was right, that Muggles weren't good people. And I didn't want to believe that, Violet went on in a rush, "because I'm half-Muggle and that would mean I might not be very nice either, and I don't believe it, I DON'T" Violet realized she was nearly shouting now and blushed; darn those teenage hormones.

"And I just needed to hear someone say it, that Muggles were really all right, most of them, someone who knew what they were talking about." Someone Violet trusted to tell her the truth. "And I'd really like to meet your friends, I would, but since I ran away last year, my family hasn't been letting me go anywhere much, especially alone; I mean they wouldn't even sign my Hogsmeade permission slip, and I barely got permission to go on my class field trip. So thank you all the same, but I guess I shouldn't push it with my grandfather too much, not this year, at least."

Violet sat back, stunned at her outburst--that was the most she'd said out loud, not in writing, in a long time. She hadn't meant to reveal so much. She hoped she hadn't offended Professor Schmoe or made him think she was some sort of Pureblood snob. But she felt better that he had said some of his Muggle friends were the best people he knew.

Errrrrr..............................

Finneas did not know how to respond to this. He usually didn't know how to respond to things, to be fair, but this was a lot. This was a lot more than usual, even. So instead of responding he simply sat there in the silence and blinked. A few times. Or maybe several times.

There was a lot to unpack here.

"Heh. Well." He scratched his head, shifting around uncomfortably in the beanbag chair that he was far too long to sit on properly. His lanky limbs dangled off the cushioned seat and he uhhhhhh was still uncertain of how to proceed forward. Er. "It, er, well... Not all wizards are good either, yes? So er... You know, there's good and bad everywhere. But in my experience, we cannot write off a whole people unless we have devoted the time to get to know them ourselves."

He didn't know if this was a proper reply to any of what she said, but quite frankly... He was tired (TM). The exhaustion of the earlier debacle had caught up to him and now this. It was a rough day.

Violet relaxed a little. She knew she had been going on way too much to Professor Schmoe--he probably didn't know what to make of it. As he spoke, she knew she had really known the answer, she just needed to hear someone else say what she had been thinking. Instead of just making abrupt comments and then never talking about things ever again, like her family.

"Yeah, I think I already knew that. I just needed to hear someone else say it, Professor. I was just unlucky enough to not have the chance to meet any nice Muggles, and it kind of spooked me a bit. I'm sorry to go on and on to you; I can't talk to my family about this. But I hope someday I'll have the chance to meet some more Muggles, better ones."

To be fair, Schmoe didn't know what to make of most things. He nodded along as she spoke again, hoping to Cerce that she didn't have another speech prepared. He could only take so much in one day, you know?

"Err... There's no need to apologize, Ms. Blackthorne. You can always speak to me when or if you need." Though maybe she wouldn't want to because he wasn't exactly what dreams were made of. "The future is bright, Ms. Blackthorne!" He had hope that she'd find an opportunity and that perhaps her family would come around. Er. Maybe.

Violet felt better now, even though most of what Professor Schmoe was saying sounded like old platitudes that didn't mean much of anything. But he meant well, and Violet felt he was sincere. Why--he almost seemed nervous! As nervous as she felt. Did grownups--did professors feel nervous, just like kids? Violet had always thought that when she grew up, she would have it all figured out and never feel awkward or confused or stupid again. What if...what if growing up meant you were just an older verion of your same old self? What if you never had it all figured out?! This made Violet feel a bit frightened; she would have to think all this over later, when she was alone with her journal.

But for now, she supposed she should say something reassuring, just in case Professor Schmoe really was nervous. And maybe try to find a graceful way to end this awkward conversation.

"Well, thanks, Professor Schmoe, that gives me a lot to think about. I feel much better now." Violet tried to smile in what she hoped was a friendly and reassuring manner (but which she suspected just looked silly).

There were rarely ever times when Finneas did not mean well. And yes, professors did get nervous sometimes. Well, most of the time if you were Finneas Schmoe. Though, perhaps he was an anomaly in this regard.

Believing Violet through and through, Schmoe almost felt elated. Had he done a decent job in directing the conversation? Could he qualify this as a win for the day?? "I am very glad to hear that, Ms. Blackthorne. Err. Do stop by any time," he gave her what was meant to a reassuring grin as he attempted (key word) to rise onto his feet.

Violet was trying to figure out how to gracefully get up from the odd chair without embarrassing herself, but finally gave up and just kind of rolled off onto the floor and then hopped up. She looked over and saw Professor Schmoe attempting to rise and without thinking it through, held out a hand to him. Too late, she considered that this might be too forward, or possibly embarrassing, so she covered it by trying to make it into an offered handshake.

"Well, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk to me, Professor." Violet wondered if he would really take her hand--if so, she wondered if she was strong enough to actually be of any help.

Finneas was straight up struggling. Why did he think beanbags were a good idea?! Who signed off on this??? And why was it him??? He floundered around, making strange noises and not at all paying attention to the struggle that Violet was currently enduring as well. At least they were in this together, no?

"Er yes, anytime," he offered her a strange smile before looking at her hand, which he took to help him stand up. Before realizing perhaps it wasn't meant for that. And er.... tried to turn it into a handshake too. This was weird. This was so weird.

This was weird, thought Violet. Sure, she had had an epiphany that grownups, even professors, were actually really just people, too, but still....they were teachers. So, she'd had her anxieties put to rest and given a good attempt at being more outgoing and interacting with people better, but enough was enough. She was ready to escape back to her Common Room and record her thoughts in her journal.

"Er, thanks again Professor. Well, I guess I'd better be going," she said, and made a break for the door. She was out of it and down the corridor before the Professor had a chance to say anything else.

It was Ashley's birthday. She was turning twelve. Yay. So she decided to celebrate. She opened some presents in her room, snuck into the kitchen to find some good food, and finally ended up here in the tech lounge, the most muggle place in Hogwarts. She was doing some multitasking. After she had gotten bored of playing video games, she turned on some depressing and loud muggle music and sprawled upside down on a beanbag to work. She was doing a muggle homework assignment that her friend had sent to her, reading up on healing magic, and writing in her dream journal that she kept "for fun". It wasn't a bad way to spend a birthday. She hummed along with the music as she wrote. y= mx+b, la-dee-da. How many times can a triangle touch a circle? Doo doo doo. where is the vertex of this equation? hmmmm. When she was done with all the work(it was all correct by the way), she dumped it on a pile on the floor and just listened to the music wordlessly. What a good song. Although she might have hearing issues if she played it too loud.

Finneas was taking thing to and fro his storage closets. They were nearing the end of the year, which meant it was high time to get some cleaning done before they vacated for the summer holidays. With the way Finneas lived his life, he needed to get cleaning done MONTHS in advance, you know? It was the way he chose to live his life, unfortunately. Alina would be shaking her head at him.

As he walked by the technology lounge, he heard some loud tunes being played inside and decided to stick his head inside. "Hello, Ms. Fox. What are you getting up to, or errrrr, as the kids say... What is up!?"

Or was that just a thing kids HIS days used to say.