In once an isolated and wooded side of Ireland, stood a manor. Tall, imposing, luxurious. This manor shadowed proudly the many trees that surrounded it, and it was quiet enough that its sounds were no different than that of the forest, and its presence was striking; in no way it was welcoming enough that it invited the presence of any magical passerby, but it surely did invite their attention. Magical only, mind you, as the Blackberry family could not possibly permit that a muggle wound up near any of their many houses, and for that reason, this one had been enchanted to keep the non-magical folks away from its walls if they happened to be in that isolated site.
Even though the building had a particularly aristocratic family residing there for well over a century, it looked brand new. The credits for this feat go to the hardworking house elves and even the very family that lived there, making sure the house looked brand new every day it stood in that quiet forest. Right now, all were working in keeping that house cleaner than ever, since that night, they were to meet with guests that were just as noble as themselves. As such, through the blue and polished windows of the manor, it was possible to see women supervising the work of house elves, assisting them, checking for the third time if everything was okay. Everyone worked, minus the two children of the family: the siblings Anna and her younger brother Oliver. On a red leather couch, a small one in the corner of the living room, both kids rested comfortably: Anna was lying on her belly, her head supported by her hands on the arm of the couch, and she looked out of the aforementioned windows, expressionless. Her brother was on the opposite side, with a posture bad enough that it couldn't be called sitting, yet no person with good eyes could claim he was lying down; it was a visually interesting position in-between. He had put his foot on her back to annoy her earlier, but seen as it didn't work, he just let it rest there. Clearly, they weren't excited by the idea of guests eating with them tonight.
"This is boring."
"The adults will probably just do all the talking and make us stay here again..."
"I don't get why... If we can't do anything, we should leave."
"I wish aunt Rosie would have taken us with her."
Anna let out a particularly heavy sigh, relaxing her muscles. All of those meetings were boring to her. She hardly understood a word of what they said, but usually had to stay there simply because she was part of the Blackberry family. Uncle Festus managed to busy himself with work matters and Uncle Rosie (whose first name was actually Niamh) was in another country, playing instruments for her band, but the kids didn't have any job that could get them off any boring dinners with the Divogenia Family. Especially since their mother appeared to be very excited on seeing them, along with her mother-in-law, the dignified and composed Genevieve, proud matriarch of the Blackberry. Both women appeared thrilled to see their guests, and as such prepared the house to look in a most perfect state to welcome them, making sure the food would be of even higher quality than usual, which was... Quite the feat, coming from such a demanding house. The only adult that didn't seem particularly joyful to see the Divogenia was Jacob, husband to the enraptured auror and father to the bored children on the couch. Jacob was typically unimpressed by anything relating to social interactions, but accepted to show up to the dinner nonetheless for the sake of better maintaing inter-familial relationships. A pity. Had he not, maybe his children would have a way of avoiding another gathering of adults that promised to be just as boring as the others. If he had chosen to stay in his own manor, where he and his kids lived, and not accepted to go to his mother's house, his children wouldn't be dreading another gathering.
After the house was thoroughly verified and analysed for the third time for cleanliness and visual perfection, Bethany remembered her bored children on the couch, and swiftly slid towards them.
"It's nearly 7pm. Are my babies ready for that dinner?"
Anna and Oliver looked even more miserable, melting the poor heart of their loving mother, who sitted on the couch and pulled each one individually to a hug.
Aaaw... What are you two sad for? Are you not excited?"
"No. It's boring when you and dad invite other families here. We always have to stay in the corner quietly and I don't want to do it now."
"I see... So that's the problem. But this one might be a little different! You know why?"
The youngest son shook his head, suddenly a little curious to hear what Bethany had to say. His sister didn't look as excited, looking to a renaissance painting on the wall.
"Today, they're going to bring their daughter as well."
Suddenly, Anna looked up, her interest finally being piqued by this new fact. Families never brought their kids to meetings...
"She's about your age, Anna! And I've heard well from her, she seems so nice. Why don't both of you talk to her? I'm sure she'll need company since this will be a completely new place for her. You'll be friendly, right?"
Both children nodded, and Bethany kissed their heads, satisfied.
"Go to the door now. It's nearly time for the Divogenia to arrive."
The woman left to meet with her husband and mother-in-law in the front door to wait for their honor guests, and her kids followed her.
"Do you actually meeting someone else would make this more fun?"
"Anything new would be nice."
Naturally, it would. Both have been sheltered for a rather long time (though Oliver was less so than his sister), and any novelty or new opportunity to meet someone was naturally interesting to them.
"What if she's annoying?"
"Then we can leave her alone and badmouth her in the corner. Okay?"
"...Yeah. Sure."
Anna looked over to her grandmother, the matriarch of the family, just next to her son, the silent, effortlessly graceful, always-stoic, Jacob. She looked rather energetic, as opposed to her usual self.
"If this doesn't turn out to be at least nice, I'll bite them both", Anna thought. She'd have her revenge if anything went wrong, and this thought made her smile more pleasantly now as she waited for the Divogenia and their so-called "nice daughter" with high expectations.
