Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 20 | Slug Club

"W-what?" Euphemia stuttered as Charlus looked at her a little awkwardly, quickly removing his hands from her waist as a series of emotions flicked across his face in a matter of seconds.

"Why you?" she asked him quietly, once she had eventually registered her shock and was actually looking at him properly.

She just couldn't believe that out of all people to come and save her, it had to be Charlus Potter - the boy who supposedly hated her and had bestowed upon her some of the harshest words she had ever heard.

Of course, Euphemia didn't want to hold a grudge against him for the argument they had had in first year on Bonfire Night but, due to the insults and dark looks thrown at her over the years, she couldn't help but do exactly that.

The thing was, she couldn't just forgive and forget some of the things that Charlus had said to her and they actually echoed in her mind on a daily basis.

Everything that he had said she was was exactly what she had never wanted to be seen as and yet he had always insisted that she was the same as her family.

And yet now he was the knight in shining armour, coming to her rescue at her time of need. Why?

"You were in trouble," Charlus said rather stiffly, running a hand through his tousled hair casually before he lowered his tone to being much more gentler.

"No one leaves a lady in distress, no matter how much you may dislike them," he told her more softly.

Mia gulped, wondering whether he meant that in a nice way intentionally or whether he was genuinely being honest and that was what he thought.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled slightly at him and he let out a bark of laughter before he covered his mouth as if he couldn't believe he was actually laughing at something Euphemia Black said.

There was a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence between the two before Mia went to pick up her bag and the book that had fallen out of Walburga's hand when she was stunned.

"Well...thanks," she muttered, her long hair covering her face so that she didn't have to look him in the eye and she faintly heard him say, "No problem," casually, as if he had hardly done anything and she waited, still bent over her schoolbag, for the sound of his retreating footsteps.

He finally walked away and she sat up, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she adjusted her messy ponytail that was coming out because Walburga pulled it so hard.

Leaning against the wall and puffing out her cheeks as she breathed out, she tilted her head back so that it was touching the wall as her thoughts whirred around her brain in utter confusion and bemusement.

One minute the boy was sending her dirty looks and making offhand comments about her family and blood status and the next minute he was defending her against her family, the very family he had typecast Mia into....what sort of confusing boy was he?

She shook her head to herself slightly as she started to walk away from the stunned students, not wanting to be found with them if any teacher happened to come by, even though practically everyone was in the Great Hall.

Some people were outside enjoying the last few minutes of lunch and soaking up some of the unexpected sunshine that had come out that late September day, which had taken everyone by surprise.

Euphemia knew that Charlus would probably be in the tapestry room and so avoided the hideaway for the rest of lunch as she wandered aimlessly around the corridors, caught up in her thoughts.

Why had Charlus come to her defence? If he really hated her as much as he claimed then why had he not stood by and watched or even joined in?

It left her completely mind blown and she was just trying to get her mind around it all when she walked smack into Horace Slughorn, causing her to be knocked to the floor by the older man.