Hey there! Seeing as these two chapters are best read together, this will be a double update so I hope you all enjoy. Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride....
Euphemia had genuinely never felt so happy in her entire life.
It was quite crazy to her to comprehend the fact that she was actually living a life where she was loved and content in her day to day routine - she had a wonderful boyfriend and was living with his family who truly felt like her own just because of the way they had welcomed her into their Potter clan without a second thought. To someone who had felt alone a lot of her life, Mia couldn't even describe how much that meant to her.
After leaving the rest of the Potters downstairs so that they could have a little time together just the two of them, Charlus and Euphemia had ended up in his bedroom doorway, kissing furiously as they made the most of the privacy they had been granted. Eventually, Charlus pulled away with a smile and threw himself onto his bed as he fiddled with his record player, sending some beautiful music floating through the room as he glanced over at Mia who was still stood in the doorway.
Silently, Charlus patted the empty space on the bed next to him and Euphemia flung herself there, shutting the door loudly behind her as her head sunk into his soft pillow face first and Charlus could hear her muffled giggles over the music, a noise that truly warmed his heart. He smiled down at her fondly, running his hands through her hair as she sighed happily.
"What're you laughing at?" Charlus asked her with the same smile still placed on his face, chuckling quietly at just how exceedingly adorable she was and Mia raised her head to look at him intently, her grey - blue eyes shining with fervour, the same fervour that had made him fall head over heels in love with her.
"Just this whole situation, it's so peculiar and, last night, your father told me that he thinks of me as his own daughter and that he wants to walk me down the aisle. I don't know, it just made me feel so happy and-" Euphemia started babbling again, getting a little emotional, and Charlus cut her off by placing his finger on her lips, shaking his head and smirking at her.
Mia's eyes widened in protest and she looked mildly offended and amused at his interruption, "What are you- mmm," she was silenced again by the distraction of Charlus pressing his mouth to hers though this time she didn't complain, melting into his hold and savouring the sweet taste of his kiss.
Almost as if they were in some cringey romance movie, they both stared deeply into each other's eyes, hazel to grey - blue as their lips connected, warmth flowing through the pair of them. Euphemia could genuinely never get sick of kissing Charlus because everything in her mind just seemed to go blank, all she could focus on was Charlus' lips and how happy she was in that moment.
She wished she could've stayed there forever.
Charlus moved his mouth to Mia's jaw, pressing kisses up and down there as she giggled, her skin tingling wherever his gentle fingers brushed as the music playing from the record enhanced the mood a little more. Euphemia ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further as Charlus' hands snaked around her waist and pulled her into him so she was pressed against his chest.
Mia and Charlus were just so incredibly immersed in each other that everything else in the world just seemed to disappear, all they could see and hear was each other and Charlus flipped Euphemia over onto her back so that he was leant over her, his arms placed on either side of her head, practically trapping her underneath his body, breathing heavily when they pulled away.
The steamy make out session seemed to go on for what seemed like forever but was probably only around ten minutes as they rolled around on Charlus' bed, laughing and kissing tenderly, his hands still staying respectfully on Mia's waist as she gripped his shirt to pull him down to her mouth time and time again, smirking at the obvious effect that she had on him as his eyes became dazed with affection.
Euphemia couldn't help but be immensely thankful to Charlus about the fact that he was being the utmost gentleman, not that she had expected anything else. But she knew that her experience with Orion would forever scar her whenever she was engaging in anything intimate and so she was very grateful that Charlus was being respectful and making her feel extremely comfortable.
"You're messing up my hair too much," Charlus mumbled eventually but Mia only giggled at his disgruntled expression as he attempted to flatten down his already messy hair, glaring playfully at his girlfriend. Euphemia was sat opposite from him now, her legs crossed as she was still laughing, her cheeks flushed from earlier and her lips swollen but she was grinning from ear to ear.
Nothing had ever felt so right.
"Laughing, are we now?" Charlus threatened, raising his eyebrows, "Let's see who's laughing in a second," he crawled towards her with a mischievous smile, waggling his fingers. He leant over and started tickling her sides as Mia squealed with laughter, begging him to stop. She squirmed underneath his grip, kicking her legs out in protest whilst she tried to aim for a specific part of Charlus' anatomy where it would definitely hurt.
Euphemia eventually gave up on trying to kick her boyfriend and so made do with whacking him on the arm, wheezing with giggles before Charlus pulled away, positioning her gently so they were both lay on their sides, facing each other and staring into each other's eyes as the music drew slowly to a close, the final notes of the record dragging out to fill the silence between the couple.
"There is no one like you, Black," Charlus whispered softly, affection filling the expression on his face as he looked at her intently. Even though Mia flinched a little at the use of her last name, she felt her breathing quicken as he moved closer to her, desire and love written all over his expression, the music drawing to a close so that there was no further noise over the top of their actions.
Charlus was just about to kiss Mia again, leaning in so that he was mere inches away from her face, when a loud noise from downstairs distracted them from the activity at hand. The young man paused millimetres away from her lips and Euphemia looked at him in concern, seeing his eyes darken and wondering why he had the same alarmed expression on his face as prey noticing their predator.
"Flea, what's wrong?" she asked him frantically, starting to worry now but Charlus shook his head as if he was almost in scared disbelief, jumping quickly to his feet and motioning for Mia to keep quiet as he opened the door slowly, looking terrified of what might be on the other side away from their love infused bedroom.
The chaotic background noise that they had so far accidentally ignored due to their snogging and the loud music suddenly drifted up the stairs, sounding like it was coming from the direction of the living room. When Euphemia strained her ears a little more, her heart dropped as she realised that the shouts coming from downstairs were not that of joy but actually of frantic hexes and spells, causing Charlus' eyes to widen.
Mia sprung up, her face alarmed and scared as Charlus was frozen in the doorway, "Knights of Walpurgis," he breathed, looking sick to his stomach as his face whitened. Euphemia also jumped to her feet, grabbing her wand as she felt her chest constrict - both of her parents were in that organisation which meant that they had come here for her, to take revenge on her for running away from home.
Mia had known something was not quite right, that it was weird she had been left completely alone and not disturbed since September and she had told Charlus about her suspicions but he hadn't listened. She should've known not to underestimate the Blacks because they truly were capable of anything and this was a pure example of that.
But why would they stoop this low? To attack at the home that had done nothing but welcome Euphemia in? She knew that her father still hated her but, judging from Cassiopeia's actions at the wedding, she had assumed that her mother had wanted what was best for her. If that was the case, then why were they attacking the Potters now?
"Why are they here? How did they even know the address?" Mia wailed out in panic, trying to stop the frantic beating of her heart but Charlus didn't answer straightaway, grabbing his wand and dashing out of the doorway. "They'll be after Dad and they'll have used you to get to him," he panted out as he skidded down the upstairs corridor, starting to run down the stairs towards the commotion.
"But why Henry? Are you sure they're not after me?" Euphemia questioned quickly, rushing after her boyfriend as he stopped on the stairs, looking at her in disbelief, "Not everything is about you, Mia," he snapped, the stress over the fact that his entire family was now at risk evidently taking a toll on him and Euphemia recoiled at his tone, feeling her heart sink.
Charlus realised what he had said the minute that the words slipped out of his lips but this was not the time or the place for an argument and there was no time for apologies - he just kept on running down the stairs as Mia followed him. Irritation coursed through him again as the need to protect his girlfriend resonated within him, leading him to shout over his shoulder as they rushed towards the living room door that had been kicked in.
Charlus pushed Euphemia back when she attempted to slide past him, "No! Mia....stay safe," he told her urgently but she simply glared at him, the sting of his words not forgotten. "Don't tell me what to do, Flea," Euphemia hissed, completely disregarding his statement and pointing her wand towards the ruined doorway.
The couple approached the living room cautiously, their shaky hands gripping their wands that remained pointed in front of them as they walked swiftly to get to where the noise was (there had to be at least over ten different voices shouting and screaming). The minute they walked in, Mia's heart sunk at the sight of the once immaculate living room.
The Potters' living room was completely in tatters - it truly looked like a bomb site. The Christmas tree had been knocked over, causing baubles and decorations to flood across the room and the curtains had been ripped apart by some horrendous spell. The sofa had been upturned whilst family pictures were smashed and lay on the floor, from where they had fallen from the walls or the mantelpiece, which was now nothing but a pile of white dust and crumbled marble.
Spells and bright lights shot across the room at astounding speed as the powerful force that was the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Henry Potter, duelled three masked dark wizards at once. His wand was moving swiftly to block and attack the people in front of him, his duelling skills coming into practice as he tried his hardest to defend his family, his frown deepening when he saw that Charlus and Euphemia had entered the danger.
Everleigh Potter was also strongly holding her own in the battle as she fought resiliently against two masked figures (Mia really did wonder how many of her family members were hiding behind those masks). Everleigh's right arm was clutching her wand tightly as it fired spells but her left arm cradled Olivia, keeping the small girl tucked behind her protectively as Olivia couldn't defend herself, due to having no wand and only being eight years old.
Rochelle sped past Euphemia and Charlus in a blur of golden hair as she fought with the skill akin to that of a ninja, her wand slashing through the air so fast. The fourteen year old also used her limbs to punch at the attackers in front of her and to distract them from the wonders she was doing with her wand, her nose bleeding heavily from a wound that had been inflicted upon her.
Without even a second thought or another word in Mia's direction, Charlus immediately sprung into action, leaping over to join his mother fighting, as they were starting to gang up on Everleigh and Olivia because they knew that the woman would definitely choose defending her daughter over defending herself which made her an easy target.
Charlus was soon stood in the middle of both his mother and father, defending and blocking spells when they couldn't and attacking the Knights from behind, where they least expected it because many of them hadn't even noticed that Euphemia and Charlus had snuck into the room in the midst of the battle that was ongoing.
Mia had stood next to Rochelle and began to help the younger girl who, for a mere fourteen year old, was actually doing really well. It seemed that she wasn't nearly put into Ravenclaw for nothing - her wand work truly was something to be proud of but there was no way that Euphemia was going to let her fight alone.
"You have my back and I'll have yours, okay?" Mia breathed into Rochelle's ear and the blonde girl nodded vigorously, standing back to back with her brother's girlfriend as they shouted out things like 'On your left!' and 'Watch out!' to warn each other of incoming spells, helping to defend one another.
It was definitely hard work fighting, especially because there seemed to be more and more Knights of Walpurgis (they kept apparating into the property out of nowhere). However, despite the unfair numbers, they actually seemed to have the upper hand as the Potters were luckily some mighty good duellers and fighters, with many skills beyond their levels.
As for Euphemia, she was fighting with a fierce emotion and definite determination to protect this family that had saved her from the fateful wedding and had taken her in as one of their own without any hesitation whatsoever. The Potters had made her feel welcome and there was no way that she wasn't going to repay them for that kindness.
Even though Mia couldn't see past the masks that the Knights of Walpurgis were cowardly hiding behind, she knew for a fact that many of the enemies would be people that she had grown up with - family members and pure-bloods that she was acquainted with from when she was younger. How dare they mess with Euphemia Black?
Mia's feisty spirit really started to come out as the battle at the Potters continued on, spells hitting upholstery and furniture, smashing holes in the walls and shaking the floors as everyone in the room fought for their own reasons, cries filling the air as many of the Knights fell down thanks to the Potters and Euphemia's skilled wand work.
A superb bat bogey hex from Euphemia hit one of the attackers which distracted them, before Rochelle then knocked them out with a stunning spell, her messy golden hair framing her face. Mia squeezed the young teenager's hand in some sort of comfort before she span around to duel one of the masked Knights of Walpurgis who had come up behind her with no warning whatsoever.
Olivia Potter was hiding behind her mother, quaking with fear as Everleigh pressed the small girl up against the wall, her arm wrapped around Liv to try and protect her daughter from the incoming spells that were shooting at both of them with an increasing speed. Charlus had dashed over to fight at Henry's side which left Everleigh to defend herself and her daughter alone but she was perfectly capable.
A glance over to where her husband and son were fighting side by side made Everleigh falter a little as she realised just how much Charlus was like his father. Part of her definitely wished that her son didn't have to experience this type of thing at such a young age but she was so blindsided by her pride of who Charlus had become that she tried to forget about the impact that this would have on his life.
Everleigh's thoughts running away with her made her weaker in her wand work against the two Knights who were ruthlessly shooting spells at her. Fortunately, Euphemia came into the woman's sight just in time as she deflected one of the spells that would've hit her distracted mother figure if she hadn't rushed over at that exact moment.
Nodding her thanks to her son's girlfriend, Everleigh stepped up her game and started fighting properly again, the determined expression on her face equalling the strong spells that were now being fired at the Knights, taking the dark wizards by surprise.
"I'm sorry about this!" Mia called out over the chaos, tears in her eyes as she was clearly blaming herself for the invasion on the Potters' cottage. Everleigh's expression softened at her words which contrasted greatly with the strong spells that she was still shooting out, her other arm still around Olivia who, for once in her life, didn't have anything to say as pure fear was written into every crevice on her young face.
"It's not your fault, darling. They've always been after Henry, they've just used you to get to him," the matriarch of the Potter family repeated the same words that Charlus had said at the top of the stairs and Euphemia would've laughed at the similarity if they weren't in such an intense situation that required all of their focus.
Mia was about to respond when Olivia suddenly emerged from behind Everleigh, her previously scared face looking extremely determined now, "They're after Dad?!" she cried out in anger and Everleigh tried to usher her back but nothing was going to stop Olivia now.
Nothing came between Olivia Potter and her beloved father, thank you very much.
Euphemia went to suggest that Liv would be better off getting out of here but the small girl firmly shook her head at her, not taking no for an answer as she snatched up one of the ornaments that had been lying on the ground. Olivia was fiercely independent and Mia could see that from the way she held the wooden ornament as her weapon, her small height coming to her advantage as she whacked the intruders on the ankles with the hard object or tripped them up to delay their attacking.
Satisfied that Everleigh and Olivia were quite alright, Euphemia moved a little away from them to engage in a battle with someone who could quite easily be Walburga, just from her height and the way that she fought. However, Mia didn't care who it was that she was duelling - she just knew that she had to protect the family that had not hesitated to protect her.
"Whoops! Don't be so clumsy next time, imbecile!" Olivia's shout could be heard by Euphemia as the eight year old taunted one of the Knights of Walpurgis that she clearly managed to knock down with her wooden ornament. Chuckling at the child's antics, Mia sent a stunning spell in the direction of her attacker and watched in satisfaction as the woman crumpled to the ground.
Now that she had successfully knocked out her opponent, Euphemia rushed over to where Olivia was still attacking people from behind Everleigh. "We need to get you out of here, Liv," Euphemia said urgently to the eight year old as Everleigh nodded in agreement, moving a little so that Mia could talk to the girl without her in the way.
Olivia gave her an exasperated look, shaking her head resolutely, "I'm doing absolutely fine!" she protested, waving her wooden ornament. "I have no doubt that you are but this battle is no place for a kid like you," Mia whispered back to Charlus' sister, nervously casting a few shield charms behind her to keep any stray attackers at bay.
"Kid? I'll have you know that I'm a big girl!" Olivia protested, flicking her blonde hair sassily and Euphemia smiled slightly in amusement before remembering the severity of the situation. "Yes, but I don't want you getting hurt and you can't defend yourself, you're too young," Mia told her boyfriend's sister, earning her a glare from Olivia but a 'mhm' of approval from Everleigh as she continued to duel.
Olivia then proceeded to give Euphemia a dramatically wounded look that definitely was exaggerated so that she could get her own way, "Like I said, I'm a big girl now, that's what you said too," she pouted, crossing her arms and Euphemia felt a lump rise in her throat.
"Yes, you are. And big girls need to be brave and sensible and get to safety when they know they are in danger," she said gently back to Olivia, choosing her words carefully. The eight year old's face brightened and Mia felt a sense of relief flood through her as she knew Charlus would be absolutely devastated if anything happened to his family, as would she.
"I'm extremely brave, I'll have you know. I'll show you just how brave I can be!" Olivia told Mia, puffing out her little chest determinedly.
"I am superior to all of these idiots, they can't beat Queen Olivia," she gestured to all of the dark wizards in the room with a roll of her eyes. "Like, look at him - what a peasant," Olivia scoffed, pointing out one of the Knights of Walpurgis who had just stumbled back from the power of one of Rochelle's spells.
Euphemia sent her a grateful smile, "Good. Then do as I say and stay behind your mother for the time being. Don't move until I can provide a distraction, okay?" Olivia nodded and Mia stood up from where she was crouching, pushing the small girl gently behind Everleigh once more, glancing back to check that she was alright and Olivia gave her a cheerful thumbs up.
Euphemia immediately launched straight back into battle, stunning a Knight as soon as they fell over from the impact of Olivia's wooden giraffe whacking them on the shin. "Aha! Take that!" Mia heard Olivia shout from behind her and she rolled her eyes in amusement at the girl's pure pleasure of hitting the enemies with her ornament.
If Olivia was this defensive and violent with bloody ornaments, what on earth would she be like when she was eleven with a wand?
"Euphemia Black....I should've known I'd find you here," came a sneering voice that was all too familiar to Mia, a chill running down her spine. She span around to find herself staring straight back at Heather Rosier, who had peeled off her mask as she evidently wanted to fight Mia face to face.
Hatred rose inside of Euphemia, coursing through her veins as she looked into Heather's glaring face - this very girl had caused her some of the most upset over the years and had done some of the cruelest acts to Mia and her friends. And now she had the audacity to step into Charlus' home and attack his family?
Oh hell no. This bitch was going down.
"Heather! How nice to see you again!" Euphemia exclaimed, fake happiness and enthusiasm dripping from her tone like ice and she glared furiously at the blonde girl. Heather smirked at her maliciously and started shooting spells at Mia so fast that she stumbled back in surprise, taken aback by the power of the spells. Dammit.
Luckily, she managed to hold her own in the duel as the noises of the battle crashed around in her ears: the sounds of furious yells from the Potters; the loud shouts of dark spells and curses from the Knights as they tried their hardest to harm at least one Potter. But the family were putting up a bloody good fight.
Mia was just blocking one of the curses that Heather sent at her, moving backwards so that she was gradually moving closer to Everleigh and Olivia, bending over a little as she was thrown back by every single spell. Heather was advancing on her as she struggled to defend herself against the series of curses that were flying at her, only responding with hexes and jinxes because she didn't know any dark curses like her classmate in front of her.
To make matters worse, another masked Knight had now joined the fight and was actually helping Heather to take Euphemia down, almost as if that had been planned. All of the spells blended into one and Mia wasn't even firing back anymore, she was simply slashing her wand in the shield charm movement over and over again, just trying to deflect the curses and enchantments as much as possible.
And then, all of a sudden, she could see a flame of green light rushing towards her and her wand was too busy deflecting spells coming from her left so she couldn't do anything to stop the spell that was coming towards her. Euphemia closed her eyes, feeling the heat of the killing curse as it hurried towards her and she swore she could see her life flash before her very eyes as everything seemed to be in slow motion.
Being tortured in the small room that held the family tree; meeting Clover and Justin; going to Hogwarts and being sorted into Slytherin. Meeting her friends; all of the confusion when she never knew whether Charlus liked her or not; Lyall trying to kiss her; her accident which caused her temporary amnesia; the attack on Hogsmeade and her being blamed for being a 'spy' even though she'd done nothing wrong.
Then there was the time she accidentally cursed Charlus whilst being under Druella's Imperius Curse; the times she had spent with the S.S.E.A.W. in the tapestry room, laughing and pranking each other; the time Charlus finally kissed her and the time he saved her from that fateful wedding to Orion.
Charlus.
Charlus, the wonderful caring boy who had made her cry in first year with his stinging insults and made her heart flutter in fifth year, when he kissed her with such heartfelt passion and all of the love in the world. Charlus, who had snapped at her before they rushed into this battle. Charlus, who she wouldn't be able to say goodbye to.
And, as the green light shot towards her partly closed eyes that were leaking slight tears, she could just picture Charlus' face in her mind, his arms around her waist and she felt safe, she felt warm. Charlus was there for her, even at the very end and Mia closed her eyes, accepting death and not even trying to deflect the killing spell from hitting her....
"I don't think so, missus! That's my future sister in law, you bitch!" a voice broke Euphemia out of her thoughts but, before she could wonder which one of Charlus' sisters said that, she was hit by something extremely heavy and she fell to the floor. Evidently, something had collided with her which had knocked her aside from the path of the killing curse and into the broken glass table, meaning her face narrowly missed the sharp shards of the smashed glass.
Mia had managed to avoid the killing spell by the skin of her teeth because someone had knocked her over and she looked around with a slight grin on her face as she looked for her saviour that had to be either Rochelle or Olivia, based of the words shouted. Her eyes caught a small wooden giraffe lying abandoned on the floor and she suddenly laughed, realising that Olivia must have thrown the wooden giraffe at her, which had been the thing that had knocked her aside.
However, the ornament wasn't actually as heavy as the thing that had collided with Euphemia.....whatever it had been had felt much bigger and heavier than a small wooden giraffe which used to stand on the Potter's mantelpiece before it crashed down to the ground.
As a sense of foreboding and dread crept into her stomach like a disease slowly entering her body, Mia's eyes moved from the wooden giraffe on the floor to the thing that was beside it, a small foot encased in a pink, sparkly trainer that flopped slightly to the side like the owner was lying down. But Euphemia wasn't interested in the shoe, she was more concerned with the fact that the foot wasn't moving.
Mia felt a chill run through her body and she immediately sat up, feeling the blood trickle down her face from where the glass had cut her temple slightly. She didn't care about that now, though, looking frantically back at Everleigh who was still duelling, her arm covering something....something that she clearly thought was her daughter but it definitely wasn't Olivia.
Panic washed over Euphemia like a tsunami wave and she could hear the roaring in her ears as her head began to spin, her mind whirring with possibilities and negative thoughts that were fired out into her brain like bullets from a Muggle machine gun. If Olivia wasn't behind Everleigh and Mia couldn't see her darting about whacking the Knights of Walpurgis with the wooden giraffe, then where was she?
It's okay, she's probably just ran away or is hitting Heather with her bare fists Euphemia tried to reassure herself as she stood up in a frenzy, her entire body shaking as her head pounded from the injury but that was the least of her concerns, especially when her frantic gaze met the pale, open mouthed expression of Heather Rosier's face as the blonde stared at something on the ground beside Mia.
Feeling a sickness flood into her stomach as Heather's face crumpled, beginning to cry, Euphemia slowly turned her gaze to where her fellow Slytherin was staring. The moment her eyes latched onto what Heather was crying about, she felt her entire world collapse around her as a soundless cry released from her lips.
For Olivia Potter was lying on the ground, her pink sparkly trainers glinting in the overhead light as her little blonde head lolled to the side, her once amused and bright eyes now staring into nothingness as her face was pale and cold.
And Mia didn't even need to check to know that Olivia Potter was not moving.
Don't forget this is a double update! Stay tuned mwahaha x