Warning: There will be fluff in this chapter. Viewer discretion advised :)
The first thing that came to Euphemia's mind of a 'good memory' was the day that she met Clover and Justin for the first time because that had certainly been a good few hours of playing with them in the rain. It had been when Mia had realised just how wrong her family were about muggles and that they weren't all bad, they weren't bad at all. She had made great friends in Justin and Clover on that day and the memory was only slightly overshadowed by the fact that Cassiopeia tortured her afterwards for her crimes.
But how did she explain that to her friends? How did she explain that her best memory was one that she spent away from her childhood home, one that she spent with muggles (for she didn't know Clover was a witch at that point) no less and not her own family? Euphemia couldn't see why her friends wouldn't find it even the tiniest bit suspicious that she enjoyed playing with muggles because it made her feel free from her family. Because that was the reason why that day was such a good memory - because Mia had opened her nine year old eyes to the world then and it had shaped the rest of her life from then on.
Her friends knew that her family hated muggles and anyone associated with them, of course they did - it was what the Blacks were famous for and what they did best: showing their hate for muggles throughout the school by bestowing abuse upon everything and everyone involved with them. But what Euphemia's friends didn't know (with the exception of Pomona having her suspicions, of course) was that her family punished her with means of torture for getting involved with anyone who had even breathed the same air as the 'filthy muggles.' If her friends knew that, they might no longer want to be friends so that Mia stayed safe and that could not happen at any costs.
So what would she say? Her friends were all staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to come out with her happiest memory from her childhood so that they could react to it. Only Pomona was shooting her sympathetic looks, everyone else was looking at her as if waiting for an immediate response. The thing was, she couldn't just say anything, she had to watch what she said because she could let something slip which would make them suspect that things weren't quite right at home. Euphemia had to be careful just in case they found something odd about what she came out with and any of it could lead to them potentially not being friends with her any longer.
It really shouldn't have taken her so long to conjure up her favourite memory from her childhood and the same thought seemed to be playing on Minerva's face as she frowned now, wondering why it was taking Mia so long to answer the question. "Come on...spit it out already, girl!" Alastor said to her impatiently and she jumped, opening her mouth to say any old rubbish but the words stoppered in her throat, preventing her from speaking. "I'm sure she can't think of one - there must be too many, right Mia?" Pomona stood up for her, giving her a look which clearly said 'just agree!' so Euphemia nodded as she quickly tried to think of something....anything....even if she had to make it up.
Of course! That was the easiest thing to do and Mia almost facepalmed at her own stupidity because that was what she could've been doing all along instead of making herself seem like a speechless fool as she sat there, pondering on her options with a gormless expression on her face. But, just as she was thinking of what she could make up in order for it to sound plausible, Euphemia remembered a memory of her and Marius playing when she was about seven or eight. The memory hadn't ended the best way, they had both been tortured for what they did but it was a fond moment that Mia could look back on with a smile...as long as she tweaked it a little so that her friends didn't get an inkling of what happened next.
"I've got one!" she cried triumphantly and there was a series of relieved murmurs and sarcastic comments of 'It's about time!' and 'Thank god.'
"So...what is it?" Eugenia prompted her, looking eager and everyone seemed to lean towards her in interest and Euphemia took a deep breath before relaying the memory to them, closing her eyes to relive it again, the events playing over in her mind again as clear as day...
"Mia! Come on, it's still sunny outside!" six year old Marius shouted from the garden and Euphemia forgot every and any rule of decorum that her mother had ever taught her so that she could rush outside as fast as her little legs could carry her. The seven year old let out a cry of happiness when she saw that the rainy weather had cleared up and that she could finally play outside with her brother. Blue skies were rare to come by at this time in the seasons and Mia knew she had to make the most of the unexpected warm weather.
Her mother, Cassiopeia, was holed up in the dining room along with several others discussing the reign of Grindelward and how exciting it was that he was finally showing the muggles what filth they were. Euphemia only knew that because she had overheard snippets of the conversation through the dining room door before Marius had called for and she had sprinted downstairs.
Marius was sat outside on the grass, despite it still being wet from the overnight showers of rain and a massive grin was stretching from ear to ear on his cute little face. "What did you have in mind? What can we play?" Mia piped up from the doorway, daintily trodding over to her brother who couldn't care less about his smart dress robes getting wet whereas Euphemia was taking the utmost care in looking after her
pretty white shoes.
"We can play Quidditch!" Marius exclaimed and jumped up, grabbing his sister by the hand and dragging her over to the little Quidditch game that the boy had set up in order for the two to be entertained. The Quidditch game for two meant that Marius was the keeper and Mia was the chaser and they had to practice scoring but if Marius sighted the snitch (that was actually an acorn they had gotten Tibet the house elf to bewitch so it could fly) then he turned into a seeker and Euphemia had to be the beater and throw the soft balls at him to stop him from getting the snitch.
It was quite an easy game and one that they played a lot of the time but this one was special because the weather was actually warm for once and the two children could play without a care in the world, without having to worry about what their parents thought of their quaint little games because their parents weren't there to supervise the two. And that was the greatest freedom in all because Marius and Mia could enjoy themselves without the shadow of their parents expectations looming over them. Both Euphemia and Marius knew that, if Cassiopeia and Arcturus had their way, only Marius would be able to play Quidditch in the back garden and only with his father, uncles or male cousins. And Mia would have to sit inside and learn how to be a lady and how to sew, how to sit, how to sip tea in an elegant fashion. Blah, blah, blah.
This afternoon, however, they could play until their hearts content and the Black Manor garden became full of something that it had lacked beforehand - laughter and happiness. Marius and Euphemia may only have been small children at the mere ages of six and seven but they knew how to have a good time and they flew around on their brooms until the sun began to set. The day had been perfect and without any interruption whatsoever.
It would've stayed perfect, as well, if it hadn't been for Marius getting a little too overconfident and cocky in his defending skills. Mia was approaching him with the ball tucked under her arm and she aimed for the goal, nearly getting it in if it hadn't been for little Marius zooming in and spinning around so that the tail of his broom whacked the ball away. Euphemia applauded him at first as the ball was well away from the goal but then she realised it was whizzing towards a target that would not want to be disturbed.
"Marius, stop it!" she cried out as she saw the ball speeding through the air faster than lightning towards the house and all time seemed to stop as it collided with the dining room window and shattered the glass completely. Marius' mouth fell open in shock and horror as Mia's small hands covered her mouth to conceal her gasp as the shouts of outrage from the interrupted meeting ensued into the once peaceful air.
"I'm sorry!" Marius wailed and he actually sunk down to the ground, sobbing his little six year old heart out as Euphemia cautiously flew down to meet her mother's wrath, who was stood at the back door that led into the garden with her hands on her hips, an unimpressed expression gracing her face. One that made both Mia and Marius fear for their lives.
"I can't believe you smashed a window!" Alastor exclaimed and there was a series of shocked laughs and whoops that echoed through the room. "So..let me get this straight - your favourite childhood memory was smashing your mother's dining room window?" Florean asked Mia with a chuckle and she sighed before laughing a little. "No, the good memory was her playing with her wee brother, you imbecile," Minerva answered for Euphemia and the girl in question sent her best friend a grateful smile.
"A good memory too, very sweet," Lyall added on and gave Mia a quick grin as she exchanged looks with Pomona who was silently mouthing the words 'you okay?' Of course, Euphemia hadn't told her friends the entire story and she hadn't included details about what her family were discussing in the dining room as that would be completely unsuitable and could also upset people. Charlus, for example, could be hurt because his family was deeply affected by Grindelward and wouldn't want the villain's name to be thrown so casually into conversation. Though why Mia actually had considered Charlus' feelings whilst telling the story she did not know.
There was also the matter of her not disclosing what her parents actually did to her and Marius when they discovered the broken window and how it had happened. The pair of them had obviously been tortured mercilessly even though the window was fixed in a jiffy and wasn't actually a serious problem. Euphemia was actually sure that the actual crime was that her and her brother interrupted an important meeting about Grindelward though, at seven years of age, she was naive enough to believe her mother was angry with her for breaking the window. Which was fair enough - it was a massive crime to Mia at the time.
Conversation had moved on gradually since Euphemia had shared her memory and then proceeded to zone out of the talk around her so when she zoned back in she was relieved to find that the subject about her memory had been dropped. She didn't want her friends delving into it further as that would only cause further problems for the group.
However, Filius seemed to have another thing in mind because, as usual, the Ravenclaw was one step ahead of the rest of them by far. He had been mulling it over as to why Mia had never mentioned her brother beforehand and why he didn't go to this school. It was very curious indeed and the small boy pondered on it for a few seconds before he leant forward discreetly, under the cover of everyone talking, and asked his friend.
"What school does Marius go to, then?" Filius asked Euphemia and the latter froze in her place, her eyes widening as attention was suddenly on her again, due to the rest of the group hearing what Filius had said. "Uh...he doesn't.." Mia answered awkwardly, her heart beating furiously in her chest. "What do you mean?" Lyall piped up from where he was still sat on the floor and Minerva and Eugenia both gave Euphemia strange looks from either side, as they were seated beside her.
"He doesn't...go to this school," she said carefully, making sure she didn't let anything slip by her tone or facial expressions. "So, does he go to Durmstrang or somewhere like that?" Alastor asked, knowing that Mia's family was very involved in the Dark Arts (from what Charlus had told him) and would most likely send their son to the Dark Arts oriented school.
Euphemia took a deep breath, her nails digging into her palms from the nerves that were racking through her body. "He's a Squib," she blurted out and everyone's eyes widened with shock and surprise but no one seemed more shocked than Charlus, who's mouth had dropped open. "Your mother must've been very upset about that, then," Charlus said pointedly, looking at her in a way that made her feel weak in the knees from the terror that filled her. Oh no, oh no - they couldn't find out about Marius being disowned! They simply couldn't...her friendship with them would be completely ruined and she would have to hang around her family again.
Luckily, Pomona saved the day and cleared her throat which made everyone look at her expectantly. "I think we should move onto the next round," she announced and there were mumblings of agreement, everyone's attention going from Mia and she shot Pomona a look full of gratitude.
"Looks like it's my turn, then," Charlus yawned, leaning back on the arm of the chair that he was seated comfortably on. "I pick dare, by the way," he added as Florean opened his mouth to ask him and the dark blonde boy closed his mouth and nodded mutely in reply. "Okay...I dare you to go out of this tapestry room with someone all the way to the Astronomy Tower and back without being caught," Eugenia told him, her eyes sparkling in a way that hinted she wanted Charlus to take her to the tower with him.
"Do I have a choice on who to pick?" he asked casually as he stood up, placing his hands in his pockets and Eugenia nodded, her wavy blonde hair falling into her face out of her apparent eagerness. Charlus locked eyes with Florean for a second as if asking him to go with him but, to everyone surprise, Florean shook his head and mouthed something at Charlus that no one else could understand. Charlus flushed a little before he rolled his eyes and sauntered to the exit of the tapestry room.
"Come on then, Mia," he said and the girl in question scoffed as if he was joking but, upon realising he was deadly serious, she blushed. "Why me?" Euphemia asked Charlus incredulously and Minerva had to hide her growing smile behind her hand as Alastor smirked infuriatingly. Eugenia looked strangely disappointed but entertained by what was going on and Pomona was practically beaming. Filius was sniggering a little and Lyall high fived Florean for his great thinking.
All of this went unnoticed by Mia as she held Charlus' intent gaze for a few moments, the more they stared each other out, the faster Euphemia's heart beat underneath her green and silver jumper. "Because I said so, darling," Charlus replied to her earlier question with a warm smile that unnerved her a little and Mia dropped her eyes to her lap, her hands fidgeting on top of her skirt.
Unaware that everyone was waiting impatiently, Euphemia pondered on the decision for a while, her cheeks aflame until she felt a pair of hands behind her. She was suddenly hoisted into the air and picked up off the sofa, much to her protests. Mia wriggled in Charlus' grip as everyone laughed at the two wrestling whilst Charlus raised her into a fireman's lift, throwing Euphemia over his shoulder as easily as you would with a light bag of sugar.
"Put me down!" she protested, hitting him on the back on frustration but Charlus simply laughed heartily and carried her out of the tapestry room and down the dimly lit corridor. As soon as the light disappeared, Mia immediately became more anxious and actually held onto Charlus' robes so that she didn't fall. "Don't worry, love, I've got you," he said reassuringly and she scowled at his tone because it wasn't like the playful Charlus she knew whatsoever and Euphemia didn't like it one bit.
Mia started protesting again as soon as they were put into the lighted corridor and Charlus sighed, looking over his right shoulder at her dangling over his other shoulder with an angry frown placed on her face. "Do you want to get caught out of bed at these hours?" Charlus asked her in exasperation and she shook her head 'no' so he shrugged as if that proved his point. "Then shut up," he whispered, placing his finger to his lips and 'shush'ing her.
"You did not just shush me," Euphemia hissed in his ear though she was actually rather comfortable draped over his shoulder now (not that she would ever tell him that - as if she would actually give him the satisfaction of knowing...pft). "I so did, what are you going to do about it?" he whispered back, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"I'll....I'll..." Mia tried to think of something she could threaten him with but, knowing Charlus, he would find a way to make it seem dirty or kinky and she didn't want to risk that whatsoever. "Yeah, that's what I thought," Charlus smirked at her and Euphemia could've sworn that her heart stopped at that moment though she would never admit it, of course.
Because the two were ever so busy flirting....ahem....talking, they hadn't actually realised that they had reached the Astronomy Tower and Charlus tightened his grip on Mia as they ascended the stairs. There was still a noticeable scowl on her face but she had gotten used to her position now so Euphemia simply had a resigned look in her eyes now as she struggled to keep her dark hair out of her face.
"What even is the point of this dare?" Mia mumbled as Charlus reached the top of the staircase, panting a little because not only was the staircase incredibly steep but he had the weight of a girl on his back to carry as well. Not that Euphemia was particularly heavy to carry but she wasn't good at keeping still which meant that Charlus had to keep stopping to shift her into more of a safer position, amidst much grumbling from the girl which only made him smile.
It was only when Charlus stepped out into the chilly Spring air did he let Mia down and he allowed her to slip down his back gently, his hands carefully guiding her so that she didn't fall or hurt herself. "I think the idea of the dare was to not get caught," Charlus told her and Euphemia shrugged a little, hunching her shoulders and pulling the sleeves of her jumper over her icy hands as it was rather cold. "Which we did a rather good job of, don't you think so, love?" he added with a smirk and Mia nodded with a slight smile, not even contradicting him for calling her 'love.'
"How did you even manage it?" she asked and Charlus turned around from where he had had his back facing her. "I have skills, darling," he winked and Euphemia rolled her eyes on the outside, despite her heart thumping wildly. She leant forward on the barrier that restricted the end of the tower, looking out to the night's sky at all the stars in their multitude, scarce to be counted and filling the darkness with order and light, they were the sentient - silent and sure, getting lost in the night.
Mia lost herself in moments like this as she gazed up at the stars that dotted the stretch of darkness like a dome closed in around on them, the stars twinkling in their miscellaneous places. She sighed in the peace that she felt by just looking at the stars and she actually forgot that she was freezing cold until a particularly nasty shiver racked through her body which took her attention away from the expanse of stars that were spread across the night's sky, dazzling her vision. Charlus seemed to notice how cold Euphemia was - there was a horrendous breeze up here on the tallest tower that Hogwarts could boast but it had been making Mia's dark brown hair flow gently which Charlus rather liked looking at for some reason so he hadn't put any thought into how cold the girl might actually be.
Silently, he took off his own robes and wrapped them around Euphemia as she had only been stood in her jumper previously and she sent him a look of surprise before snuggling into the Gryffindor robes. Charlus couldn't help but think that Euphemia rather suited the maroon and gold lined robes with her dark hair cascading down the back, blending in with the black colours. He expected for her to announce that she wanted to go back any time soon and braced himself for the 'is our dare finished yet?' but it never came. Instead, Mia cupped her chin in both hands and placed her elbows on the balcony railing, continuing to gaze up into the sky.
"You know..." Euphemia started off vaguely and Charlus' head snapped to look at her, noting that she seemed as if she was still in a trance as her eyes were fixated on the stars above. "Some of my family are named after stars. Like my cousin Orion, for example, and my mother Cassiopeia and my father Arcturus. Cygnus and Alphard are also named after stars, it's sort of a tradition really and their father, Pollux, follows in that tradition too," she told him though she was unaware as to why she was saying it, especially as Charlus' life had been deeply affected by her family and he had only just begun to look past her surname and at the actual Mia herself.
However, even though Charlus felt a wave of anger at the mere mention of Euphemia's family, he simply clenched his jaw and nodded, his eyes hard but he couldn't yell at her because she looked so seemingly innocent and peaceful there in the moonlight that spilled onto the top of the tower. Charlus couldn't stop himself, though, he had to ask one question despite knowing it could ruin the moment between them.
"What about you and Marius? How come you two aren't named after stars?" he asked and watched carefully as Mia clammed up again at the mention of her brother, her posture freezing. She let out a nervous laugh, "Guess we don't have enough star quality," she joked before adding, "I'm a bit more like a dimmed lantern than a star." Nonsense Charlus scoffed to himself but didn't say as such out loud as he would only make a fool of himself. Instead, he continued as his curiosity was at it's highest peak now.
"So..how did your mother react when she found out Marius was a Squib?" Charlus asked her, also leaning on the tower barrier like she was, imitating her moves so that they were both leaning on the edge with their faces cupped in both of their hands. Euphemia squirmed a little and let her head drop, her dark hair falling in a curtain over her face and Charlus gently moved it out of the way and tilted her chin up so that she was staring right at him with those dazzling blue - grey eyes that made Charlus' heart have palpitations.
"She...she wasn't very happy," Mia finally admitted before muttering something bitterly underneath her breath that Charlus couldn't quite understand and he kicked himself for not listening properly. "I can imagine.." he prompted her to carry on with a gesture of his hands and she sighed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "He's living with my cousin Alphard now," Euphemia finished and Charlus nodded his head - it didn't really come as much of a shock to him as he had heard just how ruthless the Blacks could be. He remembered Cedrella Weasley when she had come to visit his mother about a year ago and he had heard first hand what happened to Blacks who put a toe out of line. And being a Squib must've been the greatest shame in Cassiopeia and Arcturus' minds so it made sense that they had disowned him.
It was only when Charlus saw Mia wiping a lone tear away did he spring out of his thoughts and edged a little closer to her. "That must've been hard for you..." he said softly and she was taken aback by how kind he was being but simply nodded in answer to his inquiry. "Very," Euphemia whispered thickly and Charlus looked like he wanted to put his arm around her but didn't know if she would allow him so he simply stood there with his arm hanging awkwardly in the air.
A sense of panic ran through Mia then as she realised she had just done exactly what she had promised herself not to do - she had told someone about the situation at home. It wasn't much, Charlus had only confirmed his own suspicions but it was enough to send a shock of nerves through the girl and her eyes widened as she grabbed the front of Charlus' jumper.
"You can't tell anyone about this, okay?" Euphemia pleaded with him, looking intently into his hazel irises and he looked shocked to see her so shaken up. "I won't," he reassured her and she let go of his jumper with a sigh, leaving it rather stretched where she had grabbed the fabric. Charlus was about to suggest that they should head back soon and opened his mouth to ask Mia whether she was ready to return when she spoke at the same time as him, cutting his sentence off.
"You promise?" the question seemed so childish that Charlus was surprised it had come from Euphemia Black, the girl who always seemed so mature and independent. Mia herself was shocked by the words that slipped out of her own mouth but she needed to make sure and her request was met when Charlus reached for her hand, wrapping his pinky finger around hers with a wan smile.
"I promise."