Trigger warning: There will be violent scenes in this chapter that might upset readers. You have been warned.
The local mail-boy in the Highlands of Scotland ran through the rain as it poured down in buckets on top of the Scottish villagers.
It was Christmas Eve of 1950 but the typical British weather had not been considerate of the hopes that people held about a possible white Christmas.
Instead, it decided to absolutely hammer it down with rain that flooded the country lanes and made everyone run inside for cover, umbrellas waving in the air as they were billeted by the wind.
The poor Muggle mail-boy had to carry on with his job, despite his little uniform being soaked to his skin and his hair dripping droplets of water down his face.
His satchel, which was full of letters and packages that were somehow managing to stay relatively dry, had turned a darker brown colour than it had been previously, due to the downfall of water.
With trembling cold and damp fingers, the young boy posted a few letters through the letterbox of a nearby cottage, nearly trapping his fingers and cursing as he splashed in the puddles residing on that particular driveway.
It wasn't even his actual job - his uncle was the normal postman but he had decided to let his nephew take the Sunday afternoon shift out of the kindness of his heart, simply because he didn't want to go out in the miserable weather that so often frequented the Scottish highlands.
"Just one more and then I'm done," Dougal McGregor muttered underneath his breath as he braced himself for the downpour of rain again, ducking from underneath one of the old bus shelters that he had hidden under for a while.
He smiled when he saw the name addressed on the envelope, the appearance of the letter in his satchel must mean that Minerva was back from boarding school and that made his day a lot more happier.
"Why your stupid Reverend father had to send you away, I'll never know," he mumbled as he began the steep climb up the hill to the vicarage that the McGonnagal family inhabited.
Dougal could remember sliding down this very hill with a laughing Minnie not far behind him - their childhood had been one of many games, laughter, fun and jokes.
But then Minerva had dropped the bombshell that she was being sent away to a boarding school far away from home and their friendship had never been the same again.
Minnie was always home for the holidays but a nine weeks a year (seven for summer, two at Christmas) was not enough for Dougal, especially when he had become so accustomed to seeing her every single day.
Besides, she was always very quiet whenever they did meet up and she never told him that much about her school which made Dougal suspect that she didn't even like the place if she wasn't willing to tell him about it.
Dougal almost slid on the puddle ridden driveway but managed to stop himself from falling over by grabbing a nearby bush, pulling the leaves off the side but managing to steady himself at the same time.
Letting out a whistle, he sighed and straightened himself up, flattening down his damp locks and trying to wipe as much rainwater from his freckled face as possible.
With that done, Dougal raised a hand and knocked on the door in front of him, feeling like he did when he used to scramble up the hill to beg Reverend McGonnagal about Minnie playing out.
The answer would usually be no until Minerva's mother, Isabel, appeared behind Robert and scolded him for being so harsh before allowing Minnie to play with Dougal for a while.
Inside the house and on the other side of the door, Malcolm McGonnagal yelled to his parents (who were in the front room) that, "I'll get the door!" and the boy slid down the banister, sending a cautious look around to see whether his father was watching.
Thankfully, Robert was discussing an important matter with Isabel in the front room so didn't see his eldest son misbehaving - leading Malcolm to fist pump the air before he remembered he needed to answer the door.
"Hello, how can I be of service to you on this fine, fine afternoon?" Malcolm greeted dramatically as he opened the door with a flourish, leaning against the doorframe with a superb ease and a smirk.
He grimaced as soon as he opened the door though, upon seeing the drenched Dougal and the rainy weather, "Oh dear, it isn't really a fine afternoon out there, is it?" Malcolm realised out loud before he turned his attention to Dougal on the doorstep.
"You must be freezing, mate," he said sympathetically and Dougal simply shrugged, handing over the slightly damp letter, addressed to Minnie.
"Another one for my sister?" Malcolm asked with a sigh before hollering for Minerva up the stairs, making Dougal chuckle.
"Why, does she get a lot of mail?" Dougal inquired and Malcolm nodded his head with an eye roll, "Loads. From Florean," he told Dougal and saw something unfamiliar flicker in Minnie's childhood friend's eyes.
"Who's that?" Dougal questioned before Malcolm gestured for him to keep his voice down as Minerva was descending the stairs now.
"Her friend from school, they have some sort of thing going on which means they have to send like a million letters to each other every day!" the eleven year old exclaimed with a groan before snatching the letter from a rather pale looking Dougal and tossing it behind him to his sister, who had appeared behind him with a stern expression.
However, Malcolm clearly didn't have a future in being a Chaser as the letter did not reach it's destination but instead fluttered to the floor.
"Malcolm McGonnagal," Minerva said in a unimpressed tone that signified she wasn't going to tolerate his raucous behaviour.
Malcolm gulped, turning around to face her and she was stood there, her hair flowing free out of her usual ponytail as she stared him down, hands on hips.
"Yes, my darling and wonderful sister?" Malcolm asked sweetly, trying to suck up to her.
"Pick it up," Minnie ordered sternly before turning to look at Dougal with a gentle smile on her face, "Long time no see, Dougal," she smiled at him and Dougal raised a hand in greeting though his eyes were on the letter from this mysterious Florean as Malcolm scrambled to pick it up from where it had landed on the wooden flooring.
"You're looking a little wet there," Minerva commented and Dougal chuckled, ducking into the shelter of the doorway though he didn't dare step inside as he knew Reverend McGonnagal would drag him out by his collar if he even tried placing one of his muddy boots in the pristine hallway.
"I was just delivering your letter. Who's Florean?" Dougal asked rather suddenly and abruptly, taking Minnie by surprise as she took the slightly damp envelope from her sheepish brother.
She raised an eyebrow at Malcolm, who gave her another meek smile and she simply rolled her eyes at him before gesturing for him to leave, which he did with profound relief.
"He's my friend from my school," Minerva said rather shortly and Dougal inwardly kicked himself as he realised her walls had come up again and she was going to be just as secretive about this Florean as she was about her school.
"Ah, I see. Not a boyfriend, I hope," he teased but Minnie glared at him, making him wither on the doorstop underneath the fire of her intense stare.
"No," she snapped before she laughed a little, "Though we are matchmaking two of our other friends together," Minerva added and Dougal raised an eyebrow in interest but she didn't elaborate on the subject.
There was an awkward pause between the two of them before Dougal cleared his throat, signalling his leave and he tried to ignore that Minnie looked quite relieved when he told her he would be leaving now.
"Bye, Min!" Dougal said to her rather cheerfully, trying to ease some of the tension that had built between them ever since Dougal had mentioned the possibility of Florean being Minerva's boyfriend.
"Goodbye, Dougal," Minnie said quietly as she watched him run back down the hill, his empty satchel held over his head to try and protect it from the endless downpour that was still plaguing the December streets of the Scottish Highlands.
"It's hard not being able to tell muggles anything, I know," her mother, Isabel, suddenly appeared behind her, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"But it's for the best. Now why don't you open that letter from Florean and then go and wash your hands before dinner?" Isabel suggested and Minerva sighed, nodding before obeying what her mother had said.
Dear Minnie,
There has been development in the Mia and Charlus relationship! Yay...
Charlus informed me (in a rather heartbroken tone, may I add) that Mia had told him that she would not want to be his girlfriend whatsoever.
He thinks it's because of Imogen (one of his many exes, I assume) and because of his dratted playboy reputation. I know, I could kill him right now as well but that would defeat the purpose of this matchmaking mission.
However, do not fear! Florean is here! (See what I did there? It RHYMED, you should be proud). Not all is lost as when we go back to school, February follows after January which gives us a whole MONTH to prepare for VALENTINE'S DAY!
Yes, I know I am extremely smart and all it takes is a few drunken dares and we can have Charlus and Mia on a date in no time! If Mia thinks it is a dare then it will not bother her and then they can reveal their true feelings for each other while cosied up in Madam Puddifoots...sounds good, right? Of course it does, it's my plan.
So, what do you think? There's nothing more romantic than us setting them up on a date during February on Valentine's Day, no less. Even better, there's a visit to Hogsmeade on the 14th February so they can go to Hogsmeade during their first date! Isn't that great? Of course it is, I came up with it.
Let me know your thoughts in the next letter and have a great Christmas!
Lots of love from,
An Extremely Excited Florean x
~~~
"Missus Euphemia! Dinner is ready!" Tibet the elf squeaked, rapping on Mia's bedroom door as she immersed herself in the latest book she was reading, lay on her bed in a way that Cassiopeia would deem as 'unladylike.'
"I'll be down in a minute!" she called, turning the page and reading until the end of the chapter - it was a particularly good Muggle novel that Clover had lent to her called The Railway Children.
True to her word, Euphemia closed her book reluctantly and smoothed down her skirt before she started to head down to the dining room, dreading the company that she would have to face there.
Taking a few deep breaths before entering the dining room, Mia managed to compose herself before straightening her posture and walking into the room with her head held up high.
No one acknowledged her presence, the dining room was scarily quiet and Euphemia was surprised to see that it was only Cassiopeia and Arcturus dining with her.
Usually on Sunday evenings, they had company round in the form of Mia's dratted family or other powerful pure blood families that the Blacks had great connections with.
Euphemia seated herself down and was conscious of her parents' eyes on her and she was tempted to snap at them but held it in, letting the anger at them bubble inside of her instead of overflow like a volcano.
"Good evening, daughter," Cassiopeia finally said stiffly and Mia nodded her head in her mother's direction equally as stiffly with a forced smile fixed on her face.
"We need to speak to you, Euphemia," Arcturus suddenly said after silence had ensued, with the exception of the sounds of cutlery clashing, glasses banging down on the table and the incessant noise of chewing.
"Oh, so that's why there's no one else here," Mia muttered underneath her breath and Cassiopeia's head snapped to her in the gloomy dining room.
"What was that, young lady?" she demanded and Euphemia shot her a sweet smile with an assurance of, "Nothing!" in a over the top cheerful voice.
Arcturus scowled at her and tightened his grip around his finely crafted knife which made Mia gulp but she continued staring at him right in the eye, not letting him know that she was completely and utterly terrified at that moment.
What on earth did her parents want to talk to her about? Euphemia knew it must be important because there was no other people here, unlike other Sunday dinners.
No witnesses a snarky voice in the back of her head whispered and Mia shivered but continued looking at her parents expectantly.
"What is it?" she asked them as politely as she could muster, setting down her knife and fork with a delicate clunk.
"Something is going to happen very soon that will change your life for good," Cassiopeia spoke up, sending Arcturus a look as he tried to interrupt her.
"You must make sure that you pick the right choice or else you will suffer the consequences," she threatened and Arcturus nodded grimly in agreement with his wife, sending shivers through Euphemia's body again.
"What is going to happen?" she asked, a foreboding feeling in her stomach - if it was coming from her parents then that couldn't mean any good.
Arcturus and Cassiopeia exchanged looks before the former shook his head at the latter, leaving Mia to await their answers in suspense as the silence swallowed them all.
"We cannot tell you," Arcturus turned to face his daughter and Euphemia could've sworn she saw a flicker of regret in his eyes before they returned to the normal, stoic and cold brown eyes that Mia had become accustomed to throughout her childhood.
They were usually the eyes that haunted her at nights when she was trying to go to sleep, the eyes that stared into her soul coldly as torture spells racked through her body.
"This is simply a warning - do not disgrace the Noble House of Black anymore than you already have, with making those filthy friends of yours," Arcturus told his daughter, a hint of disgust creeping into his tone as he mentioned Euphemia's friends.
Mia felt her blood boil and she stood up, slamming her fists down on the dinner table so hard that it shook, jangling the metal cutlery as it did so.
"Don't call them that in front of me!" she hissed but she immediately regretted it as she saw Arcturus' face darken and Cassiopeia rise from her chair threateningly in the corner of her eye.
"You dare to talk back to us after we've warned you? We've warned you of what is to come unless you choose the right side and yet you still defy us! You disgusting little bit-" Cassiopeia was cut off as she tried to reach for Euphemia, attempting to pull the girl's hair but Arcturus stopped his wife from doing anything.
"Calm down, Cassie," he said in a quiet and deadly tone that made Mia want to throw up though she was also thankful that he had stopped her mother from hurting her.
However, Euphemia knew her father well enough to know that he had an ulterior motive and her gut told her she was right when Arcturus walked around the side of the table and gripped her wrist tightly, tightly enough to leave bruises.
"I'll deal with this," he spat at Mia and started to drag her away, making the girl dig her heels into the floor to try and prevent her father from taking her anywhere.
"Can I at least finish my food first?" Euphemia pleaded with him, trying to make light of the situation a little even though her heart was beating furiously underneath her corset.
Arcturus looked down at his daughter with so much disgust that Mia could practically feel it emanating off him. She didn't say another word after that, she simply screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
The terror quenching her body was overwhelming and she felt like she was drowning in it - it was well known to the girl that her father's punishments were much worse than her mother's.
Arcturus kept dragging her down the corridor, no matter how much she screamed and cried for help, no matter how many times she pound her fists on his chest to try and prevent him from taking her to the room. The torture room.
"Please," Euphemia whispered the first word she had uttered in ages and it was accompanied by tears spilling out of her grey - blue eyes as she looked up at her father, who's face was impassive and blank from emotion.
Mia's voice was raw and sore from all the screaming and crying but now she just begged her father with her eyes to stop before it started.
But Arcturus didn't listen and he shoved her into the small box room that had become known to Euphemia as the torture room.
"You're a disgusting piece of filth, you know that? We gave you a warning about a lifeline that will soon be reached out to you, one that you must take or you will suffer the consequences. And all your little friends will too," he snarled, leaning in close to her face as his hand gripped her wrist even tighter.
"And what did you do? You cheeked us! You were insolent! No one is insolent to me!" Arcturus yelled, his face turning red with fury before he shoved Mia up against the wall, ignoring her "oof" of pain as her back collided with it harshly.
Euphemia didn't even bother begging now as Arcturus cast the Cruciatus curse on her and she fell to her knees, shaking from the impact of the curse.
He sent other spells at her as well, ones that made her cry out in pain and ones that made her bleed and bruise. Some of them forced her around the room and Mia actually lost count of the amount of times that she hit the wall, her head was spinning.
But the Cruciatus curse was the worst - it was what Euphemia was used to but it still didn't mean it hurt any less. Her bones were aching from being shoved around and pummelled like a punch bag by her father's vicious hits, ones inflicted by his own fists and others by his wand.
And now they hurt even more as her limbs were stretched and needles pricked at her body all over, the pain flowing through her at different intervals, now like knives stabbing at each and every last morsel in her body.
The Cruciatus curse seemed to last forever and Mia groaned in pain as her vision became all blurry before her very eyes, feeling her head starting to spin ferociously as an ache settled there, only caused by the lumps and bruises that surely covered her temple by now and also the gaping cut in her head that had been caused by Arcturus slamming her into the wall too many times.
Blood trickled down her face and mixed with the salty tears, making the wounds sting, and the sweat that was pouring from her forehead as she shook on the floor uncontrollably.
Her mouth felt dry but that was soon not the case as Arcturus' foot soon connected with her mouth, filling it with blood and Euphemia was sure that she felt a tooth shatter from the impact of her father's foot.
Spitting out some of the blood that had resided in her mouth, Mia attempted to crawl upwards but, as her eyes met Arcturus', a fist came flying at her face and she felt her eye swell up, no doubt bruising.
"Muggle violence as well....impressive," Euphemia muttered but it was the wrong thing to say as Arcturus then grabbed her by her collar and slammed her into another wall with the force of another spell, making her limbs collide and a pain spread to her fingers, making them hurt like hell.
This was hell, this had to be hell and Mia felt the tears spill out of her eyes and down her cheeks as she cowered against the wall, Arcturus' wand aiming at her again.
That was when it hit her again, the pain of the Cruciatus curse as it took her by storm, causing her to fall to the floor with a thump, crashing her head against the floorboards which only made Arcturus shrug.
Euphemia screamed and screamed and screamed until her voice gave out and until she could no longer make a noise, reduced to silently crying and sniffling as the Cruciatus curse rocked through her body again and again and again.
Mia was practically immune and numb to the pain by now but it still didn't stop her from begging with her father to stop, her eyes wild and wide with panic and overflowing with so many tears that she would make a waterfall jealous.
Her bloodied and bruised face was soaked with tears and, as they ran in with the blood oozing from her temple, it wasn't a pretty sight.
Her lip was cut and swollen and her mouth was completely and utterly full of blood, blood that kept coming up until Euphemia actually threw up on the floor.
Still, the man that she called her father didn't stop and Mia actually began to sink into unconsciousness and she would've fainted if it hadn't of been for Arcturus ever so kindly slapping his daughter across the face, leaving another wound on the already unsightly face of Euphemia Black.
She sobbed and cried at his feet but he wasn't having any of it so he slapped her, pulled her hair, shoved her, punched her, threw her across the room and inflicted all sorts of curses, jinxes and hexes onto Mia until she was a heaving, sobbing and bloodied mess shaking on the floor in a heap.
"Toujours Pur, remember, Euphemia. Toujours Pur," Arcturus hissed at his barely conscious daughter on the floor as he towered over her battered, bruised and bloodied body.
"Bugger off," Euphemia spat back at him through a mouthful of blood as she clutched her stomach, feeling the ribs that were surely broken underneath her bruised and probably also broken fingers.
"As you please," Arcturus replied, sauntering out of the room and banging the door behind him which made Mia jump a mile from her sobbing mess on the floor.
There was silence for a moment before a clock in the distance, Big Ben probably, clanged and that signalled the start of the next day, leaving Euphemia to let out a sigh as she could barely process her thoughts over all the pain coursing through her body.
Mia raised her aching head and looked up to the sky with her tear filled eyes and uttered,
"Merry Christmas, Euphemia."
Yay! Nice, cheerful chapters! Don't you love them?
(Note the sarcasm. Please. I'm not a person who enjoys writing about other's pain....well, I like to think I'm not...)