"So," Charlus started awkwardly, waving his hands a little, "Where do you want to go?" he asked Euphemia, glancing at her uncertainly as all of his playboy experiences went out of the window, getting lost in his will to please Mia and not treat her like just another girl that he took to snog in Madam Puddifoots.
"You're telling me that you, Charlus Potter, notorious for your player reputation and dating expertise, have no idea where we should go?" Euphemia teased him, laughing a little which did make Charlus relax a lot more though he still shuffled from where he was stood.
Mia and Charlus had long left the others behind and had pretty much separated from them the moment that they left the gates of Hogwarts, getting a lot of suggestive looks and snickers in return.
They were now on the winding Hogsmeade main street, the two of them looking around whilst considering a manner of different shops and places to eat.
The main street was crammed with Hogwarts students, clad in their non uniform wear for a change though a lot were still wearing their school cloaks and many donned their respective House scarves, hats and attire.
There were groups of girls either eyeing Charlus up or glaring at Euphemia for being with him; gangs of boys jostling each other and mucking about or couples like Mia and Charlus themselves walking around hand in hand or making out furiously in side streets or on benches.
Charlus coughed awkwardly and swung his hand back and forth, trying to summon up the courage to take Euphemia's hand.
Usually, when he went on dates with his many girlfriends or flings, he would easily take their hand or flirt with them but Mia wasn't like the other girls.
She was different and Charlus didn't want to spoil the day by doing something wrong but, then again, he also didn't want it to be awkward if they didn't even hold hands.
Suddenly, a gloved hand slipped into his grip, clutching it reassuringly and Charlus looked to his left to see Euphemia smiling at him, looking quite amused.
"If you wanted to hold my hand, you should've just asked," she said softly before squeezing his hand, making him grin and squeeze it back, a happy feeling surging through his body and pumping through his veins.
There was a slight silence between them for a second, broken only by the chatter of other students around them and the slight shatter of a glass as someone dropped it on the ground after coming out of one of the pubs.
But then Mia rolled her eyes and tugged him towards the Three Broomsticks, claiming that she was cold and needed a Butterbeer.
Charlus simply chuckled to himself, looking down at their joined hands and still trying to get over the fact that Euphemia Black was actually holding his hand voluntarily.
"You know," he called suddenly, coming to a halt before they entered the Three Broomsticks, "I know this really cute cafe not far from-" Mia cut him off quickly, placing a hand in front of her in a 'talk to the hand' gesture, "You better not be talking about Madam Puddifoots. Because I would rather snog Orion than go in that place which I know is a favourite haunt for your make out girls but...." she shrugged with a challenging smirk on her face and Charlus sighed though he felt an amused grin sliding onto his face.
"No, I was talking about a small cafe that not many people know about, actually," he corrected her and, ignoring her pleading look towards the closed door of the Three Broomsticks, Charlus took control this time and dragged Euphemia to the other end of the street, their joined hands becoming the subject of many glares from girls and wolf whistles from boys.
The cafe that Charlus was directing them to had actually been one that Mia had not seen before, making her wonder how it had slipped her notice.
It was a rather small cafe that hunched into itself, with white shutters that had been yanked up, the slight graffiti just peeking through the gap where the shutter had gotten trapped.
There were a few tables outside of the cafe, paired with green parlour umbrellas that blew in the February wind, the tables beneath them showing hints of the rainy weather that had graced Hogsmeade before that day.
However, it seemed rather cheery and plants bloomed from huge plant pots at either side of the door, making Euphemia feel extremely welcome as Charlus opened the door for her, the tinkle of the bell above the door sounding as they walked in, still hand in hand.
Inside, there was several tables that were well polished though only a few were occupied - the cafe in general seemed rather empty but also peaceful.
Mia also noted that it was good that not many people were there because she didn't really want to be seen with a blood traitor like Charlus as that would just make her family hate her even more.
A counter was on one side of the room and the clear glass showed an array of cakes and afternoon tea treats as well as a propped up menu that was displaying all the meals that were available to customers.
Jazz music was playing and Euphemia actually started humming to the tune, swaying a little which made Charlus smile to himself as he squeezed her hand.
They went and found a table as there only seemed to be one person serving people and she was busy taking the order of another couple next to them (a feisty looking red headed girl that Mia swore she had seen hanging around with Charis and a rather sheepish looking mousy brown haired guy).
"What do you think?" Charlus asked her quietly after watching her take in the appearance of the place for a while, nervous to see her reaction. "I like it, it's very peaceful," she told him with an assuring smile and Charlus relaxed a little, not knowing that Euphemia was actually wondering how many girls he had taken to this cafe because surely she couldn't be the only one.
Mia didn't actually ask him though because she didn't want to ruin the comfortable atmosphere that they had found themselves in or make the date awkward.
The table that they had chosen actually had a few hearts scattered across the red checked tablecloth, making the aura of the cafe seem a little more romantic, especially as Euphemia soon came to realise that there were pink banners draped all around the outskirts of the cafe with the golden printing of Happy Valentine's Day! shining against the deep pink background.
It was nice and simple and Mia liked it - it felt less awkward than Madam Puddifoots and here, she also felt like she wasn't required to make out with anyone just because everyone else was doing it.
"May I take your orders?" a cheerful voice came from behind them, interrupting Euphemia's thoughts and she jumped a little before realising it was simply the cafe owner, making Charlus chuckle before he swiftly ordered a shepherds pie with a side of chips for them to share (having checked previously with Mia on whether she wanted to share the potato chips with him).
Euphemia then smiled and ordered a club sandwich because she loved chicken and bacon and they both asked for lemonade, sharing a smile when they realised that the other also had a liking for the drink.
"We have a 20% discount as well for young couples - seeing as it is Valentine's Day," the woman told them with a beam and Mia took it as an opportunity to compliment her on the decorations around the cafe which made her beam even wider, if that was humanly possible.
"Suck up," Charlus muttered as soon as the cafe owner had gone and Euphemia punched him on the arm playfully, laughing. "It's called being nice," she told him with an eye roll and he raised his eyebrows back at her.
"She was already giving us a discount, you didn't have to be all polite, it's scary. I prefer it when you're being yourself - all sarcastic and funny," Charlus chuckled and Mia mock glared at him, tossing her hair back in a way that made Charlus lose his breath for a second before he regained his composure.
"Never insult the person who handles your food - they have your life in their hands!" she exclaimed dramatically, which attracted the attention of Charis' red headed friend at the nearby table, who looked over curiously at Euphemia.
"Hey, Euphemia!" Faye called out in greeting, waving as she stopped talking to David Anderson. Mia waved back a little nervously, she would've preferred it if not many people knew about her date with Charlus because she valued her life, hence why she was glad that he picked a secluded cafe for them to go to, as if he had read her mind.
But Faye didn't seem too bothered and soon went back to eating her salad whilst telling David something extremely enthusiastically, waving her fork about.
"Who was that?" Charlus whispered to her as their drinks arrived, causing Euphemia to nod gratefully at the cafe owner.
"That's Faye, Charis' friend," she informed him but her cousin's name meant nothing to Charlus, only puzzling him further and leading for him to question exactly who Charis was.
"She's my cousin," Mia told him and a strange expression crossed Charlus' face as if he had eaten something funny but Euphemia simply crossed her arms and glared at him, shaking her head and explaining quietly that Charis was nothing like the rest of her Black cousins.
"One Shepherd's Pie and one club sandwich? And a side of chips for this lovely couple to share?" the woman appeared again, levitating the plates with her wand before plonking them down with a simple flick of her wand.
"Lovely couple?" Mia snorted in laughter but she stopped as soon as she saw the hurt expression on Charlus' face as he realised that she might not actually be taking the date seriously.
Can you blame her? You've always been such a player a voice said in his head but Charlus tried to ignore it as he dug into his pie.
"You don't think this is a joke, do you? Because it's not," Charlus asked her before adding the last bit rather hastily, watching as Euphemia bit her lip in thought.
"Look, I'm not saying anything against you but you do have a playboy reputation so....let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be a dare or something," Mia told him honestly before taking a bite out of her sandwich to try and avoid the awkward tension that was now building between them.
However, before Charlus could open his mouth to say anything about his true intentions and about how much he actually did like Euphemia, there was a huge, terrific bang and the two of them jumped out of their seats in shock, looking around for the source of the noise.
It was Faye's chair. It had fallen back with a thump as she stood up, glaring daggers at David Anderson seated across from her. "What on earth do you mean?" she demanded, her red hair practically sizzling from her fury and Mia couldn't help but mutter a joke about how her hair could set on fire from anger, which got a quiet chuckle from Charlus in response.
David muttered something to her, obviously trying to get her to sit down but Faye shook her long, red ponytail as she crossed her arms angrily.
"How can you like both genders? Have you been playing me this entire time? You can't just like both girls and boys! It's one or the other, surely?" Faye exclaimed rather tearfully, looking as if she didn't actually believe that David was telling her that he liked both girls and boys, even though he wasn't sure whether that was an actual thing.
"I think you'll find I can like whoever I want," David responded rather coldly, also standing up and taking out a handful of galleons, throwing them onto the table as he swung his scarf around his neck.
"Your lunch is paid for," David told her in a cool tone before stalking out, leaving the already relatively quiet cafe in even more of a silence and Faye was still standing there, her fists clenched as tears swam in her eyes before she walked out after him, obviously not being able to stand all the eyes on her as she debated on whether to follow him or not.
Charlus whistled, commenting on how dramatic it all was which made Euphemia giggle a little before the awkward tension from before the whole David and Faye thing settled over them again like a black cloud constantly there to rain on them and ruin their date.
There was only the sounds of cutlery clinking against the plates as they ate, their hands brushing against one another briefly at times as they both reached for the chips placed on a plate in the middle.
It was so awkward that Mia was about to open her mouth to apologise for saying such a thing when Charlus also tried to speak at the same time, making them both stop and let the other speak first.
After a bit of banter between the two over who should speak first (an interaction that made Euphemia smile like crazy though she tried to restrain her joy so that she didn't seem extremely weird), Charlus decided to speak first and the boy cleared his throat, taking a sip of his lemonade to loosen up his tone a little more so that he didn't sound as parched.
"I promise it's not a dare, though it did take a lot of persuading from Florean's side. The fact is, I really like you, Mia. That's why I wanted to take you out today, simple," he told her with a huge smile gracing his handsome features but it soon faltered when he saw her expression.
Horrified. Shocked. Upset. Confused. Flattered. Suspicious. Conflicted. Frightened. Pleased. Scared. A mixture of emotions was displayed across Euphemia's face as a million questions ran through her mind that had shut down and was going into panic mode at that very second.
What were her parents going to think? What were they going to do? If Charlus truly liked her, then did he realise what he was getting himself into? How was she supposed to do this dating thing? Did she tell him that she also liked him or would that just be setting herself up for heartbreak?
Quickly, Charlus tried to think of a way to make the troubled expression on Mia's face go away and, as much as it broke his heart to do so, he continued to talk as if he hadn't said anything wrong, "I'm just glad that we are really good friends," he said, forcing a grin onto his face even though all he wanted to do was jump onto the table and proclaim about how much he liked Euphemia. As more than a friend.
On the word "friends", Mia immediately relaxed and smiled a little uncertainly at him, as if checking that she had heard him properly.
"Friends?" she asked him and Charlus nodded eagerly, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach, "Yeah. I'm glad that you're my friend and that we can hang out like this without tearing each other apart, which would've been the case this time last year," he added and Euphemia smiled weakly at him, her heart also sinking.
Ouch. Did I just get friend zoned? Mia thought to herself but she attempted to disguise her true emotions by laughing a little, discarding all the emotions inside of her that had bubbled up and risen to the surface.
Stop it. I don't like Charlus Potter. I can't like Charlus Potter. Why do I like Charlus Potter?
~~~
Whilst Charlus and Euphemia were inside of the cafe trying to work out their feelings for one another, David Anderson was outside of the cafe and he was storming down the street, his scarf blowing aggressively in the wind.
He couldn't believe that Faye had just yelled about his feelings for all the cafe to hear. Sure, there had only been a few couples in there but they were still people that could spread the gossip that he, David Anderson, was gay. Except he wasn't - at least. that wasn't how he saw it anyway.
David had always liked girls and he had had his fair share of girlfriends over his five years at Hogwarts, including Faye's friend, Mandy, from Slytherin who had been the only girl that he had actually told about his feelings.
At the time, he had joked about him being 'half gay' and he had admitted to wanting to snog anyone's face off, regardless of gender. But now it seemed more serious - what if this whole half gay thing was an actual feeling, an actual emotion?
David knew he liked girls, there was no way he couldn't not like them. He had had plentiful crushes on them, had gone on many dates with them and it had all felt normal and as if it was meant to be that way.
But then again, David admired boys' looks and sometimes fantasised about kissing some of his roommates, though he usually tried to erase that thought from his mind as soon as it came.
It wasn't that he didn't like boys but it wasn't that he didn't like girls either. David was just so terribly confused about whether he could like both genders and Faye shouting it for all to hear hadn't really helped.
The feisty red head's words repeated in his head as he continued walking quickly up the high street of Hogsmeade, like a broken record in his head that wouldn't stop.
You can't just like both girls and boys! It's one or the other, surely? David just didn't know, he didn't know whether there was a label for liking both genders or whether there was just something wrong with him. To be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter because-
"Ouch." David had accidentally collided with someone as he had been so immersed in his own thoughts, sending the pair of them flying to the floor, David on top of whoever he had walked into.
"Sorry mate," David muttered in embarrassment as he pushed himself off the other person, using their chest to help him get up and noting mentally that the person had abs and some pretty amazing ones at that.
It was a guy. Figures he thought bitterly as he rolled his eyes, standing up before offering his hand to the boy on the floor, who had a Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around his neck.
"You really fell for me, huh?" the boy on the floor chuckled, his brown eyes dancing with mischief and amusement but the comment struck a chord inside of David and he had to bite back a remark as the boy grabbed hold of his offered hand and hoisted himself up with a dramatic noise.
"I guess you could say that," David said rather quietly before apologising again for not looking where he was going, leaving the boy to shake his head and hold up his hands to stop David from talking.
"It doesn't matter, mate. We're both alive and kicking," he said to David before cracking his back and wincing a little, making David worry that he had hurt the boy.
The lad was quite average height with dirty blonde hair that looked rather ruffled but nice and his brown eyes still had a twinkle in them rather like the smattering of freckles across his slightly flushed cheeks as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, his Hufflepuff scarf hanging down.
"I'm Florean Fortescue, by the way," the boy introduced himself and offered his hand for David to shake, which he did so whilst trying to ignore the tingling that electrocuted through his palm upon Florean's touch.
"David Anderson," David replied, shaking Florean's hand for a little longer before Florean awkwardly pulled away with a merry chuckle, looking down slightly to avoid David's intense gaze.
"What were you so fixated on then? That made you walk into me?" Florean asked, wanting to carry on talking to David for some reason and he leaned against a nearby brick wall casually, his hair flopping over his eyes.
"I had an argument with my date. She got all heated about my sexuality," David told Florean, not really sure why he was telling all of that to a total stranger.
Florean just seemed to have that sort of aura about him that made David feel like he could tell him anything, that he could trust Florean with his life.
At the word "sexuality", Florean's head snapped up and he raised an eyebrow before quickly asking, "Sexuality? Are you gay or something?"
"Or something," David replied which made Florean roll his eyes playfully before he gave David a no nonsense stare that made David shrug a little, feeling obliged to spill the beans.
Why he felt like he could trust Florean despite only knowing him for about ten minutes, he didn't know.
"Don't look at me like I'm weird or anything but I can't actually decide whether I like girls, boys or both....it's all extremely confusing. Like, who has actually heard of someone who likes both genders?" David mused, kicking the wall that Florean was leaning against but Florean had now perked up, a look of understanding written all over his face that David couldn't actually see because he was looking down at his trainers in slight embarrassment, scuffing the soles against the pavement now.
"I've heard of someone like that," Florean said softly and David instantly glanced up, noticing the understanding that lit up Florean's warm brown eyes, rendering David utterly speechless for a second before he leaned in, not really sure what he was doing but Florean seemed to have a similar idea, a nervous glint now in his eyes as he also leaned closer to David, able to smell his cologne. They were inches away from kissing...
On the other side of the village and down the Hogsmeade high street, Charlus and Mia found themselves in a similar position to the boys, the two of them leaning across the table towards each other, despite everything both of them had just said about being friend zoned and just being "friends." They were inches away from kissing...
BANG! There was a sudden earthquaking, ear deafening and soul shaking noise that erupted from the centre of the village, making all of the shops and pubs shake from where they were.
The sudden, loud noise brought blood curdling screams with it as sounds of footsteps running in every different direction filled the air along with the smell of smoke.
Both of the couples who were about to kiss jumped apart and their eyes widened at the sight, Charlus and Euphemia rushing to the window of the cafe and David and Florean staring in shock at the sight further down the street.
"What the hell..." all four of them whispered at the same time whilst looking on in horror and shock at the sudden explosion.
What on earth just happened?
Cliffhangers? Me? As if!
Dragging it out? Me? Never....