"I'm not sure about this, Arcturus."
Cassiopeia Black was seated at the dining table on the first of September, her delicate hands wrapping their fingers around one of the impeccable, fancy teacups that had been handed to her by Tibet for breakfast. Her actual meal had been left untouched, as she wasn't feeling that hungry and she lowered her eyes to the golden brown liquid swilling around in the china.
Arcturus turned around from where he had been glaring out of the dining room window, his hand holding the side of the thick black curtain and he let it drop as he faced his wife, unimpressed with her statement, "Why aren't you sure? You seemed fine with it when we discussed it yesterday," he pointed out with narrowed eyes.
Cassiopeia squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, trying to maintain her ladylike posture despite the sinking feeling in her body that just made her desperately want to slump in her chair, "It's not right. Euphemia left for a reason....there's no point in trying to get her back," she told her husband as she took a sip of her tea for the sake of something to do.
Arcturus barked out a cruel laugh that didn't sound humorous in the slightest...in fact, it sounded more ominous, "She didn't leave. She ran away and that is the most shameful thing that could happen to this family. I brought her up so that she wouldn't be a pathetic coward and look at her now, hiding from us like a cowardly fool," he practically spat, dropping the curtain and stalking away from the window as Cassiopeia watched him nervously.
"You didn't actually bring her up though, did you? You left that job to me," she muttered underneath her breath, not intending for her husband to hear her but Arcturus span around sharply, a menacing aura surrounding him, "What was that?" Arcturus snapped and Cassiopeia blanched a little before repeating her statement boldly, mustering up all of her courage to do so.
Arcturus fell silent, glaring at his wife like she was the most disgusting thing ever, "Whatever," he glowered, "My point is that she belongs here, not wherever she is hiding as of now. And we will find her at the platform and make sure that she knows that," he slammed his fists down on the dining table, causing the breakfast plates to shake as the cutlery jangled on the tablecloth, like they were trembling in fear.
Cassiopeia sighed, the familiar sinking feeling resonating once more in her stomach and making her feel like she was being dragged to the bottom of an ocean - the entirety of the summer holidays since Mia had ran away had been like this. Arcturus' black moods had gotten worse and he had taken his tempers out on his wife whilst he attempted to come up with plan after plan to get his daughter back.
"What if she doesn't want to come back? Has that ever crossed your mind? Euphemia ran away from the wedding for a reason and I feel terrible about it, I've never hated myself more," Cassiopeia said quietly, her voice shaking slightly as she thought about Mia's terrified expression and how miserable she had looked throughout the day. Cassiopeia had managed to smooth things over slightly with her daughter but she would never be able to forget how scared and upset Euphemia had been.
"I don't care if she doesn't want to come back. She has a role and a duty to fulfil, she can't just stop being a Black because it suits her. She doesn't have a choice in any of this, I will make her come back if it's the last thing I do," Arcturus said in a threatening tone, so deadly serious that it actually unnerved Cassiopeia. She wanted her daughter back as well, of course, but this wasn't the way to do so.
"Arcturus, we can't force Euphemia to do anything she doesn't want to. We tried to and we failed. We made her miserable, can't you see that? I've seen the error of my ways...why can't you? I don't see why you can't realise how much pain we caused her, we can at least help her now by leaving her alone," Cassiopeia tried to plead with her husband, her grey eyes wide.
Arcturus made a growling sound in his throat that was similar to that of an animal's, "You've already done enough helping.... you caused so much damage by helping her escape from that dratted wedding so I don't think you need to help her anymore," he hissed at Cassiopeia and the woman's face paled - she hadn't realised that Arcturus had noticed that she had supported Mia's escape.
"I-I just wanted her to be happy," Cassiopeia stuttered a little, her words practically being sucked from her body as Arcturus started walking towards her in a slow and intimidating fashion, his stature upright, "Well, you caused a lot of trouble because of what you wanted. Don't you see that it doesn't matter what you or Euphemia want? You don't matter," he closed in on her, his voice practically a whisper.
Cassiopeia was terrified...she couldn't help it and she just wanted to pull a Mia and run away at that point but she wasn't going to just give into Arcturus' demands straightaway - she wasn't going to let him talk to her like that. "What Euphemia and I want does matter. Euphemia wanted to escape and so I encouraged that because, unlike you, I'm not a heartless monster and I actually want our daughter to be happy. I made many mistakes with Euphemia and one of them was not letting her go sooner," Cassiopeia argued back.
It was true - when Cassiopeia looked back on her actions, one way that she could've prevented Mia's unhappiness could've been if she had just released her daughter from the Black family's hold earlier. Though she knew Euphemia would never fully forgive her, Cassiopeia just had to hope that Mia was at least happier now that she had finally escaped.
"Did you just call me a heartless monster?" Arcturus spat, sounding incredulous as cold fury washed over his face and Cassiopeia felt her stomach drop slightly as her husband reached forward and wrapped his fingers around her wrist tightly, "What has happened to you, Cassie? You used to enjoy torturing Euphemia and keeping her in line....what on earth changed? You're a disgrace."
Cassiopeia bit her lip at the reminder that she had enjoyed hurting Mia because it was true - she had taken her own pain out on her daughter and, even though she regretted that now, she couldn't deny that it hadn't brought her some pleasure to hear Euphemia's screams because she had just wanted someone else to suffer in the way that she had. She hadn't wanted to be the only one hurting and now Cassiopeia could see that that logic was so messed up. It disgusted her.
"You're hurting me," Cassiopeia whispered, wincing as Arcturus' grip tightened around her wrist and he leaned in further so that they were practically face to face, "Good," he hissed, "You ruined all of this because you let your feelings get in the way of our plans. You're the reason why this family is now shamed," Arcturus looked at her with so much hatred that Cassiopeia felt like she was being burned.
"I'm not the person that has brought shame on this family, Arcturus. I had my part in hurting Euphemia, I'll admit that, but at least I've seen the error of my ways! You haven't even apologised or realised the extent of your disgusting actions and that is what brings shame on this family, not me!" Cassiopeia retorted boldly, her voice shaking slightly towards the end.
For a moment, Cassiopeia thought that Arcturus was going to hurt her and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for pain but Arcturus simply fell quiet, his grip slackening on her wrist as he stepped away from her, "We're going, come on," he said gruffly, beckoning Cassiopeia and she opened her eyes, taken aback by her husband's sudden change in mood and she took a deep breath, deciding to tread carefully.
"Going where? You can't seriously still be determined to still try and sabotage Euphemia at the train station? We've just argued about this-" Cassiopeia was cut off as Arcturus slammed his fists down on the dining table again, silencing her immediately as an iron fist of fear grasped at Cassiopeia's heart and tugged it down into a pool of terror.
"We're going, Cassie. End of conversation. I've decided to overlook your mistakes for now but if you don't come with me right now, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life," Arcturus told her through gritted teeth, sounding like he was going to blow up with anger if Cassiopeia said anything else so she simply nodded her head weakly, following him out of the door with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
This was not going to end well.
~~~
"I don't want you to leave," Olivia pouted, her bottom lip sticking out as she placed her arms around Mia's neck, her legs wrapped around the girl's waist. Euphemia smiled down affectionately at the seven year old who was clinging to her like a little monkey, "Don't worry, I'll write as much as I can. Promise," she linked her little finger with Olivia's, sealing the deal.
Platform Nine and Three Quarters was just as busy as it always was on the first of September - it was bustling with students and parents alike as the white steam from the puffing Hogwarts Express coated all of the people on the platform, making it very hard to see people through all of the fog.
Conversations overlapped one another as friends reunited and parents scolded children, the constant barging of shoulders becoming too much for the Potter family and so Everleigh pulled her three kids, Mia and Henry to one side, insisting that they were better off in their own space. Henry had taken the morning off work so that he could say goodbye to Rochelle, Charlus and Euphemia and the latter thought that that was the sweetest thing ever.
Her parents had never really shown up to see her off to school in the past years, preferring to simply send her with Tibet as company so to have the whole Potter clan waving her off was quite the stark difference. Mia continued hugging Olivia as she watched Everleigh fuss over Rochelle, neatening up the fourteen year old's hair as Rochelle complained, trying to bat her mother's hands away.
Charlus had scampered off to the train to pile his and Euphemia's trunks onboard and he had disappeared into the crowd a while ago, leaving Mia with his family and she had never felt so content but she couldn't stop herself from craning her neck slightly to look for her boyfriend. Henry placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, "Missing him already?" he asked with a teasing grin.
Euphemia blushed slightly - she would never get used to the teasing from Henry about hers and Charlus' relationship, "I was just wondering where he has gone....it's been a while," she laughed a little and Henry smiled warmly at her before turning to face Olivia, who was still latched onto Mia, "Liv, you need to get down now," Henry told his daughter.
Olivia glared playfully at her father, "Queens like myself do not simply get down. I demand to be carried and I will not obey a peasant like you, Dad. If you see me anywhere, I was probably carried there because I refuse to put my feet down on the ground," she informed him with a serious expression and both Henry and Euphemia burst into laughter.
Olivia appeared affronted and jumped down from Mia's arms herself, narrowing her eyes at Euphemia, "Look what you've made me do now. I thought you were on my side, Mia, but evidently I placed my trust in the wrong people," she shook her little blonde head at Euphemia, who was still giggling at Olivia's dramatics which caused the youngest Potter to flounce off to Everleigh's side, tugging on her mother's skirts and whining to be picked up.
"Are you looking forward to sixth year?" Henry asked Mia, trying to make conversation as they waited for Charlus to return from offloading their luggage onto the train. Euphemia shrugged, her eyes trailing on the ground as she became extremely interested in her shoes, "I don't know. It's going to be hard to avoid all of my family," she muttered, a little embarrassed about admitting out loud how nervous she was about the whole situation.
Henry made a sympathetic noise, "Charlus will look after you, don't worry. At least that sick son of a bitch won't be there this year, he left last year, didn't he?" he pointed out, obviously referring to Orion and Mia nodded, feeling slightly relieved at that reminder. It would only really be Walburga, Heather and their cronies that she would have to worry about - Druella, Cygnus and Orion had all graduated last year.
"Let me know if any of them cause you any trouble, though, okay? I'll come and kick their arses," Henry said firmly, gripping Euphemia's shoulders so that the girl had to look him in the eye and she felt a smile tug at her lips at the protective expression on Henry's face - he truly cared about her like she was his own daughter and that meant more to Mia than she could possibly even put into words. It was just lovely to be cared about for a change.
"Thanks, I will," Euphemia said with a laugh as Henry pulled her into a hug, holding her close before they were broken apart by Charlus' voice, "Oi, Dad! Get your hands off my girl," he joked, jogging up to them through the crowd and grinning playfully at Henry and Mia embracing. Henry let Euphemia go with a chuckle, "Possessive, much?" he teased Charlus with a raised eyebrow but Charlus simply glared at him in response, grabbing Mia's hand and tugging her closer to him.
"C'mere, you two," Everleigh suddenly called from where she was saying goodbye to Rochelle, cuddling her eldest daughter with a rather sad expression on her face. Charlus groaned quietly, "Watch out, Mum gets really emotional whenever we leave for school," he whispered in Euphemia's ear and she smiled slightly, finding it sweet that Everleigh evidently missed her children when they weren't at home - that was a true mother's love.
Rochelle pulled away from her mother, going to hug Henry instead as Everleigh grabbed a hold of Charlus and Mia and tugged them into a huge hug, squeezing them tightly. "Mum....can't breathe," Charlus gasped but Everleigh only hugged them closer, "I'm going to miss you both so much. Look after each other, yeah? I love you both so much," she told them affectionately, her voice cracking slightly.
As Charlus was released from the hug, Euphemia stilled at Everleigh's words because those words were something that she was not used to hearing at all. Charlus had always said 'I love you' to her but he was her boyfriend.... Mia had never really had anyone else say it to her and so Everleigh's proclamation made her feel extremely taken aback and almost emotional.
Everleigh must've seen the shocked expression on her face because, as Charlus span Olivia around in a hug and said goodbye to his little sister, the woman grabbed Euphemia's hand and pulled her closer to her side, "I love you like one of my own daughters now, Mia. Don't look so shocked, love," she beamed at Euphemia, who embarrassingly felt tears well up in her eyes, feeling touched especially when Everleigh embraced her again.
"Well, isn't this touching?" a chillingly familiar voice sneered from behind Everleigh and Euphemia and the latter felt herself freeze as the voice was just so familiar....it couldn't be, surely? As nerves pulsated through her system, Mia raised her head from where it had been buried in Everleigh's shoulder and a gasp slipped from her lips when her grey-blue eyes locked onto those familiar cold grey ones of her father.
"Hello, Euphemia," Arcturus said coldly with a twisted smile and Mia felt her breathing quicken as she realised that Cassiopeia was there as well, though her mother actually looked like she'd rather be anywhere else than there at that moment. Everleigh heard Arcturus speak and felt Euphemia still in her arms and she turned around to face the Black parents, who were stood about two feet away.
Everleigh squeezed Mia reassuringly as she looked Arcturus up and down with a great degree of disgust written all over her face, "Arcturus....I didn't know they let filth like you onto this platform," Everleigh greeted the man and Euphemia was reminded once more that they had gone to school together, hence why they knew each other, "And Cassie, too. How lovely of you to join us."
Cassiopeia had appeared neutral and almost miserable up until that point but Mia saw flickers of the old Cassiopeia return as she bristled with anger at Everleigh's acknowledgment of her presence - there was evidently still a lot of bad blood between the two. "Everleigh....continuing with stealing people who don't belong to you, I see," Cassiopeia hissed, looking at Everleigh with so much hatred that Euphemia shivered, being reminded of the times that her mother had looked at her like that.
By this point, Henry had noticed what was going on from where he had been bidding Rochelle goodbye and he immediately walked over, placing his arm around Mia protectively as he gestured for Charlus to stay back and look after Olivia, despite the boy wanting to come forward and check that Euphemia was alright because she had started to shake slightly, terrified just by the sight of her parents after so long.
"What's going on here?" Henry asked in his most authoritative tone and Mia could see why he was the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department - he may have been a sweet person to be around at home but there was a certain type of power that radiated from him whenever he needed it to and that made Euphemia feel much more safe than she would've felt if Henry hadn't been there.
"Just coming to see our daughter off to school, Potter. Seeing as we haven't seen her all summer," Arcturus said through gritted teeth, his eyes glinting slightly and Everleigh reached for Mia's hand, squeezing it tightly as her husband stepped away from Euphemia's side and walked towards Cassiopeia and Arcturus instead, "I think the reason why you haven't seen her all summer is because you tried to force her into a wedding that she didn't want. Ever thought about that?" Henry asked casually but there was an underlying firmness.
Mia saw Cassiopeia's eyes flicker to the ground as guilt washed over her expression but, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't feel sorry for her mother. When Cassiopeia had explained her actions to Euphemia on her wedding day, Mia had initially understood and seen why Cassiopeia had acted in the way that she had but, after experiencing an actual motherly love with Everleigh, she had seen what a real mother was like and Cassiopeia was not one of those.
A real mother wouldn't stand back and watch as her daughter got tortured into unconsciousness; a real mother wouldn't emotionally abuse their child; a real mother wouldn't force their kid to feel so much pain that they considered taking their own life - a real mother wouldn't force her daughter into an arranged marriage to her cousin whilst she was still underage. Euphemia could see Cassiopeia for what she was now.
She understood why Cassiopeia had done what she had done but she didn't accept it nor did she truly forgive her mother for her actions. Cassiopeia had inflicted far too much pain on Mia for the girl to simply just forget and forgive because Cassiopeia had finally realised what she had done wrong. Apologising for one's actions doesn't immediately make it okay.
"You had no business taking Euphemia away from that wedding, Potter. Whether she wanted it or not, it was a Black family tradition that a dirty blood traitor like yourself wouldn't understand," Arcturus spat at Henry, who was not deterred by the man's words and simply gave him a disgusted once-over. "So you're name calling me now, Arcturus? How mature of you," Henry replied coolly.
"Arcturus, let's just go," Cassiopeia whispered urgently to her husband, trying to pull Arcturus back as she looked uncomfortably in the direction of Henry, having not seen him in years and feeling awkward because they had dated. Henry turned his gaze towards Cassiopeia, not looking anymore pleased to see her there, "Cassie....I didn't see you there. How nice of you to finally contribute to this conversation," Henry said sarcastically and Mia heard Charlus conceal a laugh from where he was stood behind them.
"Hello, Henry," Cassiopeia said quietly, avoiding his eyes but Henry didn't spare her anymore of his attention, continuing to talk to Arcturus who was still glaring darkly at both Euphemia (who was still gripping onto Everleigh's hand for dear life) and Henry, "I don't care whether it was a stupid Black family tradition. Do you realise that it's illegal? Mia is underage, you know," he informed Arcturus, sounding extremely pissed off.
Arcturus shrugged, either because he wasn't listening or because he didn't care, "So what? We had to tie her down somehow otherwise she was just going to run off with that mutt of yours," he said coldly, not sounding at all sorry and Euphemia felt her stomach churn unpleasantly whilst Everleigh whispered in her ear, "Sweetie, how about you get on the train with Charlus? We'll sort this out," she suggested.
Somehow, Arcturus managed to catch Everleigh's whispered statement and he lunged forward, evidently trying to grab at Mia, "She's not going anywhere with that filthy son of yours!" he practically yelled but his movement was cut off as Henry blocked his path, causing Arcturus to stumble backwards as he lost his balance, staggering in an uncoordinated way that was almost comical.
"Take one more step towards her and I will not hesitate to blow your head off your shoulders," Henry thundered, all his playful demeanour disappearing as he practically towered over Arcturus, power rippling off his figure in waves as he drew his wand, "And don't you dare insult my family again or I will make sure you regret it, Black," Henry added in a hiss.
Euphemia's eyes were as wide as galleons as she observed, feeling herself start to shake and Everleigh pulled her into a slight hug, trying to calm her down as Arcturus and Henry squared up to each other, Cassiopeia still cowering in the background in a cowardly fashion. "Oh, so you're threatening me now, are you, Potter? Need I remind you of the last time a Potter threatened a powerful pure blood? Wasn't it your dear ol' Dad?" Arcturus sneered.
Bang. Within a flash, Arcturus was pressed against the wall as Henry practically pounced on him like a predator hungry for their prey, an almost animalistic growl resounding from the depths of his throat as a loud smack echoed across the platform when Arcturus' back made contact with the brick that Henry was slamming him against as everyone in the crowds around them silenced, turning to watch the fight play out.
"Don't you dare mention my father again!" Henry yelled at Arcturus, a vein practically popping in his forehead as his face turned red from how angry he was, "And don't ever come near Mia again, you sick bastard.....what kind of father forces his daughter to marry her disgusting cousin? You're a disgrace to humankind, Arcturus," Henry hissed at Arcturus, his wand nearly stabbing Euphemia's father in the eye.
Arcturus didn't say anything, finally shocked into silence and this same silence blanketed Platform Nine and Three Quarters as all of the onlookers watched silently, mouths gaping open at the scene playing out in front of their eyes. "Now leave this platform now before I do something I regret. Leave and never come back. And take your cowardly wife with you," Henry ordered viciously, his authoritative tone coming out again as Arcturus struggled in his strong Auror grasp.
However, Arcturus seemed to have a death wish because he didn't obey straightaway and actually managed to choke out, "And what if I don't? You can't control me, Potter," he gasped out and Henry threw his head back with a disbelieving laugh as if he couldn't actually comprehend that Arcturus hadn't learnt his lesson yet and wasn't listening to him.
"If you don't leave right now, I will have you arrested for breaching magical laws of consent and abusive behaviour towards a minor. You know, when you force your daughter into a marriage that she doesn't want, it's quite illegal so you would be locked up for that. Also, the years of torture and child abuse wouldn't go down very well with the courts, Arcturus. So, take your disgusting self away from Mia and the rest of my family before I actually lock you up on account of being a truly sick, messed up bastard," Henry told Arcturus in his booming voice that carried across the platform, gaining him several gasps and outraged mutters when he voiced what Arcturus had done.
The shame of going to Azkaban was evidently enough to shock some sense into Arcturus and he shoved Henry away from him, stalking over to Cassiopeia as he was aware of everyone's eyes on him. Henry still stood protectively in front of Euphemia and the Potters so Mia felt safe but, when Arcturus directed his next words to her, she felt like she was going to throw up.
"You're officially disowned from our family. I hope you're proud of yourself because I never wanted a daughter like you anyway. I'm utterly ashamed that I ever fathered you and I hope you will meet a bitter end in the future because you've chosen these disgusting blood traitors over your own family. You disappoint me, Euphemia," Arcturus hissed at her, venom lacing every single one of his words.
Cassiopeia appeared as if she was going to cry and she tugged on Arcturus' hand, sending one last pleading look towards Mia, "Please forgive us, darling. We can't lose you, I love you," she sounded so desperate that Euphemia almost felt sorry for her but she knew that she had to be strong, "No, Mother. You can't lose me because it's bad for your reputation, not because you love me. If you loved me, you never would've hurt me like you have. I wish you all the best but I can't forgive you and I will never go back to you," Mia told Cassiopeia firmly, feeling courage surge through her body.
There was a moment of ear-shattering silence before Cassiopeia nodded brokenly, turning on the spot and disapperating, Arcturus staying to just send one more disgusted look at Euphemia before he also vanished on the spot, allowing Mia to let out a huge breath that she didn't know she had been holding. Everything felt like it was collapsing around her and her head was spinning from all of the chaos as she felt Everleigh pull her into a hug.
"WHOO! GO MIA!" Florean's voice came through the crowd and he started clapping, which the rest of the crowd soon picked up on. Before Euphemia could even register what was going on, applause had broken out across Platform Nine and Three Quarters and everyone was clapping and whooping, sounds of encouragement rippling through the crowds.
"See? Everyone supports you, everyone loves you," Everleigh whispered in her ear, hugging her close and soon Charlus was by Mia's side, peppering kisses all over her forehead as he reiterated over and over again how proud he was of her. Henry then joined the hug, then Rochelle and then Olivia until there was just a massive huddle of the Potters and Euphemia in the corner of the platform, like they were cocooning her in their warmth and providing the medicine to make her feel better.
Mia knew that it had been a confrontation that had needed to take place, no matter how anxiety-inducing and terrifying the entire situation had been. The best thing about the whole ordeal was that Henry had protected her like she was his own daughter; Everleigh had stood up for her as well and she had had the courage to finally tell her parents what she thought of them.
Euphemia never thought she would have the courage to do that, especially not in front of thousands of people and it brought tears to her eyes because it was over, her suffering was over now that she had finally cut Arcturus and Cassiopeia out of her life. She was safe, she was content and she never had to go back, she never had to go through that pain again.
It was such an immense relief and Mia closed her eyes in the Potter group hug, feeling all of the tension dissipate from her body like it was water evaporating from a surface, never to pool again. She had done it, she had escaped from the Blacks' grip and it felt so good. Actually, as a matter of fact, it didn't just feel good.....
It felt so goddamn amazing because Euphemia was free, she was finally free and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Sending love and prayers to all of you during this difficult time.
Stay positive, stay safe and stay home!