Tom Riddle's meeting in the Riddle Manor was only the first of many meetings of that kind that summer in 1950. Prejudiced pureblooded  families from around the country grouped together to discuss what they were going to do about the muggles, half bloods and blood traitors that were 'dirtying' the global community. There were rumours and whispers of a possible war but some people were doubtful it would get that far - it was just another rebel gang causing trouble....right?

That was what many people thought anyway as murders of people like Amy Stratton were hushed up and not mentioned in any wizarding newspapers because they simply didn't know about it. The Knights of Walpurgis operated their dark plans in secret and kept everything about them hidden, from the secret meetings to the spontaneous killings.

It reminded many of the people that knew about Tom Riddle's plans about the dark times and of the previous war - how Grindelwald worked in the dark before unleashing his deadly plan upon the world. It was a scary prospect, really, that Riddle was doing the same as one of the darkest wizards to ever have lived did in his running up to power.

The summer at the end of Euphemia's third year already felt rather daunting and scary to the girl before she had even reached her home because she was absolutely dreading getting off the train. She sat with her old friends for a bit on the train but left after they all started trying to persuade her to stay with them and not go home.

Minnie even offered Mia to go home with her to the McGonnagal family but Euphemia refused - she had dug this hole and created this problem so it was her duty to dig herself out of it and defeat the dilemma. Charlus and Florean were both deeply and clearly worried as both boys told Mia to be careful, only to be met with exasperated looks from the Slytherin.

When Euphemia actually got off the train, she immediately saw her mother and father stood to one side, eyeing some of the half blood families and the blood traitors with disparaging glances and sinister glares. Their expressions didn't change as their eyes fell on their daughter and Cassiopeia actually sniffed in distaste and disgust before Arcturus grabbed the sleeve of Mia's robes and disapperated with her, clutching onto her fabric as if it was filth and didn't deserve to be touched by his oh so holy pure blood hands.

Euphemia stumbled as they arrived on the Black Manor drive, she had to steady herself so that she didn't fall onto the gravel that coated the driveway as she knew that would hurt - she had once grazed her knees very badly on that very drive when she was younger whilst flying a broom that she wasn't meant to be using and her parents had refused to heal them as she had broken the rules of no girls flying. Mia had had to hobble around with stinging and bleeding knees for a good half a day until Tibet the house elf took pity on her and sorted them out with her elf magic.

Arcturus and Cassiopeia didn't say anything to Euphemia after they landed, they simply walked off with their noses in the air and Mia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief that they weren't going to start yelling at her just yet. Euphemia eyed their retreating backs for a little, making sure they were a good distance away from her before she picked up her heavy trunk and dragged it across the driveway, kicking up clouds of white dust from the stones in her wake. Her parents were nowhere to be seen as she entered the manor and so Mia simply dumped her trunk at the bottom of the stairs, removed her shoes and ran upstairs in her stockinged feet.

Although Euphemia didn't actually know about it, a meeting was taking place in the parlour of the Black Manor with a certain group of very shady people who were all discussing dark plans in low voices. Tom Riddle was among them, his clear and cold voice hissing through the gloomy darkness of the room as he took control and charge over the group of adults despite only being young himself.

He already had power grasped in his very palm and he was relishing in it as he revealed exactly what he wanted his loyal companions (he referred to them as thus, though he actually thought of them secretly as servants). However, Mia didn't hear any of this - even as she scuttled past the dining room because the girl was just so anxious to get to her bedroom and out of sight and harm of her parents that she didn't think to check what could possibly be happening in her parlour.

Once she was in the safety of her bedroom, Euphemia flopped down onto her newly made bed and she rolled over on top of the duvet, sniffing the fresh laundry again and again as she smacked her head into her bedding repeatedly in frustration whilst she tried to work out what to do. The suspicious behaviour of her parents had unnerved her because it was not like them to conceal their anger and not punish her for her mistakes. Not that Mia was complaining, of course.

It was only now when Euphemia was sat in her tranquil bedroom did she actually realise just how suspicious and out of character Cassiopeia and Arcturus had been acting and she started to reflect back on why they could've been acting so strangely. Out of fear of what they were going to do or say, Mia hadn't said much to her parents with the exception of a squeaked 'hello' which they ignored anyway.

Maybe I should go and see where they went Euphemia thought vaguely to herself but shook her head at the last minute, pulling her knees into her chest so that she could wrap her arms around her legs. She leaned against the condensed, chilled window as she sat on the window seat, looking out at the slowly warming up July day. It was from this position that Mia could see none other than Clover sat outside on the bench that the two and Justin had sat on last summer when Clover had found she was a witch.

Euphemia couldn't help but wonder why her friend was sat out there by herself and so she willed up the courage to walk out of her bedroom and down the stairs. With a curious look to the closed door of the parlour from where she could hear hushed voices, Mia quickly crept past and down to the hall, where she quietly slipped on her shoes that had been left beside the door.

She was just about to succeed in sneaking out when a squeaky shout of 'Wait!' startled her and made her topple over into the door, the wood knocking into her arm harshly which would surely leave an enormous bruise.

Cursing underneath her breath, Euphemia span around to see Tibet the house elf tugging at the bottom of her skirt. "What is it, Tibet? You scared me there," Mia asked as gently as she could manage without sounding as irritated as she felt.

"Tibet is sorry, Missus. But Mistress Cassiopeia says to Tibet that Missus Euphemia is not to be leaving the house!" the little house elf squeaked in her tiny voice and Mia rolled her eyes, pulling her skirt out of Tibet's loose grip.

"Funny you should say that for I am running an errand for my mother and she said I was allowed out to do so. If you'll excuse me..." Euphemia lied, putting on a regal tone not unlike the one Cassiopeia used when talking to those she believed to be beneath her. Tibet blinked a few times before she seemed to believe Mia and simply nodded her head, her ears flapping and scuttled away with a small bow in the girl's direction.

Of course, if Euphemia had known that a room in her house was inhabited by a rising dark power, Tom Riddle, and his loyal, ruthless companions then she never would've stepped outside of her bedroom, let alone the house. But she had no clue and so therefore sauntered out down the driveway, past the fountain and out of the gates to scramble down the hill that Black Manor sat upon. Clover's blonde head was gleaming in the July sunlight and Mia spotted her out straight away as she ran over the rest of the grass to her friend.

"Cloves! What are you doing out here by yourself?" Euphemia called, sweeping her dark hair out of her face as the summer breeze caught it and lightly whipped it there. Clover turned around slowly and Mia was startled to see that her eyes were red rimmed as if she had been crying and she appeared to be sniffling, a handkerchief clenched in her closed fist.

Clover didn't say anything, the twelve year old just stood there looking helplessly at the thirteen going on fourteen year old in front of her and soon found herself embraced by Euphemia. "What's wrong?" Mia whispered whilst stroking Clover's beautiful blonde locks as the girl leaned into her gratefully.

"It's Justy...he doesn't want to talk to me or even look at me anymore...." Clover said in a small voice, sounding incredibly upset as she buried her head into Euphemia's shoulder. Mia was shocked at what the younger girl said and she pushed Clover away from her gently so that she was at arms length, "What? Why?" Euphemia asked and Clover shrugged miserably, looking down at her trainer clad feet.

"I think he's jealous..." she mumbled, dropping her hands from Mia's grasp so that she could fiddle with her fingers uncomfortably. Euphemia sighed, sitting herself down on the bench in front of the two and patting the space beside her to indicate for Clover to sit down too. The girl did so and hunched her shoulders in, looking down again so that her green eyes were permanently fixated on her lap.

Mia placed a hand on Clover's shoulder, "Well, why wouldn't he be jealous? Think about this practically, Cloves. You're a bloody witch - you're magical and you get to go to a magical school and do magic lessons and learn magic spells whilst he's stuck being a Muggle and learning boring stuff like maths and science. It's only natural that he's jealous of everything that you get to experience...it just sucks that he won't talk to you or anything but I'm sure he'll overcome it - you two are like peas in a pod!" Euphemia exclaimed, trying to cheer her friend up and Clover did seem to brighten a little bit.

However, she was soon downhearted again because she realised something else and Mia inwardly groaned as she saw the saddened smile twist Clover's features once more. "We were peas in a pod. I've not seen him since last Christmas and I didn't shut up about Hogwarts the entire time..I was just so excited and he seemed excited too. But maybe it was too much, maybe I took it too far with my excitement."

Euphemia shook her head but Clover wasn't finished and she carried on for a solid five minutes just wallowing in self pity and ranting on and on to Mia who sat there, listening to every word.

The thing was, Euphemia was always willing to lend a listening ear and if that meant that she had to sit on a bench that was burning her thighs because of the sun beating down on the polished wood whilst trying not die of boredom from the things Clover was saying over and over again, then so be it.

All Mia could think of was all the times that she had wanted to rant to someone and had instead had to keep it all bottled inside (instances which often led to frequent panic attacks) so if she could help prevent the same happening to someone else then she would do just that.

The way Euphemia saw it was that if she expected people to listen to her problems and make her feel better (Pomona in the library that time, for example) then she would do the exact same for someone else. These things worked both ways, after all.

"Thanks for listening...and thanks for your advice," Clover finally said after she had finished talking and the two had finished exchanging words of wisdom and tips on how to sort it out. She gave Mia a hug who gladly accepted it before she stood up from the bench, wincing as her sticky legs nearly stuck to the bench, a problem all girls often found in the warm London summers, not that there were many of those.

Euphemia glanced at her wristwatch and saw that she had spent a good forty minutes out there in the sunshine, talking to Clover. Which was quite an acceptable time....if it hadn't of been for the fact that she wasn't allowed out of the house and that her parents surely would have noticed by now.

Swearing underneath her breath again, Mia dashed up the hill quickly, glad for the sudden strength in her legs if you excluded the slight tingling in her left foot that had ensued due to her sitting on it for too long and it had fallen asleep as a result.

She could've sworn that she saw someone disappearing off the doorstep and assumed it was someone disapperating which was all normal and fine.....wait. Why would someone be disapperating from her house on a Sunday afternoon? These realisations and curiosities all seemed to hit Euphemia at once like a giant wave crashing over her and she quickly jogged inside, praying that no one was there.

Luck did seem to be on Mia's side at that point as no one was in the hall because they were all still holed up in the parlour, pouring over some plans with the exception of Tom Riddle himself for he had announced he had an important meeting with an old lady who had a 'gift' for him.

Quite a few of the Knights of Walpurgis had also left and those people had been whom Euphemia had seen leaving her house. Not that she knew, of course, she was completely oblivious to what was going on and scuttled upstairs again, hoping to Merlin that she wouldn't get caught.

As Mia ran up the stairs as quickly as she could manage, it just so happened that Druella Rosier and Orion Black were leaving the meeting that had been taking place in the parlour upstairs at the very same time. Seeing as they were aged fifteen going on sixteen and were interested in what the meeting was about, they had been allowed access. Plus the fact that they were going to be personally involved in the plans being concocted that day also helped.

"I cannot wait to show all that filth a lesson!" Druella said rather loudly with a manic laugh and Orion also chuckled spitefully as they started walking along the elegantly carpeted halls of the Black Manor, their shoes hardly making any noise on the soft red material that decorated the floors. "They're all going to get a nasty shock when they go to Hogsmeade in February," Orion added and he and Druella exchanged gleeful looks.

"Who's going to get a nasty shock, hm?" a voice suddenly sounded from behind them and the two span around to see that Euphemia was stood at the other end of the hall, looking rather confident and curious. Mia had just started ascending the stairs after her talk with Clover when she had heard what her older cousins were saying, making her immediately alarmed and intrigued. She may have appeared composed and calm on the outside but she was indeed panicking internally as she was in the presence of people that could potentially hurt her at any moment.

And Mia certainly had the right idea about being careful as Druella and Orion's faces both went from gleeful and smirking to pale and dangerous which immediately sent a wave of caution in Euphemia's direction. "How much did you hear?" Druella growled, her sharp nails clenching into a fist as they closed around her wand.

Orion was quite panicked himself for he and Druella had both been told not to mention any of the plans discussed in the meeting outside of the parlour or they would be killed. And they hadn't even gotten five minutes down the corridor before they started blabbing about it and now their cousin had overheard and that was not good. Not good at all. All the Black cousins had been told to be careful about what they said around Mia until Cassiopeia and Arcturus could 'talk' to her as they all obviously knew about what had happened. So, if anyone had to overhear them, she really wasn't the best person to have done so.

"Enough to understand what you're going to do," Mia said placidly and she stepped forward to face Orion and Druella in much more of a brave manner. She had got the general idea - they were going to teach the 'filth' a lesson and it was going to happen in Hogsmeade in February so Euphemia could make a pretty accurate guess at what they were going to do. And there was no way they were going to hurt her friends.

Orion and Druella exchanged the quickest of glances before they both pulled out their wands and pointed them straight at Mia's face who's lip trembled but she didn't break, she simply pulled out her own wand despite knowing that she was no match for two fifth years who had just done their OWLS. "You heard nothing," Orion hissed at her before he cast the first spell which sent Euphemia flying into a portrait of her great uncle that adorned the halls.

Rubbing the back of her head, Mia stumbled back up to her feet and shot a stunning spell in the direction of Druella, who narrowly dodged it. "You little..." Druella lunged for Euphemia at the same time that Orion shot a jinx at her which made her legs wobble into the infamous Jelly Legs. Because of the jinx, she was unable to run away from Druella who soon pinned Mia up against the wall with a binding curse as Orion advanced on her, tapping his wand against his open palm with a twisted smile.

Trembling, Euphemia struggled against Druella's grip and thought briefly of Charlus and how he often saved her when she got herself into these situations but there was no way he was going to magically turn up now at her home. It was just then when she realised just how bloody much Charlus had been there for her and how much of a gentleman he was. God, she could've done with him being there right at that moment.

"Didn't anybody teach you not to eavesdrop, Euphemia?" Orion asked her, tilting his head and she shivered in Druella's grip as she kept her pressed against the wall whilst Orion pointed his wand right in Mia's face. "I wasn't eavesdropping! I was-" she started to protest but trailed off at the deadly on Druella's face as both of her cousins advanced on her. "I'd be quiet if I was you," Druella whispered, trailing her long fingernail down Mia's face slowly to leave a deep scratch mark that made Euphemia wince.

"Now, we're just going to make sure that you don't repeat any of what you just heard to anyone, okay?" Orion said in a matter of fact tone as if he was merely discussing the weather but the warning glint in his eye told Mia not to bother fighting because he was not in the mood and could easily snap. However, Euphemia always knew when to push her boundaries and so, when Druella opened her mouth to utter the memory charm that would wipe Mia's most recent memories, she struggled in Druella's grip and aimed her foot at a very sensitive spot of Orion's.

"ARGH! YOU LITTLE B-" Orion bent double, his wand clattering to the floor as he had been kicked in a place that no man or boy would ever want to be kicked in. Druella was shocked for a moment and froze in place as Euphemia managed to scramble away and thunder down the corridor away from her cousins, leaving Orion groaning in pain and Druella hissing in malice. "Not so fast, missy!" Druella yelled after Mia and the latter span around from where she was stood at the top of the stairs to see Druella pointing her wand in her direction.

A beam of red light came surging towards her and Euphemia was struck in the chest, the spell sending her toppling over the banister and all the way down the stairs, tumbling and tumbling and tumbling until she reached the bottom of the stairs and hit the marble floor of the Black Manor Entrance Hall with a large CRACK. The last thing Mia saw before her eyes fluttered shut was an enormous pool of blood just in front of her, obviously leaking from her head and then everything went black.

*inserts evil laugh*