A rather ruffled looking barn owl flew over the terraced houses of the north of England in the city of Manchester - dodging through the smoke and steam emanating from all of the working class muggle family homes.

If it hadn't of been for the foggy air that graced that early July morning, people probably would've questioned the owl flying in daytime but they didn't, due to not being able to see it.

Especially if the muggles in Manchester noticed that the owl was carrying a letter in it's beak, they would've wondered but they didn't and that was that. The owl flew in peace to it's destination.

The destination that that particular owl was heading for was actually the Sprout household which rested on the outskirts of the city of Manchester.

Pomona's family lived in a rather big country home that overlooked the industrial city that was still suffering with damage from World War Two bombing.

"Post!" Mrs Sprout bellowed when she saw the barn owl approaching the large bay window of the Sprout home.

The woman bustled across the room to open up the window and allow the owl to fly in and land on a nearby kitchen surface.

The Sprout family were seated at the dining table eating breakfast and Mr Sprout glanced up expectantly, assuming that the mail was for him but his wife soon informed him that it was in fact for their fifteen year old daughter.

"Pomona, this is for you," Mrs Sprout said, placing the letter down next to Pomona's plate and the girl picked it up curiously, turning it over and feeling a surge of regret shoot through her as she saw the other address on the other side of the envelope.

"Ooh, has Mona got a boyfriend?" Poppy Sprout, Pomona's nineteen year old sister, teased whilst she tried to snatch the letter out of Pomona's grip but the girl only held it out of her way, not letting her sister to even get a peek of it.

"Shut up," Pomona mumbled as she continued eating her porridge, discarding the letter until later as she wanted to open it in the privacy of her bedroom and not in front of her gawking parents or nosy sister.

Pomona couldn't help but become rather hopeful about Euphemia's letter and she became quite excited to read it.

It had been a while since she had gotten mail from Mia and the Hufflepuff couldn't help but wonder whether this letter would be the building blocks to their path of friendship recovery.

On the other side of the country, in the small flat that the Fortescue's owned above Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley, Florean had a similar looking letter arrive to him.

"Mum, I'll be right back," he informed his mother, standing up from the breakfast and abandoning his toast on his plate.

Mr Fortescue glanced up from where he was reading his newspaper at the head of the table and he furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity and wonder.

Florean had been writing letters back and forth with his new 'friend' David all summer but he was acting different about this particular letter and even snuck upstairs to read it which made his parents wonder.

"D'you reckon it's from a girl?" Mrs Fortescue asked her husband as she sipped her tea and Mr Fortescue simply shrugged, not really bothered anymore about his son's love life.

Meanwhile, Florean was opening the letter upstairs and felt an enormous weight lift off his chest as his eyes scanned the parchment and read what Mia had written to him, her words were so sincere and honest that the boy couldn't help but believe her.

Smiling to himself, he quickly scribbled a reply and sent it off out of the window with his owl, Alfred whilst Pomona, on the other side of the country, also sent a similar letter out, both of them with one purpose - to reach Euphemia before it was too late.

~~~

It was early August in Diagon Alley and the sun was shining down onto the cobblestones that lined the busy street crammed with bustling shoppers.

Students came to collect their school supplies, ready for the new academic year in a month's time and mothers ushered around their whining children as everyone shopped for what they wanted.

Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was especially busy on the warm day in London and the bell over the top of the door was ringing constantly as customers came in and out every minute.

The staff were overrun - Mr Fortescue had had to pull his son and his wife out of their flat to help out with serving all of the customers.

Florean was just clearing a messy table littered with empty ice cream pots that a family had left there upon exiting the parlour when someone tapped him on the shoulder timidly, causing him to spin around.

A very nervous looking Mia was standing there, gazing at him apprehensively as he looked back at her.

Florean had an empty ice cream pot in one hand and a wet cloth in the other to clean the table with (his mother refused to let him use magic in front of the customers). And he was smiling.

Euphemia didn't have to say anything - her words in the letter that she had sent him had been enough and Florean embraced her quickly and swiftly.

Mia's letter had detailed all she knew about the attack and also proof that she hadn't been spying on them - she had written sincerely about how much she cared for them and the fact that she would choose them over her family if she could.

Euphemia had also told Florean about Druella imperiusing her and the Hufflepuff had immediately believed her because it was a very Druella thing to do and it made so much more sense.

Florean knew that Mia would never purposefully curse Charlus and that was exactly why he was relieved to find out that she had eventually discovered who had been behind the attack.

Pomona had also easily believed what was written in her letter from Euphemia because she had a very forgiving nature and had also been relieved to find out the truth.

Mia had only written to Pomona and Florean about the situation because she knew that they would be the most likely out of everyone to forgive her.

Her Aunt Lysandra had advised her to make up with certain people individually and then seek their tips on how to heal the friendships with the rest of the group and Euphemia was happy with that idea.

For now, though, she buried her head in Florean's shoulder in the middle of the ice cream parlour as she tried to stop herself from crying out in pure relief. Thank Merlin.

Mia breathed in Florean's scent as she embraced him, in complete disbelief that she was finally friends with him again and also completely relieved that he had believed and forgiven her.

What would she do without Florean? He had always been there for her and this moment was no different - Euphemia was just so happy that she had patched things up with him because he really was her best friend.

Florean just held onto her for as long as possible, sensing that she needed that hug very much at the moment and he allowed Mia to embrace him for as long as she wanted.

Euphemia eventually pulled away, her voice quite thick as she was still trying not to cry out of pure relief and happiness. "Where's Pomona?" she questioned Florean.

"Over there," Florean pointed into the corner where Pomona was eating her favourite flavour of ice cream, having not noticed Mia walking in.

Pomona had arrived at Florean's place a little earlier than Euphemia and Florean had told her to just help herself to some ice cream and wait for Mia to arrive - as that had been what the girl had requested in the letters that she had sent to the two of them.

Taking a deep breath and seeing Florean's encouraging smile in the corner of her eye, Euphemia walked over to Pomona's table and sat down opposite the girl.

"Mint choc chip, huh? Strawberry ice cream will forever be superior," Mia commented airily and Pomona glanced up at the familiar voice, her face lighting up when she saw Euphemia.

"Mia!" she squealed happily and she jumped up from her seat, wrapping an extremely happy Euphemia in a tight hug.

"I am so sorry for not believing you, for ignoring you, for being horrible-" Pomona started gabbling apologetically.

"Mona, shush," Mia gently placed a finger to the blonde's mouth as her friend insisted on continuing her apology but Euphemia didn't want to hear Pomona's apologies at that moment.

Pomona relaxed in Mia's hold and the two friends eventually pulled away, sitting back down at the table where Pomona's discarded ice cream pot had stayed.

"I've missed you so much," Pomona sighed happily and she squeezed Euphemia's hand from across the table, extremely content with the moment.

"You too, the past term has been awful," Mia replied, thinking of how miserable she had been in the last few months of fourth year when she had hardly any friends.

As much as she liked Aaron and as much as she appreciated Eileen, Euphemia had still felt incredibly alone and it had been like a dark hole had opened up in her chest.

That hole was now filled with happiness now though because both Florean and Pomona were her friends again now and the two Hufflepuffs had promised to help her become friends with everyone else again.

"We'll talk to them," Florean told Mia about half an hour later, when the boy had managed to get away from the chaotic parlour and sit down with his friends for a little while.

Pomona nodded eagerly, "We'll make them see sense, don't worry," she assured Euphemia, who smiled gratefully at the two of them and expressed her thanks.

Florean then stood up and offered Mia a free ice cream to amend their friendship fully and went to go and get Euphemia's request of strawberry ice cream, leaving the two girls at the table.

"How does Minnie feel about this entire situation?" Mia asked Pomona curiously, she wanted to know how much her old best friend actually hated her.

"I think she's more conflicted than anything," Pomona said quietly, "She wants to believe you but it's not like you've been trying - you sort of just drifted away and we assumed you didn't care anymore."

Euphemia went to contradict her on that subject - she knew that she had been being petty by trying to prove a point that she could be happy without them.

However, it had also been because they hadn't given her the chance to explain herself, Mia had felt like she wasn't wanted anymore and that had been why she had practically given up.

Pomona stopped Euphemia before she interrupted, holding up her hand to prevent Mia from protesting, "I know, I know. We weren't exactly encouraging but we were confused, Mia. We didn't know what was going on and the majority of us just found it easier to hate you."

Euphemia glanced down at her hands and Pomona grabbed one, stopping her friend from shaking and the Hufflepuff gently raised Mia's chin so that she had to look at her.

"But I'm going to help fix it, alright? I didn't feel like that anyway - neither did Florean. We'll help you sort this out but....on one condition," Pomona started and Euphemia felt her stomach sink a little - she hadn't realised there would be conditions.

"What?" she asked, dreading the answer as she was so used to her family's 'conditions' that Mia didn't actually know there could be good conditions.

"You don't hide things from us anymore," Florean's voice sounded from above as he placed Euphemia's strawberry ice cream in front of her with a flourish.

"And you don't feel scared to talk to us about anything," Pomona finished, her eyes shining earnestly and Mia smiled gently.

"I promise I'll talk to you if I'm ever worrying about anything," Euphemia assured them and Florean grinned as he sat down on the chair next to her, digging into her ice cream and helping himself.

Mia glared at him playfully, "Don't touch my ice cream," she grabbed her ice cream back and Florean smirked and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it?" Florean challenged her as Pomona watched on in amusement.

Euphemia and Pomona shared a devious smirk before the pair of them reached for their ice cream pots simultaneously.

"This," Mia answered as she tipped the rest of her strawberry ice cream over the top of Florean's head as Pomona's also poured her mint choc chip ice cream on him.

Florean's mouth opened slowly as his eyes widened in shock, a breathless scream echoing from his throat as the freezing cold ice cream dripped down his back.

Pomona and Euphemia high fived before they started crying with laughter at Florean's completely shocked expression as he desperately tried to wipe the ice cream off his head.

"My hair!" he whined, pouting, "You've ruined my hair!" Florean complained as he widened his eyes sadly at them as both Mia and Pomona practically died from laughter.

"I get you free ice creams and this is how you repay me?" Florean whisper shouted at them playfully and Pomona physically wiped tears of laughter from her blue eyes.

"I had to pay for mine," Pomona said through wheezes as Euphemia actually buried her head in her hands to avoid looking at the ice cream covered Florean because just one look at him made her crack up.

"Waste of food!" Florean screeched dramatically as he still tried to remove the now melting ice cream from his beautiful dark blonde locks, only succeeding in rubbing it in more.

Once Pomona and Mia had calmed down, they looked back up at Florean who was now attempting to eat some of the melting ice cream off his face which made Euphemia giggle again.

Mia couldn't actually remember the last time that she had laughed so much - she decided that she liked crying from laughter over crying from pain.

It just showed that, no matter how hard life could be, as long as you were with the right people - you could get through anything and everything.

Euphemia smiled happily as she watched Pomona 'help' Florean to get the ice cream out of his hair but she actually rubbed it into his locks even more, causing the boy in question to stamp his foot in a little tantrum.

She liked being happy. Mia had found the right people that made her laugh and made her happy and she was going to hold onto to them this time, she was going to fight for them as long as they fought for her as well.

Euphemia had had a glimpse of what life was like without her friends there to support her through everything and she didn't ever want to be in that position ever again.

A life where you are laughing the majority of the time is a happy life and Mia was having the time of her life at the moment and nothing could ruin her mood.

"Look what you've done to me - I am a broken man," Florean cried out dramatically and Pomona laughed heartily, "Don't flatter yourself - you're no man," she teased.

"You're just a little boy," Euphemia joined in, smirking as she patted Florean on the back because he had placed his ice cream covered head on the table in despair.

He brought it back up to face them with his jaw set, "I am fifteen years old!" he protested and Mia giggled uncontrollably at the insulted expression on his face.

"With the mental age of a five year old, though," Pomona added and Florean glared at her playfully again, causing Euphemia to crease into laughter again.

"You two are so mean to me," he sulked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair but the ice cream from his head had dripped onto his seat below and therefore made it slippery.

Bang. Florean fell to the floor as his behind slid off the ice cream covered chair and he laid there for a second, dramatically groaning in agony.

Pomona and Euphemia actually had lost it by this point - they had to hold onto each other for support as they laughed so hard that Mia was surprised she didn't wet herself.

"I'm glad my pain is a source of amusement and entertainment to you," Florean's voice came from below them and Pomona chuckled again before she offered her hand to him to help him up.

It had been a nice gesture but Florean was hell bent on getting revenge on the two girls by now and he used Pomona's offer of help as an opportunity to pull her down on top of him.

Euphemia started laughing again and she wished she had a camera with her so that she could capture the moment - she had not been this happy in such a long time, her heart was practically lifting out of her chest in elation.

"This is comfy," Pomona commented, her voice muffled against Florean's jumper before the boy pushed her off and staggered to his feet, brushing himself off and chuckling.

"Who's the loser now?" Florean jeered childishly, pointing down at Pomona who was still on the floor, smirking up at the boy.

Mia gently placed a hand on Florean's arm, "It's still you, darling," she told him and Florean gasped dramatically as Pomona pulled herself up with the help of the table beside them.

"Let's sort out your hair before you have a meltdown," Pomona said with a giggle and she waved her wand, vanishing the ice cream from Florean's hand.

Florean gasped, running his hands through his now dry and intact hair, "My hair! My beautiful hair! Oh, I missed you!" he exclaimed as Mia giggled.

"I still can't believe you just used underage magic," Euphemia reprimanded Pomona, turning to her friend and placing her hands on her hips.

Pomona shrugged, "It's not a law yet, we're are just advised against using it out of school," she reminded them and Florean and Mia had to agree with her - even though they knew it would probably become a law pretty soon.

Euphemia spent the rest of the day just having fun with Florean and Pomona, feeling so incredibly happy - a feeling that had become unknown to the girl over the past six months.

She still had a stupid smile on her face as she returned home, walking up the driveway to her massive house.

Cassiopeia had been under the impression that Mia had been with Aaron all day so she was pretty safe.

Euphemia walked through the front door, immediately taking off her shoes and placing them at the side and allowing a scurrying Tibet to take her coat with a grateful smile in the elf's direction.

"Missus Euphemia, Miss Cassiopeia would like to see you in the drawing room - it is very important, she says," Tibet told her in her signature squeaky voice.

Nothing could dampen Mia's happy mood, though, and she wondered what her mother could possibly want, heading up the stairs.

It couldn't be anything bad, right?

This chapter was so much fun to write :)