"Did she really say that?" Euphemia asked incredulously, nearly spitting out her drink as she laughed at what Charlus was telling her about his sister, Olivia, and the letter that she had sent to him, which had been delivered to him at breakfast that very morning.

"Yes...she wants the bridesmaid dresses to be pink, by the way," Charlus added and Mia's smile dimmed for a second before she laughed it off, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach at the mention of bridesmaids - Cassiopeia had recently informed her via letter that the bridesmaid dresses for her wedding to Orion would be a 'pleasant' cream colour.

"Olivia sounds like a lot of fun...I wish I had a sister," Euphemia said wistfully, thinking of the fun and friendship she would have with a sister, the companion that she would have to fill those lonely summers where she was holed up in her room, making no noise and pretending she didn't exist.

"You really don't - especially not Liv. She's a nightmare," Charlus groaned but there was a fond twinkle in his hazel eyes before he added, "Rochelle's alright, I guess. She used to be pretty annoying, always following me around everywhere but she's got her own friends now so she doesn't bother me as much," he told his girlfriend, who smiled in response.

"How come you never really mention her?" Mia asked, thinking that if she had a sister, she would talk non-stop about her, no matter how annoying she may be. Euphemia just longed for company at home sometimes, someone to cheer her up when she was punished instead of her wallowing in self pity in her bedroom, crying over her injuries on her own.

"How come you never really talk about Marius?" Charlus diverted Mia's question by asking one of his own but a sad expression came over her face when reminded of her brother, her stomach churning when she thought about how desperate and miserable Marius had been when she had seen him last - nearly four years ago, when he had been kicked out for being a Squib.

Charlus immediately regretted his question and was about to change the conversation, not wanting this date to be ruined as well, if only by their words. However, Euphemia seemed willing to answer even though she was holding extremely tightly onto the napkin on her lap, fidgeting with it and twisting the fabric into tight knots in order to keep her hands busy.

"I guess I try not to think about him or speak about him because it helps ease the pain. If I'm constantly thinking about him, I just become sad because he was treated so unfairly and my little brother was ripped away from me. Whereas if I block him out, I can focus on the happier things in life," Mia reached forward and squeezed Charlus' hand on the last words.

"Where is he now, do you know?" Charlus questioned carefully, watching her anxiously in case she became upset again but Euphemia smiled at his question, looking slightly more relaxed than she had before, "He's living with my cousin, Alphard. Alphard is Walburga's brother but he always had a soft spot for my brother," she told him.

At that moment, a waitress came over with their afternoon tea that they had ordered and placed the sandwich platter and cake holder on the table with a clunk, putting their cups and saucers down in front of them, which prompted Mia to utter a polite thank you whilst Charlus simply nodded his gratitude.

"I bet I'm a better tea drinker than you," Euphemia challenged her boyfriend with a smirk, glad that the arrival of the food had brought an end to the conversation about siblings because it had made her feel rather melancholy.

Charlus raised an eyebrow in amusement, "So, it's some kind of challenge?" he asked with a grin wavering on his lips, his hazel eyes twinkling with mischief as Mia narrowed her eyes at him, "Mate, I'm obviously going to win. I was trained in tea drinking, for Merlin's sake," she told him with a smug smile on her face.

Charlus nearly choked on the sandwich that he had been scoffing discreetly (but not that discreetly because he managed to spill the crumbs all down his shirt which caused Euphemia to shake her head at him in mock despair). "You were trained? Well, that's not fair at all!" he declared, sticking his bottom lip out childishly.

Mia stared at him, deadpan and not showing any sign of remorse, "Quit being such a baby, Potter," she teased and Charlus laughed before saying, "Are you referring to my untidy eating or my childish behaviour?" he asked, gesturing to his crumb scattered shirt.

"Both, you child," Euphemia said, leaning across all of the afternoon tea accessories to brush the crumbs off his chest whilst straightening his tie at the same time, sighing in mock exasperation.

"Child? Excuse me? I am older than you! Respect your elders, woman," he scolded, acting all indignant as Mia smirked at him, "You're not older than me until the fourth of March, Potter, so shut your mouth and drink your bloody tea," she retorted.

"I thought it was a competition?" Charlus answered with a teasing grin and Euphemia picked up one of the little jam condiments, that was encased in a small glass pot, and threatened to throw it at him if he didn't stop talking for once.

"I like it when you're feisty," Charlus chuckled and Mia blushed for a second before she picked up her teacup, having already stirred in all her required milk and sugar, and raised her eyebrow at him in challenge which prompted Charlus to also grab his teacup, albeit much clumsier than his girlfriend.

"Just so you know, the loser gets doused in the remaining tea," Euphemia told Charlus with a sweet smile on her face, her tone dripping with honey-like innocence as Charlus' mouth dropped open and he looked slightly outraged but also amused.

"Excuse me, I didn't agree to that part!" he protested loudly, his eyes widening as he nearly dropped his teacup but Mia simply shrugged, simpering in his direction with a smug expression plastered on her face.

"Don't drop your teacup, Fleamont, or else I immediately win because you can't even perform the simple act of holding an object."

~~~

In another part of Hogsmeade, in the Three Broomsticks, Pomona and Eugenia seated themselves down at one of the only free tables whilst the lads went off to buy the drinks, the latter draping her scarf over the chair next to her to reserve the place whilst Pomona propped her feet up across several chairs.

Due to the cold weather outside, everyone seemed to have had the same idea of finding shelter inside the Three Broomsticks, where they could be guaranteed a warm atmosphere and a lovely drink in the form of Butterbeer, which was the most popular drink amongst Hogwarts students.

"So...Minnie has gone off with Brutus; Mia and Charlus have mysteriously disappeared; Alastor is off snogging a girl somewhere in Madam Puddifoots and you're on the path to dating Lupin over there...where does that leave me? Alone forever. Single and free...though not by choice," Pomona garbled on dramatically to Eugenia, her legs still draped over a few chairs so that she was practically lying down.

"Shut up, you fool," Eugenia laughed, ruffling her friend's blonde hair, "I'm not about to date Lyall Lupin anytime soon, Mona. And don't worry, you'll find someone eventually," she reassured Pomona, who was still sulking and was sending dirty looks in the direction of Hermes Faulkner and Annie Macmillan, who were holding hands over a couple of Butterbeers.

"Was that a find joke?" Pomona grumbled but Eugenia looked confused so the Hufflepuff proceeded to explain, "Charlus finds it extremely funny that Flo and I are Hufflepuffs so he takes the mickey out of us all the time. Hufflepuffs are supposed to be particularly good finders, you see..." Pomona told her friend, rolling her eyes.

Eugenia tittered in slight amusement before saying, "No, it wasn't a find joke. I don't copy everything Charlus Potter does, you know," she said. "You used to," Pomona muttered underneath her breath, reminding them both of the days when Eugenia had had an embarrassingly obsessive crush on Charlus.

"I heard that," Eugenia said sharply before switching the conversation back to what it had been before Pomona had mentioned Charlus, "So, how are Hufflepuffs particularly good finders, then?" she asked Pomona, who simply shrugged as she sat up and waved the boys over, for, where they had been scanning the room in search for Eugenia and Pomona.

"I have no clue. All I know is that I mustn't be a true Hufflepuff because I'm absolutely horrendous at finding things. Such as a BOYFRIEND! I CAN'T FIND LOVE, EUGENIA, AND IT'S KILLING ME INSIDE!" Pomona shouted loudly and dramatically but not loudly enough that it silenced the ear deafening chatter filling the pub, only loud enough to receive many strange looks from those in the vicinity.

"Oh Merlin, you've been spending far too much time with Florean. His dramatics are rubbing off on you," Eugenia frowned, trying to conceal her amusement as she shook her head at her friend.

"What's so wrong with that? Florean is amazing," the boy in question had reached their table alongside Lyall and Filius, the latter of which who was levitating the drinks in the air. Florean plopped himself down in the seat beside Pomona, wrapping an arm around her flamboyantly.

"I've never heard you be so loud, Mona. Are you feeling okay?" Lyall asked her jokingly as Filius played along and pressed a palm to her forehead, as if he was checking for her temperature. "Get off me," Pomona grumbled, batting his hand away irritably but she was smiling slightly.

"Someone rolled out of the wrong side of bed this morning," Filius commented, raising an eyebrow as Pomona chuckled lightly before replying, "If I did that, I'd roll right into the wall and bang my head." Everyone laughed at the mental image and Lyall said rather jokingly, "S'pose it would knock some sense into you, though?" which caused Pomona to throw the lemon from her drink at him.

"She's sad because she's single," Eugenia informed the boys and they all cooed mockingly as Pomona glowered at her friend, planting her chin in her hand grumpily whilst Filius said, "We're all single here, though," quite amiably which led Florean to cough awkwardly into his hand.

"Speaking of being single...where do you guys reckon Mia and Charlus have snuck off to? I haven't seen them since this morning," Lyall piped up and Florean furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, turning to look at the group gathered around the small round table, "Didn't they go off with Brutus and Minnie?" he asked.

Eugenia nodded, "Yes, but I saw Brutus and Minnie entering Honeydukes when we were coming in here," she informed them all and Pomona spoke for the first time in a while, "That means Mia and Charlus are alone together!" she said excitedly and the same emotion seemed to radiate through the group.

"Do you reckon they'll finally realise that they like each other?" Filius questioned, taking a sip of his drink as he did so, looking quite interested. "In the name of Merlin and all that is holy, I bloody hope so," Florean sighed, thinking of the many years where he had been going back and forth between the two whilst they sorted out their problematical love life.

"What if they're already dating and they just haven't said anything?" Lyall mused and Florean laughed, "Mate, if Charlus had somehow managed to end up dating Mia, he'd proclaim it from the rooftops and wear a banner for the rest of the year saying 'I snogged Mia Black.' That boy can't keep his mouth shut, especially when it comes to the girl he's infatuated with."

The entire group laughed and there was a comfortable silence that settled over them for a few short moments, happy in each other's company for that Valentine's Day until Florean broke the silence as he glanced at his watch and muttered, "Crap. I'm late," before standing up hurriedly as Eugenia sent him a curious look.

"Late for what?" she asked and Florean's eyes bulged for a second, looking like a startled rabbit in headlights before he sheepishly mumbled, "I've got a date," whilst praying that the group wouldn't pry any further into his business as it wasn't exactly the right moment to come clean about his sexuality. Definitely not in the middle of the packed Three Broomsticks.

"Well you kept that one quiet whilst I was moping over not having a date for Valentine's Day!" Pomona exclaimed, crossing her arms whilst staring accusingly at Florean, who at least had the decency to mouth 'I'm sorry,' at his friend.

"What's her name?" Filius asked, looking pleased for his friend and Florean's bright grin dimmed for a second, hating how everyone in current society instantly assumed that he had to be dating a girl. "She's...uh...called...um..Davi - - Davinia!" Florean eventually blurted out after stumbling over his words which made Lyall slightly suspicious and he frowned.

"It's great that you know her name immediately, Flo," Eugenia said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes before ushering him away with her hands, "Go on, go! A lady doesn't like to be kept waiting!" she told him and Florean quickly rushed away with his hands in his pockets, thinking secretly that it was a good job that David wasn't a girl because he was quite late by now.

Once he had left, Pomona slumped back down in her chair and let out a groan of despair as she covered her face with her hands out of frustration, pulling at her blonde hair in annoyance. "How can Florean bleedin' Fortescue get a date and I can't? I'm doomed for life! What's he got that I don't?" she exclaimed dramatically.

Oh Merlin, I'm really turning into Florean she thought to herself in dismay after she had spoken and Lyall suggested jokingly that perhaps he had more charm than her which caused Pomona to send a death glare in his direction.

"I know what happened!" Eugenia said with a smirk, "He found the right person whereas you still need to find yours," she told Pomona, who stared at her friend impassively, asking, "Was that a find joke?" through gritted teeth.

"It was indeed," Eugenia replied with a laugh whilst Filius and Lyall struggled to suppress their own amusement out of fear of Pomona, who really was a majorly fierce badger once crossed.

"Well, I didn't find it very funny."

"I did," Lyall put in unhelpfully and Filius smacked his hand against his forehead as both Eugenia and Pomona turned to face him.

"No one asked you, Lupin!"

~~~

"I can't believe you've just done that."

Charlus stood up almost instantly, yelping out in slight pain as Mia had just poured the remainder of her tea over his head, keeping to her promise of what happened to the loser of their tea drinking competition. And Charlus had lost quite spectacularly.

When Euphemia had said that she had been trained in drinking tea like a 'proper lady' and that she was quite the expert, Charlus hadn't realised how good she actually was. From even the way she held her teacup, pinkie out and everything, to the delicate sips that she took whilst smirking smugly at him, Mia Black was a professional tea drinker.

It kind of saddened Charlus to see how much Euphemia had been forced to act like a proper lady and had been taught to walk in the right way; sit correctly and even how to participate in conversation without overstepping her boundaries as a female member of the house.

It was obvious that the Black family was extremely sexist and that much was shown because Mia was certainly a perfectionist in her tea drinking, which Charlus imagined she must've been forced to practice for a few hours everyday when she could've been playing Quidditch or running about outside, as both Everleigh and Henry had encouraged all of their children to do, regardless of gender.

Euphemia was a free spirit and that was one thing that Charlus truly loved about her which was why he hated to think of her trapped in that house, her inner adventurer yearning to escape. However, Mia didn't seem to mind and she certainly gloated about how great she was at drinking tea with no other emotion expressed.

"It's burning me, Mia!" Charlus cried out dramatically and Euphemia rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, "It had milk in it, you wimp," she said whilst throwing a screwed up napkin at him, which did very little to help soak up his now tea-stained clothes, which made Mia giggle.

"Thank you, that helped a lot," Charlus replied sarcastically with a blank face and Euphemia sighed exasperatedly, "Are you a wizard or not?" she waved her wand and uttered an incantation that allowed Charlus' clothes to dry in a matter of seconds, leaving him looking dumbstruck.

"You're such an idiot," Mia laughed as they stood up to leave, placing a generous sum of money on the table to pay for their afternoon tea along with a tip for the waitress. "I'm your idiot though," Charlus grinned at her, slipping his hand into hers as they walked out of the cafe.

"Mm, I don't know about that," Euphemia teased and Charlus smirked before dragging down the side of the cafe and pressing her against the wall, trapping her in with his arms that were placed on either side of her head. "Really? Are you sure I'm not your idiot?"

"Positively sure," Mia replied with a sweet smile but her heart was thudding against her black jumper in anticipation, her stomach turning somersaults as Charlus leaned closer and closer, his scent intoxicating as usual, so strong that Euphemia felt rather dizzy.

"We'll see about that," Charlus murmured quite seductively and he pressed his mouth against hers, feeling her sink into his arms and kiss him back enthusiastically as his hands rested on her waist, Mia's arms snaking around his neck.

After a solid minute of snogging, Charlus finally pulled away and watched with amusement as Euphemia tried to gather her breath, still pressed up against the wall by him. "Are you still sure? Did I persuade you?" he teased, tucking a stray strand of her brown hair behind her ear lovingly.

Mia was so dazed that she had forgotten what they were talking about but, instead of nodding meekly, she tilted her head to one side in a challenging fashion, "Nah, I think you'd better try again," she told him and Charlus' eyes widened before he leaned in again, "Well, if you insist..."

Euphemia giggled as he kissed her again, only pulling away to murmur, "Happy Valentine's Day, love," against her lips before snogging her senseless again and Mia smiled back at Charlus, her eyes bright, "Happy Valentine's Day!" she chirped and then she was rendered speechless again as Charlus took her breath away with another kiss.

Little did they know, there was a blonde girl watching them from afar with a rather malicious smirk on her face. "Happy Valentine's Day, indeed," she cackled to herself before raising her magical camera and snapping a picture of the couple kissing furiously outside of the cafe.

Unfortunately, it was not someone that Euphemia and Charlus really wanted knowing about their relationship...but it was a little too late now.

You can't really expect me to give you loads of nice chapters without something bad happening eventually, can you? :)

On another note, I'm thinking of extending this book and make it part of a series. I already have one lined up about Walburga and Orion but I need to know whether you guys are interested first.

Would you like to see more from the Toujours Pur universe or not? Please let me know x