I looked on this morning to see that this book is now #3 in #Black Family! Thank you guys so much!

Euphemia's first day passed by in a flash and a flurry of meeting new teachers, getting accustomed to different classes and trying to avoid Walburga and her cronies because, if the dirty looks they were sending her meant anything, she was dead meat.

She knew that 'fraternising with the enemy' was not allowed in the Black family and for her to be speaking to not one but two half bloods and a blood traitor Hufflepuff, well.....let's just say Mia was being pretty rebellious.

Luckily for Mia, she could hang out with Eileen and stay away from Walburga in lessons and in between periods.

It was crazy that all this was already happening on her first day - she had another seven years of this and if every day was going to be as full of drama as this Monday had been then Euphemia was definitely all for resigning from being a student. Wait, could one even do that?

Her first day had dragged on a little, everything had happened at once and it had felt like an extremely long day even though the majority of the afternoon had flown by.

Euphemia honestly just couldn't believe that being a student could be so stressful and nothing could've prepared her for the excessive amount of drama that had filled her day.

Was it really only that very morning that she had been planning to kill Walburga, Heather and Mary (plus Eugenia at some point) with her pancake weapons?

It felt like that had happened years ago, not just that morning and Euphemia shook her head slightly, dazed.

She was on her way to dinner now, with Eileen at her side talking about something that had happened in Charms which Euphemia frankly wasn't listening to but made the occasional 'mhm' and nodded in all the right places which hopefully gave the impression that she was actually listening.

In fact, she was wondering how she would be able to get out of the Great Hall without being followed by Eileen, pursued by Walburga's cronies or without making her early exit from the meal seem too suspicious.

After all, she was a Black and so it would most likely be noticed if she suddenly got up from the table and snuck off into the Entrance Hall.

It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong by choosing to explore the castle at a quieter time when the majority of the school body would be enjoying their evening meal.

However, it was harder for Mia as a Slytherin and a member of the Black family to get up and leave whereas a small group of Gryffindors or a couple of Hufflepuffs wouldn't attract any attention or anything.

"Euphemia, are you even listening to me?" Eileen suddenly asked Mia, taking her out of her thoughts with a jerk and the girl blinked a little as she realised she was now in fact seated at the Slytherin table, though when she had got there she would never know.

Eileen was staring at her expectantly and Euphemia's eyes widened before she nodded frantically and Eileen's eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"What was I saying, then?" she challenged and a jolt of panic shot through Mia for a second before she literally took a shot in the dark.

"Uh, Gobstones?"she guessed wildly, due to knowing her friend's obsession with the game and Eileen's face brightened, "Oh, you were actually listening. Good."

And she carried on babbling whilst Euphemia absentmindedly ate her stew, keeping her eyes trained on the Gryffindor table to see when Minnie and her lot stood up and also allowing her gaze to flicker to the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables too, checking for Florean and Pomona and looking if Filius was moving yet.

She didn't know when she'd become so jumpy but when Druella sat down next to her, she practically jumped out of her seat.

Mia just couldn't help but remember what Druella had said to her that morning and her older cousin couldn't help but remind Euphemia of her own mother.

Plus the relapse she had had in Herbology meant that that made her even more panicky.

"What's up with you, Euphemia?" Druella asked, raising an eyebrow and Euphemia flushed under her cousin's heated gaze.

Not even waiting for her to reply, Druella continued - "Walburga told me you've been hanging around with blood traitors and half bloods."

A cold chill ran through Euphemia's body, giving her the sensation that you got when you walked through a ghost and she shivered involuntarily.

She meant to say something polite and make up a lie that would save her from further scrutinising from her terrifying and ruthless cousin but she felt a rush of fury and let her fiery nature take over her attitude.

"So what? Have you got a problem with that, Druella?" And then she was overcome with shock and fear at the words that had just come out of her own mouth, clapping a hand over her lips as if she could somehow take her words back.

Druella looked shocked for a second before she looked absolutely furious and leant towards Euphemia, who was trembling.

"Yes, I do have a problem with it," the dark haired third year hissed, "And I will have a problem with you if you cheek me like that again. Do you understand?"

Mia nodded, short of breath and Druella simply smirked maliciously and stalked off to where her third year friends were sat, further up the table.

Euphemia had only been at the school for a day but she had already seen how much of an impact the Black Family and their various cousins (anyone who was related to the Black Family, really) had on Hogwarts.

Everyone treated them as if they were pureblood royalty and it was obvious that every single person in the school feared Druella Rosier.

She was a force to be reckoned with, if you didn't agree with her then you would probably end up spending the week in the hospital wing.

People parted to let her and her inner circle past, their backs would retreat to the walls and they would eye her in fear and trepidation as she stalked the halls for the thrill of the kill.

Every person in school was aware of her stare and when she tossed her hair, they all would go perfectly still.

All their eyes would say 'don't attack me' as she glared down every single person that got in her way.

And woe betide you if you were a half blood or a blood traitor or if you even tried to contradict her.

She would crush you into the ground as easily as a person might squash a bug, fast and quick under a stiletto heel.

Druella lived off fear, she could smell it and she would make you regret it if you ever crossed her.

Druella Rosier had power, people literally cowered at the sight of her and Euphemia did not want to be one of the unfortunate victims that Druella preyed on.

Then again, she still wanted to hang out with whoever she liked and she knew that no one could control her from doing so, she would do as she wished, no one could stop her.

And with that thought on her mind, Euphemia stood up, deciding that she would go now whilst she was still feeling confident.

But a softly spoken call for her stopped her in her tracks and she glanced down from where she was stood to see Eileen looking at her intently.

"What is it, Eileen? I've got somewhere to be," Euphemia said to her and Eileen shook her head, grabbing hold of Mia's hand and pulling her down so that she was made to sit down.

Euphemia frowned at Eileen with a questioning stare but her friend cut her off. "You're going with them again, aren't you?" and Euphemia looked at Eileen in shock.

"You're going with the half bloods and the blood traitors," she stated and Mia fell silent, looking around anxiously to see whether anyone was listening.

"Be quiet, please," she hissed at the dark haired girl and Eileen shrugged, "Well, it's true. You didn't deny it."  Eileen insisted, her expression blank and calm which only infuriated Euphemia.

She felt anger bubble up in her amongst the anxiety that was also filling her body, as she kept looking nervously around.

If anyone heard their hushed conversation then she was doomed for life. Why wasn't Eileen being more considerate about it, anyway?

She had always thought that Eileen wasn't prejudiced but maybe she was wrong.

"Why have you got a problem with it anyway? Mia asked her, still keeping her voice to a whisper. "I haven't," the girl answered stiffly and Euphemia let out a scoff of disbelief.

"Then why are you making such a fuss about it?" she demanded and something flickered on Eileen's face, her calm expression dropping and she looked almost upset and hurt, which only confused Mia even further.

Eileen muttered something underneath her breath that Euphemia couldn't quite hear and had to lean forward to try and catch what her friend said.

She looked at her questioningly, still confused as to why Eileen was acting so strangely. "You're my friend," she suddenly blurted out and Mia raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I am. But it doesn't mean that I can't have other friends."

"But you might like them better than me and then I'll have no one," Eileen finished, mumbling a little when she came to the end of her sentence, looking a little embarrassed at the childishness of her statement.

Euphemia felt her heart sink for Eileen, though she knew she was being nothing but possessive.

But she also knew that people could get like that, they could get possessive over people they became close to - especially if they had trust issues it would be natural to want to keep people all to themselves.

"I may be friends with them, yes, but I'm not about to abandon you, Eileen," Mia said gently and Eileen looked a little hopeful before her expression turned downcast yet again.

"But they're half bloods and blood traitors! Surely I'm a better friend because I'm a pureblood!" Eileen protested, her voice getting a little too loud and Euphemia gave her a warning look, which immediately quietened her, especially when she saw just how angry Mia had become now.

"Just because they are not pureblood or they don't hold the same prejudiced views as practically everyone in this damned house does not mean they are less worthy of my friendship! Friendship is not defined by who the people are, but what they put into that friendship. It does not matter what blood status my friends might be or what views they hold, if they prove to me that they can be trusted and that they are pure of heart, then that will make them purer than any pureblood," Euphemia ranted hotly, making Eileen cower slightly under her intense stare as she whispered furiously to the smaller girl.

And with that she stood up and stalked off, ignoring Eileen's little cries and wails for her to come back.

Minerva was already stood in the Entrance Hall rather sensibly, her hands folded in front of her as she rolled her eyes at the boys who were mucking around.

Charlus seemed to be playing a game of catch with Lyall's book, which he had been reading. Charlus was throwing it over Lyall's head to Alastor, who would then chuck it back to Florean and so on.

Filius stood there with a smirk on his face but didn't participate as the poor boy was too small and so he made small conversation with Pomona, who was cheerfully chatting, obviously happy to be in the company of friends.

Eugenia was also there, leaning on the staircase banister and twirling her hair around her finger as she watched the boys with an interested look.

Upon seeing Mia approaching nervously, Minerva perked up and ran over to the girl, embracing her quickly to make her feel more welcome.

"HI MIA!" Florean yelled happily, stopping in his game of throwing Lyall's book about so he could come and hug the girl as well, shoving Minnie out of the way which made both girls laugh as he insisted it was "his turn now."

Pomona waved from where she was stood and Filius, Alastor and Lyall all nodded their heads at her in greeting, smiles gracing their expressions.

Eugenia also said hello to her, with a beaming smile which immediately made Euphemia like her a little more, though she had no idea why she hadn't really liked Eugenia before. She seemed nice enough.

Only Charlus didn't acknowledge her, scowling with his arms crossed, looking away but didn't say anything as Minerva had warned him beforehand to be civil, not that Mia knew that of course.

"We ready to go, then?" Lyall asked, noticing the tension between to two and everyone else nodded, agreeing in slight relief.

"Sorry I took so long, it was hard to get off the table without people asking where I was going," Euphemia explained to Minerva and Minnie nodded understandingly, hooking her arm through Mia's.

The boys had rushed ahead, Charlus, Florean and Alastor all shouting about something as they practically ran down the corridor.

Filius trailed behind a little with Lyall at his side, to make sure that the little guy could keep up.

Eugenia and Pomona decided to come and walk with Minnie and Euphemia so they had a little group of girls at the back, all linking arms which made Mia's heart swell with happiness. This was what friendship was.

"Hurry up, girlies!" Alastor yelled back to them, chuckling a little and Eugenia shouted back, "We're coming, wait for us!" in her sweet little voice.

The group were about halfway across the corridor that led to the first floor and were just about to approach the marble staircase, the boys leaping up them easily as the girls bounded up them a little more daintily so that they didn't slip and fall.

"What exactly are we even exploring?" Filius mumbled to himself, though the majority of the group heard him and Lyall shrugged as Florean let out a whoop of laughter, "Everything, Fil. EVERYTHING!" he yelled, spreading his arms wide above him and spinning around in a circle.

Minerva sighed in exasperation and shook her head at him, whacking him on the arm, "Shut up, you git."

"Oho, look at this!" Charlus suddenly yelled from the other end of the corridor where he and Alastor were leaning against a tapestry, the latter looking behind it interestedly where there seemed to be some sort of passage.

The girls at the back sped up, Eugenia offering a hand to Filius to help him move along faster as Lyall trailed at the back, looking a little unenthusiastic about it all.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? Isn't it breaking the rules?" he asked doubtfully and Florean scoffed at him, raising an eyebrow, "Scared, Lupin?" Lyall opened his mouth to protest, red faced, as Pomona and Minerva giggled.

"No one said you had to come," Charlus interjected with a smirk, leaning on the wall as he held up the curtain that guarded the tapestry entrance.

He offered his hand to Eugenia to help her up and she accepted it with a shy blush before he followed her through, leaving the tapestry to close and Alastor sighed, jumping up himself and brushing the curtain aside again.

Florean climbed up, shouting after Charlus, "Oi, Charlus! How come I don't get a hand up? Rude!"

Lyall sniggered as he and Alastor helped Filius up before Al then turned to Minnie, Mia and Pomona and gestured for them to walk through as well before him, which earned him a gracious nod from Minerva.

There was a passageway behind the red velvety curtain and it was dimly lit, with only one lantern engraved into the cold, stone wall amongst the several portraits that were also littered there.

Euphemia could hear the rest of the group murmuring in confusion and irritation as they all attempted to see.

Eventually a mutter of "Lumos!" could be heard and Filius' wand lit up so that there was more light.

"How did you know how to do that?" Eugenia's voice came from the front of the group and Filius simply replied with a slightly abashed, "I read ahead in my Charms textbook."

There was a chorus of laughter and Florean patted the small boy on the back, "Good thinking, Fil. Now, lead the way!" And so Filius was pushed to the front so he could light up the path.

"What even is this place?" Pomona wondered out-loud and Minerva shrugged in reply, her arm still linked through Euphemia's as they both looked around curiously.

"I believe it is some sort of passage," Lyall answered her before there was suddenly a shout from further down the tunnel.

"Oi! There's a room here!" came Alastor's yell and there was a sudden flurry as the children all hurried towards where the light was at the front, their footsteps making an awful lot of racket as they all pounded on the floor.

There was a collective gasp as they all got to the end of the tunnel and saw what was was there - a slightly dusty but rather cosy common room style of place.

There were a couple of armchairs dotted about and a few bean bags on the floor, which was a rather dusty carpet and a big, blank noticeboard was pinned on the wall, bare of anything.

Another lamp was placed on a small table at the side of a massive sofa. that was quite saggy and obviously very old but when Florean plonked himself onto it, he reported that it was rather comfy.

Cushions were scattered all over the room and an abandoned packet of chocolate digestive biscuits were placed on yet another low table, that was missing a few legs, making it stand rather lopsided.

Euphemia looked around with wide eyes, it wasn't much but it was still pretty cool that there was a little room all the way down this crammed tunnel and concealed passageway.

"I wonder whether anyone's discovered this before," Eugenia breathed in awe, glancing about with an interested expression.

Charlus and Alastor had gone to see whether there was anything else and were scouring the rest of the room for stuff as Filius heaved himself up onto an armchair, observing the place with a serene look.

Pomona was rocking back and forth on her heels excitedly as she clapped her hands.

"What do you think?" Minerva asked Mia with a grin as the two had stayed put at the end of the tunnel, just looking at the place and laughing as Florean and Lyall wrestled for the biscuits in the abandoned packet.

"It's great," Euphemia smiled, a sense of peace coming over her - this could be their place, a sort of hideout where they could hang out and also come to when they needed some alone time. But what if someone else found it?

"Hey guys," Euphemia said suddenly, perking up and actually talking to the group as a whole by herself for once, flushing a little when everyone's gaze turned to her, except for Charlus' who was purposefully still looking for stuff, quite rudely ignoring her but Mia decided to not let it bother her.

"We need to conceal this place, so that no one else ever finds it. It can be just our place," she told them eagerly and everyone's faces lit up, nodding in agreement with her.

Choruses and shouts of "Let's do it!" and "Good idea!" filled the room until Charlus cleared his throat.

"What you forget to realise-" he started off, rather icily as he stared Euphemia down, making her gulp. "- is that we are all first years and therefore don't have a clue about 'concealment charms' so the idea isn't very plausible," Charlus made quotation marks with his fingers, a pretty cold expression on his face as he looked at Mia.

She just got the feeling that he didn't trust her which kind of upset her...

"That's true," Lyall piped up, over the chatter that had arose due to everyone discussing the problem, "But I read something about concealment charms in my textbook when I was doing a bit of bedtime reading last night. And I'm sure Charms genius over here will be able to figure it out," he ruffled Filius' brown hair, who just grinned up at him modestly.

"I can try," Fillius shrugged, standing up and there was a couple of cheers as Lyall began to tell Filius the wand work required and what the spell was.

All other exploring was forgotten as the gang just soaked up the bliss of each other's company and got comfy in this room that they had miraculously discovered.

Pomona pitched the idea that they should pin a list of all their names on the empty noticeboard and Minerva got out a quill to start writing.

Lyall and Filius were too busy working on the concealment charm that was way beyond their level as first day first years but they were willing to try at least.

So, in the end, the group ended up all sitting around, chatting and playing juvenile games such as Truth or Dare and told stories from their childhood (though Euphemia carefully avoided this question which made Charlus' eyes narrow suspiciously).

The room was still pretty dusty but they had attempted to clean it off with a small handkerchief, which didn't really work.

Minerva vowed she would clean the room properly once she learnt how to perform those sorts of spells.

The chocolate digestive biscuits had been long polished off though Eugenia had turned her nose up at them, claiming she would not eat the cookies.

The only thing that had really changed about the room they had discovered was that a piece of parchment had now been pinned to the once blank noticeboard. It read:

On the 2nd of September, 1947, on the first day of our first year, this room was discovered by the kids mentioned below.

These people are hereby the original owners and founders of this hideout and shall remain thus even after years have passed, because of their golden friendship.

We all believe in equal rights and that you can be friends with anyone, no matter what house or blood status.

Friendship is what you make it. Dear whoever finds this room after us, we wish you many years of freedom, friendship and love. Sincerely,

𝑀𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓇𝓋𝒶 𝑀𝒸𝒢𝑜𝓃𝓃𝒶𝑔𝒶𝓁
ғʟᴏʀᴇᴀɴ ғᴏʀᴛᴇsᴄᴜᴇ
Euphemia Black
Charlus Potter
poмona ѕproυт
𝓐 𝓵𝓪𝓼𝓽 𝓸𝓻 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓭𝔂
єυgєиια ʝєикιиѕ
𝔉𝔦𝔩𝔦𝔲𝔰 𝔣𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔴𝔦𝔠𝔨
𝕃𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕃𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕟

FRIENDSHIP IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT AND WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT WONDERFUL!

"Minnie, why the hell did you write that quote at the end? It's so cheesy."

"Shut up, Al."