"It's always a bloody drama with you, isn't it?" Florean chuckled as Euphemia finally made her way inside of the compartment of the train, making sure that Charlus was still holding onto her hand quite tightly as if she was scared that she would crumble if he wasn't holding her. Mia laughed slightly, figuring that it would be better to find amusement in the situation than dwell on the more depressing side of things.

"I'm not going to be able to live that down now, though. The entire school just saw me getting disowned," Euphemia said with a sigh as she sat down at the window, shoving her bag underneath the seat as the rest of her friends clamoured into the compartment with a great deal of chatter and laughter, plus plenty of playful shoving and teasing that made Mia smile to herself.

"So what? Now they all know that you're not like those idiots that you're related to," Alastor pointed out and Euphemia knew that that would be an advantage - she had had to deal with the cautious stares and slightly nervous behaviour from the majority of her classmates for the past five years because they had just assumed she was like the rest of the Blacks, unapproachable and cold hearted. At least that would be over now.

"That was really brave of you, though, Mia," Eugenia suddenly said as she sat herself down next to Lyall, shooting him a slightly shy smile before returning her gaze to Euphemia, who blushed because the conversation was about her and all of the attention was on her so she naturally felt quite flustered. She sent a grateful smile in Eugenia's direction, feeling happy that she had finally done what she wanted to do, that she had finally stood up to her family.

"Thank you," Mia told her as Charlus took a seat next to her, leading her to kick her feet up so that they were resting in his lap as she leant against the window, "Oh, am I a footstool now, then?" Charlus asked with raised eyebrows. The rest of their friends had already squeezed into the compartment, chattering and laughing about different things whilst Euphemia and Charlus had this little interaction.

"You're not a very good footstool, they tend to be quiet and you're speaking," Mia complained playfully, glaring slightly at her boyfriend as she settled herself more against the window so that half of her body was aligned in Charlus' lap, "Well, I am actually a human so-" he was cut off by Euphemia holding up her hand to silence him.

"I'll kick you in the balls if you don't shut up, just let me be affectionate, goddamnit," Mia threatened him with an innocent smile plastered across her face which made Charlus' stomach flip. He mimed zipping his lips shut whilst Minerva observed them with a smirk, "He'd probably like it if you kicked him there, actually, Mia," she teased and Charlus' eyes widened as Euphemia turned brick red.

Everyone in the compartment burst out laughing at their reactions, continuing to chuckle even more when Charlus didn't even deem them worthy of a response, staying silenced like Mia had ordered. "Look at him, he won't even say anything now cause his girlfriend told him not to," Filius chuckled and Lyall whistled before muttering, "Whipped, much?" underneath his breath.

"Stop bullying me," Charlus groaned, throwing his head back so that it rested on the back of the seat and Euphemia sighed in fake disappointment, "I want a refund for this footstool," she declared, about to move her legs off Charlus' lap but the boy grabbed ahold of her feet and tugged her quickly so that she ended up actually sitting in his lap, an alarmed expression flashing over Mia's face at the movement.

There were various suggestive mutters and laughter-filled comments at Charlus' action of pulling Euphemia into his lap, one of them being Pomona's as she said, "Well, that took an unexpected turn," with a chuckle which caused Eugenia to almost die of laughter. Mia didn't really understand why they were all finding it so funny but she was glad that everyone had an excuse to laugh again, it was nice when they weren't all worrying or stressing over anything.

"Are we going to have to put up with this PDA for the rest of the year?" Florean asked with a dramatic sigh, rolling his eyes playfully at Euphemia in Charlus' lap as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his body. "Yeah, probably. They're just a pair of love-sick puppies, it's disgustingly cute," Filius commented, talking about Mia and Charlus like they weren't there.

"Oh, Merlin help us all," Eugenia laughed and Charlus glared at their friends, resting his chin on Euphemia's shoulder as she settled more comfortably on his lap so that he was practically cuddling her from behind, "We're right here, you know," he reminded them pointedly and Lyall snorted in amusement.

"Do.....do you any of you guys hear something?" Alastor asked, acting like he hadn't heard what Charlus had just said and he cupped his ear like he was trying to eavesdrop on something, his tone heavily sarcastic, "It's like a weird squeaking noise," he frowned and Minnie chuckled at his antics, "No, I don't hear anything, actually," she answered, joining in with the joke.

"You're all dickheads," Charlus grumbled at them and Florean immediately whipped around from where he had been stood at the compartment door to get some air from the crammed compartment and he gasped loudly, pointing his finger at Charlus in a scolding fashion. "Fleamont Charlus Potter! Watch your profanity, you naughty child."

Everyone snickered and Charlus stuck his middle finger up at Florean before leaning forward to brush his mouth against Euphemia's ear, causing her to shiver at his proximity, "How about we get out of here for a little bit?" he suggested in a whisper and Mia nodded, standing up to move off his lap.

There was a series of 'oohs' throughout the compartment when Euphemia started to edge towards the door, Charlus close behind her and Pomona laughed at them, "Leaving already, guys? We were only teasing, you sensitive babies," she kicked at Charlus playfully and he nearly tripped over, leading Alastor to burst into laughter at his friend's expense.

"Well, I can't even hug my girlfriend without you all being annoying so we're gonna go and have some quiet time by ourselves," Charlus told them, acting annoyed but everyone knew he was only joking....he wasn't the type of person to actually be annoyed about that kind of thing and his friends knew that he wasn't being serious.

"Quiet time.....that sounds interesting," Lyall quipped quietly and only Eugenia appeared to hear him because she was the only one who cracked a grin, causing Lyall to smile a little more at the fact that she appreciated his comment when no one else really paid attention.

"Have fun," Minerva winked at the blushing Mia as Charlus practically dragged her out of the compartment by the hand and everyone chuckled for a little while once they had gone before the atmosphere settled and the comfortable silence, that had soon enveloped the compartment, was broken by Filius' voice piping up, "Do you guys remember the times when we thought they'd never get together?"

The entire group appeared to groan in unison at the reminder of the times when Charlus and Euphemia had been going back and forth with their relationship, constantly arguing or having some sort of drama because they couldn't accept their feelings for one another. Alastor shuddered, "Those were dark times, don't mention them again, Fil," he said with a dramatically haunted tone.

"I swear that I was going to bang their heads together to knock some common sense into their brains if they hadn't have sorted it out between them," Florean sighed with a slight chuckle and Pomona grinned at his comment, "Yes, there was so much sexual tension between the two of them - it was suffocating," she agreed and Lyall laughed loudly.

"Now we just have to put up with all of the kissing and cuddling in front of us," Eugenia grimaced slightly, looking slightly upset before the expression flashed off her face quickly, especially when Minnie leant forward with a teasing smile, "Hey, Eugenia, do you remember when you were infatuated with Charlus as well?" she reminded the blonde girl and everyone was sent into an uproar of laughter as Eugenia turned brick red, Lyall scowling beside her.

"There's no need to mention that," Eugenia sulked, crossing her arms as her cheeks were still flaming, her lips pursed in an unimpressed manner. "I think there's every need to mention that time," Filius disagreed with a teasing grin and the compartment exploded into laughter again at Eugenia's expense as the countryside flew by on the other side of the window, blurring into a green nothingness due to the speed of the Hogwarts Express.

Meanwhile, Charlus had dragged Mia into a compartment down near the end of the train, quite far away from where their friends were because there hadn't been that many free compartments. Whilst they had been looking, Euphemia had actually noticed that many people were staring at her and she knew that the incident on the platform would probably follow her around for a while.

Mia wasn't stupid, she knew that teenagers thrived off gossip and so she wouldn't be surprised if she was the source of conversation amongst many students on the train at that moment because they would be bound to discuss what had just happened. Everyone had watched the fight between Arcturus and Henry and everyone had seen Euphemia being disowned but she found that she couldn't care less anymore.

It was quite a cultural reset, it was definitely a stark contrast from her previous attitude towards it because, if an incident like that had happened two years ago, Mia would've been mortified and her anxiety would've made it unbearable for her to be the main topic amongst students but, now, Euphemia found that she wasn't that bothered about what people thought of her anymore. She definitely had Charlus to thank for that.

"What are you thinking about?" her boyfriend's soft voice interrupted Mia's thoughts and the girl in question blinked herself out of her daze to turn and smile at Charlus, who was sitting next to her in the empty compartment that he had eventually found for the two of them to just have some time to themselves.

"Just everything that's happened. And how I don't care about what people will be saying about me now," Euphemia answered honestly, tilting her head so that she was resting on Charlus' shoulder, leaning into his grip as his arm snaked around her waist to tug her into his hold more, the side-hug sending a wave of comfort over Mia's body.

"Good," Charlus dropped a kiss down on the top of her head, "You shouldn't be bothered about what people think of you, that never should've been a problem in the first place. You're incredibly brave, not to mention gorgeous, and I love you," he murmured into her hair and Euphemia smiled, a bubble of happiness surging in her chest at the compliment.

"Why did you bring me here? I'm all for some alone time but we've had plenty of that over the summer holidays," Mia pointed out with a slight laugh and Charlus nuzzled his head into her hair even more so that his mouth was hovering near her ear, "Just wanted you all to myself for a bit," he whispered sweetly before adding, "I doubt that our friends will leave us alone for the rest of the year so I thought I'd seize this opportunity."

"So I'm an opportunity now, hm? Not a human being, just an opportunity?" Euphemia arched a singular brow in a challenging manner as a teasing lint laced her tone which Charlus luckily picked up on, something that she would forever be grateful for. After all, what was the point of being in a relationship if there wasn't a certain playful aspect to it? It would just be boring otherwise.

"You're my beautiful opportunity," Charlus murmured into her ear and Mia's stomach fluttered at the sweet comment but she found it easier to just carry on teasing him because compliments would never cease to make her uncomfortable, even when they were from her boyfriend. "So I just belong to you, then? Can I not be my own opportunity?" she asked playfully, spinning around in his hold to face him properly.

Charlus pressed his lips together, looking like he was trying to suppress his laughter at her ridiculous comments as his eyes twinkled with fondness and affection for the girl on his lap, "What are you talking about? You do talk some shit sometimes," he commented with the ghost of a laugh in his voice which made Euphemia smile, "Language, Mr Potter," she scolded him, dropping a kiss down on his nose before moving out of his arms and shuffling towards the window, to look out at the countryside.

Charlus watched Mia for a few moments, noting how her nose scrunched up in immense concentration whilst her eyes scanned over the flowers decorating the luscious green fields that were speeding past in a blur, the sunlight bearing down on the grass and reflecting off the glass of the compartment window so that Charlus was forced to shield his eyes from the almost blinding sun beams.

"You're cute," Charlus murmured from where he was still sat on the seat, watching Euphemia as she knelt up and sighed peacefully at the sight of the countryside before she turned slightly to give him an appraising stare, "I get that a lot," she answered cheekily, moving back to sit opposite from her boyfriend, who's brow had now furrowed into a slight frown.

"From who? Who's been calling you cute?" Charlus questioned her, a slight hint of jealousy sneaking into his tone which only made Mia's lips curve up into an even more amused smile, "Many people," she said airily with a dismissive wave of her hand that she knew would irk him because he wanted to be the only one who got to call her cute. His attitude towards her could be seen as possessive from others but Euphemia actually found it vaguely endearing.

When Charlus didn't respond and instead looked like a grumpy child that hadn't gotten their own way, Mia giggled slightly and leaned forward to press a gentle kiss against her boyfriend's lips, "Don't be jealous, love," she teased him and Charlus kissed her back softly before pulling away at her comment, evidently affronted, "I'm not jealous," he mumbled.

Euphemia bit her lip to try and prevent her laughter from spilling forth, "Whatever you say," she replied idly with a casual shrug and Charlus glared at her playfully, tugging her onto his lap again which evoked a squeak of surprise from Mia herself. "You're mine now," he growled before adding, "Though you're also your own person, too, darling."

Due to everything that had happened with Orion, that sentiment meant more to Euphemia than Charlus could possibly know (though he probably had a very good inkling hence why he had said it in the first place - the annoyingly charming bugger knew exactly what he was doing). "Why thank you, I had no idea that I was my own person. I thank you for the reminder," she responded sarcastically and Charlus chuckled underneath his breath.

"Stop being sarcastic, I'm trying to be sweet," Charlus scolded her, pulling her even closer if that was humanely possible, causing the breath to practically leave Mia's body at the close proximity. "You just don't like me being sarcastic because it's a language that you're unfortunately not fluent in. It's a skill that only few can master," Euphemia said loftily, flicking her hair back and Charlus shook his head in mild exasperation.

"Just shut up," he told her with a grin and, before Mia could reply with another fiery comment, Charlus crashed his lips against hers and silenced any words that she was going to shoot towards him. Euphemia practically melted into his hold, kissing back eagerly and threading her hands through his already messy hair as Charlus' hands crept down until they were resting quite comfortably on her waist.

Mia was fairly sure that she could've stayed there forever, in her boyfriend's arms as he kissed her senseless until her head was practically spinning from how intense the entire situation was, in a good way. If this was what a happy ending felt like, Euphemia definitely wanted to be the princess in this particular fairytale.

~~~

"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts," Headmaster Armando Dippet started the welcoming speech in his usual droning tone that made Charlus feel like he was going to fall fast asleep right there and then, if it wasn't for the growling hunger in his stomach. The worst bit about this feast for Charlus was the fact that they all had to sit through the sorting and the Headmaster's incredibly boring speech before they were even allowed to eat anything. It was an awful layout.

"I hope that you have all had a great summer and that you are all prepared to put your minds to work once more now that you are all back at school. I am looking forward to seeing how much you will all progress during this new year which brings new opportunities to succeed, new chances to redeem previous records and new challenges to help you all grow into better individuals," Headmaster Dippet's words contrasted marvellously with his drab tone which couldn't have sounded more unenthusiastic if he tried.

"When will he understand that no one actually cares about his bloody speeches?" Lyall grumbled underneath his breath at the Gryffindor table and Charlus chuckled slightly as Eugenia giggled a little louder, like she was trying to get Lyall's attention, and Charlus felt a slight stab of sympathy for Lyall because he knew firsthand how Eugenia acted around people when she had a crush on them.

"I don't think he'll ever realise, to be honest," Alastor whispered, keeping his voice low even though he wasn't the only one talking - quite a few of the students had also gotten bored already and were having muttered conversations amongst themselves. Minnie smirked slightly, "I bet Professor Dumbledore would do a better speech," she commented brightly, ducking her head into the discussion as well.

Charlus was about to add to that response but he decided to wait until Headmaster Dippet finished whatever elaborated sentence he was spewing out about expectations and responsibilities before he spoke, "Normally I would say that you're a teachers pet for such a comment but I do have to agree with you on that one," he sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he thought that he might just die from boredom.

"Professor Dumbledore would be quite entertaining, I think," Eugenia murmured, twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger absentmindedly as she looked down longingly at the empty golden plates that were practically mocking the hungry students by being there but not serving their purpose.

".....and on a further note, I would just like to add that I, along with the rest of the staff, are immensely proud of all of the fabulous O.W.L.S. results from our fifth year students last term. I am sure that you will all go on to succeed even more in your upcoming N.E.W.T.S. and I cannot wait to see all of you working hard once more," Headmaster Dippet was still talking when Charlus tuned back in slightly and he concealed a yawn behind his hand whilst Alastor openly groaned, throwing his head down onto the table in despair.

As Headmaster Dippet continued to drone on, evidently unaware that the majority of the students were either staring off into space or holding quiet conversations with their friends whilst they waited for the speech to come to an end, Charlus decided to try and look for Mia, who was sat at the Slytherin table, quite far away from him.

He eventually sought out his girlfriend and was relieved to see that Euphemia was seated in between Charis and Eileen, looking perfectly content with where she was placed at the table though she also appeared rather bored by Headmaster Dippet's long speech that had surely gone on for longer than fifteen minutes now. Charlus didn't think he would be able to sit through any more before he literally fell asleep.

Mia glanced up then, her blue-grey eyes immediately latching onto Charlus' warm hazel ones and she smiled, the sight sending a surge of happiness through Charlus' body. "I'm so bored," he mouthed across the Great Hall to her and Euphemia shrugged lightly, "Maybe you should get up there and do the speech instead," she mouthed back to him, gesturing for him to move towards the podium and Charlus snickered, muffling the sound behind his hands.

"Are you two seriously flirting across the hall?" Minerva was suddenly hissing in his ear, her eyebrows raised in an incredulous fashion. "We are merely conversing. I miss her," Charlus corrected her in a whisper and Minnie rolled her eyes, "Whatever. You've literally been apart from her for fifteen minutes, get a grip, man," she told him but she was grinning, obviously very happy for her friends.

When Charlus glanced back at Mia, she was observing the interaction with a slight smile curving her lips, evidently being able to guess what they were talking about with that sixth sense that females just seemed to have. And Charlus just knew, in that moment, that sixth year was going to be an adventure and he couldn't wait to embark on it with Euphemia because she just made everything better. It was definitely going to be a good experience, that was for sure.

Well, Charlus was definitely correct in thinking that sixth year was going to be an experience but, little did he know, it was just the matter of it being a good experience that was in probable jeopardy.

But who really knew what would happen for certain? Things happen for a reason, after all.

Spoiler alert....I know. I know what's going to happen for certain but you'll all have to wait heheheh :)

Terribly sorry for the delay in updates for this book. These times are hard for everyone and I haven't exactly had the best time so I hope that you all understand why I haven't updated in nearly a month (gosh, I'm a terrible person).

I hope that you are all staying safe and keeping healthy during this pandemic and please make sure to hug your loved ones a little tighter, appreciate every moment and just have patience. We can do this ❤️

(I feel like a motivational speaker now. Maybe I should consider changing my career path lmao.....)