Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 26 | I Promise

Warning: There will be fluff in this chapter. Viewer discretion advised :)

The first thing that came to Euphemia's mind of a 'good memory' was the day that she met Clover and Justin for the first time because that had certainly been a good few hours of playing with them in the rain. It had been when Mia had realised just how wrong her family were about muggles and that they weren't all bad, they weren't bad at all. She had made great friends in Justin and Clover on that day and the memory was only slightly overshadowed by the fact that Cassiopeia tortured her afterwards for her crimes.

But how did she explain that to her friends? How did she explain that her best memory was one that she spent away from her childhood home, one that she spent with muggles (for she didn't know Clover was a witch at that point) no less and not her own family? Euphemia couldn't see why her friends wouldn't find it even the tiniest bit suspicious that she enjoyed playing with muggles because it made her feel free from her family. Because that was the reason why that day was such a good memory - because Mia had opened her nine year old eyes to the world then and it had shaped the rest of her life from then on.

Her friends knew that her family hated muggles and anyone associated with them, of course they did - it was what the Blacks were famous for and what they did best: showing their hate for muggles throughout the school by bestowing abuse upon everything and everyone involved with them. But what Euphemia's friends didn't know (with the exception of Pomona having her suspicions, of course) was that her family punished her with means of torture for getting involved with anyone who had even breathed the same air as the 'filthy muggles.' If her friends knew that, they might no longer want to be friends so that Mia stayed safe and that could not happen at any costs.

So what would she say? Her friends were all staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to come out with her happiest memory from her childhood so that they could react to it. Only Pomona was shooting her sympathetic looks, everyone else was looking at her as if waiting for an immediate response. The thing was, she couldn't just say anything, she had to watch what she said because she could let something slip which would make them suspect that things weren't quite right at home. Euphemia had to be careful just in case they found something odd about what she came out with and any of it could lead to them potentially not being friends with her any longer.

It really shouldn't have taken her so long to conjure up her favourite memory from her childhood and the same thought seemed to be playing on Minerva's face as she frowned now, wondering why it was taking Mia so long to answer the question. "Come on...spit it out already, girl!" Alastor said to her impatiently and she jumped, opening her mouth to say any old rubbish but the words stoppered in her throat, preventing her from speaking. "I'm sure she can't think of one - there must be too many, right Mia?" Pomona stood up for her, giving her a look which clearly said 'just agree!' so Euphemia nodded as she quickly tried to think of something....anything....even if she had to make it up.

Of course! That was the easiest thing to do and Mia almost facepalmed at her own stupidity because that was what she could've been doing all along instead of making herself seem like a speechless fool as she sat there, pondering on her options with a gormless expression on her face. But, just as she was thinking of what she could make up in order for it to sound plausible, Euphemia remembered a memory of her and Marius playing when she was about seven or eight. The memory hadn't ended the best way, they had both been tortured for what they did but it was a fond moment that Mia could look back on with a smile...as long as she tweaked it a little so that her friends didn't get an inkling of what happened next.

"I've got one!" she cried triumphantly and there was a series of relieved murmurs and sarcastic comments of 'It's about time!' and 'Thank god.'
"So...what is it?" Eugenia prompted her, looking eager and everyone seemed to lean towards her in interest and Euphemia took a deep breath before relaying the memory to them, closing her eyes to relive it again, the events playing over in her mind again as clear as day...