Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 27 | Trouble With A Capital T

Thank you all so much for 5k reads! I appreciate it so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter xo

As soon as Charlus and Euphemia returned to the tapestry room successfully, without being caught, the truth or dare game carried on in it's usual fashion in the order that Pomona had listed on her piece of spare parchment. Everyone seemed rather disappointed that nothing had actually happened between Charlus and Mia - not that the latter actually noticed the smirks and knowing looks the two got as they entered the tapestry room again after being gone for a good half an hour.

There was something else there, though, a sense of broken tension between Euphemia and Charlus and they actually were more at ease around each other and could be more of themselves because of the time they had spent together. They hadn't exactly spilled all their secrets to one another but, seeing as Mia had managed to trust Charlus enough to tell him dark stuff about her brother, he felt that there was more trust between them and like he had to uphold that secrecy and friendship that they had achieved.

Only Minerva noticed it though, she recognised that Charlus and Euphemia no longer had that awkward barrier between them anymore but no one knew how long it would last. The two were more on and off than a bloody light switch - or that was how Minerva put it (even though she had to take forever to explain exactly what a light switch was to all the purebloods present when she used this statement).

Everyone else was too fixated on seeing whether anything had actually happened between the two and Mia felt conscious that eyes were following her for a good five minutes before the game started up again. Apparently, whilst Charlus and Euphemia had been off gallivanting to the Astronomy Tower and back, Eugenia had had her turn and it had also been a dare but it obviously hadn't gone very well because Filius was performing some sort of healing charm on Eugenia's hand as she had cut herself whilst juggling the empty Butterbeer bottles. The cut looked rather nasty actually, to say it was only from a bottle and Pomona actually looked rather sick as Eugenia's bloody hand lay across her lap whilst Filius fixed it up carefully.

"It's my turn," Alastor announced, leaning back in the armchair that he had still claimed as his own, propping his feet up on Lyall who was curled up on the floor and simply gave him a dirty look.  "I'm tired now though," Charlus yawned, indicating that he couldn't be bothered playing anymore and Florean shot him an insulted glance before he chucked a Butterbeer bottle at him, which he successfully managed to catch before it hit him on the head. "The night is young, Charlus, darling!" Florean cried out, staggering atop of the table in the middle of the room and raising his bottle to the ceiling with a shaking hand before he chugged the contents. "You have the rest of your life to be a boring old sod, don't be a party pooper now," Alastor added and he and Florean both tugged Charlus up from where he had been lounging on the sofa next to Minnie and Mia.

"So...who's giving me a dare?" Alastor asked with a twinkle in his blue eyes as he struggled to keep the slightly drunk Florean upright whilst everyone else laughed at the three boys' antics in the middle. "There is definitely something in those Butterbeers - have you seen how smashed Florean is already?" Lyall muttered to Mia and she chuckled merrily, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear as she brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs to get a little more comfy. "That's why I haven't touched mine," Euphemia told him in a whisper, showing him that she hadn't even taken a sip of her drink.

Lyall smiled warmly at her answer and shuffled across the floor to hitch himself up onto the sofa beside her to which Charlus narrowed his eyes at but didn't say anything as he was still in the centre of the room and everyone's eyes were drawn to him immediately if he attracted any attention and he didn't want anyone to jump to conclusions. Charlus, unlike Mia, had actually seen the knowing looks but he didn't know how he felt about it. "Okay....I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room," Minnie challenged Alastor with a mischievous smile on her face whilst Alastor looked around with a mock thoughtful expression as if he was deciding who to kiss.