Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 38 | Spanner In The Works

The group had all settled into the compartment pretty quickly and it was soon filled with laughter and chatter as the friends greeted each other after the summer apart. The last time they had all seen each other had been at St Mungo's when Mia had been injured and, seeing as that had not been the best time to catch up, they chatted about their summers now.

As Mia entered, she overheard a particularly funny story Filius was telling and she listened in absentmindedly as she looked around for a spare seat. Feeling a tug on her sleeve, she looked down from where she was stood to see Charlus gesturing to the seat beside him and she flushed a little bit before plonking down next to him.

The seat that Euphemia found herself in meant that she was sat near the door, right next to Charlus who made sure to ask her whether she was okay in a very concerned tone that sent weird feelings through Mia's stomach, twirling around and twisting at her insides. Florean was seated by the window, he was leaning with his legs stretched out as he had his eyes closed, obviously trying to get a few hours of rest - the boy had been up all night, worrying and stressing about his mixed up feelings. Not that any of his friends knew that, of course, they just assumed he was tired from staying up all night voluntarily,

Pomona and Filius were playing a game of Exploding Snap just opposite him and the pack of cards exploded with a bang suddenly, sending sparks and the scent of gunpowder into the air, making Florean jump a mile from where he had been lounging quite peacefully and the rest of the compartment to descended into uncontrollable laughter at his expense whilst he grumbled and brushed bits of gunpowder out of his dark blonde hair.

Eugenia was sat on the floor of the compartment, her back leaning against one of the seats with her knees drawn to her chest whilst Minerva braided her hair, the two of them chatting quietly in the other corner of the compartment. Alastor and Lyall were sat opposite Charlus and Euphemia, the three lads talking about Quidditch and upcoming matches and fixtures around her as Mia attempted (and failed) to understand what they were on about.

The sense of peace that had been so absent to Mia recently had returned now and she was able to cross her legs on the seat, she was able to relax and enjoy the company of her friends, listen to their banter and jokes mingled in with the different types of laughter. A small smile settled on her face as she took in the crowded compartment, marvelling at how they had all managed to cram into the enclosed space. There was something much better about them all being pressed together though, she thought, because she felt it brought them a little closer together in more ways than one. Which, essentially, it did.

"What are you thinking about?" Lyall's soft voice suddenly appeared in her ear and Euphemia realised with a jolt that he had swapped places with Charlus so that the boy could talk over fixtures with Alastor for the next game without leaning across Lyall. A strange disappointment and sinking feeling settled in Mia's stomach and the smile slipped from her face for a second until she spotted Charlus' eyes flicking over to her momentarily and she felt the warmth return.

"Nothing much, really," Euphemia replied honestly, "Just about how happy I am right now," she added with a little smile, seeing Lyall beam back at her. "I'm glad you're happy. May I ask what's making you so happy?" Lyall asked with a gentle tone and Mia looked at him a little uncertainly, suddenly aware that he was sat a little closer than expected and she felt a unwelcome lurch in her stomach, uncertainty resting there.

"This," Euphemia gestured to the compartment that was filled with joy and funny stories. She couldn't help but let her eyes flicker to Charlus, noting how he was talking passionately about something to Alastor, using his hands to emphasise his point as the blonde listened to his enthusiastic best mate with a grin. Charlus looked up and met her eyes, smiling at her and she felt her cheeks warm before she turned back to Lyall, who was looking rather downcast and dejected now, having watched her slight interaction with Charlus in a melancholy fashion.