When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 66

Forget Tomorrow

Being at Potter Manor without his mother or father was a strange and unpleasant experience. It served only to remind him of his father's loss, and the absence of his mother only made him feel more alone.

Things really had changed in many regards over the past months, and not in ways he was fond of.

He was pleased that his mother was safe, away from Europe and the war, but he missed her dearly, and he missed his father.

Potter Manor was a large house, and it felt so empty.

Even stranger was playing host to one Arcturus Black. The two men were so different, yet so similar at the same time.

From sharing a relationship of mutual respect at school mostly due to family status, to having a vulnerable, prominent lord under his care was not something Charlus had expected.

For the first day since they arrived from Belgium, Arcturus had slept whilst he recovered from the worst of his injuries. However, the past few days since, Charlus had spent most of the time with the other man, whiling away the hours as they discussed what life had thrown at them since graduating Hogwarts.

The Lord Black had not had it easy by any stretch, and Charlus's respect for the man only grew the more he learned about him.

He would even go as far to say that he quite liked the man and admired him for what he'd endured and the resilience he'd shown all in the name of keeping his family affairs in order, and ensuring the reputation was not tarnished by the actions of the rest of his family.

With Arcturus here, Dorea arrived daily to check on him, to even chide him sometimes.

It proved to be quite the source of amusement for Charlus who never would have imagined the shy, quiet girl to have blossomed into the confident woman she was.

It was understandable really.

She too had endured the very same her brother had, and once more, Charlus found his admiration growing for another, as it already had been before what had befallen his father.

He released a deep breath as he nodded, shrunk the book he'd been poring over and placed it within his robes.

He'd been thinking about Dorea a lot since he'd brought Arcturus here.

Being away and fighting hadn't left him much time to think, and when he was granted a moment or two of peace, it had been his mother he had focused on.

Now, however, there was another, and the more time she spent here, the harder it was to get her off his mind.

He very vividly remembered the conversation he'd shared with his father about marriage, and the blessing he had bestowed upon Charlus to pursue her if he chose to.

If by some miracle he was ever to marry her, it would come as quite the shock to the other pureblood families, but thoughts of marriage were far from his mind for the time being.

He had a war to return to, and with the future so uncertain, he dared not envision what may one day be.

The odds of him surviving the conflict, returning home, and even being given the opportunity to court the woman were stacked against him.