Toujours Pur | Euphemia Black

Chapter 90 | Home

Life in Godric's Hollow, at the Potter household, was as different as was humanely possible from life at the Black Manor in Islington. The Blacks had always had a very specific order to everything and expectations had weighed Mia down constantly, with bad memories being weaved into every crevice of the enormous house, in some way or another.

The atmosphere had been incredibly cold and unloving - there hadn't been an ounce of laughter or joy during the days when it was just Arcturus, Cassiopeia and Euphemia in the manor, the expansive halls and various rooms making it hard for the family to communicate. There had even been some days where Mia would stay in her bedroom, making no noise and pretending she didn't exist, and she wouldn't even see her parents on those occasions....that was what her life had been like.

Not only that, but whenever they had communicated it had usually led to some sort of argument about blood purity or Euphemia's betrayal, which more often than not ended up with Mia being tortured into tears in the torture room. Her life at Black Manor had been completely different to what her life was now, in the Potter cottage, and she couldn't have been happier.

The Potters' household burst with love, joy and general happiness - the home was relatively small and cosy but that made Euphemia just feel closer to the rest of the Potters, instead of making her feel like she had no privacy. Charlus had been worried that she wouldn't have enough space, compared to what she was used to with her numerous rooms and large hallways, but Mia enjoyed actually interacting with people other than just her house elf.

Every morning, there were loud noises around seven o'clock which was when Olivia got up in the morning and, soon after, the sounds of Henry's booming singing in the hallways would drift into Euphemia's eardrums, along with the cluttering of pots and pans as Everleigh made the breakfast for the entire family. Rochelle was constantly chattering about her books and Mia always felt involved in everyday life.

Breakfast was a time for family, not a silent affair where coldness seeped into the atmosphere as had been the case in Euphemia's house, and incredibly animated conversations were a-flow every single morning, even if various members of the family were tired or not in the mood. Henry would bustle off to work shortly after breakfast so the family always cherished that time with their father and husband.

Despite all of the major differences in everyday life between the Blacks and the Potters, the one thing that Mia really found strange was that everyone seemed to like her. There were no cold silences, no glares from over the top of newspapers and all of her questions were answered - she was always included in the conversations and she was made to feel so welcome in the Potter household that she felt like she had been there all of her life.

Olivia hung onto her every word, evidently respecting the girl who Charlus was dating, but she still supplied Euphemia with a daily flow of sarcastic comments and sassy actions that never failed to make Mia laugh heartily. Rochelle constantly came to her for book suggestions and the two girls bonded over shared interests, holding long talks about their favourite characters in certain novels and theories that surrounded the plots.

Everleigh made Euphemia feel like she was her third daughter - she treated her in a kind and affectionate motherly fashion that Mia was still not very accustomed to but she would also reprimand the girl, not treating her much differently from Olivia and Rochelle. She was constantly checking up on Euphemia and making sure that she was alright...Mia had an inkling that she had much more of a personal connection with the whole wedding debacle than she was letting on, to be honest.

As for Henry, even though he was at work during the majority of the weekdays, he was always cracking jokes and creating a light and easy atmosphere that set Euphemia at ease all the time, which was much different to the fear that her own father, Arcturus, had practically thrived off everyday. Henry was literally the complete opposite - he was so positive and cheerful and he constantly made the entire household laugh, which was a nice feeling for Mia.