delicate violence

[delivered on Valentine’s Day along with an expensive bottle of wine and box of chocolates] 

My dearest Daph, 

I hope these help make today a little easier for you. For the necklace, I have one too. I was not going to get us best friend necklaces that were tacky. 

Happy Valentine’s Day to my best friend. 

⌻

“Octavia has a tendency to enjoy arriving fashionably late. I’ve grown used to being disappointed if I show up on time to a dinner with her. I truly do regret my arrival now that I know it was you I was supposed to be meeting.” Roderick offered his arm to Daphne, knowing there was no way he would leave this dinner now. He wouldn’t act spitefully towards her because of Octavia’s mistake. His attitude was reserved for one person at the moment. His sister. “I wouldn’t say it’s a regular occurance. She does enjoy having things done her way and seems to have gotten it in her head than I need to be happily married as she is. I have no intention of getting married or engaged anytime soon but I can’t say it’s a disappointment to be dining with you, Miss Greengrass.”

“Oh I definitely know a few people just like that.” Maybe if Daphne was in her usual mood she’d be more offended that Roderick had made her wait all this time for him but in her downright depressing mood right now she was just appreciative he showed up at all. With a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes she took Roderick’s arm, leading him over to the table she’d motioned to earlier. “It might be nice to be happily married. I know that’s usually considered a girl thing but having someone by your side can be comforting.” At least it had been when she’d had that someone. “I’m glad I’m at least enjoyable company, even if you aren’t interested in anything long term. Are you more of a solo traveler type?”

Bill’s lighthearted smile immediately dropped and he looked to the woman next to him with a confused expression “Do I- No! No of course I don’t!” he said, unable to hold back an awkward laugh at the misunderstanding “No my wife is pregnant, nearly halfway through the pregnancy” he said to explain. 

“No you don’t have to be nice, I can take the hint,” Daphne responded, ignoring what else he was saying. Tears sprung in her eyes and she started batting her hands towards her face trying to dry them off. This is what she got for being a fool. “Is it the dress? What does your wife wear to hide a bump?”

daphne greengrass & draco malfoy

If he told her that he didn’t like her and found her annoying, she would just assume he was being dramatic. Daphne had it in her mind that Draco and she were very good friends, and nothing would change that.

bonus moodboard!

daphne greengrass & astoria greengrass

“This is what sisters are for! Ria why haven’t we talked about this before?”

daphne greengrass & theodore nott

The door handle felt cool to her touch and she twisted it, hearing the lock come undone as she did so. “I hope you can find someone one day who can take all your pain away.”

daphne greengrass & pansy parkinson

“You were not a terror, you were perfect,” Daphne said repeating the same thing she had over the years.

send a ❂ to get a moodboard for our muses.

❐

“The Redeemers.” Theo repeated, unsure if he would be able to follow Daphne’s train of thought without doing so. “They came to Gringotts?” The aurors weren’t just being cautious then. There had been an incident. His grip on Daphne tighten, not minding when he started to become suffocated by her hair. She was okay. She wasn’t hurt. Daphne had made it all the way to his apartment unaffected except by emotion. She would tell him if she was hurt, wouldn’t she? “Did they hurt you?” He found himself asking, despite knowing another question was on his lips. Did she have her wand? He wasn’t going to ask her that even as his own thoughts spiraled downwards to the same line of thinking. 

“Pansy and Greg. Curly boy and Angel.” He had no idea who she meant but as soon as he assured that she was alright and somewhat calmer, he needed to check in on Greg. Theo intended to make a mental note of that need, not allow himself to get caught up in the hurricane of the woman who once ran his life. He should move them to his room, to sit down. Find some tissues for her or make some tea.

Instead. he froze in her arms, his hand stalling on her back. “Who’s pregnant?” He asked lowly, his voice going colder as he waited for her reply. Certainly not her. They hadn’t been together in months. Except for the Baby Shower. Where they were both wandless. Unable to manage a conception charm. “Daphne. What are you saying?”

“No they just locked us in a vault. I think Angelina said it was the Malfoy’s.” Daphne was starting to regain some of her speech back, aided by Theo’s repeating of her words. It was easier to grab onto full thoughts and organize them when he was only asking her about specific parts of what had happened. Her mind was still racing however, and she wasn’t sure if it was worse for it to still in case it landed on something she did not want to remember.

However it would still eventually and being able to hug Theo was definitely helping with that though the mention of pregnancy made her sob again. “Bill Weasley told me I was pregnant!” she cried out. It hadn’t been something she’d thought about when inside the vault, too paralyzed with fear to even think of anything other than playing dead. Now that she was out and face to face with Theo again she was remembering the conversation she’d had with the eldest Weasley child. 

“He said I was pregnant and I was going to tell you but then I went to Gringotts and the Redeemers. They took us and killed Ernie!” She burst into more tears after finally saying it out loud her words stuttering again through her sobs. “And beat– curly boy! Greg poked me! Hard! I was so scared.”

“I must apologise to you, I’m so sorry that I didn’t know you went missing.” Astoria winced, feeling extremely guilty by her lack of action when her sister did not come home. She had simply assumed that she went out to meet a friend, or perhaps spent the night at their parents house. The thought that something happened to Daphne had not crossed her mind. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about what happened, but if you do, I’m here for you.” 

@ofdcphne​

Daphne wrapped her arms around her legs, perched on top of a chair in their shared apartment. It seemed that her blind running to Theo’s apartment had been a good choice, or at least a calming choice since she was no longer crying anymore. She did feel a bit guilty about not immediately coming home to Astoria however, and even more guilty now that her sister was apologizing. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home first, I was just panicking.” Her voice was soft and she paused as pressure built up behind her eyes. “I could just really use a hug right now.”

❐

He stared, waiting for Daphne to come in. That must have been so desperately what she wanted if the sounds of her trying to break down his door were indication. He wasn’t prepared for her sobbing again. Theo didn’t know if he could stand to hash out everything that was wrong about the way that he had left without a word. For a moment, a cold panic flashed through him and he paled. She wasn’t crying over what he had told her, was she? Why else would she be hesitating in the door?

Theo stumbled back at the force of her impact, arms coming up to hold her after a moment or two of disbelief. With a wave of his hand, the door was closed and the wards were back up. Daphne’s troubles would not be so easily fixed. He had no idea what she was going on about or why she had come to him with it. Had Pansy upset her or had she momentarily forgotten where they stood? Pregnant Redeemers?

“Slow down.” He murmured, his face nearly completely obstructed by her curls. He couldn’t move them at the moment and he didn’t dare pull away from her, rubbing her back in confusion on what else to do. “Tell me again. What’s the matter?”

“The Redeemerds!” she gasped, her words stumbling again through her sobs. Theo’s hand on her back was working to calm her down a little. The one thing she’d wished to do in the vault was run into Pansy’s arms but she had forsaken that comfort for survival. Now the contact with another was a reminder that she was okay, she was safe. It was over.

The silence of the apartment was almost too much of a juxtaposition to the chaos and fear of the vault however and she couldn’t find herself completely relaxing. “They came to Gring– and put us in a vault. Pansy and Greg.” Maybe the only time she would use Goyle’s first name. “And curly boy and angel–” She couldn’t think any longer about who was in the vault because it would always lead to the one person who didn’t make it out. She switched again, still not explaining herself and just blurting out “Pregnant.”

Really out of everything that was the least of her worries but it would hopefully get her mind away from where it was going. 

An incident in Diagon Alley that closed the bookstore and now someone trying to break into his home? Theo knew the wards would hold. The idea of someone getting in was almost laughable now that Draco had strengthened them. That wasn’t what Theodore was scared of. It was the fact that nearly no one knew who lived here. At least, he hoped so.

It was the crying that stopped Theo from returning to his room. It sounded almost familiar in a way he couldn’t place. He walked closer to the door, putting his wand arm down and listening more intently to the sound. He wasn’t certain, lip already between his teeth as he undid the wards and opened the door, but his suspicions were confirmed when he opened the door and Daphne was the one in the hallway. 

He stared, leaning against the door as if Daphne would explain what in the world she was doing here. Theo couldn’t say he was disappointed. After the baby shower, he was certain that was the last time that she would allow them to be alone together. Slowly, he opened the door all the way and stepped back into the living room to allow her in.

It took Daphne about half a minute after the door opened to debate whether or not launching herself at the boy in front of her was a good idea. When he stepped out of the way to let her in, she knew it was what she wanted and instead of stepping past him into the living room she flung herself at him full on sobbing. 

While she hadn’t seen everything that happened in the vault, she’d heard it all choosing to stay quiet to not draw attention towards herself. Ernie. He was the person on everyone’s mind now and she couldn’t help the guilt that wracked her body for being such a coward. Not like there was much she could have done without a wand but he’d been her friend and now the Redeemers. No.

“It was awful,” Daphne cried. Sniffling so much she wasn’t sure if her words were coming out right. “They took Pan– and Goy– and Angeli–” Sniffle. “Bill– pregnant Redeemers!” Ernie.There came the crying again and she sobbed louder.