Disclaimer: I do not own the original canon nor am I making any profit from writing this piece. All works are accredited to their original authors, performers, and producers while this piece is mine. No copyright infringement is intended. I acknowledge that all views and opinions expressed herein are merely my interpretations of the characters and situations found within the original canon and may not reflect the views and opinions of the original author(s), producer(s), and/or other people.
Warnings: This story may contain material that is not suitable for all audiences and may offend some readers. This particular piece includes references to past child abuse. Please utilize understanding of personal sensitivities before and while reading.
Author's Note(s): It should be obvious, but this is taking place during Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and no, I really don't know why Luna is crying, just that she is. On that note, I should probably also mention that Daphne doesn't really think of Tracey as a pet; she's just repeating what everyone around her thinks.
Song Recommendation: "This is Me" from The Greatest Showman
Challenge/Competition Block:
House: Hufflepuff
Category: Short (500 – 2000 words)
Prompt: Begging (word)
Fill Number: 01
Representation(s): Protector/Comforter; Tracey Davis/Daphne Greengrass/Luna Lovegood (Lunar Emeralds)
Bonus Challenge(s): Second Verse (Clio's Conclusion); Second Verse (Not a Lamp); Second Verse (Mouth of Babes); Second Verse (Ladylike – Coldness)
Word Count: 764 (Story Only); 793 (Story & Epigraph)
-= LP =-
Ways of Lying
-= LP =-
"I am not a stranger to the dark. Hide away, they say, 'cause we don't want your broken parts."
– This is Me, from The Greatest Showman
-= LP =-
It was Tracey's fault.
Until her dying day, Daphne would insist on that. Left to her own devices, Daphne would have just walked away from the Ravenclaw weeping quietly in the hidden window seat on the fifth floor. (That was a lie. She wasn't actually good at leaving sad things alone, even when it was the smarter thing to do.) She would have been perfectly happy with pretending she hadn't noticed. (Just like how she hadn't noticed how Tracey had feared going home and then stole her away from the place like a prized bauble. Daphne was good at lying.) Daphne Greengrass was the Ice Queen of Slytherin and she didn't care about anyone except herself (and Tracey Davis, her stolen half-blood pet). Just ask anyone and they would confirm that.
(That was how Daphne knew her lies were good and her masks solid. Only her family and Tracey saw through them, and that was enough. She didn't want anyone else. She didn't need more.)
Yet when Tracey had pointed out the pale form of Luna Lovegood, Daphne knew exactly what the other girl wanted her to do. She should have walked away then, regardless of how disappointed Tracey would have been with her indifference. Lovegood was one of Potter's friends, had accompanied him to that bit of stupidity at the Ministry last year. What business did two Slytherins have comforting the Golden Boy's friends? Besides, it wasn't like Daphne was even any good at the whole comforting thing. (Tracey never had any complaints, but then again, Tracey had chosen to permanently bond herself to Daphne when they were thirteen, so maybe she wasn't the best metric to use for good judgment.)
Tracey was just too manipulative to be denied. The brunette had this expression where her blue eyes grew, like, twelve sizes, and the (utterly enchanting) black ring on the outside of her irises seemed to sparkle like starlight. It was the perfect balance between resigned disappointment and hesitant hopefulness. Ice Queen or not, Daphne could never deny Tracey when she made that face, silently begging for concession but not really expecting it. Even trying to would be even worse than kicking a crup. It would be like setting it on fire and giggling like Umbridge trying to flirt with the Minister.
(Daphne did not shudder at that thought. She needed to tell Tracey about it later, just to see the pout she would make.)
The window seat was a tight fit with the three of them, but they managed. The wall was hard where Daphne was leaning against it, half reclined, and the weight of Luna against her front was unfamiliar. Yet Luna curled against her in the same way that Tracey did, when the nightmares wouldn't let her be, and that was familiar. Daphne found herself doing the same things that Tracey liked in those dark moments. Luna's hair didn't have the same silken smoothness, didn't glide under Daphne's chin the same way, but it had the same floral-fruity scent. Daphne wasn't certain if she liked having a whole person in between her and Tracey; it felt weird.
(It really didn't. It felt like finding something that she hadn't been aware she had been missing. Given how Tracey let out a little sigh as she rested her head against Luna's back, her bondmate was feeling something similar.)
Daphne knew that this was a bad idea. It was even worse an idea than stealing the unwanted half-blood heiress of a House with numerous Death Eaters among its members. With the Ministry no longer denying Potter's claim that the Dark Lord had returned, the smart thing would be anything that wouldn't draw attention to her House's firm stance on neutrality. Taking responsibility for another person, even another pureblood, would be unjustifiably stupid. That person being one of the students who had helped Potter expose the Dark Lord's return made the idea nothing short of begging for her entire family to be green-listed for defiance.
Daphne always did the smart thing. (No, she didn't.)
When they came for Luna (and they would, Daphne knew it like she knew the feel of Tracey's magic), there would be bloodshed. No one touched what was hers with her making them beg for forgiveness. Not that Luna was hers, not after just a couple hours of mutual comfort in an uncomfortable window seat. (Except for all the ways that she was because that was how Greengrasses fell in love: suddenly and for eternity.)
This was stupid.
This was going to get them all killed.
This was Tracey's fault.
-= LP =-
The End
-= LP =-