Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, George/Luna would be canon.
Sometimes, Astoria thought, the world hurt; and sometimes it shined so bright you had to close your eyes and squint to make sure that you didn't go blind. In this case, it wasn't the world but Daphne that was shining so bright that Astoria had to squint. This distinction was lost on Astoria. At eight years old, Daphne was the world to her six year old sister. Daphne was the one who told funny jokes and made daisy chains with her and ate all Astoria's broccoli, even though she didn't like it any better than Astoria did. Daphne was also the one who sang songs to help Astoria sleep when their parents were fighting, and who knew all the best hiding spots for when Father was 'in a mood,' as their mother called it.
Their father wasn't mad now, though. Not when Nott had come, took one look at Daphne, all pretty and shiny in her pretty and shiny pink dress, and agreed to a betrothal for Theodore. Astoria thought Daphne would be happy, too, until she went up to her sister's room and found her on her bed, tearing at the dress and crying.
"What's wrong? Why are you hurting your dress?" Astoria cried, unable to see why anyone would want to destroy the perfection. About to continue, she saw her sister's incredulous look and fell silent.
"Don't you know what's going on, Astoria?" Daphne cried.
"How can I? You haven't talked to me the past two days," questioned Astoria, still a little miffed about the slight. Daphne's heart softened towards her little sister with that statement, and she patted the bed next to her, inviting Astoria to sit down.
"I am going to marry Theodore Nott."
Astoria's eyes grew wide, and then she said, "Can I be the bridesmaid?" Seeing that she hadn't explained it well, Daphne replied, "Yes, but the wedding isn't going to happen for a long, long time. Not until I'm at least seventeen."
"Then why are you upset now?"
"Because, what if Nott is like Father? What if I don't like him? I still have to live with him the rest of my life, all because Father wants the money." Daphne sighed, and in that moment, Astoria knew there would be no more bright shiny moments with her big sister.
Still, being six years old, she had to try. "Maybe you'll love him and he'll love you and you will live in a big, big house and have pretty little children!" Daphne smiled a sad little smile and then asked her to help her out of the dress. Astoria did, pulling on the buttons and the ribbons and the clasps. Finally, she pulled and pulled until the dress came off with a loud RRRIPPP. Looking at it all mussed and torn, Astoria thought, sometimes the world wasn't so bright after all.