Daphne. Astoria. Eris. Phoebe. Fifteen truths about the daughters of the House of Greengrass. Canon compliant, canon pairings along with OC pairings.
1. Daphne Zephyrine Greengrass was born in her mother's homeland of Greece. It wasn't so much of a conscious decision as an escape from the War that was destroying her father's country, but regardless, she stayed there until she was 15 months or so. As such she is the only of her sisters to have dual nationality by law of both jus soli and jus sanguinis.
2. She loved cherry pie. Her father made the best cherry pies, as he had been taught by his mother from a young age how to bake, and loved to spend time in the kitchen and bake with him. So it wasn't a surprise when on her wedding day, she served cherry pie she had baked herself.
3. Daphne used to hate her name. Oh sure, Astoria was named after the stars, and Eris after a super cool disaster goddess, and Phoebe after a titan! Her name was too common, too boring, and her middle name was even dumber. But then her mother sat her down and told her stories about magicians and sorceresses so powerful that ancient Muggles revered them as gods. She was named for a Botamangus who transformed herself to defy a powerful wizard, just as her mother defied her parents to marry her father, and after that Daphne learned to love her name.
4. She had a best friend before she went to Hogwarts. Her name was Henrietta Blaine, a half-blood girl, and whenever Daphne's sisters got too fussy or annoying or boring, she would go to Henny's house and play in the tangled groves lining their tiny town, sharing laughs and secrets and wishes. But then she got her letter, and Henny didn't. Time went by, filled with studies and gossip and letters home, and eventually Daphne forgot about her unfortunate Squib friend.
5. Daphne was shocked when she found out that Tracey Davis was secretly a Mudblood. Wait no, she was a Muggleborn, the first Slytherin Muggleborn in over 300 years. At first Daphne wanted to shun her, because her parents always asserted that Muggles and their kind were inferior. But then she got to thinking—it was one thing for a perfectly pureblood witch to have the ambition and cunning to get into Slytherin, but a Muggleborn? That took guts, and by the end of their first year Daphne and Tracey were the best of friends.
6. When the Chamber of Secrets was opened, she learned how to fear. Not because she was in danger—she was descended from two of the purest lines in Europe, thank you very much—or that Tracey was in danger, as she was a Slytherin and too clever to get attacked, but because everyone hated Potter for being a Parselmouth. And if the Golden Boy could be hated for that...then what about her sister Eris, who would tell the garden snakes to stay away from baby Phoebe?
7. Daphne had strawberry blonde hair down to her waist. Tracey teased her on how much time she would spend in front of the mirror each morning, Sally-Anne would share her conditioner and curling wand, Millicent punched a Gryffindor who got gum in Daphne's hair, and Pansy would grumble about how Princess Daphne got the attention of all the boys in her year thanks to her stupid hair.
8. Her boggart in third year was a group of Gryffindors. They were the ones who locked Sally-Anne in a broom closet until the paintings heard her crying, they were the ones who called Millicent fat and ugly in the bathroom, they were the ones who made Pansy so unfriendly outside of their dorms, and they were the ones who exposed Tracey's Muggleborn heritage. She hated them, she despised them, and she was terrified of them, because out of all the fears and pains the Dementors caused that year, it was the Gryffindors that could make her life a living hell.
9. Daphne's first kiss was with Theodore Nott. Neither of them really cared for the Triwizard Tournament, so when one of the events was happening they found themselves alone in the library. One thing led to another, and somehow she ended up pressed against a bookshelf, snogging Theo for all his worth. They went to the Yule Ball together and stayed sweethearts until the middle of the following summer, where a lack of interest caused them to drift apart. Still, he was such a good kisser and an ok guy, and Daphne cried for hours when his Death Eater father killed him in their seventh year.
10. She hated Dolores Jane Umbridge. Not only did she treat them like babies, she belittled Tracey for being a Muggleborn and disbanded the charmed origami club that she joined in fourth year. But the event that made her hate Umbridge was when she caught Eris trying to heal ragged cuts on the back of her delicate right hand. "I WILL OBEY" was scarred into her flesh, and from that moment on Daphne schemed with Millicent within the Inquisitorial Squad to defy the frog-faced bitch from within her own subordinate group.
11. Daphne's family were completely neutral in the First War. When the Dark Man (he was no Lord to Daphne, just a madman with delusions of murderous grandeur) came back and all the pureblood families scrambled to determine their allegiances, the House of Greengrass stayed neutral. And while it meant that Pansy and Tracey were no longer allowed to be officially seen with her, she stayed firm against the sway of either side of the war. It wasn't her place to declare which was right and lose her head over it, it was her place to observe at arm's length and be a shoulder to cry on when Pansy's family became too much for her to handle and for Tracey when her father disappeared.
12. She went to Sweden with the rest of the Slytherin girls the summer before their seventh year. Astoria and Eris and Phoebe came too, it was an entirely snakish affair, and she loved it. Sally-Anne had lived there half her life, and translated for the group when buying candy, swimming in the magically warmed sea, traveling to midnight summer festivals, and most importantly, talking to absolutely gorgeous Swedish boys. They didn't sleep the entire time and came back with wicked hangovers. Years later she would consider that trip to be the best in her life.
13. Daphne cried when she had to return to Hogwarts. Sally-Anne was staying in Sweden to "take care of her dear grandmother" because her mother made an enemy of Bellatix Lestrange, Tracey was staying with her because she wasn't safe as a Muggleborn in Britain anymore, and Millicent had to drop out to take care of her little brother when her Dark-sympathetic parents were killed in an Order raid. Pansy took care of her that year, let her cry when Astoribecame distant after her girlfriend was murdered and when Eris was whipped for defying the Carrows and when Phoebe had nightmares and when everything was just so terrible. Pansy kept her afloat, and she was one of her bridesmaids at her wedding.
14. She returned to the Battle of Hogwarts. Not because she wanted to fight, but because Eris did and she'd be damned if her little sister got killed over a war they didn't want any part in! Dawn rose over Daphne sobbing over Eris' mutilated legs, but it could've been worse. Through the painful years of rehabilitation, of discrimination against Slytherins and distrust of pureblood families and despair over a childhood lost, it could've been so much worse.
15. Daphne got a fairy tale ending. Her family moved to Greece after Astoria married Malfoy and Eris recovered from her final surgery, and Hector was this quiet florist that grew the prettiest bell-blossoms by her home. It was a slow affair, so different than the hysterical speed that tore apart her school years, and when he proposed she had loved him for ten long years. Her father walked her down the aisle and all her friends were there and Daphne Zephyrine Ioannidou was a perfect name and her three children were so beautiful. She lived to the grand old age of 127, and when she let go she did so willingly, because her friends and family were waiting on the other side.
1. Astoria Melpomene Greengrass was the first Greengrass daughter born in their Britain home. From the second she opened her mouth she was a wailer, and the halls would ring with her shouts of indignation and emotions. Her father kept a stiff upper lip, her mother thought her middle name was entirely appropriate, and Daphne would throw blankets over Astoria to try and muffle the noise. Astoria was not amused.
2. She loved to garden. Their backyard was a wilderness of fragrant trees and tall grasses and fairy hovels and flower patches, and Astoria was the garden girl, queen and master of her kingdom. Even when her happiness dimmed as she grew older, she never grew tired of how the grasses smelled so sweet in the early morning, how the earth between her fingers was wet and cool with dew.
3. Astoria almost drowned when she was eight. There was a pond in her garden that she loved to swim in, but one day something tangled around her left foot and dragged her to its murky depths. She would have died had Eris not followed her and commanded the pond's water snake to let her go. Ever since that day she was wary of pools she couldn't see clearly to the bottom, and considered Eris to be the coolest biggest little sister of all history.
4. She took five minutes to Sort for Hogwarts. The Hat was convinced that she was better off as a Hufflepuff, due to her loyalty (really, she was just a good sister, nothing special), hardworking ethic (as if gardening took anything less), and fairness (when you had to mediate between Daphne and Eris and Phoebe you needed to be fair). But she was smart enough to know that a girl with Slytherin ties meant death anywhere other than the snake pit, and she really didn't want to die. Eventually she won out, and seated herself in the midst of her fellow first years, where she belonged.
5. Astoria suffered from fainting spells. It was so embarrassing but at least before she went to Hogwarts only her sisters saw and it only happened a few times per month. Thanks to those stupid Dementors, however, she found herself blacking out every day, especially when she was with large groups where she couldn't breathe or find Daphne. Some of the meaner girls teased her, and some of the older Gryffindor bullies would make her faint on purpose! But Melanie Bagnold and Tilly Caine were nice to her, even if they called her Sleeping Beauty, and they became her best friends.
6. She didn't see what was the big deal about Quidditch. It was really strange to be cheering over such a dumb game, especially when three quarters of the crowd was calling for her team to fall of their brooms and die. So whenever the games were playing she would explore the greenhouses, under the watchful eye of Professor Sprout, who started being really nice to her after she knew that the little snake girl wasn't poisoning the plants or something like that.
7. Astoria had white blonde hair to her shoulders. She often wore circlets made of flowers and gold thread, because for one thing her hair didn't have volume like Daphne's, and it also tied into her princess reputation. And Tilly said that if life gave you lemons, you squirted the seeds in the eyes of the enemy. So if that stupid face Yolanda Quinn and her gang were so ready to put her down as a spoiled pureblood princess, she was going to rock that princess image and beat them in every class and steal every boy. They brought it upon themselves.
8. In her third year she kissed Karen Rachels. Karen was a Ravenclaw and her study partner, and they both were in front of Umbridge's office when she saw her sister Eris trip and knock over a suit of armor, which fell through Umbridge's door and smashed in to topple her desk. Eris was going to suffer for that, Umbridge was turning a corner, and to save her little sister she bravely tugged Karen on top of her in the wreckage. Umbridge was furious, thinking that these "disgusting hormonal mistakes" had done all the damage, and they were forced to fix the door and the suit and the desk. Astoria apologized to Karen afterward, who pulled her in for another kiss, and their study groups became a lot more fun.
9. Astoria fell in love with Karen because of ice cream. Triple chocolate fudge nut ice cream to be exact; they were on a "study date"/escape from the pressures of the Dark Lord's return, and it was so hot that summer that Karen broke out the ice cream. Her parents were gone for the whole night, Astoria's parents were turning a blind eye because she was a big girl of fourteen, and after devouring an entire pint of ice cream she blurted out that she loved being with Karen. Then Karen admitted that she thought Astoria was beautiful, and Astoria felt her heart stop because the fairies in her stomach were escaping and Karen's lips tasted of chocolate and something even better.
10. She went to Dumbledore's funeral. She was the only Slytherin who did, because all her housemates had either left early or were fearful of being attacked by angry funeral goers. After all, they were unable to be trusted, their greatest legacy was the monster who killed Dumbledore. But she went, wearing all black and shielding her face under a veil. She thought the funeral was lovely, and after everyone else had left, she put a little circlet of tiny starflowers by his grave.
11. Astoria lost the ability to easily approach unicorns when she was fifteen. Things got hot and heavy that one study date, and Karen's hands were just so warm with such slender fingers, and Astoria's skills in soundproofing charms finally paid off. When she came home with tousled hair and messed up clothing, everyone knew. Her parents pretended to be oblivious, Daphne smirked, Eris made sly comments about the perks of gardening tools, and Phoebe was scandalized that Astoria would dare go to her good friend's house in such a poor state, no wonder Karen sent her home!
12. Karen died when she was in Sweden. They had spent one last day together before Astoria left, hanging out at Astoria's house and Karen teasing her sisters about how Grecian nymphs couldn't possibly survive the harsh tundra of the North. When she came home, Astoria found out that just three days earlier, Death Eaters had finished off Karen and her Order-sympathetic family. Astoria cried. And cried. And cried...years later she would still grieve for her first and only true love.
13. Astoria loved to wear necklaces. Kath...people would tell her that she looked lovely with precious gems set in silver and gold against her creamy white skin and slender collarbones, and the family jewels of Greengrass naturally came to her. During what would be her final year of Hogwarts, she stuffed all the rubies and sapphires and emeralds deep in her jewelry box and only wore an onyx pendant. Her wedding dress would call for diamonds, and she wore the loveliest diamond necklace...and dyed her hair onyx black.
14. She knew that Draco Malfoy wanted her. Those unfeeling blue eyes would haunt her footsteps, and she let him stalk her knowing that as a Slytherin and a lesbian her chances of finding love in this hellhole was infinitesimal. So she let him press her against the hard stone walls and shove his tongue down her throat, she left him squeeze her flesh and take her to his bedroom. After the war she even let him marry her, because Melanie and Tilly had disappeared after the Battle and her family was suffering the wrath of the victors and Eris was in so much pain and how could she be so selfish about something so trivial?
15. Astoria had a little boy. She felt nothing for Draco and became distant from even her sisters as time wore her spirit into nothingness, but her boy was her sun. Draco gave him the stupidest name—"Scorpius Hyperion" was just begging for someone to bully him—but he was her son, her little child that she adored and cherished, and Scorpius loved her back. So when he suffered in love and life she gave him shelter and warmth, and when he got that terrible sickness, that Muggle-cursed cancer, she could only watch as the light in her life withered away. When he died she smiled because that was her cue, and at the young age of 46 Astoria Melpomene Malfoy slipped away and was buried in her favorite garden.
1. Eris Persephone Greengrass was the descendant of Gloria Slytherin, the youngest daughter of the Hogwarts founder. She had traveled to the Far East, her line looping its way back to Britain's Greengrass family after spreading the snake language to the far corners of the earth. And when Eris was born on Gloria's birthday, she too was a Parselmouth, insolent and challenging and every bit the goddess she was named for.
2. She was allergic to pumpkins. Her father had given her a small sip of pumpkin juice when she was very small, and the reaction sent her to St. Mungo's for half a week. It got better as she grew older, but even as an adult she would shift and grumble like an irritated child if she would even catch a whiff of pumpkin. Besides, it wasn't like she was allergic to water or air, and she would giggle when she would see how honestly disturbed her sister's friends would get when she asserted that pumpkin juice was disgusting.
3. Eris met a Muggle when she was four. A boy around Astoria's age was lost and she was playing hide and seek in the tangles behind her house, and she led him back to the main street of their tiny town. On the way they talked about everything and nothing and Eris thought he was ok for a boy. But then he couldn't recognize her village, and she realized he was reacting to the anti-muggle charms. She quickly led him in the opposite direction, trying not to spill the beans, and after a while she led him back to his parents. They thanked her and she never saw Aaron again, but ever since that day she couldn't understand the hatred purebloods had for Muggles; it wasn't like they weren't humans too.
4. She once found a Runespoor. She heard them arguing and the hissing pitches told her they were Speaking, so she quickly went to investigate and found a silly sight: one was daydreaming about Africa, the other was trying to go left, and yet another was yelling at the two for wanting to go left when Africa was so obviously to the right. She listened to them all day, keeping her distance since runespoors were very dangerous, and eventually the three headed snake tore itself apart. That was pretty gross, but still pretty cool.
5. Eris was the master of all communications between Hogwarts and Greengrass House. Whenever Daphne's and Astoria's owls would come home they would come to her balcony, and she would formally present the letters to her bemused parents before arranging the response letters to be sent back with all dignity. Phoebe appreciated the brevity of Eris' job, and when Eris would go to Hogwarts she formally bestowed the honor upon her successor.
6. She always wanted a big brother. Her friend Cheryl Felton had an older brother who was tall and strong and made sure she got the best apples from the tree behind their house. And while Daphne was tall and Astoria was strong and Phoebe would share the best treats from the kitchen, it wasn't the same. Still, she loved her sisters, and if she had to choose between losing them for a brother or never having a big brother, the answer was obvious.
7. Eris had honey blonde hair in a pixie cut. According to her mother, it made her look impish and sprightly, and whispered that only the most cunning of witches could hope to pull off such a short haircut. Eris preened under the compliment and when she was sent to Hogwarts she led the gaggle of first years without fear. Being a Slytherin was in her blood and her family and her hair,and Eris was ready to use it all to her advantage.
8. Her first act of ambition was to defy the Umbridge wretch. Obviously the Dark Lord was back, obviously she had no business trying to teach them anything other than a knitting class, and obviously she was going to get her face smashed in if she hints about Daphne's friend Tracey being a sad mistake one more time. Umbridge didn't like her talking back in class, and decided to make her write lines like in one of those bad comedies her father likes to listen to on the radio. Daphne was pissed, Astoria cried, and all the kids in her age group, even the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, started listening to her when she had something to say.
9. Eris was obsessed with painting nails. Her nails, her friends' nails, her sisters' nails, their friends' nails, Betty Ho's cat's nails...it was just so lovely. Polish made nails shiny and colorful and so pretty in the dark and dreary castle, and it was easy to cover up discolorations and blemishes and cracks with a healthy coat. You couldn't do that with the scars that grew to cover her hands or the unhappiness in the Muggleborns or the lies spewing out of Umbridge's fat face. So Eris painted her nails and fed the growing rebellion in the younger students and waited for something to give.
10. She thought that Hermione Granger was a first class bitch. When Marietta Edgecombe locked herself in Eris' favored bathroom and sobbed over her ruined face, Eris told everyone that Moaning Myrtle was having a fit and they'd best keep away. She didn't think that Marietta ever found out that she was the one keeping the younger students from laughing behind her back—when she snipped that Hermione's actions were no better than Umbridge's they shut up pretty quickly—but that was fine. Slytherin ambition was different than that glory hogging, passive aggressive, self-righteous and hypocritical Gryffindor ambition after all.
11. Eris sneaked a batch of snake eggs into Hogwarts. There were tiny flower snakes and crafty water snakes and a huge constrictor that Cheryl smuggled in from her cousin's conservatory, and they all listened to their Mama. They slithered through the pipes in the walls, through the slimy foundations holding the castle high, through every nook and cranny that held Hogwarts' secrets. They told Mama everything, and Eris basked in the power that came from holding knowledge over the people in her way.
12. She fell hard for a boy on vacation. She was a perky little lady of thirteen and boys were suddenly way more interesting, and dear Merlin above what did they feed those Swedish boys? There was this one boy, and he had hair whiter than Astoria's and eyes brighter than Daphne's and skin more golden than Phoebe's and she was in love. But just as she gained the nerve to go talk to him, his boyfriend showed up. Her sisters and friends teased her the entirety of the three months they spent in Sweden, and she couldn't even fight back because of course the most gorgeous boy in the wizarding world would have a boyfriend.
13. Eris was the one who rallied the youngest students of Hogwarts. Sure, the DA held onto the fourth years and up, but that was only from the fame of the Weasley girl and Longbottom boy. She had power, she had influence, she had friends in her age group and lower, even in the different houses. She was Eris Greengrass and nothing chaotic or rebellious happened without her knowledge and direction. And the Carrows hated her, they beat and whipped and scarred her, but she was a pureblood from a powerful family so they couldn't kill her. And Cheryl and Betty were there to be her best friends and her sisters were there to keep her cheerful and her snakes were there to keep her powerful, so it was all for the best.
14. She lost both of her legs in the Battle of Hogwarts. They threw the Slytherins out but her snakes told her where all the secret passages were so she bailed out. Cheryl and Betty and twenty of the ballsiest Slytherins came with her, and the battle was terrible. They ganged up and took out four Death Eaters before that Lestrange whore came, and then it was all over. Everything below the most upper parts of her thigh was a torn and mushy red mess, so horrible that it looked worse than it felt. Cheryl lost an eye and arm, Betty's throat was half torn out, fifteen of her allies and followers and friends died, and all around them the floor was ruby red. It was painful. It was a disaster. The eight surviving girls all lived to go to each others' weddings.
15. Eris fulfilled her ambitions. It was grueling, learning how to live without half her body, but she managed because what kind of self-respecting witch would allow herself to give into despair? St. Mungo's didn't want to treat her? Track down the Minister of Magic and present a list of all the people being discriminated against from getting medical help. He didn't want to listen? Point out the neutrality of her very old and very pure family plus eyewitness accounts of her leading attacks on the Death Eaters. Still unsure? Threaten to raise such a shit storm that it would take a Mayan prophesy of doom to dig him out of it. By the time her family moved to Greece, no one was complaining of a lack of health care and she could push herself around the house on something that Betty called a "skateboard". She worked her way up to the position of Head of International Relations by the age of twenty, and when in New York met an incredibly talented Muggleborn who mixed magic with technology. He gave her new legs, she gave him her heart, and one very powerful international dynasty later, Eris Persephone Youngblood died at 109 a satisfied woman.
1. Phoebe Amphitrite Greengrass was supposed to be the son her parents needed to keep the family name alive. When she was born a pink and plump baby girl, her father laughed and swore she looked no different than him at birth, therefore why should she be considered anything but the heir? Her mother agreed, and Phoebe was designated heiress apparent to the name of the House of Greengrass.
2. Her first word was "hunk". Her father was bouncing her on his lap as her older sisters were babbling about their days in the family room, and Daphne mentioned how Henrietta Blaine's older cousin was really cute. Astoria and Eris were grossed out but their mother laughed, calling the boy a hunk if he could so easily cause such reactions in her children. Hunk was a funny word, and Phoebe blurted it out to the amusement of her family. Later on her next words were mama, papa, Daffy, Tor, Iss and pahunk. Her father loved the last one.
3. Phoebe fell off the bed five times in one day. First Daphne jumped onto it and Phoebe was bounced off. Then her father failed to notice her rolling to her doom. Then Astoria tugged on her favorite blanket and pulled Phoebe to the ground. Finally Eris decided to just put Phoebe on the floor to keep her fragile brains safe, but she miscalculated how heavy Phoebe had gotten and dropped her. Their mother liked to bring it up from time to time.
4. She loved frozen peas. It grew really hot in the summer and Greece was always hot and humid, so her mother would freeze their fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh. She thought the peas were grapes, but these were sooo much better that she ate half the economy sized bag before Eris came looking for her not-pumpkin juice. She was kind enough to share and Eris quickly agreed that this was the greatest thing since their father's cherry pie, and soon her mother put quotas on how much frozen peas they were allowed to eat per week.
5. Phoebe loved to take pictures. Daphne gave her a little camera for her sixth birthday, and she would take snapshots of how sunlight would filter out of rain clouds once the storm was over. She was surprised as to how much her family and friends loved her pictures, but decided if they enjoyed them then she should keep taking them. Later in life she would be famous for her pictures, in both the wizard and Muggle words, especially the stark and unyielding pictures of the war that devastated her family.
6. She tanned in the sun. Daphne would freckle, Astoria would burn, and Eris would somehow stay the same, but Phoebe would be a little golden idol, skin and hair and eyes all sunblessed. She hardly thought anything of it until she would meet her future husband at the beach, and her sisters would later tease that asking him to slather suntan lotion on her back was both brilliant and entirely unnecessary.
7. Phoebe had pale yellow hair all the way to her knees. All her sisters liked to braid it. Daphne would braid it straight down like Rapzunel, Astoria would wrap it around her head like a circlet for Sleeping Beauty, and Eris would shape the hair into two braided buns on each side of her head. Later when watching these marvelous Muggle inventions called Disney movies with her nieces and nephews, Phoebe would laugh and laugh.
8. She really, really missed her sisters when they went to school. It just wasn't the same without Daphne coloring with her and Astoria showing her the different flowers and Eris playing hide and go seek with her. But when summer arrived it was as if they never left, and Phoebe would find herself dreading growing up because she didn't want to leave the happy golden sphere of her childhood. Years later, Astoria would cut ties with her sisters and Phoebe would miss that happy golden sphere terribly.
9. Phoebe had a cat since her eight birthday. Her name was Paprika, since she looked as if someone had sprinkled the spice over her otherwise pure white fur. Paprika was a very lazy cat, always content to curl up in her lap, but she was viciously protective of the kitty palace her father built. Once Daphne brought her friend Tracey over, and the poor girl had the misfortune of trying to straighten out one of Paprika's scratch posts. Phoebe kept her cat from tearing her face off, but from that point on guests were steered clear away from Paprika's territory.
10. Living at home kept her out of the loop on all the scary drama happening in the wizarding world. When Eris passed the tittle of official owl correspondent to her however, she was suddenly aware of the war between Slytherin and Gryffindor that was spilling out into Death Eaters and attacks against Muggles and it was all so horrible. After Daphne wrote about Eris' hand Phoebe had to let her mother read the letters first, because the images were beginning to burn in her mind like the flash of her camera.
11. Phoebe was the only one with pure blue eyes. Daphne's were this blue green, much like mixing two slides of stained glass and letting the combined light hit the sea. Astoria's were a pale violet-gray, reminding Phoebe of a picture of an albino witch she once saw. Eris' eyes were dark blue with honey flecks, earthy and almost unearthly. Her mother's were pure, pure green and her father's were a golden brown, and Phoebe would look at the portraits she had taken of them and wonder what her children's eyes would look like.
12. She joined Hogwarts at the worst possible year. There was no joy from learning how to use the magic in her veins, only fear and resentment of the people making their lives miserable. She ran around making as many friends as possible because her older sister was Eris Greengrass and she would keep the Carrows away, and by the end of the year she knew all of her year mates by name. When Eris lost her legs she needed every one of those names to keep her from going crazy.
13. Phoebe never went back to Hogwarts. None of her year mates did, all of them put off forever and any optimism crushed to death. It was one thing to theoretically move on and rebuild. It was another to see the pictures that Phoebe took. Pictures of fifteen dead Slytherin children kept separate from the rest of the dead Hogwarts defenders. Of mothers weeping and fathers screaming and siblings wandering around listlessly, the sun raining down blood orange. Of St. Mungo's overflowing and children denied relief. Of Betty Ho learning how to sign due to her vocal chords being ripped out. And of her sister, smiling at the sky as the bloodied stumps of her legs dangled from her wheelchair. No...Phoebe couldn't go back. There was too much pain.
14. She was seventeen once they moved to Greece. As the heir to the House of Greengrass, she would have to move back to Britain one day to keep the House alive, but adulthood came with an overpowering sense of freedom that only one year into the move she was gone, traveling the world with nothing to hold her back. By the time she met Tommy Bulstrode when she was 28, she had been to every metropolitan country in the world, making a name for herself and becoming just a little lonely. But Daphne never told her that Millicent's little brother was so funny and charismatic and genuine and photogenic, and before she knew it they were back in Greece to announce their engagement.
15. Phoebe never met Harry Potter. Daphne interacted with him from time to time in class, Astoria knew him after their sons became friends, and Eris had screamed at him when he tried to defend Slytherins being automatically put at the end of the St. Mungo's wait list. But she never actually met him, only heard both sides of the conflict try and either demonize the man or turn him into a saint. Still, decades later when she returned to Britain as a entirely too successful grandmother, she had the chance to meet him when her grandchildren went to Hogwarts. She declined; when asked why she simply shrugged and observed that between Daphne and Astoria and Eris, there's nothing he could've done to impress her. When she finally came to rest at 102, Phoebe Amphitrite Bulstrode Greengrass did so with no regrets.