Title: Never Enough.
Author: searching4romeo
Rating: R for cursing.
Summary: A short extract from Daphne Greengrass' life.
DGDGDG"Breakfast!"
Jabbing a few pins in her hair to pull it out of her face, Daphne Greengrass rolled her eyes and replied by yelling down the stairs in a similar sing-song voice.
"Fuck you!"
Silence.
Then tentatively, "Come on Nee, don't be like that. I'll make pancakes if it'll cheer you up."
Despite the stubborn part of Daphne telling her to hold her ground, the scent wafting up the stairs was enough to lure her out of hiding. She stomped angrily into the kitchen and leaned against the counter.
"What makes you think I want to be cheered up? Maybe I want to curl up and die, is there a dish you can cook to help me with that?"
A glass of pumpkin juice was pushed into her hand as he tried again. "Today is the last day of your holidays, don't spoil it."
"Why not? You ruined all the others." She glowered at him over the orange concoction and he sighed heavily, sinking into a weathered chair.
"I am trying my best, Nee. I know you miss your mother but –"
She tensed. "Don't. Don't go there."
Tired eyes met hers, adding their own plea. "You have to talk about it some time. You can't keep it all bottled up inside."
"Where do you get off telling me what to do?"
"As your legal guardian," he reminded her, "I think it's acceptable."
Whirling around to face him, Daphne's fists clenched several times before she could find her voice. "I hate you! It's all your fault she's gone. You – you Muggle!" A strangled sob rose up in her throat as she searched fruitlessly a better insult. "They wouldn't have come after her if you'd just … stayed away."
"I know that. But I - I love her."
"No," she hissed, vehemently. "I love her. I've always loved her. You just got her killed."
Incredulously, he looked up. "You think that I wanted it to happen? I never knew about those Deathmen you talk about. If I had understood the threat-"
"What? You would have walked away? It's too late for that now, Jack! She's dead!" She sank to her knees on the cold kitchen floor and whispered, "She's dead…"
Beside her in an instant, Jack wrapped his arms around her frail frame as she furiously bit back tears. "I'm still here, Daphne," he murmured. "I will always be here."
As they sat in silence on the cool tiles, the words left unspoken echoed in his mind.
And it will never be enough.