Pretty But Unpretty
by EMPG22HoPe

I was told I was beautiful, but what does that mean to you?

Daphne; golden-haired, plump lips, delicate tones. From the moment she was born, people doted on her like she was a little princess. Her sweet giggles were contagious. She lights up the whole room just sitting there and looking pretty. From the moment she was born, her parents knew they didn't have to worry about their daughter's future. She would make a fine, well-bred pure-blood girl.

She thought she had everything—her parents' attention, the people's love—until Astoria was born. Then they doted on her. Of course, she would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous the moment her parents stopped paying attention to her. At least the people still loved her. From beyond family, she knew they could never abandon beautiful Daphne over the wise Astoria.

But as she grew up in the spotlight of things, she saw her baby sister struggle socially. Astoria would look up at Daphne in wonder, play with her golden gossamer hair happily and tell her how pretty she was. It swelled her ego, but it deflated her heart to see her sister be snubbed from conversations with her friends, or children's games Astoria could easily play. From that moment on, she would use her pretty face for advantageous things. From then, she would use it to help her sister gain some friends.

At first, it was merely for the sake of advantages for her sister. She would sweet talk her way into Theodore Nott's heart and bat her lashes at Draco Malfoy just so Astoria could come play along. But eventually, she started using it for herself. She found that being pretty could get you anything; men would fall on their knees and women would envy her and want to be her. It gave her the kind of power she had craved, because finally, she had something for herself.

Daphne was known for her beauty. Astoria was known for her brains.

To Be Seductive

Daphne found she was not smart, but she was pretty—and she used that to her needs.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips as Theo nipped harsh, biting kisses against the length of her neck. They were pressed heatedly together against the wall just near Theo's dorm. She heard him murmur her name, over and over, like a prayer. She let him touch her everywhere; her neck, her breasts, her ass—everywhere any man could ever dream of touching her. Her lips curled eerily. He was trapped in her spell.

The next day, Theodore Nott came to Potions class without his foot of parchment on Wiggenwald Potion. When Daphne tried to pass hers, Theo snatched her work and snapped.

"This is my work! What have you done to mine?" Theo asked accusingly. "Daphne, you copied my homework!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daphne said innocently, lips puckered out into a pout as Professor Snape took her work from Theo.

"How is this to be your work, Mr. Nott, if it is in the delicate handwriting of Miss Greengrass?" Professor Snape drawled out lazily.

"But—" Theo protested angrily.

Theodore Nott got detention for challenging the professor.

Daphne still saw the ashes of Theodore Nott's homework in the fireplace when she ambled back into the common room.

To Be "Loved"

"Oh, Daphne, it looks so pretty!" Astoria gasped, beaming at the bouquet of roses her sister received from her suitors.

Daphne scrunched up her nose. She hated roses. Anyone who thought sending her roses to earn her favor as a partner to the Malfoy Winter Ball was delusional. For whoever truly knew her, they must know that carnations were her favorite. They were delicate, soft, and the color of innocence—which was the sheer irony she enjoyed in favoring it.

"You're so lucky," Her little sister sighed as she plopped herself on Daphne's bed. "You're bound to find the love of your life soon enough with all these pretty flowers you're getting from boys."

A tired sigh escaped Daphne's lips. Sometimes, her sister's naivety can be just as damning as hers.

"There's no such thing as love, Astoria." Daphne drawled out as she started chucking rose petals away from her vanity. "It's a fantasy."

Astoria giggled as she rolled her body on the bed to face her sister. "No, it's not. It only takes finding the right person is all."

Then, the young Greengrass's face sagged. "I wish boys would send me flowers like they do with you. But I seem to make them run the other way. Apparently, I have strong opinions that are unladylike for a pure-blood girl such as me. I fear that I'm too boring for others."

This time, Daphne frowned before she whirled to meet her sister's gaze. "You're not boring. You've got to stop saying that, or people will believe you."

Sometimes Daphne didn't understand her smart sister. She was pretty too, if she was being honest. And had brains she didn't have. Or perhaps she didn't understand men who simply look at Daphne because she was the prettiest. It's all she has to herself, anyway. The only ammunition she had to getting to where she wanted—though she didn't know just quite where that is yet.

Her sister, on the other hand, had many on her arsenal.

Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it. Like her sister.

Like her.

To Be New

Slowly, Daphne realized that people only loved her because she was pretty. Not because she was funny, or that she knew how to perform Charms even though her parents keep saying she doesn't need to excel as well as Astoria, but because she was… pretty. The idea weighed a ton, enveloping the person she has become throughout the years.

She found that she did not like how that was when Blaise Zabini told her he loved her one night, but kissed a pretty Ravenclaw girl the next day. Her whole life had been so focused on taking advantage for her own needs that she didn't realize people took advantage of her for their needs as well.

It made her feel disgusted with herself.

So she tried to change. She tried to study harder. She got help from Astoria on occasions with her homework. She tried to join extracurricular that had nothing to do with her vanity. She even tried to join the Dueling club just so she'd have some sort of variety—anything that is far from the usual Daphne Greengrass norm.

But she found her attempts futile.

Her parents soon found out about the sudden turn in her life, and reprimanded her. They said she needs to stop doing what she did, otherwise her beauty will peel at the edges. Otherwise, no rich pure-blood man would want her.

She had glared at her parents then. "Pansy is well-involved academically, but a rich, pure-blood man like Draco Malfoy wants her."

They said her friend didn't count. Daphne wailed in frustration.

How could she be someone new if her parents expected otherwise?

To Be Seen

After her altercation with her parents, she started to wear the skin of the girl she used to be again. But deep down, she wanted to be something else entirely. She wanted to be different, dynamic, and smart. Merlin, she wanted to be like her sister—but, well, prettier.

Daphne wore her cream-colored gown with the pride and confidence she held within herself. People ogled at her golden hair that swished about as she moved, the elegant way she danced with the men in the ball, and the way her face lights up every time she found something entertaining. Yes, people stared—but they only stared at the surface, and not what was underneath.

Still, she carried herself with the grace and poise her mother taught her. But it was tiring, trying to look this way all at once as her resolve cracked from within.

"Daphne, you look so beautiful in that dress," Astoria beamed at her brightly as she sported a lovely red gown. Her green eyes shifted towards a French boy eyeing her. "Oh, look. Florian seems to like it too."

A tired sigh escaped Daphne's lips as she smoothed her cream gown. "I don't dress like this to impress men. I dress like this because I want to."

Astoria blushed, looking embarrassed. "Right, of course! I just meant that he's been eyeing you all night. He seems desperate to speak with you, but haven't done anything to do so."

Daphne pursed her lips, feeling her chest constrict. "Astoria, can I talk to you?"

Her sister blinked at her in confusion, but bobbed her head eagerly. It made her heart sing. Her sister was an angel.

They spent the entire night in her room, still clad in their dresses, stomach-flat on the cream-colored rug of her bedroom, eating the night away with their stomachs sick with Astoria's stash of sweets. Daphne told her sister everything. From the first moment she tried to charm the kids into playing with Astoria, to her using her looks into getting her homework "done", to attempting to be more than just a pretty face.

Astoria had been silent throughout her entire tirade, but she looked up at her and nodded at all the right moments.

When Daphne had finally bared her soul, the sisters were silent.

"I hate how people look at me," Daphne broke the silence, turning a sugar quill between her fingers. "All they see on the outside. They see me as an… object. They see me as nothing more than the pretty Greengrass girl waiting to be married off as a docile wife to some pure-blood boy. I need… no, want to be more than that. I want to be like you."

Astoria smiled at her sister sadly. "You are better at so many things than me."

"Not true." Daphne shook her head.

"Well, you're more persuasive. Have you ever thought about that?" Astoria contradicted as she popped a chocoball in her mouth. "Persuasive not because you're pretty, but persuasive because you know how to worm your way through an argument. You know how to undermine someone, and still make a valid point of doing so."

"Now you're just speaking gibberish." Daphne laughed this time, unable to believe the convoluted words her sister was producing. But she did make some sense. After all, if Pansy ever needed to convince Draco of anything, she sends Daphne to do that dirty work. Most of the time, it works.

Another short silence befell them before Astoria spoke again.

"You're more than just a pretty face, Daphne." Astoria confirmed with a smile. "You're my sister. You are brave, loving and fierce and would never let anything bad happen to me. If people don't see that, I suggest they get new pair of eyes or shan't bother at all."

Daphne's heart swelled. Her sister truly was an angel.

To Be Daphne

Daphne; golden-haired, plump lips, delicate tones. After the war, her pretty looks didn't matter much… for now. People were still grieving, and had little time to appreciate the curve of her lips or the elegant sway of her hips. Granted, she missed the way they looked at her—how they appreciated her. But she had to remember the severity of what has happened.

And as always, she used that to her advantage. But this time, for good.

Her father, being a wizarding lawyer, had plenty of cases to take care of. But perhaps the biggest case that he simply found difficult to solve was Draco Malfoy's defect in the war. He had failed to save Lucius Malfoy from Azkaban, and was desperate to prove that he could do better with Lucius's son.

It tore her to see her father often tired. He would come home with Astoria, who had joined the family firm to intern for the summer and help their father with his cases. When she saw her father collapse tiredly on the couch, she watched Astoria sit across the man, looking spent. Daphne entered the living room, knocking on the arch's frame.

"Do you need anything?" Daphne asked gently. "Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?"

Astoria's face lit up at the sight of her. "Hot chocolate would be lovely, please."

The moment Daphne came back with a tray full of mugs of hot chocolate, her father was still dozing off on the couch, but Astoria had taken out the depositions and paper works. Files were scattered in a semi-circle before Astoria. The dark-haired girl looked through each of them with precision.

Daphne skimmed the pages as she placed the tray on the coffee table. She was almost too afraid to ask, but she built up the confidence to do so anyway. "Can I help?"

Her sister failed to hide her relief. "Of course you can. Two heads are better than one. Maybe your persuasive skills can help us get this done."

In the end, her persuasive skills did get the work done. One of her ideas inspired an even bigger idea in Astoria, to which she developed and used to give to her father, though not without giving Daphne its fullest credit. Her father looked at her as though she had sprouted a new head, or rather, sprouted a new person.

Daphne found she could never get rid of her beauty. It's what makes her Daphne. She has learned to accept that in spite of how people merely see her only in that way. But she made sure that from now on, she would surprise people with the person she wanted to be. Brave, loving, and fierce. And apparently as of late, persuasive.

For once, she had something new on her arsenal.

Finally, she was pretty and something else, and more.

Prompt(s):

FanFiction Writing Month: 2,276 words
Dragon-Breeding Club: Swedish Short-Snout - Evie

Assignment #12 - Gardening

Task 7: Decorative pots - Write about someone that is only known for their beauty.

Insane House Challenge

Quote - "You're not boring. You've got to stop saying that, or people will start believing you."

FanFiction Resolutions Challenge

25. Write a fic based around a character we don't get to see in the movies

365 Prompts Challenge

112. Emotion - Jealousy

Writing Club - June

4. Family - Write about sisters. (Disney Challenge - Themes)

19. Harvey Dent: Write about someone trying to balance out other people's expectations for them. (Amber's Attic)

Revealing the truth that was buried inside (Lyric Alley)

Lily Luna Potter: Write about growing up in the spotlight. (Em's Emporium: Characters)

[Summer] Seasonal Challenges

Red Rose Day: Write about someone being gifted with red roses (Days of the Year)

(dialogue) "There's no such thing as love. It's a fantasy." (Summer Prompts)

Cream (Colour Prompts)

Moonstone - (dialogue) "I don't dress like this to impress men. I dress like this because I want to." (Birthstones)

(quote) "Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it." - r.h. Sin (Fire Element)

1. Dear Evan Hansen - write about covering up your true self (Shay's Musical Challenge)

Confident (Gryffindor Themed Prompts: Traits)

(trait) Seductive (Summer Astronomy Prompts)

AN: I have roleplayed Daphne on Tumblr for quite some time, which served as an inspiration into writing this one-shot. Everyone seems to portray her as this ditzy blonde girl who was below her sister, Astoria, who is often portrayed to be smarter. But I wanted to shift that idea and give Daphne more depth than she was unfairly given. Hopefully it showed!

I hope you all enjoyed reading! Please review with your thoughts! And maybe favorite/follow if you liked what you read. :')

EMPG22HoPe