AN: Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.
WARNINGS: Conversion Camp.
Reckless Love
AlwaysPadfoot
Going home felt like a trap.
Her father's letter had been curt, arriving not long after Pansy Parkinson had spotted Daphne and Susan together in Hogsmeade. It had simply read: Do not make plans to visit your friends this summer. It hadn't even been signed. Susan maintained that it could mean anything; that it could be something to do with all the betrovels her father had been trying to make. However, Daphne wasn't so sure; she certainly wasn't ready to celebrate yet. She knew her father, and despite the fact he liked to keep thing concise normally, this letter felt odd.
Just to be sure Daphne had asked Susan not to sit with her on the Hogwarts Express at the end of their sixth year. Initially, the Hufflepuff had been reluctant, but after looking around and giving Daphne a quick kiss Susan agreed to leave.
Unfortunately, Daphne quickly realised that sending her girlfriend away had been a mistake. Susan kept her calm, and right now, Daphne was not calm. In fact, the weather outside her empty compartment window perfectly mirrored her mood. The sky was a deep threatening black. It was clear the heavens were ready to burst open. Even the breeze from the window, which was as far open as Daphne could make it go, was doing nothing to alleviate the humid air in the train. That, coupled with Daphne's stifling thoughts, had made the journey unbearable.
Daphne was somewhat grateful that the train was beginning to slow.
As she shrunk down her luggage, Astoria made an appearance. She stood in the doorway quietly waiting as Daphne collected her things and put her shrunk items in her jacket pocket.
"You okay?" Astoria asked.
"Fine."
Daphne made sure her tone of voice didn't invite any further questions. Astoria sighed and they reached the carriage door just as the train pulled up to platform nine-and-three-quarters.
Their father was always easy to pick out from the crowd. Designer robes and perfectly quaffed hair was his staple look.
Appearance was everything.
He wasn't alone.
Daphne frowned at the man that accompanied her father. He was quite short — probably not much taller than her five foot six inches — and looked mostly unthreatening. His clothes reminded Daphne of a uniform. Under his plain robes, he wore dark trousers and a pale blue top. There was a crest and some writing on the pocket of his top, but Daphne couldn't make it out from a distance.
Confused as she approached, she forced her expression to a look of well-practised indifference.
"Dad!" Astoria called, raising a hand in greeting.
Immediately Daphne sensed something was wrong. Even though her father accepted a hug from her younger sister, Daphne saw his gaze linger on her. His eyes were slightly narrowed — no one else would have noticed. She swallowed, gripping her jacket in her hand.
Thankfully, Astoria spoke before Daphne was forced to break the tension.
"Who's this?" she asked.
"Michael will be escorting your sister to a summer placement I've signed her up for," their father said.
That explained why Michael was eyeing Daphne as though she might bolt across the platform and disappear into the crowd.
"Oh, what's the placement?" Daphne asked.
Her father took her shoulder, gripped it hard and guided her aside as Astoria watched them curiously. Daphne felt her muscles tense as her father leant towards her. She could feel his breath on her cheek.
"You have truly disappointed me this year Daphne; this placement will help you relearn your place in normal society," he said quietly. "You will not cause a scene here, am I understood?"
Daphne gritted her teeth. "Yes, father."
As they turned back to Michael and Astoria, Daphne caught sight of Susan's wide eyes across the platform. She shook her head ever so slightly and looked away, her throat tight. Their father beckoned Astoria to his side and they disappeared with a light pop. Michael cleared his throat beside Daphne.
"We'll be travelling by portkey," he said.
"Great."
Daphne could only hope he caught on to the thick sarcasm in her voice.
By time they had travelled to their destination, it had begun to pour with rain. With a conjured umbrella above their heads, Michael led Daphne briskly up the drive to a cottage with a large water wheel on the side.
Despite not knowing what was beyond the large arched door, the place was beautiful, even in the rain. Flowering ivy grew up around the door and across the soft cream paint that decorated the front of the building. Its demure appearance made Daphne all the more apprehensive about what waited for her inside the building.
Inside the house was quiet and Michael led her to the left-hand side.
"Sit," he said, gesturing to small sofa outside a set of double doors. "The Tailor will be with you soon."
Daphne found herself wondering why they'd use such a term. Why would she need a tailor? She sat impatiently, twiddling her thumbs as she waited. So far nothing had given away what sort of place she was in and Daphne felt as though she was fit to burst with questions.
Turned out she didn't have to wait long to be beckoned into the room beyond the oak doors beside her. The doors opened and a female voice called out.
"Miss Greengrass?"
Daphne stood, inhaling deeply as she stepped into the doorway. Sat behind the desk inside the office was a woman who sort of reminded her of Professor McGonagall. She seemed severe looking. All her blonde hair was pulled back tightly into a perfect bun and she immediately assessed every inch of Daphne as she stepped into the room. Beckoning her forward, the doors of the office shut behind Daphne as she approached the desk.
"Take a seat, Miss Greengrass," she said, picking up a piece of parchment from the side of her desk and skimming it before looking up at Daphne. "Do you know why your father sent you to me?"
"I don't even know who you are, let alone why my father has sent me here," Daphne responded.
As the Tailor studied her, a flash lit up the room announcing the arrival of the storm the skies had promised before.
"He contacted me to express his concerns that you were pursuing a romantic relationship with another girl at Hogwarts," she said, steepling her fingers as she watched Daphne's expression carefully. "Is that true?"
"Not at all," Daphne replied, maintaining an even expression. "I believe my father is looking for a reason for why I have yet to have a boyfriend."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I don't think, I know," Daphne said simply. "I have ambitions beyond getting married and having children."
It was a half-truth; she still had ambition. Susan supported her. It was probable that any potential partner her father forced her to marry would likely stop her from achieving her goals. Susan and her built each other up, rather than tearing each other down.
Daphne could tell that The Tailor did not appreciate that answer because her eyes narrowed.
"I have assigned you room five; it is up the main staircase and to the right," she said stiffly. "You will find a schedule on the desk in your room. Go, unpack your things, do not be late for dinner."
She looked back down at her parchment and Daphne felt very clearly dismissed.
"Are you not going to inform me what this place is?" Daphne asked as she stood up.
"Think of this as a finishing school," The Tailor responded with even looking up. "You are dismissed, Miss Greengrass."
Daphne frowned but decided it would be best to leave. As she wandered through the building to find her room, the thunder rumbling overhead became even louder. The storm was due to last a while according to the Prophet this morning. Daphne would be grateful when the humidity had gone and the storm brought a freshness back to the summer air.
On the door of her room hung a crown of flowers, the branches in the middle twisted together formed a five. The room inside was small and simple, the decor and sheets a mix of soft pinks and champagne. The temperature, however, was stifling. So much so that Daphne immediately strode across to the window and pushed it wide, ignoring the rain splattering in on the windowsill. It wasn't much of a relief either. She sighed, fishing her shrunken luggage from her bag and then tossing her jacket on the bed. A simple tap of her wand brought it back to its original size and Daphne pushed it against the end of the bed, not really wanting to unpack right now. Her hands on her hips her gaze fell to the schedule on the desk in the corner of the room. She barely got a chance to look before a voice interrupted her train of thought.
"You the newbie from Hogwarts?"
Daphne turned. The girl now stood in her open doorway was smiling. She had short hair, piercings all around the shell of her left ear, and looked like she'd recently been in a fight.
"Yes, I am," Daphne said, entranced by the girl's garish fashion choices. "I'm Daphne."
"Izzy," she said.
"So Izzy, what is this place? Because I didn't really get much information from—"
"The Tailor," Izzy finished, raising an eyebrow as Daphne nodded. "Yeah, this is a place where Pureblood mummies and daddies can send their queer kids to get… set straight."
Daphne winced at the use of the word 'queer'. Izzy noticed almost immediately, shrugged and explained that she wanted to reclaim the slur. Personally, Daphne wasn't keen on it, but she wasn't going to comment.
"So, what are you? Gay, Bi, Pan, Trans, Ace?" Izzy asked, counting off terms on her fingers that Daphne hadn't even heard of before.
She wasn't ready to admit to anyone that she was in love with a woman. Besides, this could be a trap, to make her admit something her father — or this Tailor woman — could use against her.
"None, I'm straight," Daphne responded.
"Sure," Izzy scoffed.
She looked her up and down and then left the room, leaving Daphne alone. Being able to finally hear her own thoughts was no better than being judged by Izzy.
So she'd been sent to get made straight?
Her father had sent her here to become something she was not and Daphne was starting to get scared. She weighed up her options. She couldn't fight; her father would denounce her, or force her into marriage. If she didn't fight though, she wasn't sure how hard these people would push her. How badly would these people punish her if she wasn't straight enough? Dropping onto the bed, Daphne lay back, staring up at the ceiling. She'd gone most of her life being overlooked and underestimated, perhaps here she could do the same.
All she had to do was get through the summer and she'd be back in Susan's arms.
Comps and Prompts
World Cup, Qualifiers: 21st June - Argentina vs Croatia - 19:00 - Character: Daphne Greengrass
IHC: 730. Title - Reckless Love
365: 129. Event - Summer Holidays
Gobstones: Brown Stone - Journey [A: 16. (weather) thunderstorm, P: 10. (word) weigh, T: 10. (word) simple]
SC — Days of the Year — June 18 2018 - International Picnic Day: Alternatively, write about summer.
SC — Summer Prompts — (word) Fresh
SC — Colour Prompts — (colour) Champagne
SC — Shays Musical Challenge — The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - write about being forced to do something
WC - Character Appreciation - 13. (character) Astoria Greengrass
WC - Disney Challenge - Song 2. In Summer - Write a story set in summer.
WC - Showtime - 15. Raise You Up / Just Be - (word) Celebrate
WC - Amber's Attic - 6. Don't Tweet This: Write about someone trying to hide a relationship.
WC - Lo's Lowdown - Character 7: Christine Chapel — (word) overlooked
Word Count: 1845