Chapter Eight: A Fresh Perspective
Daphne sat in her living room, curled up on the sofa with a book on her lap. Next to her, set on the dark wooden table, was a glass of wine that she had reclaimed from the batch bought for the wedding. It was a bit too sweet for her tastes but it was expensive, rare and would no doubt annoy any of the Malfoys when they noticed it missing. The small things in life were sometimes truly worth living for. If she was going to have to put up meetings to debate over dresses, seating arrangements and other mundane topics that made her brain stagnate, she was going to win little victories where she could.
"What are you reading?" Her father asked from the doorway. He was wearing a thick, grey jumper and blacks slacks, his feet clad in red slippers. When she had been younger he had told her that was the reason he had retired from the aurors, slippers. Apparently men who wear slippers shouldn't be running around in the rain after criminals. Although, he later conceded, men who wore slippers shouldn't be up to any kind of running. Sitting was far more their speed. Of course, she now knew the real reason he had left, but it still made her smile to imagine how his boss would have taken slipper wearing as reason for retirement.
"Tangle in Time," she answered, slipping in a bookmark and letting the book fall shut. They hadn't really had chance to talk since her father had gotten back a few days ago. The wedding had taken over their lives. Joy. Daphne decided she had done well not to curse either of the Malfoys. Narcissa had been as annoying as she remembered, not that Daphne had wanted reminding. "Tracey said I'd like it."
"And?"
"I've read worse," Daphne shrugged. "I think she was just hoping I'd pick fault with the theory behind it."
"My daughter the unspeakable." Her father said with a grin, walking into the room and joining her on the sofa. "How is Tracey, by the way? She still dating the strange one with the ridiculous hair? You know, the one who looked like a porcupine had got lost and settled on his head."
"Ben," Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes. "And no. He wouldn't meet her parents, said they weren't in that kind of a relationship, so she jinxed him."
"She was always such a gentle soul," her father remarked. "What about you? Any romances I should know about?"
"Not a one," Daphne told him with a shrug. It was the same answer she gave every time.
"I can see why Astoria is the one getting married." Her father said, a gentle smile on his face. Daphne had never been over-furnished in the boyfriend department. It wasn't something she was overly bothered by and was probably something she'd get around to, eventually. But her father always liked to try and push her towards boys or men. He'd even tried to set up a date with a son of a friend of his from work. That hadn't ended well, primarily because Daphne hadn't shown up.
"To Malfoy," Daphne pointed out. It was something that no matter how hard she tried she could not get over, not that she tried that hard very often. There were occasional bursts, often prompted by guilt that she felt on Astoria's behalf.
"Still getting married, Daph. More than that she's happy."
"But he's a total git," Daphne objected.
"Sometimes people only see what they want to see."
"Well, when it comes to Malfoy, Tori is blind."
"I was talking about you." Her father told her. That stopped her. She frowned, staring at her father. "You're a very stubborn person, Merlin knows where you get it, but you took against him from the start. People change, Daph, they really do. You should give him a chance. If not for me then do it for your sister, she's happy with him, she really is. I don't see the attraction myself, and to be honest I'd be worried if I did. But surely her happiness is what's important?"
"I hate it when you're right." Daphne muttered sullenly. She didn't like being sullen, it felt childish and stupid, but that was exactly where her hatred for Draco stemmed. Childhood. There were some prejudices informed by memories long since forgotten, that were hard to break, particularly when that was all she could see. Draco the idiot, the Death Eater and the coward.
"Well, I am the father figure," her dad said with a grin. "I'm not saying he's perfect, I'm just saying you might want to try again. A clean slate. Better than being stuck with someone you hate as a brother-in-law."
"That what you told yourself?"
"Partly," her father admitted. "But there's more than that. Did I ever tell you about when he came to see me at Hogwarts?" Daphne shook her head, intrigued. "When things were really getting serious between them, he asked me for my permission. Came to office and everything. Which would have been a nice surprise but I was teaching at the time and didn't go back until after dinner. I was avoiding some third-year essays."
"He was still there?"
"He waited three hours." Her father told her. "Even said that he wouldn't marry Tori if that's what I wanted. You know what, I think he would've ignored me and they would have eloped somewhere. I only had to look at him to see that he loved her, he was practically begging at one point for me to let them get married."
"One point?"
"I let him go on for a bit," her father shrugged. "It was nice to be called sir by someone who isn't shorter than me." He grinned and she threw a cushion at him as he laughed at his own joke. "I didn't. If anything I kept trying to shut him up, he wouldn't stop telling me how great she is and why he wanted to marry her."
"Unlike him," Daphne remarked spitefully, "usually he doesn't shut up about how great he is."
"My point is," her father said, ignoring her jibe, "that he clearly loves her and they're happy together. He's not going anywhere, Daph but he's what your sister wants. Surely it's a least worth trying to tolerate him?"
"Since when were you so wise?"
"I have my moments," her father shrugged, leaning across her to steal the wine she had been happily drinking by herself. "Just think about it. You and Astoria have always been so close and I'd hate see this ruin it."
"I'll think about it, no promises, though." He had a point. For all his posturing and self-righteous arrogance and seemingly limitless supply of hair products, Draco did love her sister. Despite all the girls he had happily tossed aside, or the money he had thought he might inherit with some, he had chosen Astoria. She wasn't first-in-line and she had no title. This wasn't some kind of political, point scoring marriage. He genuinely loved her. Something she hadn't been quite able to see past the lack of a user-friendly personality and knowledge of what he had done to girls in the past. Pansy had been heartbroken after Hogwarts.
"Excellent." Her father grinned, losing the serious look from his face. He was far happier since he had stopped being an auror. Teaching suited him. A surprise that had shocked everyone but Daphne and Astoria who knew the man behind the uniform.
They talked for another hour or so, Daphne enjoying her father's company. It was a rare treat to have someone else in the house, with Astoria so often at Draco's. Either that or she bought him home which classified Astoria as unavailable in Daphne's eyes. Luckily for her, though, she was comfortable with her own thoughts for company. But she still enjoyed talking to her father while she had the chance.
oOo
"Good morning, sister of mine," Daphne said in greeting the next morning when Astoria eventually made her way to the kitchen. Unlike Daphne, Astoria was a heavy sleeper with a habit for missing most of her mornings. Still dressed in her bed clothes which were covered by a deep blue dressing gown, Astoria did not look her best to say the least. It didn't take a genius to realise that she had only just left her room.
"Tea?" Daphne offered from her position at the kitchen counter. She had just made a cup of her own but there was still plenty of water left over.
"Thanks," Astoria yawned running a hand through her hair as she took a seat. "Is Narcissa here yet?"
"Dad took her into the dining room, they were discussing seating arrangements when I left," Daphne said as she set about making her sister a cup of tea. Astoria grimaced at the revelation her future mother-in-law had arrived. "You should have seen her face when she found out who I'm bringing."
"You actually got a date?"
"You sound surprised, I'm offended," Daphne smirked as she poured plenty of milk into Astoria's tea. "For your information, yes, I have a date."
"Who? Graham?"
"Graham is married and has two kids," Daphne said. Graham Bluebell was an Unspeakable but certainly not Daphne's type. He was fifty for one thing. But was one of the few people Daphne mentioned to her sister, and as such, was high on Astoria's list for Daphne's potential wedding dates. "So, no, it's not Graham. It's Harry, I asked him last week, didn't I say?"
"You're inviting Harry Potter to my wedding?" Astoria asked stunned. Her mouth hung open, a rather uncivilised look for a supposed 'lady'. Although, that title technically fell to Daphne but nobody would be able to tell. Ladies of noble houses weren't generally unspeakables. But Daphne made a point of not being what people expected. Astoria, however, liked living off her trust fund and as such was often confused as the Lady of Greengrass Manor.
"You said invite anyone I wanted," Daphne said as she carried over her sister's tea. "It won't be a problem. Aren't they on civil terms now anyway?"
It was a loaded question, which Daphne already knew the answer to. She had been gauging Harry's response to her invitation with a few questions about his relationship with the Malfoy's ever since the end of the war over the course of their last few meals together. Daphne was many things and thorough was definitely one of them. There wasn't a chance she would have asked Harry if she had suspected he would say no. Finding out if he could tolerate being in the same room as Draco for a few hours was a significant factor.
"Sort of," Astoria admitted.
"There you are then, no problem, besides I'll keep them out of each other's hair. Don't worry."
"Hang on, does that mean you're seeing him then?" Astoria asked suddenly, grinning happily at the prospect of her sister finding love as she had. Daphne rolled her eyes. "I mean you never bring anyone to these things, ever. And you've been seeing him a lot lately."
"No, I'm not. Honestly you're as bad as Tracey," Daphne said exasperatedly. "Am I not allowed to have male friends?"
The real reason Daphne had suddenly developed a new found interest for male company at family events was the fact that it wasn't just going to be her family attending. Daphne could deal with them, just. But add Malfoy's family into the mix and there was no way in hell she was going alone. Tracey would be preoccupied with whoever she bought as a date, it changed every time due to the fact that healer was a profession that put strain on any relationship. Meanwhile Daphne's father would be catching up with the family, remembering why they only ever saw each other at special occasions. Either that or focusing on Astoria, which would have left Daphne alone surrounded by a family she didn't especially get on with for hours. Inviting Harry solved that particular problem. It helped that he would infuriate most of the people there by existing, but that was just a happy by-product.
"You can invite people but you never do, Daph," Astoria pointed out with a smirk, "How'd Narcissa take the news anyway?"
"She went all quiet and her face started twitching," Daphne said as she sat down opposite her sister. Sun bathed her neck through the huge bay window behind her. It was looking like it was going to be a nice day, which was good news for Daphne. It meant she could hide out in the garden away from talk of the wedding.
"Not too bad then," Astoria replied sipping at her tea. "What's he like, Potter?"
"He isn't what I expected," Daphne answered honestly. Although, she doubted if anyone who had never really known Potter except through stories would know what to expect. But she liked the man she had come to know. He might be slightly jaded and cynical as well as occasionally self-obsessed, usually when he was brooding over Weasley. But he was also kind, loyal and he had never once been judgmental. Everyone she ever met heard her name and conjured up a picture, but Harry had simply treated her like anyone else, a courtesy she had been more than happy to extend to him.
"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?" Astoria asked curiously.
"I wouldn't still be talking to him if it was bad," Daphne remarked. "You'll just have to wait and see. It's only a few weeks."
"Spoilsport."
"Ah, there you are," a familiar and highly dislikeable voice said from the doorway. Standing there dressed in needlessly well-tailored robes was Draco Malfoy. Daphne had to bite back a jibe, remembering her conversation with her father the night before. It was for Astoria's sake. Besides, she had to see something in him. Somewhere. Deep down. This was going to be harder than she thought.
Astoria smiled, leapt to her feet almost knocking over her tea in the process, and greeted Draco with a tight hug and a quick kiss. At this point Daphne would usually roll her eyes or stare resolutely at the something more interesting like a fly or piece of wall. But this time she actually paid attention to Draco's reaction. A smile spread across the face that usually only ever glared at Daphne. It was as plain as day that he genuinely cared about Astoria, even from Daphne's biased view point. There was a warmth in eyes she had never noticed before.
"Mother wants us to look over a few details of the seating arrangements," Draco said when Astoria's arms had dropped back to her sides. "Matthias thought you might still be asleep."
"Just got up," Astoria answered, "do you want some tea?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Draco said with a small, grateful smile.
Astoria was just about to get up when Daphne, despite her better judgment, waved her down getting to her feet herself and heading to the teapot on the kitchen counter. Daphne didn't miss the quick glance Draco shot her little sister, who for her part looked as confused as he did. There was an awkward silence as Daphne prepared Draco's tea, which was hardly surprising. Daphne had made no secret of her feelings. Still, the look of suspicion Draco gave the cup she passed him made Daphne smirk a little.
"Don't worry, Draco," Daphne assured him with only a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "If I was going to poison you, do you really think I would be so obvious?"
Suspicion was replaced with a flush of embarrassment. In the old days it would also have been accompanied with him running his mouth off, ranting about how his father was going to hear about it or something equally self-absorbed and annoying. But instead he simply accepted the cup and nodded tightly, clearly unsure how to accept the gesture. There was a slight nod and a quick glance at Astoria, who shrugged while unable to keep the smile off her face. By Draco's standards the nod was the closest thing Daphne had ever got to a 'thank you'. Maybe there really was hope for him yet.
"I'll let mother know you'll be with us soon," Draco said breaking the awkward silence. With that he quickly left the room unable to deal with the unanticipated consideration. Daphne just shook her head smirking. There was clearly a reason he had never been sorted into Gryffindor. Even Longbottom had more bottle.
"Are you feeling alright?" Astoria asked when Draco was out of earshot. The grin spread across Astoria's face was almost as wide as any Daphne had seen from her sister. "I mean, what was that about? You don't even make Tracey tea when she comes round."
"Tracey doesn't like tea."
"You know what I mean," Astoria said impatiently.
"I had a chat with dad last night, he made me think about a few things. One being that it might about time that I try again with him."
"He has a name," Astoria sighed. "But thanks, Daph. I know you're not his biggest fan," Daphne snorted with derision, receiving an exasperated glower from Astoria. "I'm just saying, I get that that was probably tough for you. I don't expect you to be best friends with him or anything, but I'm glad you're trying."
"You're my sister, Tori, I'm not going to stand in the way of what you want. I'll never understand why you love him and to be honest I'm not even going to try. He is the single most annoying, selfish and obnoxious person I have ever met." That particular description got a frown from Astoria, who opened her mouth to object but was silenced in a moment by a look from her older sister. "But that was a long time ago. Dad pointed out that people change, so I'm going to give him a chance."
"Look at you being all grown-up," Astoria commented dryly.
"It comes with the territory," Daphne told her sister, "I am older. Now, haven't you got somewhere to be?"
"Why do you have to remind me?" Astoria groaned sending a mock glower at her sister.
"She'll just come looking for you," Daphne pointed out, remembering the last time that Astoria had dragged out seeing her soon to be mother-in-law. It hadn't ended well for Astoria who had been hiding out in Daphne's room so as she could put off seeing Narcissa for just another few minutes. The impatient Mrs Malfoy had, instead of waiting downstairs with a scathing remark as Astoria had expected, searched the house for the younger Greengrass. The meal they had been on their way to had, according to Astoria, been the worst one of her life.
"Fine, I'm going to get dressed properly first though," Astoria sighed before finishing off her tea.
"Have fun," Daphne smirked, "say hi for me."
Astoria, whose mood had clearly taken a downward spiral, ignored the remark as she sulkily headed towards the stairs. Daphne, who didn't have to suffer the only one of Draco's parents who wasn't in jail, took out her wand and sent all of the used cups, saucers and cutlery towards the kitchen counter. Any signs that they had been used were then removed by a couple of quick cleaning spells before Daphne magically put them back in the appropriate cupboards, all from the comfort of the dining table. It wasn't exactly hard magic, but learning to do it all at once and without really looking had taken a lot of practice. But Daphne was nothing if not persistent.
There were, however, some things that no amount of magic could help her with. For instance, providing her sister with the breakfast she needed without walking into a room with too many Malfoys inside. But there was more than one way to skin a kneazle.
"Tisly," Daphne said. A moment later there was a loud crack and a small house-elf appeared in front of Daphne. Tisly smiled up at her mistress eagerly. She didn't get much work these days, what with Daphne's father always at Hogwarts and Astoria practically living at Draco's some weeks. It didn't help that Daphne worked long shifts and enjoyed more than the occasional meal out.
"You is calling Mistress?" Tisly asked excitedly.
"Could you take some food to my father please, Tisly? Muffins, sandwiches, that kind of thing?" Daphne asked politely. Unlike a few other families she could mention, Daphne had never been raised to treat her house-elf as scum. Just because Tisly worked for her family did not mean that Daphne was about to boss her around or force the helpful elf to punish herself. "Astoria forgot her breakfast and I'm sure our guests would appreciate a few snacks."
"Of course, Mistress, Tisly will being so right away!" The tiny elf quickly hurried around the kitchen, collected the assorted food before vanishing into thin air carrying a silver tray. Had Daphne actually liked her 'guests' then she would have taken the food herself. As it was the only reason Daphne had sent Tisly was because Astoria would need all the help she could get to manage a morning of wedding planning run by Narcissa Malfoy. A few snacks would go a long way.
Daphne spent the rest of the day enjoying her day off by sitting out in the garden with her book, a few glasses of cool orange juice and the occasional company of Astoria when the wedding planning got too much. Hiding from the planning was understandable in Daphne's eyes. The Malfoy matriarch was going through the event with a fine-toothed comb, trying to get opinions from her son and Astoria on everything from napkins and the cake to music and flowers. It was mind-numbing just hearing about it.
"Remind me again why you're willing to go through all this?" Daphne asked her sister on her third visit out to the garden. The sun was edging closer and closer towards the horizon. Soon, Daphne knew, she would have to return inside. But while she could still hide outside she was going to. Maybe, if she waited long enough, she could avoid seeing Narcissa completely.
"Because it's what we want," Astoria replied tiredly massaging her the bridge of her nose as she did so. "I just wish it didn't involve all of this. But it'll be worth it in the end."
"If you say so," Daphne said sceptically. Despite being thorough, logical and meticulous when it came to her work and a few other things besides, Daphne would not want the stress of having to organise such a large scale event. Although, she doubted that any wedding she would be involved in would be 'large-scale'. She didn't have enough people she would want to invite for one thing. A wedding was something personal, special. The people who Daphne invited would be the few people she wanted to share something like that with. The list wasn't long. But she doubted anybody's list would be if they actually bothered to whittle it down rather than just invite any family and friends they could lay their hands on.
"I'd better get back soon, before she notices I'm gone too long."
Daphne waved her sister goodbye before picking up her book and beginning to read again. However, it was only a matter of minutes before her silence was interrupted again. Sighing at the sound of footsteps Daphne saved her place, set down her book and turned. But instead of seeing Astoria, who Daphne had guessed had forgotten something or decided to postpone going back into the Drawing Room for a few moments longer, her eyes fell upon Draco Malfoy.
"What do you want?" Daphne asked with only a hint of dislike. It was a step up from her usual scathing tone.
"To talk," Draco said simply taking the seat that Astoria had just vacated. There was a moment of silence where Daphne continued to look at Draco, not bothering break the ice for him. While she was willing to give him a chance he was going to have to work for it. She wasn't utterly convinced that he had changed. To Daphne the man before her was as equally obsessed with money and status as he had always been.
"Earlier, you made me tea. Why?"
"A peace offering," Daphne answered honestly, resisting the temptation to reply with sarcasm. It was about time he knew. Their little game had gone on long enough. Daphne's father had been right, there was no point ruining her relationship with Astoria just because she hated Draco and everything people like him stood for. Astoria loved him. That wasn't going to change, no matter Daphne wanted it to.
"A peace offering?"
"Yes," Daphne nodded. "You and I both love my sister. I think it's time we got over ourselves. I'm certainly not going anywhere and apparently neither are you."
"You're right," Draco agreed, "I do love her."
"I know, that's why I said it," Daphne countered impatiently. It was difficult, trying not to be annoyed by someone who she had held such strong feelings against for so long. "Look, I'm never going to be your friend. But for Tori's sake, I'm not going to be your enemy either. There is, however, one condition to this little truce. You promise me that you will never hurt her."
"I promise," Draco answered almost immediately as if in his mind it wasn't even up for debate.
"Are you sure, Draco? Because if I ever find out that you've broken your promise Azkaban will be the least of your worries." She didn't raise her voice, if anything she let it go deathly quiet, fixing her eyes on Draco. "Do I make myself clear?"
What colour the pale man's face usually held vanished under Daphne's icy gaze. But his eyes never moved from hers. In that moment she barely recognised him. Gone was the coward who had hidden behind Crabbe and Goyle. Looking back at her wasn't a bully using the marriage for a power play or money or status. Instead, she was staring into the eyes of a man, while far from perfect, who loved her sister. If he didn't, if he really hadn't changed, Daphne knew he would have run by now and fled the threat that was all too real.
"Yes," Draco said eventually. "I love Astoria, I would never hurt her."
Daphne nodded simply. It was all she needed to do, because that was all she needed to hear. Draco truly did love Astoria and that was good enough for Daphne. While she might never see the attraction, Daphne could not stand in the way anymore. Maybe people really did change. It was an interesting question and one she had always dismissed. People were who they were, deep down they would never change. But perhaps, that wasn't the case for everyone. Maybe there were a few who really could change. Faced with the facts in front of her she had to admit it was a possibility, because the Draco Malfoy she knew would never have married for love.
Draco didn't say anything else, but he didn't really need to. He had gotten what he needed to off his chest and had his questions answered, so when the silence descended upon them once more he didn't stay around long to enjoy it. Given what he had to get back to Daphne was mildly surprised. She would take awkward, stony silence over being trapped in a room with Narcissa Malfoy and the meticulous planning of a wedding. Although, Draco was related to her so he did have some duties. Daphne was not looking forward to the day that she was required to do her part for the newly formed committee that had formed in her Dining Room. But that day wouldn't be for a couple of weeks. They had all the other pointless decisions to get through before they started looking at bridesmaids dress robes.
