Chapter 2— The Girls Who Would Become

Become, v.: to not be, and then start to be.

I woke up to a feeling of residual giddiness and contentedness. I yawned, a lazy smile on my lips, thinking of how nice it would be if the dream I had last night had been real. Me, a witch! I giggled as I stretched in bed.

And then I opened my eyes and the huge lavish room, in all its oak-furnished and marble-ornamented glory, was still there.

Also, Astoria Greengrass was sitting right in front of me.

I looked into her concerned eyes. I blinked. She blinked back. I rubbed my eyes. She was still there. Blinking.

"Wha—!" I yelped, startling so badly that I fell from the bed in a tangle of too-short limbs and bedsheets.

Holy fuck, had everything actually happened?

I looked around and saw all the toys that had moved and lighted up the night before. The little rodent-like one was sitting neatly on a shelf right beside the bed, tiny black button eyes staring at me. The double-panelled windows with a seat below and high embroidered curtains, the row of ballet shoes hanging from a beautifully carved wall hanger, the bookshelf with titles like Proper Etiquette for a Pureblooded Maiden and Heiress Extraordinaire (now with built-in punishment jinxes for indolent missies!)... It was all still here.

Holy fuck, everything had actually happened! I was here! In this body! Me!

Seeing I was too busy gaping at every little thing (omg is that a floating tray I see over there?), Astoria ended up helping me get up and into bed again. I sank in the puddle of pillows, sighing contentedly, an irrepressible grin on my face. I knew I had to reign in my excitement, at least until I was alone, but it was so damn hard!

I took a deep breath and checked the food in the (magical!) tray. It was filled with eggs, bacon, sandwiches and a bunch of other treats! This was heaven! "Isn't it a beautiful day, sis?" I exclaimed, already devouring the full English breakfast that people still seemed to favor in the 90s. Possessing another body makes you awfully hungry, it turns out!

Astoria looked at me like she was highly concerned for my sanity. I suppose I did make quite a spectacle of myself the night before, and a moment ago, and possibly now as well; and I didn't know anything of Daphne's personality, so it was very likely that I was acting out of character… Still, I had no way of fixing that, so whatever.

"Healer Tremellen said you had likely lost all memories… I wonder if the change in appetite has something to do with that, too…" she murmured while watching me put three folded pieces of bacon, half a sausage and an egg inside a sandwich and eating the whole thing in one go.

So I was acting out of the ordinary. Oopsie.

I chuckled sheepishly and patted a spot near me in the bed. "Are you going to sit on that chair forever? Come here, come here. Have a sandwich."

She fidgeted in her seat, hesitating. "Are you sure?".

"O-bvi! I can't finish this all by myself and the bed is huge!"

Astoria seemed deeply confused by the 'obvi' thing, but she obediently hopped on next to me. I put a sandwich in her hand.

"So…" I started, losing a bit of my giddiness. A concerning thought had just occurred to me. "What happened after I fainted?"

She nipped at her treat thoughtfully. "After your burst of accidental magic?" Slightly shocked, I nodded. So that's what made everything shiny and floaty! Now things made sense. "Everyone argued for a long time, so long that they even forgot I was there so I wasn't sent to my room." She looked distinctly smug about that. Probably because she was inadvertently allowed to miss bedtime. Cute. "And then Healer Tremellen cast a spell I had never heard before on you. Segilliblens? No, no, that's not it…"

Wait. I felt myself grow pale, sandwich forgotten on the bed comforter.

Could it be? "Legilimens?"

She gave one solemn nod. "Yes. That was it," she confirmed, and then tensed for some reason. "Is your memory coming back?"

"It isn't…" I responded, distractedly. Even though she visibly relaxed, I wasn't paying much attention. Legilimens? The healer had cast legilimens on me? What if he saw that I wasn't— no, Astoria wouldn't be so calm if she was aware I wasn't her sister. Not to mention I would no doubt not be in this fancy room anymore if the cat had gotten out of the bag about that pesky business.

I frowned, implications rushing through my head in quick motion. It felt like a bucket of cold water when I reached the conclusion that nothing good would come of people here learning the truth. They were magical, and as such, dangerous. If they knew I wasn't Daphne, nothing assured my safety in this place. I had no guarantees her parents wouldn't poke and probe me with magic until they either got their daughter back or I just didn't exist anymore. Even in the case I told the truth, the best that could happen was that they did not believe me.

But if they already cast legilimens…

Slowly, I turned to Astoria, who was back to looking worried. "And… what happened when he cast that spell on me?"

I was afraid of knowing the answer, but I needed to ask the question. In the worst case scenario, I would have to run away.

With no money, no direction, no belongings, no wand and not even much spatial perspective.

Yeah, that would definitely go well for me.

"He said he couldn't see anything," she responded. I raised my eyes and held hers in a steady gaze, willing her to keep talking. She chewed on a nail a bit, and did. "He said your mind was like a swirl, I think? That it pushed him out of there. And he seemed unwell when the spell ended, too… He had to leave soon after."

What? I thought. What does that mean?

As far as my knowledge about the world of this book went, the only way to kick someone out of your mind was with Occlumency. But to sicken someone just from going inside it, and while being unconscious to top? I didn't think that was even possible, and even if it was, it would take years upon years of training to be able to do it.

So how did I, someone who was basically a muggle and who had barely seen magic once in all her two lifetimes, manage?

It was as if…

"Our minds are incompatible," I reasoned. Astoria hummed ambiguously, but I could tell she wasn't following my train of thought.

Of course, she wouldn't. She didn't know I was originally a muggle, and it only made sense if you were aware of that piece of information. My mind right now was possibly not only unknown territory for most wizardkind, simply for being wired differently than theirs, but if I was to trust Astoria's recounting then I had a burst of accidental magic. A bit uncommon for children in Hogwarts age, but for me… Me, who was essentially a magic-imbued muggle in her first day as a magical being, it added up. I couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos that was likely reigning over my mind and soul ever since the moment I first came into this world.

"Are you alright?" Astoria asked, putting a hand on my back.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't touch me!"

Flinching. A muttered apology. The feeling of regret.

…Huh?

"Oh, I'm sorry! Sorry, I shouldn't have touched you, I'm…"

I hadn't realized it, but apparently I'd been staring at Astoria's hand on me. She removed it with haste, panicked.

That's when something strange switched within me. I felt something akin to instinct telling me that I needed to put her at ease. I was weak with children when I was alive, so I would've done it anyway, but this… This was different. It was a feeling so deep-rooted I had to wonder whether it was related to that glimpse of something I had just seen.

"Don't worry," I said, smiling in a way I hoped was reassuring. "I was just startled because I'm a bit disoriented, that's all." I put my hand on top of the one she had pulled away and squeezed, making her gasp in surprise. Was she not used to physical contact? "You can touch my back or hold my hand whenever you want to. Uh, unless I'm carrying something, I guess… But anytime else is fine!"

Ugh, what was I even saying?

It seemed to work, though. Astoria looked glad I was telling this to her. She was even smiling for the first time since coming here— it was tentative, and shy, but it was a smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked timidly, brows furrowed and cheeks flushed. Gosh, was this kid cute!

"Of course!" I answered firmly. And, since kids like to feel needed: "My hands are always so cold, you can warm them up for me whenever you want. How does that sound?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed immediately. "Ah! But…" Oh, no, had I said something wrong? She went back to looking upset! "My hands are always cold, too…"

She frowned at her hands as if they were to blame for all her problems, pouting and looking infinitely dejected. My God, did she think I wouldn't want to hold hands with her if they weren't warm? What even was this precious baby?

"Then, how about this?" I suggested, trying to play it cool and not hug her half to death. I took both her hands into mine, and made it so that our fingers were intertwined. "If we hold each other's hands, they will both get warm. See?"

"Oh…" Now she stared at our hands like they held the secret to the universe, fascinated. Then she turned her huge eyes, full of wonder, to me. "And I can hold them whenever I like?"

Seriously, was this how things were going to be from now on? Not only was I blessed to be reincarnated into the Harry Potter world, but the universe had gifted me with an adorable little sister too? Had I been that good in my previous life?

I didn't think so, but anyhow, thank you, universe!

"Yes, you can."

She beamed at me, and something within me felt really, really happy.

Astoria and I ate our cookies, and now she was helping me put on an incomprehensibly-complicated-to-zip-up-yet-unexpectedly-comfortable dress that was, according to her, 'for interiors'. Whatever that meant. She called it robes, because of course, and she picked it up from a huge dressing room filled with all sorts of clothes that I had in my dormitory. The Greengrasses were filthy rich, huh? It made sense, since I did remember they were in the Sacred Twenty-Eight… Oh, I wonder if they knew the Malfoys!

"Um…" Astoria made something click on the back of my clothes before turning around to choose a pair of shoes. She seemed like she wanted to say something but didn't dare. She glanced at me with her big doe eyes wearing a troubled expression, then bit her lip, then made a distressed kind of sound, then stared at my shoes for a while, then at my hand, and then at me with a frown.

Cute! Adorable! I wanted to hug her so bad!

"Are you sure…" she finally started. I nodded encouragingly, a grin on my face. "Are you sure that you don't remember anything? Father or Mother or… about me?" She seemed awfully invested in hearing an answer, anxious, and I honestly couldn't tell if she would prefer it if I did or didn't have any memories left.

"I don't. Yet," I responded, searching for an answer of my own in her expression. Astoria sighed, but it wasn't a sad or a relieved sound. It was as if she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. "But I do know your name is Astoria, and you're my little sister."

Astoria showed a tiny smile at that. It would've made me proud of myself had it not vanished so quickly. "Soon you'll wish I wasn't, like before," she whispered, talking more to herself than me. She sounded so sure, it broke my heart a little.

"Why do you say that?"

Astoria opened her mouth, but saw something past my shoulder and closed it again, gulping. She left the shoes she had picked where they were and stood upright in a hurry.

I turned around, thrown by her actions, and saw her father was right behind me. How had he even gotten in when the door was still closed? Had he Apparated here? Or Alohomora'd the lock?

I didn't mind Astoria just waiting on me while I slept, but she was a little girl. This was a full-grown man! Like, ever heard of privacy? God.

"I called a cursebreaker specialized in legilimency and another Healer to examine you. They're in the East Wing's drawing room," he said, not even bothering with a greeting, or an explanation. I quirked a disbelieving eyebrow. How was I supposed to know where that was? For all he knew, I didn't even know what a cursebreaker was.

I mean, I did. Obviously. Bill Weasley existed. But he didn't know that!

I kept staring at him in silence until he cleared his throat. "I came to take you," he added. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes because really— that still didn't mean I understood anything that came out of your mouth, sir! Besides, I was amnesiac, would it kill you to behave with a little bit of sympathy?

Not that I actually deserved it, since the reason I didn't have Daphne's memories was that I wasn't Daphne, but he didn't know that either.

I saw Astoria moving away from the corner of my eye, so I quickly forgot all about this weird man and walked to her. I grabbed her hand, smiling. "I'll see you later?" I asked.

"...If you want to," she said. Gosh, what was up with that cautious answer? I thought we had bonded!

I started telling her that of course I would, but was stopped mid-sentence by a hand on my shoulder. Her father stood behind me, staring at Astoria like she was an eyesore he wished would just vanish. Astoria's shoulders hunched perceptibly, her eyes moving downwards so quickly it could only be her instinctual response to do so.

A strict hand that silenced all questions. A gaze lingering upon a lonely child as footsteps moved far away from her. The heavy weight of guilt.

A cold kind of anger settled within me. These were Daphne's memories, weren't they?

Astoria made to walk away again, but my hold on her stopped her. I shrugged off her father's hand, startling him into looking at me. I stepped to the side to block Astoria from his sight, then fixed my robes with lazy little pats. Even as his eyes bore into me instead of her, I refused to act cowed.

By all accounts, the man was scary: he was big, I hadn't seen him smile once since I'd met him, and he had the sort of beauty that one finds intimidating to be in near proximity of— like a moody supermodel who was also a war veteran or something.

But, really, who gave him the right to stare at a child that way? I didn't know their story, the books never went into much detail about Draco Malfoy's spouse's background, but wasn't she his daughter?

"Now that I think about it, Astoria can accompany me." I heard her gasp softly, so I held her hand tighter. Her father seemed to want to refute me, but I kept talking: "I need help to finish changing clothes. You won't do that, will you?"

The man frowned, and stared at me some more, but eventually gave a curt nod and walked out of the dressing room. Oof, I thought he would just call a creepy house elf to help me. I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet.

"Gah, he's the worst! How could he stare at you like that!?" I snapped as soon as I felt the entrance door click shut, free hand on my hip. When I turned around, Astoria was staring at our hands again. "Is something wrong, sis?"

She lifted her gaze and shook her head, smiling sweetly at me. "Nothing at all."

Astoria and I were walking down a corridor, heading towards the East Wing. I knew there was a possibility that I wouldn't be so lucky with a second examination like I apparently was with the first, but I couldn't concentrate on my impending doom.

You see, the walls were a pretty shade of beige, there was a skylight in the roof that provided natural light, there were golden torches lining the walls for when it was dark, and the floors were clean and polished… The only issue here was that the portraits were talking.

Now, I know what you're going to say. 'But portraits have always talked in the Harry Potter universe! That's nothing new!'

And you know what? I hear you. Really, I do. Intellectually, I assure you that I knew they would talk. After all, as you say, living portraits were nothing uncommon.

I urge you to consider this, though: uncanny valley. You know, when there's something that isn't a person but looks and acts like one, and it ends up being unsettling for actual people? Well, that's what I was feeling— they weren't amazing me, they were creeping me out. Besides, I had grown up in a world where if a portrait's eyes followed your every move and the walls talked in hushed tones about you, they belonged in a horror movie. Can you really blame me for being peeved off by that?

"I've always thought they were scary," Astoria whispered in my ear as we all but power walked to the drawing room. "But they're our ancestors, so you can't speak ill about them…" She covered her mouth. "So I shouldn't have said that!"

"No, no, I completely understand," I reassured her, feeling a bit better inside these endless corridors. "It's like— they're people, but they're not really alive, they're just like people that were alive, and if you pay attention you can even distinguish the paintbrushes on them, so it all just feels… icky. Doesn't it?"

"Yes, yes, exactly!" she exclaimed, too loudly if one were to judge by the way the whole hall went eerily quiet and every set of eyes moved to us. Eek, eek, eek! I felt shivers down my spine!

I squeezed Astoria's hand, gulping. "Want to make a run for it?"

She turned to me. I grinned, and she grinned back.

We ran all the way left to the drawing room, laughing to the offended sound of our ancestors' protests and leaving all fears behind us.

The door opened on its own the second we reached the drawing room, so we didn't have time to catch our breaths before all the adults in the place saw us wheeze and hold our stomachs in half laughter, half breathlessness. Not a very proper sight, assuming from the look Madam Mother over there was giving us.

"Miss Daphne, please come inside," someone with a squeaky voice told me. When I followed the source, I found a Dobby lookalike— no, a Kreacher lookalike standing by the door. I didn't think this was the same one I encountered in my first moments in this world. That house elf had been younger-looking, and their voice sounded female. The creature before us now was wrinkly and decrepit, with huge eyes hidden under bushy eyebrows. Weren't all house elves bald, or did that only apply to their heads?

Anyhow, at least it seemed house elves weren't as creepy as I'd thought the night before. It was most likely because the scenery this time wasn't a dark forest in the middle of a rainstorm, but still.

"How are you feeling?" Astoria's mother asked me before I even set foot inside. "You seem in much better shape than last night, darling."

That was true. "I—"

"Ah! Don't you hear that, Healer Wilson? She's perfectly alright by now! There's no need to keep making such a fuss over a trivial thing and disturb your father any longer, is there, Daphne dear?"

"Well, I—"

"Wonderful, wonderful! Now, Headow, go show our dear guests the way out—"

What's with this woman?

"Quiet," her husband's voice echoed, and he shot her a single annoyed glance. She shut up automatically.

Big yikes, but alright, not my business. I took a step forward, but bounced back because Astoria stayed in place and we were still joined at the hands. I looked back at her, frowning, but I didn't get to say anything before her father interrupted me.

"Return to your bedroom, Astoria," he said.

That took me unaware. What?

"No, I don't want her to go," I declared, but her father was unaffected by my words. In fact, he did nothing but stare at me, as if willing me to shut up too. That wouldn't work on me, though, as I wasn't her meek wife over there. "She's the only one who even visited me this morning, I want her here!"

"Daphne!" Astoria's mother gasped. "How dare you speak to your father like this! Apologize right this instant!"

I glared at her, causing her to gape at me like she had never before seen such insulting behavior. Did Daphne never defy her or what? Wasn't she a pre-teen? I at least was a nightmare at that age.

Astoria squeezed my hand in the middle of my staring contest with both her parents. I turned around, and she had that same sweet smile she wore when we were in the other room. Her head was slightly tilted to the side, like she was trying to figure me out even as she let go of her hold on me.

"I'll go," she told me, and then lowered her voice enough so that only I could hear. "I'll come visit you later, if you still want me to."

Man, I understood by now that she and Daphne weren't by any means close, but I wished she wouldn't be so wary around me.

Still, I knew it was not a very wise idea to put Astoria in the spotlight like this. She was just a child, after all. And so I sighed, long and resigned.

"I will want you to visit me, Astoria," I told her, patting her head. Her eyes widened and turned sad. "I promise, alright?"

She bit her bottom lip. I didn't think she fully believed me yet, but she nodded and turned around.

I watched her go with trepidation rapidly increasing within me. In a way, it felt like my only ally had just walked away, and all I was left with was people I couldn't trust.

And they were the ones with my fate in their hands.

I forgot to thank catmik for betaeing this work in the previous chapter! She's writing a reincarnation story too, except it's for another fandom and in another language, err... But if you can, give it a read! It's quite a ride!

By the way, I also forgot to mention this earlier, but English isn't my first language. If you spot any grammar mistakes from now on, lmk!

Oh, and thank you to the people who reviewed! I'm very glad you liked the story! Regarding the accent, I'm just gonna say that Daphne Greengrass might be just a little more influential on our MC than we first thought. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

edit 12/09: I tweaked the breakfast scene a bit cuz I remembered people in HP eat full English breakfasts at like 8am. Nothing major, just a few changes.