Thank you to alix33 and LordSinnoh for pointing out several grammatical mistakes. I've gone back and updated previous chapters. As always, thank you everyone that has been following along.
Her fingers were slowly drumming themselves against the wall, making a small tapping sound with each passing second. If this wasn't an indication of her growing annoyance, Daphne didn't know what is. After an hour of sitting on an outdated wooden chair, her limit peaked and she couldn't take it anymore. The stupid chair had to go. She glared at the wooden contraption and with a wave of her wand, the chair transformed itself into a comfortable barcalounger, similar to the one in her apartment.
Daphne uttered a sigh of relief as she leaned into the chair, enjoying the feeling of soft cushion against her body. She closed her eyes momentarily, to refocus herself as today was just a complete whirlwind. It was just nonstop chaos.
Chaos in the form of her sister.
Astoria came barging into her apartment earlier morning, demanding to hang out but Daphne took one look outside and she immediately told her to go home. It was raining and the last thing she wanted was to go outside. Even with the amount of spells that could keep her dry, her mind was made up. She was going to spend the day in her warm apartment, curled up with a good book and a bottle of wine.
Arguments shortly followed and before Daphne knew it, she was already making her first purchase of the day. She stared at her sister, wondering when she learned to manipulate people like that. It was such a bittersweet moment, feeling both proud and annoyed at the same time.
According to Astoria, the whole point of this shopping trip was to get her some new clothes that would leave Potter completely speechless. To completely enslave him to her deepest desires. The idea sounded so good when it came out of Astoria's mouth so she relented. That unfortunately gave her sister the green light to grab anything she could within reach. Dresses. Skirts and blouses. Anything and everything was tossed her way and after an hour of continuously trying on outfits, she was ready for someone to end her misery.
A small fire. A horde of trolls. She'll even settle for some young children dressed as trolls screaming fire but nothing of the sort happened. By the third store, she was completely shopped out while her sister showed no signs of slowing down.
"Can we please go home? It's been hours."
"Soon. I promise but first, what do you think about this dress Daphne?" Astoria asked, twirling around once for her sister. "This one says I'm hot and I know how to party."
"No. Absolutely not!" Daphne stammered, her eyes widened at the dress that Astoria picked out. "I will not let my sister go around wearing something that barely covers her chest!"
"Come on Daphne!" Astoria pouted. "What's the point of having breasts if you can't show them off sometimes?" She further proved her point by pushing her chest out, much to her sister's dismay.
"Way to set us back a few decades Astoria." Daphne dryly answered. "It's not like we struggled to be treated the same way as our male counterparts."
"There's nothing wrong with looking nice though. Sometimes it's okay to loosen up but then again, maybe if you did that once in a while, you could've landed your white whale already." Astoria said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "If you want, I can give you some fishing tips."
"No!" Daphne shouted, her face flushed from embarrassment. There was no way she was going to go to her younger sister for sex advice. Her heart pounded against her chest as she pictured Harry lying in her bed with sheets wrapped around his torso.
Astoria burst out laughing. "I would pay a million galleons just to know what you're picturing right now. Maybe even two million."
"I will end you." Daphne muttered, glaring at her sister. "You're not getting that dress. Not up for discussion."
"Prude." Astoria retorted. She twirled once more and then suddenly stopped. Her mouth dropped and then quickly crouched, yanking Daphne onto the ground as well.
"What's gotten into you today Astoria!?" Daphne scolded. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Shush!" Astoria hissed, "Don't look now but she just walked into the store."
"She?" Daphne mouthed. "Mother?"
"No. Someone much worse." Astoria slowly peeked her head up and gestured for Daphne to join her. It didn't take long for Daphne to realize who her sister was referring to. That red-hair was unmistakable, even from a distance. "Do you think we should make a quick escape?"
"Don't be absurd. We've done nothing wrong."
"Oh Daphne, my naive big sister. Don't you get it? You're dating her very famous ex-boyfriend. There is no way someone like her is going to just let that go or do I need to remind you about certain incidents when we were Hogwarts? Or what happened to the last girl who looked at Harry? I heard she ended up with boils on her face."
Her face paled, slightly remembering the rumors that floated around Hogwarts. She didn't pay much attention to them at the time because it was what it was. Just rumors but after hearing the tone in her sister's voice... "There's no way she's that vindictive..." She said as her voice trailed off.
Astoria rolled her eyes. "When it comes to that chick, I wouldn't put it past her. Maybe the rumors are true. Maybe she is batshit crazy." She then paused and then tilted her head, her eyes roaming across Daphne's body. "Or maybe she's not..."
Daphne felt the need to cover herself with her arms and swatted her sister on the arm. "Can you stop doing that? It's creepy. Even for you."
"Don't flatter yourself." Astoria snorted. "I was only checking for bruises. I want to make sure that you're not hiding anything... given that you know..."
"I thought I told you not to believe everything the Prophet prints! Just look at her, do you think anything that comes out of her mouth is true?"
"Of course not but you can't blame me for being thorough. I just want to make sure he didn't lay a hand on you." Astoria then paused and grinned. "Unless you wanted him to. You naughty girl you."
"Okay, you need to stop." Daphne demanded. "I am not doing this with you right now." She stood back up and stretched her arms. "Come on Astoria, stop being silly and pick out a dress already. I don't want to spend all day in this store."
Astoria sighed and waved her wand over herself, changing back into her original clothes. "I'm still going to buy this dress. Who knows, maybe you'll want to borrow it in the future."
Daphne opened her mouth to reply but before she could, another voice chimed in. "Oh I highly doubt that. Someone like her wouldn't be able to do that dress justice. Only a real woman would be able to pull that off."
The two of them turned around and saw Ginny standing there, looking amused. Daphne rolled her eyes and ignored her. "Come on Astoria, we should get going. We have another appointment waiting for us."
Astoria caught the look on her sister's face and wisely held her tongue but that didn't stop her from giving Ginny a dirty look. With the dresses in hand, the two Greengrass sisters started walking away, leaving the youngest Weasley behind.
"I'm only going to tell this you once Greengrass. You need to stay the hell away from Harry." Ginny warned. "He doesn't need someone like you in his life."
Daphne shared a look with her sister, who mirrored her bewildered expression. "What are you even talking about? Harry and I are just friends." She explained. "Friends can go places with each other. That's not a crime."
"Look, I don't care what your reasons are but I'm telling you right now. Harry's spoken for. Go sink your fangs someplace else."
Her eyes widened, surprised at the hostility coming from the petite woman. She took a step back and cursed under her breath. Why did she have to have feelings for the one guy who had a crazy ex-girlfriend?
"And spare me the we-are-just-friends speech. I've seen the pictures of your little dates so you can't lie to me you little hussy."
"Excuse me?" Daphne replied, shocked at the accusation. "Look, I'm done trying to explain myself to you." She nodded to Astoria, signaling that it was time to take their leave.
Ginny sidestepped to the right, blocking their way out of the store. "Don't you dare run away from me Daphne Greengrass! You're not leaving here until you agree to back off Harry."
"Are you daft? Do you think I'm actually going to do it because you asked me to?"
"Yes. I'm not someone you want to be on bad terms with." Ginny said, crossing her arms. "I can make your life a living hell."
"Spare us the dramatics you two-knut slut." Astoria growled. "Isn't there a man out there whistling for you?"
"The adults are talking Astoria." Ginny said dismissively. She turned her attention back to Daphne, ignoring the death stares coming from Astoria. "Do yourself a favor and move on."
"Maybe you should listen to your own advice." Daphne muttered, "Why do you even care who Harry dates anyway? Weren't you the one who cheated on him?"
"You're right. I don't care who Harry sleeps with but he should at least have the decency of choosing someone who can match my stature. It's very insulting that he chose to sleep with someone like you. Doesn't he understand just how poorly it reflects back to me? It's like going from using a Firebolt to using a ratty Cleansweeper One. No offense dearly but surely you can understand my predicament. I'm a nationally ranked quidditch player and you're just an..." Ginny purposefully paused, a taunting smirk on her face. "Associate."
"Why you little bitch!" Astoria snarled, pulling her wand out and pointed it at Ginny. She was about to perform the strongest banishing spell she's ever done, fully intending to wipe that stupid smirk off Weasley's face. Consciences be damned, no one talks about her sister this way.
No one.
To her surprise, the spell never came out. Just when she was about to speak the first syllable, her wand was snatched away. "What the hell Daphne!?" Astoria ranted, redirecting her anger. "Give me back my wand!"
"Calm down Astoria." Daphne whispered, thrusting the wand back into her hand. "She just wants to get a reaction out of you."
"But she -"
"I know." She answered, cutting her sister off. If Weasley's sole purpose was to come here and humiliate her, then she chose the wrong day to do so. If she had shown up a few days ago, then maybe it would have worked but not today. Not with Harry's words empowering her. "That's an interesting point that you brought up Ginevra. Can you still call it a brand new Firebolt when so many men have taken it for a spin? I think that after so many times, it's no better than a... how did you put it? Oh yes. A ratty Cleansweeper One."
The reaction from Ginny was priceless. Her face turned the signature Weasley red and Astoria wanted to pat her sister on the back for a job well done. She didn't even bother to try and hide her smile.
"You think you're so smart don't you Greengrass but let me tell you something. It doesn't matter how hard you try because Harry's never going to love you back. I screwed him up so much that the only person he's ever going to love is me but go ahead. Try your damnest because when you eventually realize that he's never going to love you, I'm going to enjoy watching your heart shatter into a million pieces."
Daphne stared at her in disbelief. It was unfathomable that she would take pride in hurting another person. Her hand reacted instantly and without warning, slapped Ginny right across the face. "What kind of monster are you Weasley!? How could you do something like that to Harry? To someone you love!"
Ginny gritted her teeth, her eyes hardened. "I don't have to explain my actions to a nobody like you."
"You're right. You don't." Daphne calmly answered and with one fluid motion, her wand was already out and pointed at Ginny. "Harry's my friend and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you hurt him again."
"I would love to see you try Greengrass. Harry and I have a special bond, a connection that no one else would understand. I was his first girlfriend, his first serious relationship, his first love. I was his home and I was his future. Do you know what you are to him?" She taunted, not even caring about the position that she was in. "From where I'm standing... you're nothing but a pretty face."
"For Merlin's sake, how delusional are you Weasley!?" Astoria shouted, already grown tired of his. "You cheated on Potter with another man! He's never going to take you back in a million years! He rather sleep with a troll before he touches you again! Why can't you just leave the two of them alone and go back into whatever hole you crawled out of?"
"Because he's mine!" Ginny yelled back. "Potter's always been mine. I don't care what anyone says. I will have him!"
"Get over it! You screwed up. You can keep telling yourself that you were his first love all you want Weasley but at the end of it all, you weren't his true love. If you were, you wouldn't have spread your legs for the first man who whistled at you. I might not know Potter but I trust Daphne's judgment. I trust in her ability to find the one guy that would accept her for who she is, to love her unconditionally and if she thinks Potter is the one then who am I to stand in her way."
"I won't let it happen. I swear that Harry will come back to me. Just you watch!"
Astoria sadly shook her head. She thought she was stubborn but this witch takes the cake. She wanted to say something else but it was pointless talking to someone who didn't want to listen. Pity though. If only Weasley had enough common sense to listen, then whatever came next could have been avoided. She silently apologized to herself before headbutting Ginny.
Daphne gasped and rushed to catch her sister, carefully steadying her while Ginny staggered backwards into several mannequins, knocking everything down.
Astoria groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Did you feel that Weasley? That's just the beginning of the ass-kicking that I'm going to give you if interfere with my sister and Potter. Just you watch, when that idiot gets his head out of his ass, he's going to be moaning my sister's name ten times... no, a hundred times louder than he ever did yours. It's going to be so loud that even the heavens themselves will blush when they hear it."
"You'll pay for this." Ginny threatened, her hand clutching her forehead. She pushed herself back up, her eyes filled with rage. "I'm going to make you two regret this." That was the last thing she said before apparating from the store.
Daphne sighed and stared at her sister, who had a victorious grin on her face. "Was that really necessary Astoria? What if you get in trouble for this?"
"What's she going to do anyway? Get me fired? Please. There's nothing that she can do to me and if she decides to press charges against me, I'm sure father will destroy her." Astoria nonchalantly answered. "And besides, better me than you. You have something to live for you know."
"You mean my job?"
"No, I mean Potter. Isn't that why we're here in the first place? To get Potter to shag you senseless?"
"Astoria!" Daphne shouted, her cheeks turning red. "Harry and I aren't even dating. We're just friends."
"Please spare me the 'we're just friends' speech. I've heard it enough today." Astoria replied, rolling her eyes. "Tracey is a friend. Millicent is... barely a friend but you and Potter are definitely not 'just' friends. I've seen the way you are when you think about him and let me tell you something. You don't think about someone in that sort of context if you don't have any plans to date him. Let's face it, you like Potter and if you don't grab him soon, some other psychotic witch will."
"You think I'm psychotic?" Daphne asked, shocked at how her sister saw her. "You're joking right?"
Astoria shrugged her shoulders. "Any woman willing to date Potter has to be slightly crazy. I mean, have you seen the last witch who dated him? Completely bonkers."
So what did you think about this chapter?