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Daphne was having trouble paying attention to the prattle around her. She found her eyes constantly straying to the infuriating boy sitting with the younger blonde at the Ravenclaw table. She knew there was no reason to feel like this, but it wasn't often that her kindness was rejected.

Mainly because Daphne never offered her kindness in the first place, but still, the point stands.

"Daphne, stop ignoring me!"

Daphne narrowed her eyes at Potter before giving the girl next to her a look. "Tracey. Shut it. I'm not in the mood."

She ignored the pout Tracey gave her before trying to put all her focus on breakfast. Sometimes Daphne wondered why she tolerated Tracey so much before having to remind herself that she was blood. And blood was everything to Daphne.

"Is it Potter? You don't have to do what daddy told us. I don't think he'll care if you say no."

Daphne shot Tracey another look and kept ignoring her. They might almost be identical in looks, the only difference being Tracey's brown hair with light-colored streaks compared to Daphne's blonde, but their personalities were as different as can be.

It was perhaps the result of their father raising them differently. Tracey was often left to her mother, while Daphne was given a rather stern upbringing under their father's hand. It also didn't help that her own mother was more than willing to allow her husband to do so.

Not that Daphne's mother did the same when Astoria arrived. Apparently, her youngest sister was too adorable, or so her parents said.

Daphne later learned the reason she and Tracey were brought up differently was that she was the eldest of the house. Plus, there was no way her mother would let the daughter of a mere mistress get the same upbringing as Daphne.

It should be mentioned that Daphne and Tracey didn't share the same mother but had the same father. House Greengrass having a mistress was basically an open secret among the purebloods.

That left Daphne with two spoiled younger sisters that did nothing but pester her with their antics. The saving grace was that Daphne had somehow tamed them into acting reserved when in public. It also helped that Professor Snape taught Slytherins the Muffliato spell. Merlin knows how quickly her image would have fallen if not for that.

"Daphne!" Tracey whined, "I know eggs can't be that interesting!"

Daphne rolled her eyes as she chewed on her eggs, once again thanking the Muffliato spell. It had become a staple whenever Tracey chose to sit with her.

After she swallowed, Daphne asked, "What did I say about Potter?"

Tracey shrunk at the glare she received from identical green eyes. "… Don't talk about him?"

"That's right," Daphne nodded as she continued, "Don't think about him, don't look at him, and do your best to not be in the same room as him when I'm not around. And if you're alone, run as far as you can."

"I'm not a child, Daphne! I can talk to him if I want."

"You can," Daphne agreed amicably, "If you don't mind the chance of being taken for everything you have."

Tracey flinched when Daphne poked her forehead. "Everything in here is like a book for Potter if he decides to go that far. I keep telling you to practice occlumency, but you never listen."

"You make him sound like a bogeyman," Tracey muttered resentfully.

"You know what he did to the other purebloods when they tried to step on him. Potter's far worse than a mere bogeyman. He will be even worse this year. I saw the look he had during the welcoming feast. Potter is out for blood."

"If he's so bad, why are you talking to him then? And you even told daddy that you could get Potter to agree!"

Daphne gave a scornful look to Tracey. "Potter is powerful, and he thirsts to be more. I'd be a fool if I turned up my nose at him."

"Yeah, well, it's not like he'll be living for long anyway," Tracey sniffed, "Daddy said the Dar—."

Tracey's sentence was muffled by Daphne's hand.

"Watch what you say," Daphne hissed, "This spell isn't infallible."

Daphne only let go when Tracey nodded, leaving her brunette sister finally silent. It should have brought her satisfaction, but her cold heart twisted uncomfortably when Tracey wasn't her annoying self.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" Daphne sighed, "I shouldn't have done that, but you need to be more careful. Especially this year."

Tracey was a little more mollified, knowing how hard it was to get an apology from her.

Daphne gave her the slightest of smiles before turning back to her breakfast. Tracey had always been the most troublesome of her sisters. Mainly because she was in Slytherin. Daphne still wasn't sure how Tracey was sorted into this house. In her opinion, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would have been a much better fit.

However, since reality was what mattered, Daphne had to make sure Tracey was protected. Viola Stone had been the unwilling sacrifice to make that happen. Daphne's old friend volunteered herself when she inadvertently made Tracey tear up by calling her mother a slag.

Daphne didn't disagree with Viola, of course. She was not fond of Tracey's mother either, but she would never hurt her sister by saying that out loud. Usually, Daphne would have pulled Viola aside and given her a stern talk, but to protect Tracey, she needed to blow up the matter.

That, unfortunately, meant Viola had to be cut out of her life. In remembrance of their friendship, Daphne graciously allowed her to leave Hogwarts unharmed. But in a way that let everyone in Slytherin know that Tracey was well protected.

Daphne glanced over in Potter's direction again, but her eye caught something else. Thompson was eyeing up her littlest sister as she was leaving the Great Hall. Her body tensed slightly, wondering if she should ward off her worries by following Astoria.

Daphne knew that she couldn't be allowed to experience any more setbacks. What Thompson did to Astoria sapped enough of her vitality without damaging her magical potential, thankfully. If there was a repeat of what happened, Daphne knew that her little sister would no longer have a life worth living.

"I need to go, Tracey. Stay with Starkey until I come back."

Daphne left her unfinished breakfast and left the Great Hall as fast as she could without seeming rushed. It was better to be safe than sorry where Astoria was concerned.

There was a reason purebloods clamored about muggleborns stealing their magic in the past. It wasn't because they were truly doing so, but that there was a wizard insane enough to create a ritual that did something similar.

He also happened to be a muggleborn.

The only reason something so fantastical hadn't become all the rage was the side effects of the ritual. The near certainty of a gruesome death as your own magic rebelled against your body. Only fools, or politicians furthering their own goals, would believe the stealing magic nonsense.

This was why the family was stunned when Astoria had the symptoms of having her magic stolen. Daphne owed Potter more than he would know for telling her who was responsible. And even more, after he had finally dealt with Thompson.

Speaking of which, Daphne had to remind Potter to get on with it. Thompson was far too happy today for her tastes. Happy enough to look at her sister again. That shouldn't, couldn't, happen.

"Astoria!" Daphne saw her little sister flinch before freezing in place, "What do you think you're doing?"

"D-Daphne," Astoria stammered nervously, "I forgot something in my room."

"And you decided to go by yourself? I told you a couple of upperclassmen would escort you if you had to go somewhere."

"It's just to the common room! Nothing's going to happen!"

Daphne rubbed her brow in frustration. She supposed it was her fault that Astoria didn't know Thompson was the one that caused her current state, but her little sister was the worst at keeping secrets. She couldn't know until Potter had taken care of the problem.

"I just told Tracey this. I want you to be careful this year. This is not a joke, Astoria. I'm not going to accept your excuses for doing something stupid."

Daphne ignored the annoyed huff Astoria let out when she gestured for her to move along. "It won't be for long. Just a few more weeks. I promise."

Astoria side-eyed Daphne, clearly not believing her. She had been treated like some sort of porcelain glass since the end of last year. The worst was the atrocious potion she had been forced to drink every week.

The most annoying part was that she couldn't figure out what potion she was being fed. Of the Greengrass sisters, Astoria knew her potion skills paled in comparison to the others. Still, she hadn't realized it was this bad.

Of course, Astoria didn't know she was being highly unfair to herself. After all, a potion couldn't be recognized if it was newly created just for her.

"This isn't the way to Ravenclaw Tower," Daphne commented as they went in the opposite direction of the tower.

"I know."

"So you lied about forgetting something," Daphne frowned as she grabbed Astoria's hand to stop her, "Why?"

"You won't care, Daphne," Astoria tried unsuccessfully to pull her hand free, "You'll probably just laugh."

"I can decide that for myself," Daphne's mind was racing with one ridiculous possibility after another before settling on boy trouble.

Astoria was a Greengrass, after all, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she was getting looks from hormonal boys. However, like with Tracey, Daphne would have to check the boy in question if he wanted any chance with Astoria.

"I couldn't sit at the table anymore. Alexander kept bragging about what he did to Luna like it was something to be proud of! And everyone laughed!"

Daphne blinked, realizing that it was boy trouble of another kind. With a sigh, she patted Astoria's head with more force than intended.

"Ow! Why'd you hit my head!"

"You're too kind, little sister," Daphne ignored the angry look Astoria was shooting at her, "Why are you getting angry about someone you don't know?"

"I know her!" Astoria protested, "Luna's just a little odd, so I don't know how to talk to her for too long."

Daphne narrowed her eyes in thought, thinking over the people Astoria talked to at Ravenclaw. Still, she couldn't grasp who Luna would be. It was to be expected since she didn't bother remembering most students that she thought would amount to nothing.

"I'm jealous she got Harry's attention, though. Most of my friends are too."

Daphne's thought process halted in its tracks. "Is Luna the small blonde girl Potter was talking to today?"

"She is... Why?"

"There's no reason for you to bother with her issues. I'm sure Potter will do something about it eventually."

In fact, Daphne suspected Potter was the cause of this Luna's problems, just so he could be the one to swoop in and save the day to get her gratitude. It hadn't been the first time Potter had done something like that.

"Harry does seem like someone who would do that."

Daphne's thoughts were halted again, something she was finding quite tiring at this point. "What was that, Astoria?"

Astoria didn't hear the warning hidden in her sister's tone and went on to praise Harry liberally. "It would be something Harry always does, right? He helps people. I've seen him with some of the older students. He must have found out about Luna getting bullied and decided to step in today."

Daphne stared at her, wondering how she had been cursed with one sister more stupid than the other. Then again, she supposed Tracey still took the top spot since she had seen what Potter was capable of and still had some strange attraction to him. At least Astoria had the excuse of being in Ravenclaw, so Potter was just the helpful upperclassman to her.

"Have you talked to Potter?" Daphne asked casually, almost dreading the answer.

"No!" Astoria's face went red with embarrassment, "Every time I think about it, I get too shy."

"Good," Daphne's sigh of relief was audible, making Astoria look at her in confusion, "It'll be a little awkward if my little sister confesses to the boy that likes me."

Daphne discreetly looked around while Astoria's eyes grew wide in shock. It was a lapse in judgment to say that without checking for their privacy. Luckily, it seemed like it had been harmless.

"You said no!" Astoria almost shrieked, making Daphne finally cast the Muffliato spell.

"Of course," Daphne smirked, "Do you think someone of his status deserves the privilege of dating a Greengrass?"

"I wouldn't mind," Astoria's voice was quieter than the squeak of a mouse, "I think Harry is pretty, and he's kind."

And that was why Daphne was saying such ridiculous lies. She doubted Potter would do anything even if Astoria confessed to him, but she didn't want to take the chance. She didn't leave much about her sisters to chance, just like her father drilled into her head while growing up.

"Potter may be those things, but would you want to be seen as a replacement for me? We look alike, Tori, and it wouldn't be hard for him to see it that way."

Daphne thought she deserved an acting award for saying Potter could be kind with a straight face. Perhaps she succeeded because she focused more on him being pretty. After all, he was very much a pretty-looking boy.

That was why Daphne had to ward off Astoria from such dangerous thoughts. Potter's pretty exterior hid the endlessly ruthless wizard that he was.

"Fine," Astoria pouted, "I'll stay away from him."

"Good girl," Daphne smiled and patted her head again, much to Astoria's frustration, "Now, where are we really going?"

"Nowhere, really," Astoria said with a shrug, "I was going to wander the halls until class started."

Daphne crushed her instinct to tell Astoria off for being so careless and smiled, "Then let's wander the halls. It's been a while since I did that."

This story is 8 chapters ahead for my patrons