Summary: Tracey just wanted to be themself, unchained and unashamed. Daphne was the only one who could help set them free.
Genre: General
Rated: T
Warning Tag: Child Abuse; Misogyny; Agenderphobic
Behave
"Behave like the lady I am raising you to be!" their mother would screech as she patched up another gashed knee.
Tracey liked climbing trees, but dresses and skirts made this near impossible. They snagged on branches and caused them to lose balance often, and it always made Mother angry when she saw yet another dress torn to pieces in the aftermath of such an activity. Tracey found the aesthetic of the dress pleasing if they could only properly refine it some, but their mother would toss them into the rubbish bin as soon as it was stripped from their person.
"Honestly, child! How are you able to do ballet on a broken leg and ankle?" their mother scolded as Tracey laid in the hospital bed with a freshly plastered cast on and bottles of Skele-Gro left on the end table.
The physical pain they could endure, it was the emotional anguish their parents put them through that forced them to hate the facade of that perfect pureblood daughter they sought after. It caused them to wither just a little bit more every time. They never liked dancing anyway, and that old oak tree in the forest was very appealing to scale. A win-win in the end.
Chin up, shoulders squared, smooth out the wrinkles of your skirt as you sit. Smile and laugh at everyone's comments and playful wooing and awkward touching. Be coy, be wanted; it was what a proper pureblood lady does to find a suitor to secure their future.
"Ladies do not wear trousers with corsets and button-ups!" Their father bellowed, slashing their arms and legs with a slicing charm to shred the clothing off their body.
They'd been caught in their brother's room, digging out the old clothes he no longer wore to take to school with them where they could wear them without fear. They fled to their room crying while holding the scraps of clothing together to conceal themselves. How much crueler could he get?
Apparently much, much worse...
If only Daphne were there with them to wash away the pain and soothe the bruises with her touch. To wipe away the tears and tell them that there was nothing wrong with them and that she loved them the way they were. There was nothing wrong.
Tracey embraced it by the time they were fifteen. Conforming to gender roles was something they would actively fight against their parents with for the sake of their sanity and very identity. Daphne helped them break their betrothal by bonding with them, tethering their magic together forever and always. To help heal the wounds and re-mend their damaged spirit from the suffering they endured. This was enough to have them disowned and tossed to the streets by those who had no right to be called family.
Just wait until their father realizes that they nicked one of his pipes. After all, ladies would never smoke in such an undignified way…
Originally Written For:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)
Monthly Challenges for All
Word Count: 493
Originally Written: August 2019