A/N:
Written for the MoM Discord Group's April Monthly, I'm kind of in love with a disruptive Daphne. She only wants the best for her sister, and is willing to do what it takes to do so.
Summary: When Mrs. Malfoy tries to take over Astoria's wedding planning, Daphne decides to be THAT person and interrupt.
Words: 810
Prompts:
Ministry of Magic Discord Group: Mix and Match
Color: Lime
Character: Daphne Greengrass
Action: Plotting
"Ugliest Dress"
Daphne knew something had to be wrong with her for her to willingly wear lime green robes, but here she was, up on the hemming stool in Madam Malkin's robe shop, suffering the incessant nattering of her sister's future mother-in-law. Granted, Mrs. Malfoy was a sophisticated woman, but she was just like any other society wife: restrained by the restrictions of their society, and always the mouthpiece of her husband. Daphne had vowed, when she was younger, to never be like her own mother, a stay-at-home mother and a wallflower who only spoke up with her husband's opinions, not her own.
Daphne saw, and she understood. Tori, however, thrived on being a society wife. She enjoyed the brainless gossip and information collection that was the other side of the coin of being a housewife.
But would she even be a housewife, if the Malfoys still have elves to take care of the day to day life?
"Alright, dearie!" Madam Malkin stated, startling Daphne out of her thoughts. "You can go stand over there with the others," she directed. Daphne headed over to where the other three bridesmaids stood, each clad in a lime green color. Daphne wasn't sure what it was, perhaps the lighting, perhaps a vision that only Mrs. Malfoy had in her mind, but everyone else saw the dress robes for what they were: hideous.
"How do we convince Mrs. Malfoy that she should have us in silver dress robes and the guys in a darker green or vice versa?" one of the girls, a Hufflepuff in her sister's year, asked.
Daphne leaned in closer, the other three doing the same to hear her plan as she pulled her wand to record a Patronus message. "So this is what we're going to do…"
Twenty minutes later saw the quartet acting out their plan as Astoria stood up on the stool, getting her last alterations to her wedding robes done. Hers was in a pearly white with gems and lace sewn everywhere on the bodice, with only lace trailing down the ballgown skirt.
Tori looked miserable.
All of a sudden, a whirlwind of trouble suddenly appeared in the room, looking distressed. It seemed to be covered in a mauve paint of some kind–magical paint, Daphne noted–that got on everything it touched. The cat beelined for it for the group of girls in the corner. One girl shrieked out convincingly–although with how fast the cat was going and how dirty it was, there wasn't much need to try to be convincing–just before the kneazle–for what animal was this smart to start with the ugliest bridesmaid dresses she had ever seen–launched itself up onto Daphne's chest, knocking her down. She came down hard with a loud crash, toppling an entire display as she tried to catch herself. The cat bounced from girl to girl, making sure to get paint on some part of each of their dresses before it beelined it for the bride.
"No, no, no!" Mrs. Malfoy called out, whipping out her wand to freeze the cat in place before it could do more damage. Daphne felt slightly bad for Madam Malkin's shop. Everywhere the cat touched, the paint plopped down and stained whatever surface it touched. This was a new Weasley product, used primarily to replace the paint spell with longer lasting effects. When Daphne had sent out her plea for help earlier, she couldn't have asked for a better rescuer.
With wide eyes, Daphne then witnessed the cat jump up and use Mrs. Malfoy's face as a launchpad to tackle Astoria in the stomach, knocking her off of the stool. Getting caught up in the lace of her dress, the cat writhed around, staining the fabric. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the cat was gone.
The shop was entirely silent for far too long, before Astoria, from her slumped place on the floor, began to cry.
"Oh no, dear girl, don't cry! We can fix this!" Mrs. Malfoy said, trying to console the girl.
"No, this is great!" Astoria suddenly exclaimed, making Mrs. Malfoy rear back in shock. "I hated my dress, but it was what you wanted, so I felt like I had to say yes. And I hate the bridesmaid dresses–both the color and the style." While Mrs. Malfoy gaped at her, Tori turned to Daphne and held her hands up and out. Without a word needing to be exchanged between them, Daphne hurried over to help her sister up. The dresses were all smeared in the mauve paint, and when Madam Malkin attempted to scourgify the mess, it only made the color bleed onto more of the fabric.
"So," Daphne started with a sly smile on her face as one of the shopgirls led Mrs. Malfoy to a chair to gather herself, "what kind of wedding dress were you looking for?"