The Pariahs: Chapter 2 - The Ghosts of Greengrass Manor
Story Title - The Pariahs (ffn link)
Story Description - "You always hated your parents' purist crap." "Not for the right reasons." - At the end of the war, they are the only ones left to blame; unfortunately, this is not their cross to bear. The Malfoys and Greengrasses are not used to being the outcasts of a society, but in this new Wizarding World, the law concerning former Death Eaters and their families is clear: eat or be eaten.
Story Rating - teen (T)
Story Characters - Draco Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass, Keegan Shacklebolt (OMC), Fiona Greengrass (OFC), Archibald Greengrass (OMC), Narcissa Black, Lucius Malfoy, Kristopher Shacklebolt I (OMC), Zhara Shacklebolt (OFC), Audrey Weasley, Percy Weasley
Story Pairings - Draco/Astoria, Keegan/Daphne
Chapter - 2) The Ghosts of Greengrass Manor
If there was one thing that Daphne still liked about Greengrass Manor, it was the silence. Some would find it eerie, unsettling, creepy, the list goes on. For the eldest Greengrass girl, though, it was peaceful and productive. She was not a chaotic person - the best working environment for Daphne Greengrass was minimalistic and deathly silent.
On that particular day, Daphne was examining a supposedly magical geode rock that was given to her as a training assignment. When Daphne had first chosen a career as a Curse-Breaker, Draco had looked at her as if she had just grown a third eye. However, it truly was the perfect job for her. While her love for jewels and gems often got dismissed as girly and pretentious, the truth was far more complex. It wasn't just the beauty that Daphne admired - it was the history. Every artefact, no matter how ruined or beautiful, had a story to tell. The magic that concealed that story was even more interesting. Being a Curse-Breaker meant that unravelling that story and that magic was her job.
Daphne gently rotated the rock that she was holding with her tweezers as she ever so slightly adjusted the magnification and focus on her magnifying spectacles. If she could get the perfect focus, perhaps she could see -
"Ah, there you are, Daphne!"
Daphne jumped in her seat, startled at the shrill voice and let out an exasperated sigh as she glanced through her spectacles and noticed they were once again out of focus. Bloody brilliant, Daphne thought to herself as she gently set down the geode and removed her spectacles.
Turning her head to glance up at her mother, she said with a bored tone, "What is it now?"
Fiona Greengrass was a beautiful woman, but her beauty had been worn down by the war. Her honey blonde hair that once shone in the sunlight now seemed dull and graying, and while her skin may have once been described as porcelain, it was no more pallid. The wrinkles of worry on her forehead and around her eyes were more prominent now, especially as she confusedly moved her gaze between the geode and her daughter.
"What on earth is that, Daphne?" Fiona asked, her tone clearly expressing her bewilderment.
"An assignment for training," Daphne replied with a shrug.
"Ah, right, you're still in that silly Curse-Breaker phase," Fiona said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
You cannot hex your mother, a voice in Daphne's head reminded. You can move out, though. Taking a deep breath, she instead asked, "Is that why you came over here?"
"No, no, of course not," Fiona replied in a cheery tone. She sat down across from her daughter as she continued, "I need your help with a little project."
"Project?"
"Er, dinner party."
Daphne rolled her eyes and shook her head at her mother. Of course, the woman wanted to host a dinner party, of all things. "I hate to remind you of this," Daphne started, "but with what money? You don't work, Astoria's in school, and if you think I'm contributing to this nonsense from my meagre trainee salary then you are in for the shock of your life."
Once upon a time, Daphne would have been utterly terrified to speak to either of her parents like that. Now, though, things were different. There was no longer any fear hanging over her head. Her parents had been on the losing side of a war, her father's trial was finally coming to a conclusion, she had done her part and given her names, and now she was steadily on the path to her own career. All Daphne wanted now was as much distance as possible from the traditions that her name stood for.
"Oh, honestly Daphne, you can be so full of yourself," Fiona bit back with a roll of her eyes. "I only want your help in the planning process. You know, a little mother-daughter project."
The skepticism was evident on Daphne's face. "All right, what kind of dinner party is this?" she asked.
"It's to... make amends, of sorts - you know?"
Ah, there it is. Daphne let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "You're really something, you know that?" she muttered.
"Daphne, listen to me: we have nothing," Fiona said sternly. "The Ministry looks at us like scum - us! And because of how close we were with the Malfoys and you and Astoria fighting against the Dark Lord, even our peers hate us. We need to do damage control, love."
This was the sort of thing that Fiona Greengrass considered a national crisis. Everyone hates us - even the mudbloods! It drove Daphne mad. She would be the first to admit that, at first, she had done anything and everything to defy her parents' pureblood ideals simply because of her father's abusive nature. As she got older, though, Daphne truly started to understand how tiring it all was. And for what? A few fake friends that would all rather save their own arses anyways? It was honestly pitiful.
Still, she lived in the Greengrass Manor - for now - and the least she could do for her distraught mother was humour her in some way.
"What did you have in mind?" Daphne asked tiredly.
"Well, I've been thinking that it really would be useful to have a nice mix of families," Fiona started with an innocent shrug. The skeptical look reappeared on Daphne's face, "you know - old friends and new friends. And it just came to me - you have quite a good relationship with a certain well-liked pureblood family."
"Oh, so you just want me to get the Shacklebolts here - not to actually spend time with you," Daphne stated, the bitterness very evident in her tone.
"Oh, come off it, love," Fiona said dismissively, "it would be a huge favour to me."
Just like everything else I do, Daphne thought to herself. Still, if there was one useful thing she learned growing up in a pureblood family, it was to keep your thoughts to yourself.
"Fine - it'll be easier than dealing with your cold shoulder, anyways."
Daphne fidgeted with her hands as she suppressed a shiver - a response to the cold winter wind blowing in her face as she waited just outside the doors of Greengrass Manor. Her mother had put her on door duty for her long-awaited dinner party. Who better than the Greengrass daughter that was both famous and infamous for defying her parents' ways? Truly, let's parade her on the street while shouting 'shame!' at the top of our lungs.
Daphne was, possibly, a tad bitter about the whole arrangement.
Her demeanour softened just slightly as she spotted three very familiar faces approaching the steps of Greengrass Manor: Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa. Lucius and Narcissa weakly returned her smile, while Draco stepped forward and hugged Daphne.
"Fiona's got you playing hostess for this charade, has she?" he asked with a laugh.
"Draco, be polite," Narcissa chided mildly.
"It's quite all right - he's not far off," Daphne said to Narcissa. "I've still gotta wait out here so I'll see you lot inside."
"Don't cause too much trouble," Draco joked as he gave her a nudge and walked past her.
"No promises!" Daphne replied cheekily.
It took a few more minutes of waiting in the cold for the last of the party guests to make their way to the manor. Daphne's features spread into an unbreakable grin as soon as she recognized Keegan, his parents - Kristopher and Zhara - closely following behind him.
The Shacklebolts and Greengrasses had always gotten along decently well - until Voldemort came back, of course. After that, her father had gone and ruined practically every relationship their family had had with anyone remotely normal. Still, when Zhara had planned Keegan a surprise party to celebrate the end of his Obliviator training a couple of years back, the Greengrasses had been added to the guest list. That had been the day that their flirtatious adventure had started.
Unfortunately, a month after that, the Minsitry had fallen to Voldemort. Keegan and his younger sister, Audrey, had joined the Order and Daphne... well, she did what every other Slytherin did: returned to Hogwarts and tried to act like everything was fine. Except for Daphne, it really hadn't been fine.
In any case, at the end of it all, Daphne had been surprised to find Keegan right where she had left him - figuratively speaking, of course. They had tried their best to pick up where they had left off, but still kept things under wraps. With her father still on trial and his Death Eater aunt, Kelsey Rowle, at large, it was best to keep their relationship hidden. Then, one day, Kelsey had been captured and next thing Daphne knew, Keegan was standing on the steps of Greengrass Manor saying she deserved more.
Well, who was she to argue with that logic?
Once they had told their families about their relationship, the reactions were more or less as expected. Fiona had been shocked that her daughter was dating a pureblood, even if he was from a blood traitor family. Kristopher and Zhara had easily taken a liking to her on account of actually being able to hold an intelligent conversation about something other than floral arrangements - which was apparently the most they expected from traditional pureblood women. Regardless of everyone else's reactions, Daphne was certain of one thing: her life was finally looking up.
"You're looking quite lovely," Keegan remarked as he approached Daphne with a smile.
He bent his neck to give her a short kiss just as his parents approached. "Kristopher, Zhara - I'm so glad you could make it," Daphne greeted politely. "Mum will really be delighted to see you."
"Oh, I'm sure she will be," Zhara replied, her smile somewhat contrived. She clearly wasn't a fan of the whole arrangement and, frankly, Daphne agreed.
"We'll see you two inside," Kristopher suggested as he gently ushered his wife inside.
"So, no Audrey?" Daphne asked curiously. She wasn't all too surprised. Audrey Shacklebolt was often regarded as peculiarly headstrong and proud for a Slytherin - until she would dupe you in some clever way and shamelessly remind you why she was sorted into the house of the snakes in the first place. Like their mother, Keegan's younger sister was amazingly talented at exuding authority.
"No, she made it pretty clear that she wasn't coming if Percy wasn't invited," Keegan replied. "In fact, her exact words were 'I don't want any of her shitty discriminatory wine if she can't even stand the thought of a Weasley in her own home.'"
"Well, I tried my best, but you know how Mum is," Daphne said with a shrug. Her mother had been adamant that the purpose of this dinner party was to make amends with old friends, not befriend 'pacifist blood traitors.' Sometimes, Daphne wondered if the whole war had somehow been erased from her mother's memory.
Keegan nodded knowingly, laughing a bit. His eyes suddenly shifted to the side of her neck and he raised his hand to gently touch the scar that stood out on Daphne's pale skin with a light frown on his face. "No Glamour Charms today?" he asked as he met her eyes.
He knew all too well how horrible her father was. Bruises on her arms, scars on her back, face reddened in the shape of a hand... the list of ways that Archibald Greengrass' anger could manifest was endless. The scars Daphne had received from her father over the years were always her biggest insecurity and she hid them as much as she could, but Keegan had always been comforting about them. He would say they were the scars of a survivor, not a victim.
"Mum wants to make amends," Daphne started, "what better way to do that than with honesty. Took a bit of convincing, but Astoria isn't using any either."
"Good," Keegan said with a nod and a reassuring smile on his face, "you have nothing worth hiding, Daphne."
Daphne smiled back at him. "All right, let's head inside before Mum starts sputtering some nonsense about my innocence," she joked as she linked her arm with his.
Keegan laughed and muttered, "A little late for that, isn't it?"
Daphne lightly smacked his arm but couldn't stop the laughter from escaping her or the red creeping up her neck as the made their way through Greengrass Manor. The sound of classical music only got louder, until they finally reached the spacious sitting area where their house elf, Silas, was eagerly scurrying around and serving drinks. Fiona was laughing about something trivial with Wilma Crabbe, while Xavier Nott silently sat in an armchair as he sipped at his wine. Everyone else was dispersed throughout the room making small talk, and as for Draco...
Daphne sighed as she set her eyes on her friend. He was practically frozen his place, unmoving. At first, she thought he was having yet another one of his ridiculous, fatalistic episodes - and of all bloody times to do so - until she realized how steadily fixated his gaze was.
"Do you see what I see?" Daphne quietly asked Keegan.
Keegan shifted his gaze to Draco, watching the younger man carefully, until realization clouded his face. "Oh, that's interesting," he whispered.
"I think I'll go talk to him," Daphne decided.
"Daph, don't meddle," Keegan warned, giving her a knowing look.
"Me, meddle? Never."
Alas, she was quite the meddler.
At first, it had almost irritated Draco how right Daphne had been. He was being fatalistic, and truly a horrible friend. More than that, though, he was being a self-centred prick. It never really mattered to him if other people thought that of him, but Daphne... well, she was supposed to be his one true confidant. If she couldn't trust him, then he must have truly fucked up.
After Daphne's warning to get his life together and stop moping around, Draco had done just that. He had cleaned up and started helping out with the Malfoy Manor's financials - meagre as they were - as well as taking a job at a shop in Knockturn Alley. It was all for the time being, anyways. At the end of the day, Draco was hoping for something a bit more professional.
The major upside, though to getting his life together had been winning back Daphne's friendship. They were finally back to their light joking and good-natured gossip. When Daphne had told him about her mother's ridiculous dinner party idea, they had taken turns imitating her reaction to different party guests. Draco had figured that, once the dinner party actually came around, they would be doing something very similar in a corner with the added bonus of some elderflower wine.
Unfortunately, Draco's vision had dissipated as soon as he had laid eyes on her.
He had been in the poshly decorated sitting area for scarcely a minute when his eyes saw a flash of nearly pitch black hair and his ears perked at the sound of an elegant laugh. Turning his head, mostly out of curiosity, Draco found himself freezing in place as his eyes landed on Astoria Greengrass.
Astoria had always been a bit aggravating to Draco. He vaguely recalled her trying to force herself into the games and secrets that him and Daphne would have when they were kids. Her trademark while at Hogwarts had been frizzy hair pulled back into pigtails with green ribbon and a childlike, wide-eyed stare. She had been two years his junior and a hardly noticeable thorn on his side.
But then, in that very moment, he hardly recognized her.
Her dark hair was sleek and smooth, hanging loose in waves down her back. Her warm brown eyes drew him in as she laughed. Astoria Greengrass was no longer the annoying, childish, little sister of his best friend. No, as far as he could tell, she may as well have been a woman that ruled her own empire.
Draco could fill the inner turmoil of being attracted to his best friend's sister already begin.
A hand clasping onto his shoulder brusquely snapped Draco out of his dreamy staring at Astoria. He turned to see who had startled him and felt himself tense up as his eyes met Daphne's.
"Daydreaming?" she asked. Her tone sounded innocent but he could see the knowing glint in her eyes.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Draco replied cooly.
"Oh, so you won't mind if I just call Astoria over and - "
"Daphne, for the love of Merlin, this stays between us."
A victorious smile on her face, Daphne let out a sigh and removed her hand from Draco's shoulder. "Don't get your hopes up, Draco," she warned.
"Why's that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because she's here with her new boyfriend."
With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Draco turned his gaze to Astoria once more and this time found that someone else had joined her. He recognized the boy - Sebastian Daley, a Slytherin in Astoria's year. Draco felt a mix of disappointment and hatred surge in him as he watched Astoria's supposed boyfriend snake an arm around her waist and kiss her cheek.
"Look - I'd be surprised if he's 'the one' or anything like that," Daphne started, "but please promise me you won't push him out of a window or something. This is my sister we're talking about."
Draco turned his head to look at Daphne once again and forced a soft chuckle. "I promise, don't worry," he said. "Guess I should take care of myself first, anyways."
Daphne gently patted him on the pack, a kind smile on her face. If she was being perfectly honest, the Draco she had known before the war would have been absolutely perfect for Astoria. Pureblood idealism aside, he had always been a perfect gentleman and had had quite the knack for the kind of sweet romantic gestures that Astoria lived for. Now, though, things were different, and Daphne had thought Draco had put it quite well - better to take care of himself before involving anyone else.
Their brief moment of comfort was, unfortunately, rudely interrupted in that moment by the sound of a disgusting splat. With frowns on their faces, everyone looked around the room, searching for the source of the sound. Again, splat. This time, everyone saw the gooey substance dripping down one of the windows.
"What in Merlin's name is that?" Draco asked as he nodded toward the window.
Daphne felt a displeased glare forming on her face. "Eggs," she muttered darkly. "Someone's egging my fucking house."
Turning her head, Daphne found her mother's eyes and curtly said, "I'll handle this," before turning on her heel and briskly walking out of the room.
She faintly heard Keegan's voice say, "I'll go after her," before hearing the sound of his footsteps running to catch up with her.
As soon as he had fallen into step with her, Daphne coldly said, "I can take care of this, I don't need a supervisor."
"I know, but if you need me, I'm here," Keegan replied as Daphne pushed open the front doors to the manor.
Daphne came to a stop once they reached the gates and turned to look at Keegan. She could see the worry very clear on his face and smiled at him. "Look, I know what I'm doing - trust me," she said quietly.
Keegan simply nodded, and that was all Daphne needed.
Turning to face the gates, Daphne took out her wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself. Then, she stepped forward and every so slowly pushed open the front gates of the manor. As the gate opened wider, she could see the perpetrators - three young-looking boys - freeze as their wide eyes fixated on the gate. There was newfound fear in their gazes, because from where they were standing, the gate was opening all on its own. They looked to be about second or third years, so it didn't take long for Daphne to formulate the perfect plan.
Daphne walked towards them quietly and went behind them. She leaned forward, her mouth close to one of the boys' ear, as she hoarsely whispered, "You've upset the ghosts of the manor, boy."
All three boys yelped, jumping forward at her voice. "Where are you? Who are you?" he shouted, panic etched on his face.
Daphne mustered a rather comical cackle. "I am the oldest Greengrass ghost, and now that you've defiled my home, I will haunt you for the rest of your days!"
With that, the three boys shrieked loudly and ran off. Daphne watched them round the corner before taking her wand out and removing the Disillusionment Charm. She crossed her arms, a proud smirk on her face as Keegan stepped through the gates and walked towards her. He looked down at her with an amused grin.
"You really are quite crazy, you know that?" he asked jokingly.
"Oh, you know you like it," Daphne replied with a sly smile.
"Well, I guess I can't deny that," Keegan admitted with a shrug, his hands moving to Daphne's waist. "This place is wearing you out, isn't it?" he asked quietly as he met her eyes.
Daphne slowly nodded, the smile on her face transforming into a look of worry. "I'm the only one that works - and I'd hardly call Curse-Breaker training a steady income," she said quietly, "and Mum just drives me mad, but I guess... family legacy is family legacy, even for me."
"What if..." Keegan started slowly as he pulled Daphne closer to him, "I happened to have a spare key to my place with your name on it."
"You want me to move in with you?" Daphne asked, a surprised look dawning on her face.
"Sure - but on the condition that the ghosts stay here," he replied cheekily.
"I... I have to think on it, if that's all right," Daphne replied slowly. Her gaze shifted to the manor as she quietly added, "It may seem silly but the idea of leaving this place for good... it kind of scares me."
"Of course that's all right," Keegan replied softly. He gently grabbed hold of her hand. "Shall we head back inside then, ghost of Greengrass Manor?"
"Her full name is Lucretia Octavia Greengrass, mind you, and she says yes."