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Tweak says, "cryin for a son"

daphne greengrass is [bulletproof];; (daphne__g) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-02-21 18:28:00

Entry tags:

!1998: 02, daphne greengrass, nikolas vaisey

WHO: Daphne Greengrass & Nikolas Vaisey
WHAT: Something had to be said... or done.
WHERE: The Owlery.
WHEN: This evening, Sunday, February 21st
RATING: PG-13? (who knows...)

So, she lied. As of lately, Daphne has found herself being more deceptive than usual. It didn't really bother too much, Daphne was never one to truly care what people thought about her. Most of the time people thought ill of her, and she was good enough to shrug it off, however... she was beginning to realize her less than favorable personality traits might actually come with consequences. She couldn't explain WHY she lied to Nikolas about not writing to her parents. Maybe she just wanted to see what he would say, whatever the case was, she had to rush to the owlery for fear Marius might actually deliver a horrid howler to her dorm room. While some people might enjoy airing their dirty laundry out in public, Daphne enjoyed her privacy. She built up this wall to keep people out, and what she did not need at the moment was people finding out anything about her that might be considered a weakness.

Taking the snowing stairs two at a time, her journal was tucked under her elbow as a hand brushed brown strands out of her eyes. She was going to answer Nikolas back in her journal, but she couldn't think of what to say. He was right after all, she never really gave him a reason to continue pursuing her. Why should she? She was after all, being thrust into this situation, and she wasn't exactly the most social of creatures. She didn't go out of her way to make friends, and she certainly didn't go out of her way to try and become bosom buddies with a bloke she never really paid attention to. No matter, she was trying lately, she was trying desperately to break down her wall, and allow Nikolas into her life - if not for her sake, but for the sake of her family. She didn't want to disappoint them, and she didn't want them to write her out of any inheritance she might receive (no matter how selfish that sounded).

Entering the owlery, majestic Marius was easy to spot next to all the other disheveled, and old owls. The large barn owl picked a roost towards the very top, his dark black eyes glaring down at the other owls with disdain. It was truly no surprise that owl was a gift from Blaise, and it was no surprise that it was now Daphne's owl. It held a sense of entitlement around him, and was a quiet, regal sort of owl. Upon seeing Daphne arrive at the owlery, the creature descended from the top rafters. Large wings swooping down with grace and landing on a ledge right beside her. Daphne was half expecting to see red wrapped around his talons, however she was greatly surprised just to find a normal piece of parchment.

Running her fingers over the breast of the owl, she untied the letter and allowed Marius to linger as she hastily unwrapped the letter. Eyes scanned the paper quickly, it was her mother's handwriting. Merlin, how she wished it wasn't her mothers handwriting. Eyes began to well up with tears as words began to pop from the letter:

...worthless. Honestly, Daphne, what use are you? We request so little of you, and you can't even deliver that. He chooses a mudblood over YOU? You didn't even try, and don't argue that you did, I know you Daphne, I know that you are cold, and heartless and refuse to allow anyone into you life.

Useless child, you have disappointed us both. We tried so hard to give you happiness, and guarantee that you will be well off and settled when you get out of Hogwarts, and you just took that all for granted. We gave you the world, Daphne, and you give us nothing but shame, and disappointment.

Swallowing slightly, Daphne looked over the paper once more, and turned it over in her hands. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't HER fault, not fully at least. Biting down on her bottom lip, she glanced out the window opposite where she stood. This couldn't be her fault, not completely. Why were they mad at her? They should be mad at Nikolas! He's the one that ruined everything. He's the one that ruined --- Bloody hell, who was she kidding? It was her fault. If she had only been a little nicer, maybe a little warmer to him.

This wasn't fair!

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besserwisser
2010-02-22 02:12 am UTC (link)

After all that had happened this week, Nikolas had been making more effort than usual to keep away from the Slytherin common room until it was time to sleep. He'd always found it a bothersome place to spend much time in, but now it was worse than usual. If he could avoid the more obnoxious of his housemates, he certainly intended to prolong it.

As the day had worn on, Nikolas was running out of excuses not to go back to the dungeons. He knew he had Animagi training later, but he had some free time still and wasn't sure how to fill it. That, and he wasn't entirely sure how Lucy was really taking what he'd told her, making eve the prospect of something he normally looked forward to seem oddly forboding.

Luckily, as he went through his bag of books, he found a letter Astrid had sent him the week before. Until now he'd been too distracted by various goings-on to reply, but now seemed the perfect time. After spending longer than usual composing his note, he'd folded it neatly and tucked it into the bag, then set off for the owlery. Generally, Nikolas kept one of the two owls his family owned with him while at school. Right now Rameses was preening at one of the many perches that lined the walls, awaiting something to do.

It wasn't until he'd beckoned the owl to him and was beginning to fasten the letter to his leg that he glanced across the room and noticed Daphne staring out of a window, a parchment in her hand. Nikolas was unsure of what to do; he really did not want to talk to her right now, but it would be really obvious if he just left.

Instead of saying anything, he stuck to the task of getting Rameses ready to go - in his haste, he tied it a bit too tightly, causing the owl to shriek in annoyance and nip at his wrist. "Merlin, Rameses, settle down already!"

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daphne__g
2010-02-22 02:35 am UTC (link)

At the noise of an owl shrieking in distress, both Daphne and Marius glanced over towards.... Nikolas. Rolling her eyes slightly, she quickly looked away. Nikolas was the last person she wanted to see at the moment, especially since her mood was less than spectacular. Lost within her own thoughts for a moment, she wasn't dragged back out into reality until Marius made a noise and swooped down and snatched the letter out of her hands. "Bloody hell! Sodding owl." She muttered under her breath, as she watched the owl carry the letter all the way up to the top of the tower.

Blue gaze glared at the owl, as she grumbled under her breath, "Get back here! That's not yours." Daphne felt like she was talking to some sort of child who just stole a cookie. Clenching her jaw in frustration, she watched as the owl pecked at the letter before releasing it from it's talons. The letter wafted back down gracefully and finally landing at Nikolas' feet.

Daphne paused and glanced over at Nikolas, pretty sure that Marius' spectacle did not go unnoticed. Lacing her hands behind her back, she dug her thumb into her wrist to try and control her anxiety. "Hello." She stated rather flatly, before glancing at the letter at the boy's feet. "That's mine." Daphne was never easy to read, and today, right now, was no exception. Her expression was blank, and her tone was flat.

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besserwisser
2010-02-22 02:49 am UTC (link)

When the parchment had fluttered to his feet after the initial commotion, Nikolas had glanced at it with little interest and finished tying his own mail to Rameses. After setting the owl out the nearest window, he looked down at Daphne's letter again, then over to her when she'd claimed ownership.

Though his expression was not quite as blank as hers was, his agitation wasn't readily detectable. If anything, he looked a little bored.

"I figured that," he told her. He stooped and picked it up quickly, then held it out to her. Though slightly curious as to what it was, Nikolas didn't particularly think she'd be in the mood to share. Instead of asking, he looked over at the window, catching a view of his owl retreating into the horizon.

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daphne__g
2010-02-22 03:02 am UTC (link)

Bored, passive tone was going to annoying, and Daphne could feel her own frustration rising. Clenching her jaw tightly once more, she took the parchment from him and folded it meticulously into a perfect square.

"I lied." She said quietly, though loud enough for him to hear. "I wrote to mother about what... I saw." Holding up the letter for him to see, she turned it over in her fingers, "I got the response that I expected." Her demeanor was quickly turning cold, as she held her hand out for him to take the letter if he wished.

"I know you don't like me... not many people do." To be quite honest, most of the time I don't like myself. As he watched his owl fly away, Daphne's gaze drifted up to look at Marius who was now preening himself. That sodding bird would go about like he did nothing wrong. A typical Zabini pet, in the back of her mind she had to remember to mention her owls peculiar personality traits to Blaise.

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besserwisser
2010-02-22 03:15 am UTC (link)

For some reason, the news that Daphne actually had told her parents about what had happened didn't make Nikolas feel worried. Maybe he'd done enough worrying over it for the week, and just couldn't be bothered anymore. In the back of his mind, he'd even sort of hoped she had - then maybe this would be called off. All the better for either of them.

But he remembered that she'd felt certain that they would only blame her, and, judging by her next words, Nikolas realized that this marriage was very much still on.

"Oh," he said simply, his hands moving to his pockets. A brief look of disappointment flickered across his face, but it was quickly gone when he rolled his eyes at what she'd said. "Seriously, Daphne? Can you not start in with that again?" He glowered at her.

"If I didn't like you as much as you seem to think, and really wanted nothing to do with you, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We wouldn't have had any of the conversations we've had over the past few months, believe me."

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daphne__g
2010-02-22 03:45 am UTC (link)

Ever observant, Daphne caught that look of disappointment but didn't say anything. She couldn't blame him, he obviously didn't want this marriage to go on. Avoiding his gaze as he glowered at her, she glanced down at her shoes. Face knotted into a moment of disgust as she realized that she was standing on owl droppings and skeletons from dead mice and moles.

Shaking her head, "You're right, you know... about what you wrote in the journals." She stared slowly, "It's not fair that our parents are sealing both of us into this deal. I haven't been making things easy for you, part of my reasoning behind that is hoping that maybe if I push you away enough... you might just, I don't know, snap, and ruin everything. I have to admit, I was momentarily relived to catch you with whatsherface in the library. Part of me truly believed that perhaps that was the slip up that would end this entire ordeal." Daphne was actually having an honest conversation with him, wasn't she? She wasn't trying to hide anything, she wasn't being blunt, or short with him. She was just telling him how she felt, and what she wanted. It was a step in some sort of direction.

"I learned that's not the case," Holding out the letter for him to read if he wished, Daphne continued on, "They don't blame you, how could they? You were their choice, they're not about to admit a mistake - whatever mistake it was. They blame me, they say I didn't try hard enough, and that I'm some sort of disappointment for not, I don't bloody know, 'winning' you over or some sort of rubbish like that." Running her fingers through her hair, that nervous action was returning as she finally lifted her gaze up to him.

"I can't blame you for what happened, whatsherface is rather pretty - or whatever. I didn't help the situation either, I guess." Biting down on her bottom lip, she shook her head and realized she was rambling, "What I'm trying to say is that, you're right... we're young. While both of us seem to be forced into this situation, it doesn't actually come into affect until you graduate. I guess, for now at least, there's no harm in... I don't know... enjoying ourselves until that time." She quoted directly from his reply to her.

There. She said it.

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besserwisser
2010-02-22 04:09 am UTC (link)

When she'd handed him the letter, Nikolas had begun to skim it as she spoke, half attending to her words, half taking in the ones on the parchment. He'd never had a very high opinion of her parents, from what he'd gleaned of them over the months. Reading this letter now, he actually began to wonder if they were possibly insane. As much as he hated this situation, Nikolas didn't see any logical way that any of this was directly Daphne's fault. Granted, yes, she was very closed off, ever when trying not to be, but that was hardly what had caused all of this. She hadn't helped the situation much, but she was probably least at fault. Maybe.

And he was supposed marry into this family? This explained an awful lot.

When he'd finished his summation of the letter, Daphne was still prattling on, with an awkwardness he'd not seen her display before. He got the general idea of what she was saying. He was glad, and pleasantly surprised, that she at least agreed. They'd both been hoping this would have been the end of it. It was her last statement that caught him truly off guard, though.

His eyebrows raised. "Really? Oh." Looking thoughtful, he handed the letter back to her.

"Your parents are clearly barking, by the way. But, as it stands...I'm glad that we could agree on something. This wasn't me trying to make a statement, or anything. I've just...been friendly with Lucy," he explained, emphasizing the name just slightly, since it seemed to have slipped Daphne's mind. "for a few years and we'd only really started talking more recently. And I don't know, we have a lot in common and-" He stopped, realizing he didn't really owe her such a detailed explanation, and that she wouldn't want to hear it anyway. "It's nothing you did, or that you didn't do, I mean. And if you want to, I'd still like to try to at least be on good terms with you. It can't do any harm."

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