We Met In The Shadows.

Gryffindor's Best Friend

Daphne sat in the Great Hall with baited breath, as the names of first year students were taken and one by one, they got sorted into the Houses. She was excited to see her sister begin her life as a Hogwarts student, not to mention having her sister near her at all times. She never usually expressed her feelings, but she longed to be around Astoria. Deep down, she was afraid that she wouldn’t get to spend much time with her beyond their Hogwarts years, considering Astoria’s… condition. As much as she wanted to ignore the blood curse, Daphne had to face the facts. Astoria could die very early so she had to make the best of the time they did have together.

“Greengrass, Astoria.”

Daphne perked up at the mention of her sister. The little girl looked slightly nervous but walked towards the stool regardless. As she sat down, Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. It took a touch more time than others to evaluate her. Just as Daphne began feeling worried, the Hat yelled out.

“It better be GRYFFINDOR!”

Daphne felt her heart plunge. Astoria was in a different House than Slytherin. How was that possible? As far as Daphne could remember, all Greengrasses had been Slytherins so it was only right to assume that Astoria would be one as well. Not only was Astoria not in Slytherin, she was in Gryffindor of all houses. The one House that hated Slytherins more than anything, due to some daft rivalry between the original Gryffindor and Slytherin. Daphne firmly stayed away from that rivalry but didn’t openly associate with any Gryffindors herself because of the fear of consequences within her own House. Being labelled a blood-traitor or something similar wouldn’t bode well for her future years in the school. That was why she didn’t want to be seen publicly associating herself with Harry Potter.

Once people found out that Astoria was the younger sister of a Snake, the Lions were bound to make her life miserable. The only saving grace was that Harry was in the same house, so she could count on him to at least help her out, hopefully.

Daphne watched with sorrow as Astoria walked to the Gryffindor table, a small smile adorning her pale face. As she was walking, there was polite applause, but nearly none of the older Gryffindor students clapped. They know I’m her sister…

Astoria walked to one end of the table and sat down, yet nearly nobody came to interact with her. Nearly nobody, as a few minutes later, Harry got up from his seat on the other end of the table and proceeded to seat himself next to her. Daphne’s heart fluttered at that instance. I knew I could count on him!

Daphne relaxed considerably, as she saw Longbottom and the Weasley twins, along with Ginny come and sit next to Astoria as well. She was perplexed, however, to see Granger and the other Weasley not go with Harry. They were nearly always with him, why not now? She made a mental note to ask him later if he was comfortable sharing.

The Headmaster’s speech and the Feast was business as usual, nothing memorable about either of those. As the Great Hall started emptying, Daphne sneaked a piece of chicken for Basil, who hissed in appreciation. She wondered if Parseltongue could be taught? Communicating with Basil would certainly prove to be impressive and useful.

Once she had her dinner, Daphne walked out of the Great Hall, only to be greeted by the Gryffindor club. Harry and Astoria seemed to be chatting about the shepherd’s pie, much to her amusement, while Longbottom, Ginny and the twins were discussing Quidditch. Daphne never had much interest in the sport, she thought it to be unnecessarily dangerous and at times, drawn out beyond reason. However, watching Harry play as Seeker was entertaining, and was the only time she even bothered to attend a match.

“DAPHNE! HELLO!” squealed Astoria, as soon as she caught sight of her elder sister, launching herself towards Daphne.

“Hi, starshine! How’re you?” asked Daphne, hugging her sister closer.