Do You Want to Go Play Quidditch?

It was one of the brightest days of the year in Wiltshire, England. The albino peacocks roamed freely across the expansive front lawn as the garden fountain continued to spurt out cold water. It was the perfect day to be outside.

And yet, Daphne was standing in her bedroom, trying to figure out what to do with her day. She thought about playing Exploding Snap with Damian or Daniel; she assumed that Darien was out with his school friends. Daphne figured she could try challenging Dmitri to a game of wizard chess, but she knew that would be pointless; after all, she guessed that her sweet older brother was helping their pregnant mother.

Daphne scanned her bedroom for something to do. Then, her eyes found their way to Damian’s Nimbus 1700. An idea popped into her head. She thought it was the most perfect idea of the day… especially considering the way things had been lately.

She grabbed her eldest brother’s broomstick and dashed out of her bedroom with a smile. For the first time in forever, she was going to make an effort to talk to her other older brother – the one closest to her age, that is. Daphne rushed down the hallway, maneuvering her way through the manor just to find his bedroom.

Then, she saw it: the closed door that led to her big brother’s bedroom. For an nine-year-old, getting lost in her own house was easy, so managing to find her brother’s bedroom door was a big accomplishment. She was so happy that her smile did not fade, even when she raced up to the door.

“Draco,” she chimed, knocking happily on his door, “do you wanna go play Quidditch?”

There was silence from behind the door, but Daphne knew he was in there. She did not knock again, but she propped the Nimbus 1700 against the wall before crossing her arms in frustration.

“It’s pretty sunny out today,” she explained with a bigger smile.

But again, silence was the reply Draco gave her. Daphne sighed; all she wanted was to hang out with her brother – the one she never saw unless it was mealtime. She looked at the broomstick again and frowned.

“I never see you anymore,” whined Daphne as she leaned her back against the door. “Come out the door! It’s like you’re still away…”

Her blue eyes began to swell with tears when the silence rang through her ear. “We used to be best buddies… and now we’re not. I blame it on your new school!”

Just then, Daphne heard the footsteps approaching the closed door. A smile reappeared on her face, excited to finally get to see her brother. She grabbed the broomstick beside her and tucked a strand of her short pale, white blonde hair behind her ear.

“Do you wanna go play Quidditch?” she asked again with more enthusiasm as she still leaned against the door.

The door swung open, causing Daphne to fall into her twelve-year-old brother’s bedroom. His cold, gray eyes stared blankly at her fallen state. As she lie on his bedroom floor, she smiled nervously before showing him their eldest brother’s Nimbus 1700.

“It doesn’t have to be a full game,” she whispered shyly.

Rolling his eyes, Draco stepped over his only sister. “Sod. Off. Daphne,” he said as stormed down the staircase.

“Okay… cool,” she sighed once more as she helped herself up.



The summer following her first year at Hogwarts, Daphne found herself excited to go back. Granted, the return of You-Know-Who and the murder of Cedric Diggory did frighten her, but she couldn’t wait to go back.

Especially since she was trapped downstairs in the dining room with Kim, Daniel’s new wife. It wasn’t that she hated her sister-in-law. In fact, Daphne was happy to finally have a sister-like figure around; being the only daughter in a family of eight children, it was nice for a change. But Kim was a bit… much for her twelve-year-old liking.

Daphne smiled as Kim went on to talk about the wedding. She nodded politely as her new sister-in-law droned on about how perfect the ceremony was. The young Malfoy even giggled when Kim expressed her deepest concern for Daphne not being able to attend the wedding.

After excusing herself from the conversation, Daphne rushed upstairs and into her bedroom. She thanked Merlin’s beard for having her three eldest brothers walk through the door, giving her the excuse to leave Kim in their care. Once she reached her bedroom, Daphne jumped into bed; despite the day having just started, she didn’t know what to do with the rest of it.

Until her gaze fell upon her brand new Firebolt. And then, just as it had three years ago, the perfect idea popped into her head.

She grabbed her broom and raced to Draco’s bedroom. With a smile on her face, she figured that her plan was entirely foolproof. From the time it took for her to leave her room and get to Draco’s, Daphne only told herself that he would actually make the effort to talk to her; he had done so when they were at school… sorta. At least, she knew that he cared.

But why couldn’t he do that at home?

As much as she loved her other brothers, she just wanted to spend time with him. At Hogwarts, she spent a good amount of time with Dmitri. Prior to going to Hogwarts, she spent much of her time with the rest of her brothers. But Draco… in the same way he was their mother’s miracle child, he was Daphne’s favorite. She just didn’t understand why he was so distant when he would come home.

Daphne approached the door happily – the same way she did only three years ago. She knocked with a smile on her face and her Firebolt in her hand.

“Do you wanna go play Quidditch?” Daphne found herself asking again. “Or ride our brooms around the house?”

Nothing changed.

Daphne was still greeted with silence. Rolling her eyes, she propped her broom against the wall. She leaned against the wall beside Draco’s door; she learned her lesson from the last time.

Running a hand through her long hair, Daphne groaned, “I think some company is overdue! I’ve started talking to our older brother’s spouse…”

As if on cue, Daniel’s wife made her way across the hall. The brunette smiled and waved at Daphne.

“How are you, Kim?” Daphne said with a faint smile, hoping she hadn’t heard her complaint.

Once the coast of clear, she turned back to Draco’s door. “It gets a little lonely up in my room, so please can we go outside?”

After a couple of minutes had passed before Daphne finally decided to give up on asking. Grabbing her broom, she pushed herself off the wall and slowly made her way back to her bedroom.

Daphne decided that it was time to give up entirely with her brother. After all, she had six more and two parents that favored her over the rest of her siblings. She figured wasting her time on Draco was foolish at this point.



The thirteen-year-old girl glared at the raven-haired boy in front of her. As much as she enjoyed his company, the constant accusations that Harry tossed around about her brother bothered her. These allegations practically jeopardize the friendships she shared with Harry, but she couldn't let it change the way she thought about him or her brother.

She watched as Harry sighed in frustration. Daphne shook her head before hugging Harry goodbye and making her way to the Slytherin Common Room. Upon entering the room, she noticed that she was alone and she guessed that it was the best time for a good cry.

After jumping on the couch, Daphne curled up into a ball allowing the tears to fall down from her face. She silently cursed herself for getting so worked up about the things that Harry had said.

Just as Daphne opened her mouth to let out a cry of frustration, Draco stormed into the common room with Crabbe and Goyle not far behind. He stared at his sister blankly – the same way he did years ago – and shook his head before rushing back out, completely ignoring his teary eyed sister.

Instantly, Daphne pushed up from the couch and rushed up for her dormitory. She plopped onto the bed and sobbed into her pillow. The third year couldn’t help herself; her own brother ignored her in her time of need.

Granted, a lot of her stress was solely because Draco. Daphne noticed that he was losing weight, despite the fact that he was already thin. She also noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He just wasn’t the same anymore.

Then again, things hadn’t been the same since Lucius’s imprisonment last school year. But things got worse a little after Draco’s sixteenth birthday… and she didn’t know why.



It all happened so quickly. The end of the year was a complete blur; her mind was clouded with the fact that You-Know-Who was a step closer to destroying Harry Potter… and her brother was an accomplice.

Daphne didn’t know what to do anymore; all the stress of last year was only building! Even though her father had been released from Azkaban, her entire family was still abused and mocked by the rest of the Death Eaters. The Dark Lord even began using the Malfoy Manor as headquarter for the Death Eaters, turning their once proud, palatial home into a dark, sinister hideaway. The place looked terrible.

Now, she sat on the carpeted floor of her bedroom with a frown on her face; it was the only room in the house that didn’t reek of death or despair. Daphne looked at the family portrait that hung above her desk and her emotions deeply worsened.

She stood up and dragged herself out the door. Part of her hoped that her older brothers (and even the two younger ones) would pull her into their rooms, begging her to smile again. But she knew that was hopeless; the triplets moved out of the manor years ago and Dmitri rarely left the twins’ nursery since their father’s imprisonment.

The teen girl found herself aimlessly wandering the hallway. It wasn’t until she tripped on the hall rug when she noticed that she was in front of her brother’s bedroom – the very room she had always coming running to years before.

Helping herself up, the fourteen year old knocked hesitantly on the door.

“Draco,” she said weakly, wrapping her arms around herself, “please… I know you’re in there.”

She looked at toward the staircase and thought about all the other people who stood in her place. Daphne thought about how they came for weeks since school let out for the holiday, knocking on the same door she had been knocking on for years… only to meet the same fate.

“Your friends are asking where you’ve been…”

Daphne even thought about their parents and how they stood outside Draco’s door, begging him to come out. She thought about how determined their mother was to console her ‘precious baby’ in his time of need. Sighing, Daphne began to stare at the floor with a frown.

“Mum says, ‘Have courage…’ and I’m trying to.”

Tears began to form in her eyes; she was used to it now. After the happenings of her third year, she seldom talked to anyone about her feelings, considering the one person she trusted with them was keeping her out. But she knew this wasn’t just about her; she wasn’t the only one in the family who was hurting.

“I’m right out here for you… just let me in!”

Daphne held herself a little tighter as she thought back to all the time she spent with Draco before he went to Hogwarts. Her memories were happy ones. She smiled through her tears as she remembered everything Draco had done for her.

“You’re still my favorite brother,” she reminded him, “in this huge family. I love you so much, Dray…”

As her tears fell, Daphne let her arms drop to her side. Of all the memories she shared with her brother, her favorite one was when he taught her how to ride a broomstick.

“Do you want to go play Quidditch?” she asked before allowing herself to breakdown completely.

As she stood in front of door, Daphne sobbed violently to herself. Suddenly, she heard a click of the door and felt a pair of arms pull her into a long, warm embrace.

“Yes, I wanna go play Quidditch,” Draco whispered, tightening his hold on her. “I’m sorry it took so long…”

Daphne felt her brother shiver slightly as they hugged each other in the hallway. How long had it been, she wondered, since the two of them had actually done this? She knew that this moment was long overdue.

“I didn’t know I needed you,” he continued. “I really do. Daph, I was wrong.”

Her sobs grew worse at those words as she squeezed her brother in her arms. Daphne could sense that her big brother was crying too; she didn’t know how long he had been, but that didn’t matter to her at the moment.

“You’re my baby sister. I love you, too,” he said, releasing her from his embrace. “So grab your broom and let’s go…”

Daphne smiled at Draco as she attempted to wipe away her tears. Even though she knew that this moment was long overdue, she was ecstatic that it was actually happening.

“Yes, I’d love to go play Quidditch…”