the haircut scene that's been in my head forever

[acarpous]

"Well, Miss Greengrass... The good news is that we're very confident you won't develop the more deadly symptoms of the curse. In fact, you seem in perfect health in those regards." The Healer began gently, her face set in an expression of motherly concern.

Daphne straightened in her chair, bracing herself for whatever was on the other end of the good news. "And...?"

"Unfortunately," Her Healer continued as though she'd said nothing at all, "you do carry a more benign manifestation of it, and I'm terribly sorry, dear, but it has made you infertile. There's nothing we can do to fix that, but we do have an excellent counselor on staff that I can help you book an appointment with."

"That– That won't be necessary. Thank you." Daphne replied stiffly. She knew she should feel some manner of upset at the news, but... she could only feel relief. Relief she immediately felt guilty for, because how unfair was it that her beautiful baby sister Tori should have to suffer the full effects of it while she got completely off the hook?

She was in a haze the rest of her time in St. Mungo's, which she was sure the Healer took as shock at the "upsetting" news, but she only insisted on the counseling sessions once more before Daphne coolly snapped that she would "consider it".

Once she'd left, she went right to Tori's flat. Her sister welcomed her in with a warm hug and warmer concern, having known where she'd been.

"How was it, Daph? You want some tea?" Tori fluttered about the kitchen; she'd been a bit off-kilter since getting the news herself.

"In a minute. Oh, sit down, darling, it's not bad news." Daphne tugged on her sister's arm until she plopped down on the sofa next to her, and they leaned into each other, seeking comfort.

There was silence for a long minute.

"I'm infertile." Daphne finally said. "That's all." Another beat of silence, then the breaking of a dam. "I never wanted children anyway. Honestly, I never have. I know I'm supposed to, but I– I just felt relieved, when they told me. Now I have an excuse."

Astoria just smiled and rested her head on Daphne's shoulder. "Mum's going to cry."

"I know. It's going to be awful." Daphne sighed and closed her eyes. It was something like an epiphany, brewing inside her. If she was going to be a disappointment to her parents no matter what, she may as well hold nothing back. She'd lived through a war, and here she was, still terrified to just be herself. Scared to rock the boat, desperate to be the perfect pureblood daughter her parents had raised her to be. Always doing exactly what was expected.

"Tori." She took a breath and opened her eyes, her jaw setting in determination. "I'm a lesbian."

Astoria didn't so much as tense.

"Okay."

It felt a bit anticlimactic.

"You're the first person I've told."

Astoria's laugh was nowhere approaching cruel. "Thank you for telling me, Daph, but I've known you my whole life. I know. And... I'm bisexual. And you're the first person I've told."

That made Daphne turn to face her sister at last, two matching sets of tear-blurred blue eyes meeting. They hugged, Daphne stifling a wet giggle in her sister's shoulder. "I was also thinking about cutting my hair."

"Oh? How short?"

"Very."

"That'll definitely make Mum cry."

––––

It felt silly to bring her sister along for moral support for a haircut, but... it was necessary. She even went to a muggle hairdresser, on Astoria's recommendation, so no one they knew would be there to be nosy about things.

It was odd that the books of example hairstyles didn't move, and it meant every style had to have photos taken from different angles, but she took her time in selecting a style she liked. And it was short. Very short. She'd never had her hair cut above her shoulders before and this style wouldn't even cover her ears, but the model in the photo had a similar-shaped face to hers and it looked lovely on her.

The hairdresser, Stacy, her nametag said, didn't ask her several times over if she was sure, or try to advise her against her choice. But then, her own hair was buzzed nearly to the scalp on one side, and a rainbow of colors. And Daphne could have sworn she'd seen the woman giving her a once-over.

"It's going to look so gorgeous, sis." Tori beamed at her as she was settled in the chair, shooting Daphne a wink in the mirror. Clearly she'd seen the look too. "Mum's gonna absolutely flip but it'll be worth it."

"It's not her hair. She'll just have to learn to live with it." Daphne replied, smiling when Stacy's eyes met hers in the mirror. Then the chair was turned around so she could no longer see her reflection and the process began.

Making small-talk with a muggle woman was a bit of a struggle, but Stacy was utterly delightful and charming. The clippers were a bit alarming and loud, but Stacy took her initial jumpiness in stride and started tracing her finger over where the clipper would be next, which helped immensely.

Once the hair started falling to the floor, Daphne took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She didn't want the in-between. She just wanted the end result.

Finally, her chair was spun around and Stacy's voice cheerfully rang out. "Alright, have a look! Do you love it? Do you want anything changed?"

Daphne opened her eyes and gasped, raising a hand to her mouth, then up to her hair. A slow smile grew on her face as she felt along the amazingly short strands on the back of her head, fingers running continuously through what little was there.

It was perfect.

"I love it." She turned to look at Astoria, who was grinning just as wide as she was. "Tori, I love it. Oh– it's perfect!" She turned back to Stacy. "Thank you so much, darling. It's exactly what I wanted."

"Happy to hear it, dove. Let's get you checked out, yeah?"

Luckily they'd taken the time to figure out the muggle money before going in, so she didn't end up looking like a bloody idiot, though she was a bit confused by the set of numbers scrawled on the back of her receipt under Stacy's name, which was handed over with a wink and a flirty "hope to see you ladies again".