Post by Professor Pythia on Aug 9, 2008 6:24:17 GMT -5
Daphne lounged back on her settee, her eyes fixed upon the tapestry above the fireplace. A fabric woven by the ancient Greek muggles, Daphne marvelled at their skills, threads delicately woven, taking them weeks to complete. The tapestry itself was considered a myth with modern day muggles. Believing that Apollo was a god, Daphne the daughter of god, the ancient muggles recorded what they believed to be true. However, Daphne's family had recorded their history as well and it amused her greatly how the muggles had been so open and so close to the truth.
Back in the times of Ancient Greece, Professor Pythia's distant relative was Daphne. Her mother was known to the Greeks as a nymph, a nature spirit. In truth, Creusa was a metamorphmagus, often changing her look to resemble the nature around her, Daphne's father, Peneus Pythia, believed to be a river God, was infact just a talented transfiguration wizard with a passion for fishing. He could often be found wading through the river, stunning any fish that came near to take home for his supper.
Now it was no secret that Peneus longed for grandchildren from his daughter, yet Daphne was a feminist long before it became popular. At a young age, she realised she was a seer and saw many premonitions that came true. One night, she dreamt that she would die young, a victim of love. This put her off men straight away, fearful that should she fall in love, she would die. Many rows ensued between the father and daughter, until finally Peneus gave up and supported his daughter's wishes.
The years passed and Daphne grew up into a fine witch. She did not have her mother's ability to change her appearance, nor her fathers talent at transfiguration, but she was a dab hand at potion making, using the foliage around her. One day, a boy from a neighbouring wizard family was given a love potion as revenge for an arguement he had been in. His name was Apollo and he was renowned for his love of music, but lack of intellect. Upon ingesting the potion, he fell in love with Daphne and chased her relentlessly, begging for her to marry him. She relented and avoided him at all costs until one fateful day. Daphne had been minding her own business, collecting plants for a potion she wished to make when Apollo appeared from nowhere. After a small arguement in which she insisted that she refused to marry him, he caught her and threatened to make her his. In her panic, she yelled for her father, pleading for him to help and to end her suffering once and for all. With a heavy heart, knowing that she would not relent and marry the wizard, Peneus knew what to do and transfigured his daughter into a Laurel tree. He had hoped to return once Apollo had gone to change his daughter back but he arrived to late. Apollo, angered that his love had gone, hit out at the tree, breaking many of it's branches in his rage. Finally when his rage began to fade, he realised what her father had done and that he himself had bought an end to Daphne's life. Distraught, he took the leaves from her broken limbs and made them into head pieces, swearing a vow that he would forever love her and would always wear the laurel on his head as a reminder to what he did.
Peneus, distraught and heartbroken that he lost his daughter began the family history and wrote that each generation would have a Daphne, for if they did not, a deadly curse would strike the family. As years went by, Peneus opened a temple for those that knew her to mourn her death. However Apollo had been seen so often, they believed it was a temple for him and as the years passed they temple transferred over to Apollo.
Daphne sighed as she tore her eyes away from the tapestry and down to the paperwork on her lap, her schedule for when term began. She was eager to get back to work, eager to teach again. She closed her eyes momentarily before falling asleep.
