Daphne Sevchenko

## Daphne Nyura Sevchenko †

"*When life gave you a choice about what to do with the man that stole from us, you chose mercy. That was the wrong choice. Women in this business, we cannot afford to look weak. Do not make that mistake ever again.*"
— Daphne to Megaera Alder
**Daphne Nyura Sevchenko** (Ukrainian: Дафна Нюра Севченко) (b. 16 July — 19 November) was a Ukrainian pure-blood witch of the old and privileged Sevchenko family, the only child born to Mr and Mrs Sevchenko. Her family were infamous for their austere views on Dark magic and blood supremacy, as well as having once been former followers and ancestral advocates for Gellert Grindelwald.

## Biography

### Life after Durmstrang

"*Everything my husband has now, I helped him build. So if you fear him, you must fear me too.*"
— Daphne's ultimatum as boss of The Firm

### Later life

"*There were times when our father was locked away and she was meant to be looking after us; but she wouldn't move from the bed most of the time. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't tuck us in at night. More a piece of furniture than a mother.*"
— Amy Jordan regarding the effects of depression on Daphne's caregiving

## Physical description

"*I suppose she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.*"
— Maksim Yakovich regarding Daphne's physical beauty

## Personality and traits

**Daphne**: "*My friend, Vanya, she doesn't talk as much now. She used to talk and talk and talk and... I grew so tired of it. She was like you. Sweet girl. Of course, sweet girls get dull in time, don't they? Xanthas very kindly helped me take care of her.*"
**Daya Devdhar**: "*Take care?*"
**Daphne**: "*Mm. Have you ever seen a body, mauled and twisted by the worst Dark magic possible? Not so pretty. But it's a beautiful day. Why am I talking about such things?*"
— Daphne regales Daya Devdhar with tales of her and Xanthas' past victims

## Magical abilities and skills

"*Everybody was already afraid of me. She wasn't, though. What could I do to her that she couldn't return, equally as well? She was fearless. There was nothing she wouldn't do.*"
— Xanthas Jordan to Amy Jordan on Daphne's power and ruthlessness

## Relationships

### Family

#### Sevchenko family

"*They didn't really approve of her coming here, so...*"
— Daphne's late estrangement from her family

#### Xanthas Jordan

"*Do you know what Xanthas said to me the night he proposed? I remember all his exact words. He said: 'Daphne, if what you want is happiness, say no. I’m not going to lock you away in the kitchen, wasting your magic until retirement. I promise you freedom from that. I promise you will never be bored'. He is the only man — and there have been many others — who has ever understood me.*"
— Daphne to Megaera regarding her marriage to Xanthas

#### Children

"*God does not want you to be happy. He wants you to be strong.*"
— Daphne's final advice to her children before her death

## Etymology

**Daphne** means *"laurel"* in Greek. It is derived from the nymph Daphne in Greek mythology, who was pursued by the god Apollo. She prayed to her father, the river god Peneus, to change her body in order to escape the love-struck Apollo and Peneus then transformed her into the laurel tree, which Apollo then claimed as one of his sacred symbols. In Ancient Greece, a wreath of laurels was given as a prize and considered a symbol of prosperity, fame, and victory.

**Nyura** is a Ukrainian female name, meaning *"graceful".*

**Sevchenko** is a variant of the name Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Шевченко), a family name of Ukrainian origin. It is derived from the Ukrainian word shvets (Ukrainian: швець), meaning *"cobbler/shoemaker",* and the suffix -enko, denoting descent.