The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 2: Animal Whisperer

     Darkness was replaced by light as Anna stepped out of the fireplace. She straightened out her shirt and looked around the Leaky Cauldron. "Anastasia?" a deep and gruff voice asked from her right. Her head whipped to the side, and she saw the source of the voice. "Hagrid!" Anna exclaimed as she flung herself into the half-giants' arms. She immediately inhaled the familiar smell of butterbeer and pine. She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled, "'tis good to see ya, Dragon". The nickname made her smile and squeeze him tighter. Hagrid, along with her brother, Charlie, call her "Dragon" because of her fiery nature and fascination with the gorgeous creatures. "What ya doin' here?" he asked once he put her down. "Uncle Arthur has some stuff to do and invited me to come with," she replied as she straightened out her shirt once more. "Anna and I also haven't had a day together in a while," a voice behind her stated. "Hello Hagrid, it has been a while since I've seen you," Uncle Arthur greeted warmly, one hand on Anna's shoulder and the other shook Hagrid's big hand. "Indeed, it has, Arthur," Hagrid said as he released Arthur's hand. "Well, we best be off. Take care Hagrid," Uncle Arthur said as he grabbed Anna's hand, and they started making their way toward the door. "Goodbye, Anna," Hagrid called to her. She threw a quick smile and wave over her shoulder as they step out of the threshold. "So....where are we going to first?" she inquired Arthur after a bit of walking. "Where do you want to go??" He asked as he swung their intertwined hands. "Magical Menagerie," Anna said with a small smile. She knew he did not really like the place, but she had always loved it. He let out a little sigh in defeat before he replied, "Fine, but only because I love seeing you so happy". She smiled and started through Diagon Alley, carefully weaving them between people. When they arrived at the storefront, Anna released his hand and excitedly opened the doors. The hustle and bustle of the Alley was nothing compared to the chaos in front of her. Anna's senses were overwhelmed with many smells and sounds. There were so many voices talking at once. "Stop poking me with your grubby hands," "Feed me," and "Shut it," were the ones that stuck out to her the most. Being able to understand and talk to creatures is one of the main reasons she loves to come to the store. Fred and George once told her that was almost like she was a Parseltounge, being the fact that she sounds like the animal or creature she is communicating with. "Bloody hell, I'm glad you're here, Anastasia," said Miranda, one cashier. Anna was a regular at the store and they seemed to count on her to calm down the animals. Miranda always jokingly called Anna the "Animal Whisperer," if she only knew how right she was. "Who is giving you trouble this time?" Anna asked her, doing a visual sweep of the room. "The usual," Miranda said, as she rolled her green eyes. Anna's head snapped to the left as she spotted the two troublemakers, Crookshanks and Dean. Crookshanks was a stubborn, orange half Kneazle that did not tolerate or get along with others. Dean, or Lean Dean, was a black cat and was the only animal that Crookshanks did not fight with. Of course, the pair would be causing a ruckus. Due to Dean being skinny, he could easily slip through the bars of the cages and let Crookshanks out as well. The store has tried everything to keep Dean from escaping, but he always manages to escape and let Crookshanks out too. Anna carefully avoided other customers and made her way over to the misfits. By the time she reached them, they had found a new target to torment, a little white rat. They were poised on either side of the rat cage and whispering to the rat. Anna crossed her arms and asked them, "What do you think you two are doing?". Their heads whipped towards her, and they both seemed to smile. "Nothing," Dean replied with a sly tone. "I thought I told you to be nice to the other animals," Anna said, narrowing her eyes. "Yes, but you also taught us not to play with our food," Crookshanks sassed back. Now I know how Aunt Molly feels; these two remind me of Fred and George, she thought to herself. "Very funny. Look, you guys need to behave yourselves....at least whenever people are around. I'm not always going to be here to speak for you," she said glancing between the two troublemakers. "Anyway, I must be off. Goodbye my lovies," she said as she gave them both a quick pat on the head and started walking back toward the register. Throughout all of the noise, Anna heard a new voice peak through, and she was instantly intrigued. She followed the voice and was led to the owl section where Phillis worked. "Ah, Anastasia, I was wondering when you were going to journey over here. I have something new to show you and I think that you are going to love her just as much as I do," the brunet woman said as she excitedly dragged her further down the aisle. Once they reached the end of the aisle, Anna saw a cage covered by a sheet and was immediately intrigued. "We haven't named her yet, but she's a beauty," Phillis said before pulling the sheet off. Once blue eyes met orange, Anna felt a connection and knew that this was her owl. This was no small owl like in the surrounding cages. This owl was very large and had sculpted wings like that of an angel. "Gorgeous, isn't she? I had never seen a until now and I feel so honored," Phillis commented while gazing at the owl. "Well, I have to go feed everyone else. If you want, you can look at her a bit longer as long as you put the sheet back over the cage when you're done". Phillis gave a small wave and walked back down the aisle. Anastasia turned back to the owl and slightly turned her head as she observed her. Her eyes widened slightly as the owl did the same and observed her with equal curiosity. "You're a curious one, aren't you," she asked in a soft hoot. The owls' eyes widen, and her pupils kept changing in dilation before she responded back, "I have never met a human that I could converse with before". "I'm a bit different than other humans," Anna responded with a small giggle. "My name is Anastaisa. What is your name?" Anna asked the curious owl. "My name M'kluhura, but you can just call me Uhura". "That's a beautiful name. Unfortunately, I must be on my way, but I will definitely stop by again soon," Anna said as giving Uhura a smile. "I look forward to it, Anastasia," the owl responded. Anna then picked up the sheet, placed it back on the cage, and made her way toward the front once again. "Did you give the two troublemakers a good talking to?" Miranda inquired once Anna got close enough to have a conversation without raising their voices. "Yes, I did, but you know that it won't be long before they start stirring up trouble," she giggled. Anna's eyes fitted around the room as she looked for a ginger head before she asked," Where has Uncle Arthur wandered off to?" "He decided to pop off to Floreans' Parlor ahead of you to get your usual orders going. He'd like for you to head on over once you are done here," Miranda responded while she greeted and rang up a customer. "Well, I mustn't keep him waiting," Anna said as she made her way to the doors, but not before throwing Miranda a quick wave over her shoulder.