The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 3: New Acquaintance

       Anna quickly and carefully weaved her way through the busy crowds of witches and wizards of Diagon Alley. Ignoring the people who stared and whispered once they realized who she was. It was really hard to hide with a long scar emblazon on her face and her telltale features of her heritage. She kept dodging around people until finally reaching the ice cream parlor where Uncle Arthur was waiting. Whenever they come to Diagon Alley, Uncle Arthur and Anna made a point of stopping by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, and it became a tradition. She made her way toward the usual table and stopped in her tracks. Uncle Arthur was irritably speaking with a who looked like an arrogant toerag. Anna rolled back her shoulders and confidently made her way towards them, her curiosity getting the best of her. "Sorry that I took forever, Uncle," she said, laying her left hand on his shoulder and placing a kiss on his cheek. "It's alright, Anna," he responded a bit tensely, laying his hand over hers. Ahem, she heard and looked up. "Lucius Malfoy," the man said as he extended his right hand toward her, "and whom might you be?" Anna couldn't help, but subtly glance at her uncle, remembering some conversations about the Malfoy's that she overheard as a young child. "Forgive me, Mr. Malfoy. Where are my manners? I am Anastasia Grey, daughter of Alexandria Sinclair and Leon Grey," she said as she placed her small hand in his and gave it a firm shake. Great-Aunt Muriel taught her from a young age how to speak, act, and address others. She and the twins refer to it as "wanker mode", where she asserts lineage, and it can come off like a pompous prat. Muriel was a proud pureblood and has tried to instill her "wisdom" into Anna. Muriel insisted Anna had to act like a "proper lady" and had seen that acting properly in the presence of others had become a habit of hers. Another thing that Aunt Muriel was very keen on was the upkeep of one's image and taught Anastasia to do the same. While Anna listened and appreciated her aunt's lessons, no one taught her more about manners than Percy. To avoid her turning out like some of his siblings, Percy took it in his hands to teach her manners and scold her when she did not use them. Anna was snapped from her thought when she felt a cool hand squeeze hers lighly. Mr. Malfoy raised Anna's slender hand and raised it to his lips. "What a pleasure to meet you finally, Miss Grey," he said as he gave it a small kiss and released it. When their eyes directly meet, his widen briefly at the blind scar, yet he does not break eye contact. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Malfoy," she responded, trying to keep the smile on her face even though she was trying her best to keep her breakfast from introducing itself as well. Anna hated being so formal and slightly fake but having connections in high places could be handy in the future. "Are you going to Hogwarts?" he asked her. Anna took her seat next to Uncle Arthur, she replied," Yes. I'm looking forward to finally seeing and experiencing everything for myself after hearing about it my whole life". "My son, Draco, is going to be attending as well and I expect that he will be in Slytherin," said Mr. Malfoy and then he asked, "What house do you feel like you will be in?" Anna took a moment and thought about it. "I think that I will either be in Gryffindor or Slytherin, because I have traits from both of the houses," she said before continuing. "I know that I will excel in whichever house I'm sorted into. I have been told that my parents were in Slytherin and Gryffindor, so I hope that I will make them proud". Mr. Malfoy got an odd look in his eyes before replying," I knew your father. He was a proud Slytherin and excellent Beater". Anna's mind started racing with the new information and questions started blossoming. "Really? I didn't know that he played Quidditch. What else do you know about him?" Anna asked, her body leaning forward in anticipation. Before he could answer, Uncle Arthur quickly interrupted him, "Anna, we must get going before Molly starts to worry". He stiffly stood up, grabbed their uneaten ice cream and gestured for Anna to follow him. Anna was confused by his nervousness and hasty actions but stood up, nonetheless. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy, and I hope that we can talk again soon," she said as she reached her hand toward him. Mr. Malfoy took her hand between both of his big ones and gave it a squeeze. "It was an honor to meet you, Miss Grey," He said before continuing, "When will you be in Diagon Alley shopping for your supplies?" Anna slowly removed her hand from his before responding while glancing at her uncle who was fidgeting by the door, "Tomorrow morning". The corners of Mr. Malfoys lips turned up a little bit at the news, but it was barely noticeable. "My family and I will be there as well, so hopefully we will cross paths at some point," he said. "Hopefully we will, but I must be going. Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy," she said as she brushed her pants off. "Until next time, Miss Grey," he said, slightly tipping his head to her. Anna gave him a small smile before turning and walking toward her uncle. When she got close enough, Uncle Arthur put her hand in the crook of his arm and apparated. She felt the pull, twist and finally, the stuffy feeling in her head when they arrived home by apparition.

        The very second their feet touched the ground; Uncle Arthur just about ran into The Burrow and left a puzzled Anastasia alone in the front garden. She had never seen him act so nervous. She also had no clue that the Malfoy's even knew her family until Malfoy senior mentioned it at the Parlor. Now that Anastasia thought about it, her guardians only really told her stories of her mother, but not much so of her father. The only thing that she remembered them saying about her father was how much he loved his family and he fought till his dying breath for them. They did mention him being in Slytherin, but it was not really something that they focused on or brought up often. She was also very aware that her abilities came from his family line, but that too was not a topic they ever liked to expand upon. "Anastasia, what are you doing standing out in the rain?" a voice called out to her and effectively broke her out of her train of thought. She had not even noticed that it had begun raining and that her clothes were dampening. "Anastasia, come inside before you catch a cold," Percy called to her from the door. She quickly made her way to the house as the rain started falling harder than Ron did trying to fly a broom last year. By the time she made it to the door, her once wavy raven hair now clung to her and soaking wet like the rest of her. "That was foolish of you to stand out in the rain like that, Anastasia," Percy said once Anna stepped through the warm threshold. She immediately looked down, hearing the small bit of disappointment peeking out from behind his bored demeanor. Percy then grabbed her arms and started drying them off with a towel that she had failed to notice he had the whole time. "You could have a cold now for all we know. Would you not want to be at your best when you start your first year at Hogwarts?" he inquired. He then plopped the towel on her head, started drying her hair, and continued his lecture. "Remember the last time you got a cold for doing the same thing and worried mother when your fever had not broken after three days," he questioned. How could I forget when he reminds me every time, I am outside in even the smallest of rain showers, she thought to herself. Anna, however, remained silent as Percy finished drying her hair and then he finally removed the towel. She hesitantly made eye contact with him and saw his light blue eyes soften to a degree behind his glasses. Letting out a small sigh of defeat, Percy handed her the towel. "Quickly dry off your feet before walking any farther. You know mother would give you a good scolding for tracking water on the floor," he said while looking down at the already growing puddle around her in disdain. She dried her legs and silence hung between them; the only thing heard was an occasional crackle of fire in the sitting room. Once she was done, he held his hand out and took the towel from her. He looked at her now shaking figure, rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "How about you go run yourself a bath to get warm. Just put your clothes outside the door and I will take care of them," he said as he started walking towards the sitting room. Anna smiled softly at his receding figure and made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. Once she reached the bathroom, she quickly entered the room and quietly closed the door. Anna plugged the tub, ran the bath to her desired temperature and put a little bit of soap in the stream. Once bubbles started rolling and mixing with the steam, she promptly shook off her wet clothes. Once she was free of those wet confines, she opened the door just enough to put her clothes outside of it. Then she made her way over to the bath and slid into the warm water. She could feel her muscles relaxing and warming up as she sunk lower into a frothy layer of bubbles. This is definitely better than warming up in front of the fire, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes in relaxation. Now that she was no longer cold, her earlier thoughts started to resurface. What made Uncle Arthur so shaken and where did he go after he scurried away from me? she asked herself. She pondered over every possible reason and went over all the events from the day. Uncle had only started acting shifty when I was talking to Mr. Malfoy and when the topic of my father was brought up. Uncle talks about the Malfoys like they are bad, and he will not share any information about my father. Does that mean that he thinks that my father wasn't a good guy? But Uncle has told me good stories about my mother, and she wouldn't marry a bad guy. Annas' mind kept running with possibilities until she noticed that while her mind was running wild, her water was slowly running out as well. She finally decided that it was time to get out of the bath and she grabbed a towel to quickly dry off. Out of habit, she reached over to the counter for some clothes, but stopped herself halfway. She rested her head against the door and sighed when she realized that she'd have to brave her way to her room in her towel. She opened the door a crack to peak out, but she felt a slight weight against the door when she tried to shut it. In a, once, neatly folded pile, lay some fresh clothes and under garments. I Love Percy, she thought with a small smile as she grabbed them and put them on. No matter what act he puts on or what he says, he cares about his family just the same as everyone else.