The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 5: Mischief

If there was one thing that Anna loved and cherished most in the world, it was Aunt Molly's cooking. There is just something about good food that lures the body, mind, and soul into full alignment. The table was full of a variety of foods that smelt heavenly and made her stomach growl just by scent alone. She took a seat beside Ron, and they waited for everyone else to show up. There was a rule that no one could eat lunch or supper until everyone at the table had sat down. This ensured that everyone got enough of a fill, and no one took too much. To keep her mind off of her hunger, Anastasia turned to Ron and started a small conversation. "So, Ron, what house do you think it will place you in?" she asked. He shifted his focus from the cobs for a moment to answer her question. "I know I am going to be in Gryffindor, just like everyone in the family." Now that Anna thought about it more, she could see him being in Gryffindor like the rest of their family. Ron was as stubborn as a mule and brave with achieving goals. Ron's stubbornness paid off positively when Bill was teaching him how to play wizards chess, and he is now the best player in the family. Anna's focus shifted when Ginny entered the room at a quick pace and started looking around the room. When her eyes swept over Anna and Ron, her brown eyes honed in on the space right behind them. "Excuse me, Ron, could you toss me my jumper?" asked Ginny as she indicated to the clothing piece behind him. Ron glanced at the jumper and responded, "You can fetch it for yourself, can you not? Your legs don't appear to be broken". Anna rolled her eyes at his stubbornness and before she could make a remark, they heard another voice in the room. "I should expect better manners of you, Ronald, yet here we are with your lack of it," Percy said as he walked into the room. "If only mother and father held decorum and intelligence in a higher regard, instead they instilled fantasy and 'Dreaming Big,'" he continued with his usual bored look as he picked up Ginny's jumper. "Instead of letting your petty stubbornness get in the way, next time you could be polite and toss her the jumper that is right behind you," Percy finished as he walked over and handed the jumper to the upset girl. The muffled sound of hushed voices in the far corner of the sitting room caught Anastasia's attention and drew her from the argument that was brewing. Letting her nosiness get the best of her, she quietly slipped away from the table and went to peek around the wall that separated the rooms. Standing close to one another at the other end of the room were her aunt and uncle. Uncle Arthur was talking the most and using a lot of hand gestures, whilst Aunt Molly seemed to be trying to calm him down. She only caught bits and pieces from the conversation that got a little too loud. "Anastasia," "School", "Git", and "Traitor" were the only things that she caught. Anna was startled and almost let out a squeak in surprise when she was pulled back behind the corner by her wrist. She was whirled around and met with the sly faces of her two idols, Fred and George. "What do you think you are doing creeping around corners, little sis," George said as he let go of her wrist and crossed his arms. Thinking quick on her feet, Anna responded," Trying to come up with ideas for some new pranks and future inventions for when we arrive at Hogwarts". She tried to get the panic off of her face and replace it an enthusiastic one that matched her tone of voice. The twins both briefly glanced at each other, a message seemed to pass between them and then they simultaneously shrugged. "Well then, what are your ideas so far, little fox," George said as he leaned his lanky body against the wall next to her. Her mind quickly went into hyperdrive to come up with something convincing and just as she was about to speak, a voice intervened. "Should you three not all be washing up before eating?" Percy asked, as he approached the group. "Frederick and George, I know that you most certainly need to wash up and try to get that filth off your hands," he said as he eyed the twins' hands in slight disgust. Their hands were covered in a goop-like substance from a prank test run that was done earlier. "Last time we checked-", George began. "You're not dad, and we don't have to listen to you", Fred muttered as the two redheads made their way upstairs. Anna's eyes returned to Percy's, and she gave him an innocent smile. "Anastasia, you know what is expected of you and who you are. Do not let anyone led you astray," Percy stated in his usual bored tone.  Anna dropped her gaze a bit when she heard tethers of disproval laced within and it made her feel a bit guilty, like always, that she joined in with the twins on their pranks. "Wash up and join us when you are ready, Anastasia," he said and then he disappeared into the dining room. After standing there for a moment, Anna decided to listen to Percy and went upstairs to wash up. As she was drying her hands, she looked into the mirror at herself and thought about what Percy had said. What do people expect from me? Percy expects perfection, manners and success. Aunt Molly encourages me to stay dedicated to my studies, but also follow my dreams. Uncle Aurthur doesn't seem to know what to expect of me. Charlie wants me to stand up for myself and show everyone the "Dragon" that he sees. Bill trusts me to keep the twins in line and keep us out of major trouble. The Twins, well they don't presume anything from me, and they never have. So many expectations from the people that I love. Are all of these expectations really me if I try hard to maintain them? Or will they lead me astray from who I truly am like Percy said? Her inner turmoil was effectively cut short when Ginny popped her head through the threshold. "Mum sent me to fetch you. Ron has been complaining about how hungry he is, but we can't start without you," she said as she grasped Anastaisa's hand. The two girls quickly made their way down the stairs and into the dining room. The very moment their butts hit the seats, Ron started pilling food onto his plate and the twins were not far behind. "So, Anna, how was it in Diagon Alley?" Ginny asked as she started portioning out her food. Anastasia glanced at her uncle from the corner of her good eye and saw him sharing a look with his wife at the end of the table. "It went great. I went to the Magical Menagerie and got to see a beautiful new owl that the just got. She was a real beauty and I've never seen an owl of her species before," she replied while grabbing a cob. "What kind of owl was she?" Percy inquired from across the table. He never usually speaks unless the subject interests him or he knows a lot about it. "She is an Eurasian Eagle Owl with intense orange eyes. She must not be fully grown though, because she is a bit under the size that males typically get," Anna responded before taking a bite of the roll. "I sometimes forget how much of a nerd our Little Fox is," Fred whispered, not so quietly, to George. "Percy got to her before we could and now, she's too far gone. I think she's a lost cause now Freddy, pack up shop and a cut our losses," George responded behind his hand while looking directly at Anna across the table. She narrowed her eyes at them and kicked them both in the shins. This, however, did not wipe the smirks off their freckled faces as they had known that she could hear them. "Anna, dear, is something the matter?" Aunt Molly asked from her seat. An idea popped into her head that made her smile on the inside, but she had to maintain her composure. Anna leaned forward a bit to see her aunt and as subtly as possible, slid her spoon off the table so that it fell between her thighs. "Nothing's wrong. I just dropped my spoon," she said before stooping below the table. She quickly and as lightly as possible, got to work on tying the twins' shoelaces loosely together. Then she crawled out from under the table with her spoon in her hand. Anna immediately went to grab a new spoon and continued to eat with her family. She was not really paying much interest to what was being discussed as she was waiting for the twin's glorious downfall. Finally, the moment came as they tried to sneak away to the back garden when Aunt Molly's back was turned. She had been telling everyone that they best be cleaning their rooms before setting off to school. The twins both stood up at the same and tried to quickly, but quietly creep away. They would have succeeded had they not tripped and caused a commotion. Aunt Molly whipped around, she stormed over and started fussing at them. The both of them looked too confused about what had just occurred to even argue or try to weasel their way out of the situation like usual. Anna could not contain the slight smirk that found its way on her face. That's when she finally realized there was a figure silently shadowing her aunt and observing the twins. Light blue eyes slowly swept around the room, passing over Anna for a brief moment before snapping back to her. Percy seemed to be studying her and they had a short stare down. Anna could have sworn she saw a flash of realization flicker through his eyes before his eyes narrowed a bit in accusation. She gave him an innocent smile and shrugged her lightly shoulders. He let out light puff of air in annoyance and shook his head slightly before walking out of the room without a word.

~Hello, My Fellow Weird Peoples

    I had some stippity stuff going on in my personal life and was unable to update for a bit but managed to (finally) get this chapter out. I'll try to get a decent schedule for these, but work is all over the place and I be-ith the tired.

~I am also currently in the process of writing another fanfic and am trying to give some love to that one as well. I don't think that I'll publish that one until I'm halfway through it (As I should've done with this one, but I was WAY too excited. I've had this story on my mind for a bit over a year and have been building it in my head. Writing it down is when it gets a bit more time consuming)

~I'd definitely appreciate comments/ feedback on how you think the story is going so far