The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 7: Childish

 The sun was nearly kissing the horizon when Anastasia arrived at the back garden of The Burrow. The warm breeze turning crispy and lightly weaving through her raven tresses, like a playful friend saying a short 'Farewell'. With her violin case in hand, she pushed open the back door and shut it behind her. Ginny, having heard the thump of the door, came hurrying towards her. "Play Poppets with me," she pleaded, and mock pouted a bit. "I don't know," Anna pretended to contemplate, a finger tapping her chin. "This case is getting heavy, and I don't know if I'll make it up the stairs in time before supper," she dramatically finished as she let the arm carrying her case drop a bit. "I'll carry it for you and then we can play Poppets," exclaimed the young redhead as she quickly took the case from her sister. Anna smiled softly as she followed Ginny up to their room, the older girl lagging and taking the steps at a casual pace. Playing with Poppets together was something that they have done since Ginny learned to walk, and it helped the girl's bond as they grew older. The dolls, inherited from Great-Aunt Muriel, were in pristine condition and played with frequently. Once they made it to the room, Ginny pushed open the door, put the violin case in its proper resting place, and dug under her bed for the Poppet box. Anastasia took her place in the center of the room with the box placed between them. "How do you want to play today?" she questioned her younger sister while looking through the box. When she did not receive a response, she looked up to see Ginny messing with the frills of her doll's dress and her red brows slightly furrowed. Anna put a hand over her sister's slightly smaller ones, stopping her fidgeting and making Ginny look up. She did not speak at first, until Anna sent her a questioning look and she finally whispered, "If you're gone, then who's going to play Poppets with me? Or tell stories to me when I can't sleep?" Anastasia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before answering, "You can have mum play Poppets with you and read to you". "But mum doesn't do it right. When we play Poppets, she doesn't understand how we play or know our Poppets. She mixes up Sir Gregory and Lord Grayvesone, yet they don't even look alike. When she reads or tells me stories, she doesn't do the different voices like you do," exasperated Ginny as she threw her hands up in annoyance. Anna could not help but giggle at the rant, even though she knew it was quite true. "Then teach her how to play and read with the voices," she soothed after removing her hand and returned her hunt to find her favorite doll. "Can we play Magic Kingdom?" Ginny inquired as she scooted closer with her doll, Lady Charlotte, in hand. "I thought you'd never ask," smiled Anna her doll, Faye, poised for play. Just as they were setting up the room for their game, the door opened, and Ron walked in. "Dad says that it's time for supper, so you best come down," he stated as he hovered in the doorway. Once he noticed the Poppet in Anastasia's hand, he made a face of disgust and asked, "Aren't you too old to be playing with dollies". She was quick with a comeback, "Aren't you too old to have mum still stitch your name in your knickers". That seemed to do the tricked because Ron let out an agitated puff as he slammed the door and stomped back down the stairs. Anna giggled, turned to a wide-eyed Ginny and stated seriously, "There's nothing wrong with playing Poppets, no matter the age and don't you let anyone take that away from you. Ron is probably just upset that we don't invite him anymore". "He beheaded Queen Mary because he wanted her to haunt us. There's no room for people like that in OUR Magic Kingdom," declared the younger girl, her tone firm. "Right you are, Ginny," giggled Anna. "Now let us say 'Farewell' to the kingdom and join the jester's downstairs for supper," she finished with a smile. The sisters then proceeded to clean up the kingdom and put the dolls away, their growling stomachs encouraging them to hurry up. Once they were done, they both raced each other down the stairs and into the dining room. Anastasia made it first, due to her longer legs, and took the place beside Percy. "I'm going to go find mum," Ginny informed her as she quickly exited the room. The older boy did not even glace at or even acknowledge Anna as she had sat down beside him and continued to read his book. I guess he's still disappointed about my behavior earlier, she thought to herself. Yet he says that I'm the childish one, Anna rolled her eyes as they waited for everyone to be present. Her eyes wandered around the room while she waited, taking in all of the homey decor and clutter around her. The dining room, like the rest of the house, was kind of cluttered and a bit disorganized. The clutter was not claustrophobic or overwhelming, but it gave the house character. Each hand-me-down object had a history to it, giving off a welcoming aura that made you want to kick off your shoes and relax. The scent of herbs and clothes from the Burrow, was the smell that Anna associated with safety, and it made her feel content. "There she goes, again, looking off into space, Georgie," a voice said from across the table. She knew instantly that the twins were talking about her, but she decided to ignore them for as long as she could. She heard George whisper to his brother, "She's probably thinking of ways to out fox us, our Little Fox. She thinks she's so clever, but she just unknowingly started a war". "She did indeed. Whatever shall we do first," inquired Fred, still whispering, not so quietly, to his twin. "Maybe we should make Judeth scream every time our little sister attempts to play her at school," George offered. Anastasia's head immediately whirled in their direction, "Touch her and you might mysteriously fall off your broom next time you play Quidditch," she threatened with an even tone, her face blank yet her eyes held fast to her threat. "That is quite enough, you three. Can you not go one moment without acting childish," asked Percy, only briefly glancing up from his book at his younger siblings. The twins shared a glance and a smirk before Fred responded, "Can you not go one moment without pretending that you don't have a stick up your arse". Anna's eyes widened in shock at the comment, and she watched at the twins cackled like hyenas, but she did not join in. With a slight turn of her head, she gazed up at the ridiculed brother to study his face. Behind his calm face, she could see the small bits of hurt and anger that he was trying to hold back. He let out a small huff in annoyance, pushed his glasses back up and went back to reading. The table went silent after that, the only thing heard was the low grumble of stomachs and pages turning. The silence only lasted a moment, however, because the rest of the family entered the dining room and sat down. Finally, she could feed the beast of a belly and that made her eager to fill her plate. "So, Ron, Anastasia, are you excited for your first year of Hogwarts," Molly inquired from one end of the table. Ron, with his mouth still full of food, answered simply with a shrug, "Yeah". Anna wrinkled her nose in disgust at his lack of manners, before she turned her attention back to her aunt and responded, "I'm definitely looking forward to it and can't wait to start my lessons". cough..cough.."Nerd," she heard from the twins across from her. "Hush now, boys. There is nothing wrong with having a passion for learning. Wanting to take things seriously every now and then is something that everyone should learn," remarked her aunt, shooting a reassuring smile her way. The twins grumbled under their breath and went back to eating. "Hey, mum, I'm going with you guys to Diagon Alley tomorrow, right," Ginny questioned from beside the women. Her husband answered instead and jested, "Unless you prefer to stay with your Great-Aunt". The young girl paled and started shaking her head furiously, then went back to quietly shoveling food in her mouth. The older siblings smiled in understanding, all except Percy, and her parents chuckled at her reaction. Supper was quiet, apart from the small conversations that would sprout out of the comfortable silence. Anna finished her supper around the same time that everyone else had and began hurriedly clearing away her dishes, wanting to go relax in her room while she still had the chance. "Anna, dear, could you stay behind," her aunt asked just before she could leave the dining room. The girl turned on her heel to look at the women, a kind look was upon the tired mothers face, but she continued, "We would like a quick word with you in the sitting room before you head up to bed". What's so important that they want to speak with me alone? Does it have anything to do with what they were whispering about earlier," she asked herself. Anna however did not say a word in response, but her face slid from a smile to a blank expression at the request. She did, however, give her aunt a nod and made her way to the sitting room. Her feet guided her to one of the couches and she sat stiffly on it, waiting for her godparents. Anastasia had to keep readjusting as the couch kept trying to swallow her, tempting her into leaning back and closing her eyes. She had to remain sharp though, as she did not know what her aunt and uncle wanted to discuss with her. Her blue orbs fitted around the room in a means to distract herself for the time being.