The Light in Me: The Emergence

Answers?

          It is funny how overlooked many details can be until one really observes and takes in their surroundings. Anastasia had been gazing around the room in boredom when she noticed the little details about the house. The unusual wood grain patterning of the sofa legs, the faint scent of honeysuckle in the air and the crackle of fire being the most noteworthy observations. Anna stood up and strolled toward the fireplace, wanting to be close to the comforting energy. The flames crackled and danced with a flare, like a lost soul fighting for freedom. I know how you feel; she thought to herself. Anna tentatively placed her hands near the flames and tried not to feel overwhelmed by the passionate, yet uncontrollable, energy the flame possessed. I wish I was as brave as you are and knew how to break free," Anastasia sighed. She always knew that she differed from her family and feared that by expressing her differences, they would not want her anymore. Anna knew it was a ridiculous thought, but she could not help it and her uncles' shady actions recently were not easing her fears. "Bloody Hell," she exclaimed as she yanked her hand away from the fire. Apparently, while being lost in thought, the flame had come out of the hearth and briefly licked her hand. After a quick inspection of her hand, she deduced the there was no permanent damage and only a minor burn. "What'd you do that for," questioned Anna, whilst cradling her left hand. A second later, she heard two sets of footsteps approaching the sitting room and knew the answer to her question. With little time to spare, she practically flung herself onto the sofa and sat as casually as she could. Aunt Molly was the first one that come around the corner, followed by her tense husband, and they both made their way toward her. Once they reached the sofas, they both sat down, and a tense silence hung in the air. Anna gazed at her guardians blankly, waiting for them to speaking and tell her what the problem was. "Anastasia, dear, since it is going to be your first year at Hogwarts this year, you must know a few things before attending," began her aunt, her tone softer than usual. "Is it about my father," inquired Anna, her eyes slowly sliding from her aunt to her uncle. The man looked away from her but did not say a word about the matter. Molly, however, did not falter and kept the conversation going. "Yes, dear, it does. I know that we have not told you much about him, but we will in time," reassured her aunt with a comforting smile. "All you have told me is that he died for his family, that my abilities come from his family line and that he was in Slytherin. That's all you have shared with me in the past eleven years. Mr. Malfoy told me he was proud to be the Slytherin he was, he happened to be one of the Slytherin Quidditch teams' Beaters and was also really good at it. He would've told me more if given the chance. Why won't anyone tell me anything," slightly fumed Anna. The Weasley couple were taken aback at her outburst before Molly moved to the seat beside her and took her, uninjured, right hand. "Anastasia, you may not understand it right now, but there are things that you should not have to worry about, and we are trying to protect you. People do crazy things for the ones that they love and will go to great lengths to ensure their safety, your father was one of those people. Both of your parents loved you very much and would not want for you to worry over things like this so young, neither do we," finished Molly as she gave her nieces hand a squeeze. With a hand raised, she lightly tucked some flyaway hairs behind Annas' right ear and gave her face a small caress. A sudden look of remembrance flashed on her aunts face and she got up, excusing herself, "I almost forgot one of the most important parts". The plump women then hurried out of the room and up the stairs, on a hunt to find a mysterious object. The room was silent, apart from the crackling fire, and Anastasia felt like she was suffocating from the stiffness that was in the air. Her eyes took in the sight of her uncle, and she began to study him. His tall figure was on the other sofa and as far away as he could get from her, he even moved the decorative pillow out of the way to be on the edge of the couch. Most of his body was turned away from her, his arms crossed and hands rubbing them periodically. Occasionally, he would adjust his glasses, but he never once looked in her direction. Anna could not take the silence anymore and decide to say something. "Uncle, why does talking about my father make you so uncomfortable," she lightly probed. He flinched slightly at her words, but even more so once he, accidently, met her blank stare. Before he even had a chance to respond, footsteps descended the stairs and Molly hurried into the sitting room. "I finally found it after some searching. It was buried in the wardrobe," smiled the women as she took a seat beside her niece once more. In the women's hand, was an elegant ebony box that was unusually smooth and had unique engravings carved into the wood. Her uncle seemed to recoil slightly as the box came near him and even shifted further away in his seat, still refusing to look in that direction. Anna decided to pay no mind to her uncle at the moment and became enthralled with the box once more. Looking closer at the small, rectangular box, Anastasia could see that there was writing on it, but could not make out the language. "Here you are, dear," her aunt said with a light tone as she handed her the box. She gingerly took the wooden case and lightly ran her fingers over the carvings, a small bit of hesitation holding her back. Anna brushed those feelings aside and slowly opened the box. Inside lay a sap-colored wand with dancing spirals emerging from the medium size base and mating around towards the tip of the wand. Three deep spirals started the race and more, thinner, ones branched off to join the exciting event. The young girl could feel something a bit off about this wand but paid little thought to it and picked it up. After carefully examining the wand, she noticed a very interesting thing about the smooth wand. The grains of wood within the spirals had the occasional sliver of purple that would show through, and it gave more character to the wand. I've never seen a wand like this, she thought to herself as she ran her hands over every inch of the wand. "Aren't I supposed to get my wand at Diagon Alley," she inquired after thinking for a moment. There was a pregnant pause as her uncle and aunt shared a look, before her aunt finally answered, "Dear, the Grey family only ever passed down their wands through generations and it was in your parents will that the same be done for you". She took a hesitant pause, then indicated to the wand in Annas' hand and continued, "That wand there belonged to your father and had been passed down to the eldest throughout each generation". "Do you know what it's made of," asked Anna, lightly tracing her left index finger along one of the big spirals. Before her aunt could answer her question, her uncle, surprisingly, cut in and hurriedly answered, "We don't know, but Olivander will, and you can ask him tomorrow". Anna could tell that her uncle just wanted to end the conversation and be somewhere else entirely different. She admired the wand a bit more, before putting it back in the engraved box and shut it lightly. Why waste my time carrying on here if I'm barely getting any answers and Uncle Arthur looks like he'd rather live closer to the Malfoy's than be near me, one of her inner voices brought to her attention. Now that she thought more about it, there is nothing more that she could gain from the conversation and only her aunt seems to want to be around her. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm knackered," Anna said as she stood with her wand box in hand. Then she walked towards the entry of the room, she stopped just before exiting and let out a small sigh. With a slight turn, she turned to her guardians and said, "Thank you, for giving me my family wand". Then she turned and made her way upstairs, her eyes starting to feel tired from the long day. Once she made it to her door, Anastasia quietly opened her door and slipped inside. After shutting it behind her, she first placed her wand case on her nightstand and then went toward her chest-of-drawers. Finally, she found a blue nightie, Anna hopped into bed and tried to fall asleep. Why can't they just come out with it already? Why all of the secrecy and nervousness over something that I deserve to know? Questions like this kept running through her mind for quite a while and it was hard to stop. Finally, she came to a consensus and whispered to into the, relatively, silent room, "I AM going to get answers whether they want me to or not and the first person I am starting with is Mr. Malfoy". Not long after making that vow, Anastasia felt herself begin to grow heavier and she slowly slipped into the dark fog of slumber.

~~~

~Hello , My Fellow Waffles

~Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I've been brainstorming (a bit of evil brainstorming on the side) and coming up with more ideas to add to my original mental draft. We are in for so shtuff my friends and I hope you guys are ready for what I have in store.