The Light in Me: The Emergence

Chapter 11: Ickle Sickle

 There was nothing like traveling by floo network, and it definitely was not Anastasia's preferred way of travel. Whilst the green flames twisted around and entertained her, the loud sound of jumbled voices from passing fireplaces was not welcome. With a slight bend of her knees, she braced for the small impact that came within seconds of her moving. The balls of her feet hit first, and she could walk out calmly because of her preparation. Anna walked over to her brothers, Percy and George, sat at their table, and waited for the rest of the family to join them. She had not even been next to Percy for a minute before he dusted small particles from her clothing and hair. "Perc, Thank You, but I look fine," sighed Anna as she lightly swatted his hands away. With his hands now placed in his lap, Percy's eyes still continued to search her appearance for any more signs of debris. "Care not then. You can walk around Diagon Alley looking like you just frolicked in a wreckage and barely cleaned up," dismissed Percy as he slowly straightened his posture. Anna could not help the slight twinge of hurt at his remark and description but remained composed. "I cannot be seen with you if you are not spotless, Anastasia," mocked a voice behind them. She immediately knew who it was and there was no surprise when he sat on her left. Fred lightly kicked her foot and continued, "Have I not raised you better than to frolic around like a child? Yet here you are making a mockery of my hard work and deflating my ickle ego". Across the table from her, George looked at his twin beside the young girl and shot him a mischievous smile. "It would ruin my perfect image and I would have to disown you," mimicked said brother. An argument would have ensued had another person not, literally, stumbled out of the fireplace. Ron still had yet to master the ancient art of exiting the hearth, but he showed dedication to achieving it and was steadily getting better. The twins and Anastasia laughed at the action and the look of panic across the boy's face when he almost lost his balance completely. "You alright there, Ron? Lost you skating legs," inquired George as he patted the spot beside him. The red-faced boy took a seat, glanced quickly around the room before looking at his siblings. "I don't think he was skating, Georgie," Fred started as he glanced over to his right. Anna caught the mischief in his eyes and added in, "I agree, Freddie. It looked more like the fireplace had birthed a bumbling fawn". The three of them started cackling and even joked about it a bit more when the rest of the family showed up. Uncle Arthur was the last one to come through and he walked over to his family, mumbling a head count as he eyed everyone. "Alright, we have everyone here now. Fred and George, you're going with your mum. Percy, if you will take Ron and Anna to get their supplies. Ginny, you're with me and we will walk around. Once everyone is done, we will meet back home and all of you will start packing. Everyone got that," questioned Arthur as he looked around the group. When everyone nodded, they split into their groups and started getting ready to leave. Uncle Arthur handed Percy a bag of coins for supplies, but he also handed him a small envelop and whispered something to him. Percy put both items in separate pockets, the coins in an outer one and the envelop in an inner chest pocket. This piqued Anna's curiosity, but she tried to mask it as she followed him out the door. The alley was filled with witches and wizards of all ages, the energy was beginning to feel a bit overwhelming. She beefed up her energy walls and felt relieved when the whirlwind of pressure let up. The crowd around her and Percy was beginning to thicken, making it kind of a squeeze to get by people sometimes. Anna glanced over her shoulder to check on Ron and quickly grabbed his hand when she saw him becoming practically engulfed in cloaks. They held tightly to one another as they followed their brother, Ron now very keen on keeping an eye on him and not getting distracted like before. Percy was passing all of the necessary shops and heading directly for a large building. The building was a beautiful white and made from fine marble, the suns reflection slightly displaying the grey veins within. Anastasia could not help but marvel at the architecture of the multistory building and drank in every detail she could without falling on her face. On the outside, there were smooth pillars against the walls, and one could see that there was worn away designs on each pillar. At the very front of the building, there reigned a large entrance under a covered balcony and said balcony was supported by spiraling pillars. Only when they got closer could she read 'Gringotts' etched in the marble above the door and she thought to herself, I've never been in Gringotts before. I wonder why we are here now. They all finally made it to the doors and walked through the brass giants, Anna lightly dragging her hand over the doors cool engravings as she walked through. After making it through the bigger doors, they walked down a passageway towards some smaller doors. The walls, like the floor, were marble but they both varied in color and design. Smoke grey marble made up each wall with golden accents and chandeliers to compliment the glaze, the candles positioned at contrasting heights. Being tread upon, was a beautiful marriage between black and white tiles. A squeeze on her hand brought Anna out of her amazement, she glanced at Ron, and he inclined his head at something that was through the doors. As they got closer, she saw why he got her attention and a small grin started to form on her face. Goblins. I've never seen a Goblin before, Anastasia thought to herself looking around. There were plenty of them behind desks and milling about doing tasks. Whilst they varied a bit in looks, they all had the same key features and similarities. Pointed ears that stick out of a bulbous head and tufts of hair could usually be found a top their heads. The siblings approached a desk and Percy waited for the Goblin to look up, being the polite person that he is. Finally, the Goblin placed his papers to the side and looked up, his black eyes seeming to stare straight through Percy. "We are here to enter Anastasia Grey's Vault," he respectfully stated. The Goblin looked down as Anna peered around her older brother, letting go of Ron's hand in the process. As blue eyes met black, she gave him a small wave and received only a blank stare in response. "Follow me," he grumbled as he straightened his quills and papers. The Goblin then hopped off his chair and began to waddle towards a wall of great doors on one side of the room, taking the farthest metal one on the right. The siblings followed him and watched as he hopped into a metal cart, the children following suit. As the cart started up, it jolted forward before making its departure. Anna held on tightly to the skip as it quickly descended below the bank and her brain could not keep up with her surroundings, there was too much going on at once. The cart was rocking and making sharp squealing noises as it took turns, making her face scrunch every time they took a turn. The lantern on the skip was swinging in rhythm with the track and the light was bouncing off the occasional formation they passed. Suddenly, the cart took a quick and sharp down spiral around a long stalactite. Due to the unexpected motion, Ron had almost been flung out of the cart had Percy not grabbed on to his shirt collar. Understandably, the boy immediately held on tightly for the rest of the spiral. Finally, the spiral ended, and the cart reached a deep level of vaults. The cart came to a screeching halt, sparks shooting out from the tires and jumping towards Anna's hands that tightly gripped the cart. Without being fazed by the sudden stop, the Goblin put the break on and climbed out of the skip. The siblings clamored after him, watched as he took the lantern from the cart and began walking toward the big door. The surrounding vaults were just as large and strange looking as the one they were approaching. The vault door was bronze, designs engraved and protruding from the door. Anna glanced above the door as they stood in front of it and saw the numbers 716 etched above. The Goblin then put down the lamp and turned to Anastasia, gesturing for her to step forward. With hesitant steps, she stood in front of him and waited for further instruction. His eyes studied her for a moment, staying a second longer on her scar and, partially, blind eye. Once he seemed satisfied, he walked to the door and gestured for her to join him. Her two siblings followed and stopped a bit behind the pair. "Place your hand here," he said monotonously, pointing to a part of the door. Anastasia looked at the place he had pointed at and saw an oval protrusion. The oval was thin, and a bit worn down, but one could see was once a hand indent. "Miss. Grey, your hand," the Goblin said once more. "Sorry," blushed Anna as she placed her small hand on the oval. Once her hand was on the oval, it began to light up a faint blue and spread through the bronze engravings. The Goblin brushed his long forefinger against the door and the blue light spread like wildfire, twisting through every spiral on the door. Faint clicking could be heard from the door and when it stopped, the little man opened the door. He then hoisted up the lantern and shined it into the vault, what Anna saw inside left her gob smacked. Varies piles of coins, heirlooms and trinkets were scattered in the room. With heightened curiosity, she stepped into the vault and looked around. Aside from the items she first saw, there were also some paintings and a few chests. Anastasia walked closer to one of the older paintings and could see the resemblance between them, deducing that it must be one of her ancestors. "Bloody hell," exclaimed a voice from the door. Even though she did not need to glance over her shoulder to see who the voice came from, she did anyway. Ron stood halfway through the vault with wide eyes bouncing around the room, Percy next to him passively sweeping the room as well, but was respectfully, still outside of the vault. "Watch your tongue, young man," snapped the painting she had been looking at. Anna's attention returned to the painting, and she saw the older woman looking at Ron, the scolding look of a mother upon her painted face. "He's sorry, Mrs...." she trailed off, studying the woman more. "Zipporah Dena Grey," replied the women as she dipped her head in a greeting. Zipporah was sitting at a desk and writing letters with a long quill, occasionally added a paper to other stacks of letters. "I'm Anastasia Grey, daughter of Leon Grey and Alexandria Sinclair," revealed the small girl. "Ah, that makes you my great-great granddaughter," smiled the woman lightly as she briefly stopped writing. "I've never met another member of our family until now," revealed Anna. The painting looked at her blankly, returned writing and simply said, "I am dead, child, I do not count". Ouch. Thanks grandma, grimaced the, slightly hurt, girl. "Anastasia, we have to get going," Percy said approaching her. He took her by the shoulder and steered her away from the painting. The two of them approached a pile of money, Percy pulled out an extra coin bag and they began to fill it up. Anna took a look around once more but failed to notice Percy leave her side. When she looked back to speak to him, she saw that he was speaking in hushed tones with the Goblin and then handed him the small envelope. The very same mysterious envelope that her uncle had slipped to Percy before they split up. The Goblin looked over the letter in the envelope before he entered the vault and went to the back. When he returned, he was carrying a box about the size of a saucer. Percy took the box from him, slid it into his pocket and gestured for Anna to follow him. Once everyone was out of the vault, it boomed shut and was spelled once more. The siblings followed the Goblin as he placed the lantern on the cart, and they all climbed inside. Even though the ride down was disorientating, it was nothing compared to the ride returning to the surface. It feels like I'm relearning Quidditch, but my stomach feels inside out, and I hope Ron is ok with me getting sick on him," thought Anastasia. With her thoughts on Ron, she glanced over to check on him and would have smiled if she could. The boy looked pale and sickly, his hands clutching the skip just as hard as hers were. With a sudden screech, the cart stopped swiftly and pitched everyone forward. Quickly looking around, she could see that they were back on the surface and she, hurriedly, exited the death trap. After brushing herself off, she followed Percy toward the main room and made sure that Ron was keeping up as well. Anna continued to admire all of the architecture as they were walking towards the main doors of Gringotts. As they approached the brass doors, she noticed Percy pat the pocket where the mystery box was. Anastasia scowled at the action and thought, why are they keeping so many secrets from me?? What does everyone have to hide?? Today I WILL find out and no one is going to stop me.

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Hello my Capybara brethren,

~Sorry that it's been a bit since I've updated. I had been slowly added and trying to add enough details.

~Can't wait for the next chapter!!