I walked into Flourish and Blott's only to be astonished once again. The immense amount of books always seemed to blow my mind. Shelves as high as the ceiling were overflowing with all kinds of spell books, biographies of famous witches and wizards, and textbooks for Hogwarts. The farther I walked into the shop, the more I had to pay attention to make sure that I didn't knock column after column of books over. The light dimmed increasingly the closer you got to the clerks desk, and it made it almost impossible to see.
The clerk happened to be a really nice witch that had long matted hair, which was the color of straw. She had a pair of large, round spectacles that rested on the tip of her nose. I handed her a slip of paper that had all the textbooks that I needed. She looked at me quizzically; and then she spoke with a warm voice, "I don't see many kids with a list like yours." She looked at the list again, and nodded her head. "I'll have your books momentarily, why don't you go look for a book that will ease your mind and take you away from all your studies?"
I gave her a small smile, and slowly made my way towards the front of the store. I started looking around for such a book, when I came across a girl looking at me. When we made eye contact, she gave me a genuine smile, and I waved at her signaling that I saw her. I wasn't a very outgoing person, and not many people took the time to even acknowledge me. I turned the corner, and began my search for an enjoyable book. My eyes were glued to the spines; there were so many books, with so many different designs. Most of them were leather bound, and expensive. Others, the majority of the ones on the floor, were very large, and somewhat old.
I turned around another column of books, and started reading the names of the books on the shelves. I wasn't having any luck on finding something that was going to interest me. I let out a sigh, and turned around, deciding to go back to the witches' desk, and waiting for her there. I took a few steps and the girl from before stood there with a big smile.
"Hi, I'm Ashlee; I go to Hogwarts as well." She said cheerfully. She extended her hand, and I took it reluctantly; I wasn't used to people being this nice to me; she must be up to something.
"I'm Anastasia." I said softly. I glanced at her, and was amazed by her looks.
"Nice to meet you Anastasia. Do you have a nickname? Something shorter than your full name? Like Ana? Or maybe Stasia?" She seemed to be full of life, as well as her aquamarine colored eyes. She was full of questions, and I was taken aback by her ability to speak so openly.
"Um, people call me Ana."
"Oh, that's cute. I really like that; I think it fits you well." Her voice was full of pep and cheer. I looked at what she was wearing; though it was far from my style it suited her very well. She had dark denim skinny jeans, with a floral top that had the ¾ sleeve style. There was a brown belt that went around her waist and it seemed to bring out the colors in her blouse. She wore a pair of simple white flats, which made her outfit pop.
I think she noticed me looking at her outfit, because she commented on my shoes. "Moccasins are comfortable aren't they?"
I looked at my ratted old pair of moccasins and slightly blushed, "Yeah, they're pretty much the only shoes I wear."
I couldn't help but stare at this girl; she had very large eyes, which seemed to make her expression look like she was always in surprise. She had makeup on, eyeliner to be exact. The manner of the "wing tipped cat eye" made her eyes that much more mesmerizing. And to top it off, her bright red hair, made everything pop that much more.
"My dear, your books are ready, please follow me so you can purchase your textbooks."
Ashlee stepped aside, letting me get through to follow the witch, but not before she said, "I'll see you on the train Ana, bye!" And with that, she walked out of the store, leaving me to pay for my books. Even in the dim light of the shop, I could still make out the bulk of books, which I had to carry out into Diagon Alley.
"How much do I owe you?" I asked her.
"Well, Advanced Potion Making by Libatius Borage is nine galleons; Advanced Rune Translations is also nine galleons."
"Miss, can I please just have the total?" I tried to sound as polite as I could.
"Oh, yes, yes, I'm sorry." She looked at my list, and counted in her head.
"Your total is 47 galleons."
I sighed and reached into my pocket to grab my clutch. Forty seven galleons for nine books. Maybe it was time to lay off a couple classes. I handed her the galleons, and thanked her for her service. I loaded all the books into my arms, and slowly made my way out of the door. The sun shined brightly and it took a minute or two for my eyes to fully adjust.
I started looking around for my Aunt Carley, because she had the trolley with my suitcase, and the rest of my belongings for this school year. I had my head turned the opposite direction when I ran into Harry. My books went flying everywhere and Harry and I scrambled to pick them up before the people in Diagon Alley stepped all over them. I picked up two books, before I remembered that I was a witch and I had a wand.
"Accio books."
They all piled up in a stack by my feet, and Harry smirked at me. "Magic is amazing."
I looked up at him, and nodded. "Come on, we're going to go meet the Weasley's at the Leaky Cauldron." He grabbed my hand, and instantly let it go. He eyes dropped to the floor, and we both blushed deeply.
"Um, I can't I have to find my Aunt Carley, but we can meet you afterwards."
"Alright, but hurry, I'm not sure when they're leaving, plus Hermione said something about needing to talk to you." His voice cooed.
I smirked at him, nodding my head while picking up my books, and heading in the opposite direction of him. It took me a couple minutes before I found my aunt. She was standing in front of the Owl Emporium, the first place that I should have looked. Knowing her, she was trying to buy me another owl. I looked at my snowy owl Max, and he pecked at the lock on the cage. I bent down, and let him peck lightly at my finger. "You can't come out yet Max." He ruffled his feathers and hid his head.
"I bought you, a year's worth of owls knuts, because I know Max loves them." My Aunt Carley spoke. I stared at her in disbelief; and she mimicked my expression. Dramatically I might say.
"Harry said that Hermione needs to talk to me, so do you mind meeting with the Weasley's for a couple minutes?" I asked as we walked along the street.
"Oh, that's fine. I have to talk to them anyways." With that, she pushed the trolley all the way to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. When we walked in, it was far busier than I could have imagined. But it was easy to find the flaming red hair of the Weasley's. Fred and George were the first ones to come up to me. They gave me a big twin hug, and told me Vy was somewhere up stairs. Probably trying to set up the latest prank.
I walked over to the table were all the Weasley's were sitting. Mrs. Weasley stood up and gave me a great big hug. When she pulled back, she poked my stomach, "I see the muggle parent of yours isn't feeding you well. You have to come back to the Burrow, and eat dinner with us!"
"Well, I don't want to intrude..."
"Oh hush dear; there will be plenty of room." Her voice was sweet and mother like. She grabbed my cheeks, and told me to smile more often. When I turned around I got a bone crushing hug from Ron. I stared into his blue eyes and momentarily got lost in them. I backed up quickly, and Ron dropped his arms, leaving us standing in an awkward position.
"How has your summer been Mr. Ronald Weasley?" I asked shyly.
"It's been quite boring. I'm excited for this new school year though." His voice was deep, deeper than last year. I looked at him, and he seemed to have grown at least three inches from the beginning of summer. He wasn't as lanky as he'd always been; he'd grown a little bit of muscle.
"Do you know where Hermione is? Harry said she needed to talk to me."
As I spoke those few words, Hermione popped up from behind Ron's back. She had a big smile on her face, which always seemed to be contagious for me. I actually smiled for the first time the whole summer. We gave each other a big hug, and then I asked her what she needed to talk to me about.
"Follow me." She said, and started walking towards the girls lavatory. She must have thought better of it, because she took a short cut, which led up the stairs to the rooms. We ended up in an abandon hallway, and she finally stopped walking.
"What do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?" She stated clearly.
"That they're a bunch of Auror's that help fight the war against Voldemort. But other than that, I have no clue."
She smiled even bigger, "They're having a meeting at the Burrow tomorrow night. Harry is going to ask them when he can join!"
My eyes went wide; I didn't even know how to respond.
"But… He's not even out of Hogwarts yet. He's not seventeen. I turn of age, before he does. He might get hurt." I managed to mutter out.
"I know, I don't think they're going to let him join any time soon, but he's still going to ask. But anyways, what are you doing for the next two days? You can't go back to America, so where are you staying?" She asked worriedly. That was one thing that I loved about Hermione, she always seemed to care. No matter how much I lacked.
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure what my Aunt Carley has planned. I'll probably just end up renting a room for the next two nights." I said, not too sure what I was going to do.
"Nonsense, you know Mrs. Weasley will not let you stay here all by yourself. Now, come on, let's go find your Aunt, and ask Mrs. Weasley what's going on." She said taking my hand and leading me out of the maze she lead me through.
The front room had calmed down by the time we came back in. Most of everyone was gone, and the Weasley family seemed to be the only ones there. I saw my aunt sitting next to Mrs. Weasley, laughing at something she had said. I walked up to her, and before I was able to say anything she told me that I would be staying at the Burrow with Mrs. Weasley, for the next two days. And from there Mrs. Weasley would take all of us to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
I looked at Hermione, and she looked stunned; but I had seen this coming. Something like this always happened. My Aunt Carley stood up, and asked me if I could walk her out. I obliged, and told Hermione that I'd be right back. We went to the door, which led out to the muggle street.
"Have a good year sweetheart." She looked me in the eyes with her fierce grey eyes. Something that reminded me of my father. But he neglected me, and there's no going back now. I don't even know if he was alive.
"Look at me Anastasia Rose." I held her stare with a fierce one of my own. "You have your Nana's eyes, you know that right?"
Another family member, why was she doing this to me? Why was she bringing back memories that I didn't need to remember. Death has followed me through the years, and I desperately forced myself to forget. Tears welt up it my eyes, and she gently wiped them away as they fell down my cheek.
"You are a strong girl, and an even stronger witch. You can surpass anything that you set your mind to. Don't forget that, Ana." She had to regain her posture before she could continue. Her eyes were overflowing with tears. "Neither Nana, nor your father would want this for you. Don't go on with your life like this. You need to be happy, you need to smile. You see Hermione, and Harry, and Ron? Even the twins, and Vy, they all care about you. We've all been through something in our lives that hurts us, psychically and mentally; but to show true strength we have to prove to others, and more importantly to ourselves that nothing will ever take away your happiness."
With those last words, she wrapped me in a hug. Her dark blonde hair brushed against my face, and the smell of her perfume always seemed to relax my senses. She unraveled herself from my arms and wiped the last of her tears away.
She grabbed her purse, and from the deep depths of it, she pulled out two parcels. Both of them were addressed to me, but one of them was written in violet ink, whereas the other one was written in black. It seemed as if my heart froze in my chest, because I knew the very two different styles of handwritings. The parcel that was inked in violet had a very loopy and feminine style; which was exact to my Nana's. There was a letter attached to it, and it said, "To my beloved Ana." I looked at the other parcel, and it had a letter attached to it as well, and the handwriting had a bold slanted look to it. Memories flooded through my mind, and it made it hard to see through my teary eyes.
"I think it's time that you've had these. Don't open them until you get to Hogwarts. Be safe, and have a good year sweetie." She kissed my forehead and apperated out of site.
I held the two medium sized parcels in my hands and stared at them. I wanted to know every little thing about them. The letter attached to my Nana's seemed old and faded, whereas the one from my dad looked a lot newer. It took everything in me, to keep it calm and walk back inside like nothing every happened.
I stood by my trolley, and grabbed my book bag, that contained some of the things that I would be using at Hogwarts. I put the two packages in there, and started walking back towards the table, where everyone was at. Mrs. Weasley was the first one to come up to me, she wrapped me in a hug that I desperately needed. She whispered in my ear that everything would be okay.
She kissed the top of my head, and I smiled. "There you go; those dimples of yours are adorable. Smile more often, so I can look at them." Mrs. Weasley started rounding up all of the kids, but she decided that she should send the entire bulk of luggage to the house first. Once that was done, most of us were ready. Fred, George, Vy, and V on the other hand weren't.
I could tell that there was about to be some sort of a grand finale, from the looks of the twins faces. Both sets of them to be exact. I took cover behind one of the pillars just as the room erupted in blue smoke. There was a loud bang, and the smoke started changing colors. It was so thick that you could barely see a foot in front of you.
I shook my head, and turned around, only to end up being in Harry's arms.
"Whoa, ha Harry, I didn't see you there." I said surprised.
"Yeah, same here. So I take it that you're going to be staying at the Burrow?" He asked.
"Sure am." I replied with a smirk on my face.
We stood where we were until the smoke cleared, it took about three minutes; with help from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They scolded the twins, and apologized to the inn keeper. We all gathered in front of the fireplace, one by one taking a handful of floo powder, and repeating, "The Burrow." I was one of the last ones to get there; the only person that was left was Mr. Weasley and Harry. When I opened my eyes to the Burrow, I was amazed. It was like looking into a fairy tale. I've been here before, but with all the kids walking around, it seemed to bring it to life.
As the night went on, we all sat down and ate dinner, elbow to elbow. The food was great, and Mrs. Weasley kept putting more food on my plate when she thought I wasn't looking. She insisted that I needed to eat more. She even said that I was as skinny as Harry when he first arrived.
Harry, who was sitting right next to me, blushed.
"There is nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart, young men and woman need to be fed. I mean, look at Ron, all he's been doing this summer is eating." Mrs. Weasley replied.
"MUM!" He hollered at her, his ears turning red.
As the night went on, we drank some butterbeer and ate some homemade fudge. When it was finally time for bed, the boys separated from the girls. Leaving me, Hermione, and Vy, alone. Ginny of course, was in her own room, probably already fast asleep. She said she wasn't feeling well after dinner.
Mrs. Weasley came out with an armful of blankets and pillows, and Mr. Weasley used his wand to bring out one of the biggest (and flattest) mattress I've ever seen.
"I'm sorry, but this is all we have girls." Arthur Weasley spoke.
Me and Hermione spoke at the same time, "It's wonderful; thank you for having us over."
We each helped set up the mattress, once we got it into the place we wanted, we separated the blankets and pillows evenly. Hermione ended up sleeping in the middle, which didn't seem to bother her, I was on the left side of her, and Vy was on the right. Usually we would stay up and tell stories about our summer, but it was late and we all had a very long day.
I closed my eyes, and memories over flooded through my mind. The one that stood out the most was the last day I saw my father. I was nine years old, and we were at the park. We were having a good day, and everything seemed perfect. He took me out for ice-cream, before he dropped me off with my mom. He told me that he had to go away for awhile, and he didn't know how long he was going to be. But he made me promise that I would never forget him, no matter what. I looked up into his steel grey eyes, and told him that nothing would ever make me forget about him. He was my daddy, and even though he wasn't there, I'd always love him.
I remember the look on his face, he was proud. I remember him turning his head, and wiping something away at his eye. I didn't know my dad could cry back then, he was my super hero, and super hero's didn't cry. He drove me back to my mother's apartment, and told me that my day would come, when I would be able to leave this horrid place. I remember asking him, if that meant I could go live with him, and he shook his head, and told me that it would be even better than living with him.
I shook my head, and told him that nothing would be better than living with my daddy. He pulled me into a hug, and squeezed me tight. He kissed my forehead, and promised that he would come back. He promised that he would always be there for me, no matter what it was. He said that he'd always be with me, even if I couldn't see him.
It was as if I was plunged out of the cold memory, because I jumped up and thankfully the two girls were already fast asleep. I looked out of the window and stared at the stars that shone brightly. I subconsciously wished for them to bring my daddy back. But it was no use; and tears poured from my eyes.
I laid my head on the pillow, and willed myself to keep it together. My breathing slowed, and the salty tears soon ceased. I eased myself into my happy place, and dreamt of being at Hogwarts. Singing the school song, and watching all the terrified first years get placed into their houses. Hogwarts was my safe haven, and I could wait to get there. As my eyes closed from exhaustion, I smiled because I had a good feeling that something great was going to happen.