This year's feast was not that different from the last ones.
Realistic illusions floated at the ceiling. Unlike last year's oceanic theme, this year was a hidden forest themed. Dark green bushes covered the starry night ceiling. Raindrops fell from above, stopping at about 7 feet before the ground. Vines tied to each other swung back and forth gracefully. There can be seen 5 mini stars dangling.
A child no older than 8 stopped peeking at the entrance once she caught Snape staring at her very soul and Dumbledore who looked like he was chuckling at the sight of her.
She dragged her feet away from the Great Hall and ran to the Black Lake, carefully avoiding any students on the way. She sat down on the round stone as she admired the surroundings. Taking a glance on her watch, she wiped the screen of it and found that it's already 20th minute of the hour.
'2 more days until I turn 8.'
Just as she was about to get up for a stroll, a rustling sound was heard from the tree behind her. She frantically turned around to see the intruder, but wary to even get close.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, the little girl finally decided to speak up. " Who's there? This is not a safe ground for students without a guardian. You'll be meeting Sir Dumbledore if you don't get out now. "
Only then did the intruder get out of their hiding spot. Her face became filled with confusion once she got a better glimpse at their face.
' A boy? ', She thought to herself.
" What is a kid like you doing here? ", The little girl asked him.
" But... aren't you a kid yourself? ", He asked in a confused tone.
She froze as she heard those words. Their surroundings pretty much came back to the awkward silence they had earlier as they stared at one another.
" W-well... I got invited here by Sir Dumbledore for a... a personal invitation to study here soon! "
His eyes widened in wonder and amazement as he heard her words. " You got a personal invitation from Dumbledore himself? You must be from a known great family! ", He exclaimed.
She forced herself to not smile at the adorableness of the child in front of her.
" Enough about myself. What are you doing here? Are you here with your parents? "
" I came here with my father. He had something to talk about with Dumbledore and wanted to bring me along to introduce me to him. "
From the way he explained his situation, it seems like he's a pureblood noble. Now that you think about it, his looks certainly aren't average. Everything about his appearance seems very well taken care of. From the neatly brushed blonde hair, to the shiny black shoes.
" You must be a pureblood then? I'm Anastasia. It's nice to meet you. ", Anastasia said as she gave her right right to him.
" I'm Draco Malfoy. It's nice to meet you, Anastasia. ", He said as he took Anastasia's hand and shook it with a bright smile.
" Oh, you're a Malfoy? "
Draco nodded before pausing for a bit. " You.... have a strange accent.. Like those people from Ilvermorny. ", He said quietly.
" Oh. Well.... that's how I've always been speaking, for some reason. I can speak with a British accent if I want though. Anyway, who's your father? ", Anastasia said as she quickly changed the topic. Though she already has a good guess of who's child this is, she still needs to be careful.
[<>]
Draco Malfoy is an adorable kid. Quite spoiled from the way he talks about his life, but still tolerable. He's different from the mean Draco Malfoy from her memories.
"-So I just kept nagging my Father to let my try quidditch before Hogwarts and he finally agreed! ", He continued his long story life speech as he chuckled.
" Oh? Does that mean you'll be joining the Quidditch team here at Hogwarts on your 2nd year? "
" Of course! There's no way am I letting that opportunity pass by. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'll be accepted right away. ", He said proudly. " Anyway, what house do you want to jo- "
Their conversation was cut when 3 pairs of footsteps walked towards their direction. They turned around and found Dumbledore, Snape, and a man Anastasia has seen in her memories but not in real life. Though he looks a bit different from her memories, the iconic long blonde hair, aloof aura, and stunning eyes are still there.
'Lucius Malfoy'
" Ah, it seems like there's no need for us to introduce these kids to each other. They look like they're getting along well already. ", Dumbledore said with a gentle smile.
The two children stood up and walked towards the three adults, Draco's face turning serious.
" Anastasia, this is Lucius Malfoy, current head of the Malfoy Manor. And this boy you have just met is his son, Draco Malfoy. ", Snape explained. Anastasia smiled at the long haired blonde man before greeting him. " It's nice to meet you, Mr Malfoy. My name is Anastasia. ", She said as she bowed her head a bit awkwardly. Greetings will never be her thing so she'll just rely on her words.
" It's an honor to finally meet the rumored girl at the ministry of magic, Miss Anastasia. It's good to see you and Draco getting along, as you two will be classmates here in Hogwarts soon. ", Mr Malfoy said with a chill voice.
Draco's face lit up at the new information.
" Anastasia and I are going to be classmates? "
" Of course, of course.. It's a personal request of your father and I don't see a reason to deny. ", Sir Dumbledore answered.
" It would be best to start arranging meetings between them so Anastasia can have someone that will teach her the ways of the wizarding world. That is after she has settled at Mr Glasswater's place once she gets officially adopted by him. ", Mr Snape said with a displeased tone at the end.
'Mr Glasswater? I'm finally getting adopted?', Anastasia thought as a confused expression took over her face.
Sensing her confusion, Sir Dumbledore took the initiative to explain. " Just earlier, Mr Glasswater, our chosen candidate to take care of you finally agreed to take the position. You'll move in his Manor the day after your birthday. "
Now it was Anastasia's face that has lit up in joy. She looked at Draco who was smiling at her, looking confused at the adoption thing but still smiling. She smiled back at him. At the corner of her eyes, she can see Lucius Malfoy smiling in approval at their interaction.
" Now that it's settled, why don't you go to your room and prepare your things? Madam Promfey is already there sorting your clothes as she volunteered to help you. ", Sir Dumbledore said.
Anastasia nodded without objection, finally happy to go somewhere that isn't Hogwarts after 3 years. She sent the three of them a polite smile before running off to her room.
After a few turns and stairs, she finally arrived at her door. She opened it and found Madam Promfey neatly folding my clothes, most of them already in a suitcase. " Ah, there you are dear. I assume you've already heard the news? ", She asked once she saw me standing at the door frame, excitedly playing with my dress. She nodded with much energy.
She chuckled fondly before gesturing Anastasia to come closer. " Come here now, let's prepare everything you need. Don't pack all of your clothes yet as you need them for your remaining 3 days here before you set off. "
" Okay! ", Anastasia said as she walked towards her and helped her pack.
Just thinking about finally being able to see this world with her own eyes made her restless. There's so many places, so many people that she have seen in her memories that she wants to meet.
Hopefully, she would be able to save people that are supposed to face death. She hasn't had visions about any deaths yet but she has a feeling she will, her guesses about this kind of stuff were always right of it feels strong.
Anastasia began to wonder what her future father is like. Is he gentle and caring? Will he treat her as his own? Is he ruthless and uncaring? Will he just leave her by herself the moment she arrives in his care? Or is he just awkward? Trying his best in helping but cannot express it?
Anything is honestly fine except for the second one.
Madam Pomfrey soon left after packing almost all of her belongings with a stern reminder to not stay up late. Now, it was just Anastasia sitting on her bed near the window, playing with her dolls. And while she was in the middle of arranging her dolls' little wedding, something hit her closed window.
Anastasia gave her window a short glance before giving her attention to her dolls, thinking it's just a bird that bumped against it. But then it happened one more time, a little stronger than the first one.
She decided to just put bird food outside her window by opening it slightly before closing it once more and going back to playing.
And then it happened once more.
Anastasia's patience ran out. She stared at the window in annoyance for a few seconds before begrudgingly opening it. She expected to see an owl. Maybe a snake. Or a poor fairy that got bullied by pixies and had gone to her to be comforted again.
What she didn't expect is to get hit by a pebble on her forehead. " Ow! ", she exclaimed.
She winced in pain before clutching her forehead. Outside, she heard a faint sound of shock. It was a quiet sound as her room is literally so high up. But close enough for her to hear it. So the thing that hit her must be flying.
She brought her gaze back outside, ready to throw her stuffs at the rude intruder and yell insults. But the intruder was already flying away on their.... Broom?
Wait a minute. Broomstick? So it was a human?
The thought then made the little girl panic. So she did the most reasonable thing. Sleep over it. She was probably seeing things due to her sleepiness. Yeah, she'll just sleep now before she sees anything more.
[<>]
A blonde child watched as Anastasia excitedly ran back inside the castle. The girl left a strange feeling inside of him. It's the first time in his life that someone stayed with him without looking out of place or staying out of ill intentions after finding out that he's a child of the Malfoys.
" Now that our business here is done, my son and I will be leaving now. ", Father said as he nodded at Snape and Dumbledore.
" Of course. Have safe travels Mr Malfoy and uhh.. Little Mr Malfoy. ", Dumbledore said with a teasing grin.
The boy's father made an annoyed sound before walking off, signaling the boy to follow.
Once they've arrived inside their carriage, the father finally spoke up. " It's good that you built a good relationship with her. We will be needing that in the future. "
That made the boy quite shocked. His father never praises him for building connections to other children even when they're a pureblood unless they're from a very known important family.
" Is she from a pureblood family, Father? Is that why you're happy? "
" She isn't, but now that she'll be legally adopted by Mr Glasswater, she will be. But pureblood or not, she's far more important than most wizards... ", He answered, whispering the last part.
Far more important?
Draco shook the thought of it and instead started thinking of hid incoming meetings with Anastasia as he stared out the window.
" When will I see her again? ", Draco asked as he drew little flowers on the window.
" We'll see. I'll find a way for you two to communicate again. Once you two are at Hogwarts, stay by her side at all times and try to gain her trust, understood? "
" Yes, Father. "
The more Draco's father spoke, the more curious he got about her. What's so important about her that got his father interested in her even though she's not a pureblood?
Draco then remember his father's words earlier.
Ministry of Magic
The Ministry of Magic knows about Anastasia. If so, then why? Is there something special about her? And why is she staying at Hogwarts?
Draco's head started to hurt from all of the possibilities that he thought of. He should reallys stop this. He can't tire himself just yet.
[<>]
" Anastasia! Oh Anastasia what happened to your forehead?! ", Madam Pomfrey shrieked.
Anastasia, who was still sleeping at the time, was startled, causing her to wake up.
" What? What happened? What's- ", a sharp inhale was taken before the newcomer spoke with a furious voice. " Why. Does. Her. Forehead. Look. Like. That? "
" I don't know, Snape. Maybe she bumped her head while sleeping. ", said Madam Pomfrey, already taking care of the small wound.
Snape grunted at that. " Of course that happened. This clumsy girl... ", he muttered.
The clumsy girl stayed quiet, still half-asleep.