Hogwarts is getting nearer. But this year, Anastasia won't be sent off by her father. This time, it's just Aranel and Lexter. Alpheus had been busy for the past few days. Apparently, something important came up in France which is why he needed to go there.
Right now, Anastasia was just walking around the manor in boredom. She started to wonder random things. What would her dinner be? What shoes should she wear this year? What should her hairstyle be? What does her father's room look like.
Anastasia paused.
What does her father's room look like?
Excitedly, Anastasia turned around and began running back to the direction of her and her father's room. She waved happily at everyone that she passed by. Finally, she arrived in front of her father's room.
She warily looked around first before entering the room.
As expected, it was luxurious. The colours of dark blue, grey, and white greeted her. She mentally reminded herself not to open or touch anything.
The messy blankets and pillows was the evidence that Alpheus was rushing earlier to leave. Though, there was something peeking out under the bed covers.
Anastasia observed the placement of the object first before taking it. It was a photo. A photo of her father and a woman who she has never met before. Except, the woman's face was scratched off. There were knife marks on her face.
Strange. Father looked happy in this photo. Was it his past lover? Her rumored mother?
Anastasia placed the photo back to where it was left and fixed its position so it looked untouched before walking out of the room.
She then walked towards their garden's pavilion. She sat down on one of the couches and watched the elves decorate and fix the bushes.
" Are you alright? "
Anastasia didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The voice obviously belonged to Lexter.
" Mhm. "
Lexter then sat to the couch next to her. " You don't look like it though. Is something bothering you? "
Anastasia didn't answer him. Instead, she continued to watch the elves do their works. After a minute of silence, she finally spoke up. " Does father have a past lover? "
" Hm? Why yes of course. "
" What happened to her? And why does father and a lot of people seem to hate her so much? "
It was now Lexter's turn to stay quiet. He seemed to be in deep thought. " Don't tell your father that I told you this but she was quite a wicked and selfish person. "
He moved to his seat comfortably. " Her name was Acantha Clearwater. They started off nice. In the eyes of other people, they were that couple that understood and trusted each other. "
Lexter summoned two cups of tea out of nowhere and handed one to her, making her eye him suspiciously before drinking it.
" But in their second year of being lovers, they started to talk about their views on the world. Muggles, Purebloods, Politics, and more stuffs. It was surprising that their ideals didn't match each other. When Acantha voiced out her favoring muggles and dislike to Pureblood ideals, Alpheus disagreed with her. It was the first time they fought. "
Favor for muggles, dislike of pureblood ideals...
" Alpheus didn't dislike muggles. But he didn't like them either. His father, Lord Ajax Zion Glasswater was supposed to have a sister, you see. But she was killed by muggle wizards moments after her birth. Lord Ajax despised the muggles for taking away his sister. Lord Alpheus noticed his father's pain and it shaped him to who he was. "
An elf walked towards them, about to report something when he noticed them talking about something seemingly important, causing it to leave.
" Lord Alpheus and Lady Acantha fought almost each day after that. What used to be love was turned into resentment. Until one day, they decided to break things off. Alpheus was pressured by the rest of the Glasswaters and other purebloods into telling what happened. And of course, because they're purebloods, they hated Acantha for siding with muggles. Acantha was eventually thrown out by her family. Almost everyone avoided her after the news was heard. "
Purebloods, muggles, avoidance...
" It reached a point where Acantha couldn't handle it anymore and killed herself. The kind old muggle lady who took care of her found her hanging from the ceiling by a noose. "
Anastasia turned pale. No voice came out of her mouth. Her eyes were wide at the revelation. She's feeling too many emotions.
Why...
Why does Acantha remind her of herself?
Lexter sighed upon noticing her state. " You were bound to find out sooner or later. It's best to find out now while you're still not that close with Lord Alpheus. ", he said as he stood up and walked away.
Anastasia stayed at that spot as many minutes passed. She didn't sleep well that night.
[<>]
Diagon Alley was filled with people. Even muggles parents were here, trying to find their way around whilst their child dragged them to certain shops.
Anastasia is with Draco and Lucius at Borgin and Burke's for reasons she does not know. The Malfoys just tagged her along when they spotted her browsing through some shoes with Lexter.
" Touch nothing, children. ", Lucius reminded.
Draco reached for an item on a table that looks like an eye. " I thought you were going to buy me a present. "
Anastasia walked around the shop to observe the strange random objects that caught her interest.
" I said I would buy you a racing broom. ", said Lucius.
" What's good of that if I'm not in the house team. ", Draco said as he continued to sulk. " Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year, special permission from Dumbledore so he- "
Anastasia reached in front of a cabinet and opened it slightly. She almost let out a scream when she spotted someone inside.
" Harry? ", she mouthed at the boy inside the cabinet. In return, Harry shakes his head nervously put a finger to his mouth.
Anastasia nodded hesitantly before closing the cabinet.
" -me this at least a dozen times already. And I would like to remind you that it is not prudent to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear- ah, Mr. Borgin. "
Anastasia moved away from the cabinet, yet not too far from it in order to guard it in case Draco decides to be curious.
After the Malfoys' business at Borgin and Burke's was finished, they walked out of it and headed to their next location to buy more school supplies. Lexter had finally found her, he looked tired.
" Anastasia, why would you run off? ", asked Lexter.
" She didn't run off. She was with us. ", said Draco.
It was then did Lexter finally noticed the Malfoys behind her. He fixed his posture before greeting them. " Lord Malfoy and young master Malfoy. Greetings. I'm assuming you two are also preparing for the children's second year at Hogwarts? "
Lucius rolled his eyes at Lexter. " Yes, I am. And where is your master? Holed up in his room again? And what about that maid? "
Lexter glared at him. " Lord Glasswater is at France at the moment. He was called over there for business. And Miss Greengrass is not a maid. "
The two adults glared at each other some more before silently deciding to buy the children's school supplies together.
They walked down the streets and passed by multiple shops before entering Clerk's Style, a shop that sells high quality school supplies, as Draco bragged.
Behind the counter, an man was glaring daggers at the people inside his shop until his eyes landed on them. His face turned bright as he excitedly stood up and walked over to them to greet them. " Mr. Malfoy, Miss Glasswater, and Mr. Rosier! It's nice to see you here again. We have so many new high quality collections of school supplies. Would you like me to assist? "
" Mr. Tuwaang. ", Lucius and Lexter greeted.
" Do show us the new collections. ", said Lucius.
Mr. Tuwaang eagerly nodded before going to the back room of his shop. Not even a few seconds later, he came back carrying a box. He settled it on his table and brought out the items from it.
" These notebooks are made of Engkanto Wood. They are as magical as everything I sell here. The paper won't be soaked by water nor will it be torn that easily as Engkato wood is blessed by magic. "
" And where does this originate from? ", asked Lexter.
" From the Philippines, my Lord. ", Mr. Tuwaang then moved over to the stack of parchment paper. " These parchments are also made from the same wood as these notebooks. "
He then showed the quills. " This quill is made from a Sarimanok's feather. It is believed by the wizards and witches from Pulahika that it gives good luck and blessings to whoever uses it and cherished it. Unlike those low grade quills, this one writes well. It doesn't get destroyed easily. "
Anastasia and Draco stared at it in awe. " It's colorful! Father, I want a bird like that at home. ", said Draco.
" Draco! Look! ", said Anastasia as she pointed at a photo frame on the wall. There were teenagers happily smiling inside of it. They were wearing similar red clothes which she could only assume was a uniform at a magical school somewhere.
Draco turned to look at where she was staring and ended up blushing at the sight. " T-t-t-that! Why is- why are they half naked?! "
Well, their uniform did show some skin, especially the men who had their stomach shown. Their unforms were off shoulder, the sleeves were made up of see through red fabric. At their top part, only their chest was covered. They wore a red hat that sort of reminds her of a berret, except the one in the photo was a bit larger and more circular. For their bottoms, they wore knee-length red shorts.
For the ladies, they also wore a slightly off shoulder red top that showed their stomach, though their stomachs were more covered than the men. The sleeves were also see through. They wore a straight knee length skirt. The design of it looked like a cloth wrapped around their bodies. They wore a similar red hat with the men.
Each of them were holding wooden staffs. Anastasia could only assume those were what serves as their wands.
There's so many details in their uniforms but she honestly has no idea how to explain it. So many jewelries hanging from their hats, their clothes looked like it had been torn at the edges as some strand of yarn were poking out, and so many other stuffs. Anastasia loves it.
" I think it's great. Perhaps they're from Pulahika? "
" They're red! ", Draco exclaimed.
Anastasia just gave him a deadpan expression.
" We'll be taking 15 of those notebooks, three stacks of those parchments, and ten of those quills for each kid. ", said Lucius, gesturing to the children staring at the photo on the wall.
Mr. Tuwaang is overjoyed. 30 Engkanto Notebooks, 6 stacks of Engkanto Parchment, and 20 Sarimanok Quills! He surely hit the jackpot today. " It'll all be four Galleons, my lords. "
Lexter and Lucius payed the man 2 galleons before taking the supplies.
" Let's go children. ", said Lucius.
Anastasia was feing quite mischievous so she jumped on Lexter's back. " I'm tired. I don't wanna walk. ", she said, tightening the grip on his neck.
Lexter let out a strangled sound at the arms wrapping around his neck tightly. He adjusted her hold on him before walking off while carrying the girl on his back, already accepting his fate.
The four then went to Lush Bite to eat their early lunch. Anastasia got herself a small Cottage Pie and Lycan steak. Draco couldn't decide on what to eat and ended up ordering the same thing she did.
Lucius and Lexter were talking about as they ate.
" I'll do it once we meet them. I'll just sneak it in. ", said Lucius.
" And how will you do that? ", Lexter asked.
" Tch. Those blood-traitors won't even notice. "
Anastasia suddenly felt uncomfortable. Thankfully, their conversation stopped at that, and her appetite was regained once more.
" Why does all our books have to be the ones made by Lockhart? ", Draco asked as he looked over the list of what we need to buy.
" Hah. Why did Hogwarts even recruit that man. If they can't find anyone to recruit then I would have volunteered my self. ", said Lexter.
" As if they'd accept you. You loved bothering the school staff back when you were still a student of Hogwarts. ", Lucius said.
The two continued to bicker while the children talked to each other.
" I think he's self-centered. His works are nice and all but the way he introduced himself in the Daily Prophet just screams self-centered. ", said Anastasia.
" I agree with you. Pansy wouldn't stop gushing about him in our trip at Godric's Hollow. I bet those works of his aren't even his. ", said Draco.
Anastasia nervously swallowed the big chunk of her Cottage Pie.
After their meal at Lush Bite, they proceeded to go to Flourish and Blotts. By the time they've arrived there, the place was already filled with people.
Lucius and Lexter scrunched their faces in disgust as they led the children to the second floor, far from the crowd. A worker of the place greeted them and asked what they needed.
" Our reservations. ", was all Lucius said before the worker walked off to get their books.
While they waited, Anastasia and Draco took a stroll around the second floor and observed the books.
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them
The Dueller of the Ocean
Life As A Student at Pulahika
Collection of Haikus
Mysteries of the Black Lake
Anastasia stopped by the last one before taking it. The book was sealed shut, which meant she couldn't read it.
" What's that, Ana? ", asked Draco.
Anastasia showed the book to him. " I'm curious about the Black Lake is all. "
Draco shrugged his shoulders at that before the two made their way back to their guardians. By the time they made it back, the worker earlier had already brought them their books.
" Lexter, can we take this? ", Anastasia said as she showed the book to Lexter. He examined the book for a bit before nodding and showing it to the worker. " I'll be taking this too. How much is it? "
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I drew Anastasia's 2nd Year Causal Look. It's on WP.