It was time to set off for Hogwarts once more. Anastasia Glasswater woke up the sounds of birds singing gently. She certainly felt like a princess. Literally. She doesn't know why but her balcony door was somehow open which led to birds coming in as they please. What's weirder is that they seem to be singing a harmonious tone and that there are birds on her balcony at dawn.
What's even stranger is waking up to find out your originally black hair h ooas been turned honey blonde for some reason.
Aranel was horrified when she spotted a blonde girl sitting on her young lady's bed. She, along with the other manor handmaidens circled the younger girl for ten minutes until Lexter arrived to fix the problem.
Thankfully, Anastasia woke up quite early which gave her time to prepare.
The Manor's atmosphere became more comforting ever since the huge dinner they had. Everyone was all smiles as they greeted and assisted the young lady.
By this time, Alpheus still isn't home. He stayed much longer in France than expected.
Anastasia ate Butterbeer Pancakes and mashed potatoes for breakfast accompanied with a warm fiorlancio petal tea. The food was what you would consider a daily breakfast, nothing extravagant. Yet it always tasted like home for the little girl.
After that, she was brought to the train station by Lexter and Aranel. They arrived a bit later than usual as the station was now packed with more people.
" Here's your snacks. ", Aranel said as she handed the younger girl a box of cooked snacks for her to share with her friends. " You mentioned lest night that you wanted some muggle snacks right? "
" Yes! Please buy me some of their sweets! And their chocolate spread! ", Anastasia said as she began jumping up an down in anticipation.
Aranel chuckled fondly at her. " Alright. Lexter and I will buy some on our way back home. You should go now, or else you'll get left behind. "
Anastasia leaped in and embraced the the older girl. Aranel's smile only widened at the action as she returned her gesture.
" Awww... What about me? ", Said Lexter as he playfully sulked.
Anastasia brought her tongue out to the man playfully but ended up giving him an embrace anyway.
After saying their goodbyes, Anastasia entered the train and began looking for her friends' compartment. Almost every compartment has been filled which made her quite nervous that her spot at her friends' compartment might have been taken already.
Anastasia did find them. Fred and George were standing by their compartment's door while looking out as if guarding something. They immediately brightened upon noticing her.
" Ana! ", they both greeted with a hug before helping her get her luggage in their compartment.
" Hey guys, back at Hogwarts for us. ", said Anastasia, leaning towards Lee to embrace him.
" Aaugghh don't mention it please.... ", Fred whined.
" Percy told us everything that he studied in his fourth year and they're already giving me headaches. ", said George.
" You two say that every year yet somehow always manage to get good grades. ", said Lee.
It was then that Anastasia noticed that Lee's tarantula wasn't here with them. " Where's Dia, Lee? "
Lee's tarantula, Dia had been with them throughout Anastasia's first year at Hogwarts. Though it had to be moved to the old Herbology classroom by Professor McGonagall halfway their year. But they were still allowed to visit it from time to time.
Lee let out a sigh. " Had to leave it at home. My grandma told me giant spiders shouldn't be left in Hogwarts. She said the last time it happened, someone died. "
" Really?! ", George and Fred were immediately beside Lee.
" What else happened? ", asked Anastasia.
Lee shrugged his shoulders. " My grandma wouldn't tell me. Saying something how it was too traumatizing to be brought up. "
The twins looked disappointed at that.
Deciding it's time to cheer them up with some food, Anastasia brought out the cooked goods in the box beside her. Inside were toasted three-layered sandwiches which had a lot of contents.
The next time, Anastasia blinked, the three who were at the opposite seat in from of her were now beside her. Anastasia almost dropped the food from shock upon seeing them.
[<>]
When they've arrived for the feast, the four ate as if they didn't just devour food earlier. There were less students sorted in Gryffindor this year than the last, but still a lot. Looking around, Anastasia can spot the first years happily chatting with each other. Among them was Ginny Weasley.
" Your sister is getting along well with the others first years. ", Anastasia commented.
The twins looked at the near end of the table where a bunch of first years were gathered. Ginny was surrounded by a few of them.
" Oho? Maybe your sister will get a boyfriend here soon. ", Lee teased as they watched a boy speak to the young Weasley shyly.
The twins immediately went on guard. " Oh, no! Like hell we'll let just anyone near our baby sister! We'll have to test them first! ", Lee and Anastasia giggled at that.
" Hmm, how strange. ", said Anastasia as she pretended to look around. " Hermione's alone. She's usually with Ron and Harry, right? "
" Come to think of it. I don't think I saw those two earlier. ", said Lee.
" Didn't see him arrive in Hogwarts. ", said George.
" But they did go with us at the platform. We went in before them. "
The four looked at each other intensely as they tried to come up of what could have possibly happened.
Moments later after they've changed into their sleeping wear, the four sneaked out of the common rooms. Well, not really sneaking out since a lot of Gryffindors were still awake, waiting at the common room for Harry and Ron's arrival. They almost passed by Harry and Ron but they were able to hide behind pillar on time.
" Never doing that again... ", Ron muttered as they walked further away.
The four then continued their way outside. This time, Anastasia remembered to bring her coat. They were currently running past the greenhouse.
" Where are we going? ", asked Lee.
Anastasia didn't answer him and continued to lead them further from the castle. The three boys have noticed the sudden change at the environment. What used to be a flat plain land turned changed when they got closer. They seem to have entered a hidden area.
Tall trees now hovered above them, shading them from the moonlight. Their only source of light was the lantern that Anastasia brought.
" Didn't know this was part of Hogwarts. ", said Lee.
" Me too. This place looks cool. How did you find it, Ana? ", George asked.
" Just did some exploring last year. ", Anastasia answered.
" Without us?! ", said Lee.
As they walked deeper into the forest, fairy rings have started to appear along with a variety of flowers near each other. Stones were also part of the landscape.
" Don't step in the ring of mushrooms. Those are fairys' territory. They might end up curisng you if you step inside. ", Anastasia warned.
The pixies hiding by the trees were immediately alerted by their presence and fled towards them, pulling their hair and clothes until Anastasia threw a large portion of bread to the ground. The pixie immediately dashed towards it.
" Sorry. ", said Anastasia as she fixed their hair and clothes. " I knew they wouldn't recognize me anymore but I didn't knew they would act this aggressive. "
" It's alright. But, what are pixies doing here? ", George asked.
" Dunno. ", Anastasia shrugged as if she hadn't been the one who requested this place.
It's been a long time since she has last visited this place. She was only able to get a glimpse of it last year at the forest's entrance due to a swarm of pixies chasing her away upon spotting her. But she still felt sad that they don't recognize her anymore.
Anastasia threw another large portion of bread once the pixies have started frantically looking around for more. It took a while, but the pixies were finally put to sleep.
The blue-eyed girl glanced at the batch of moving flowers and knelt towards it before taking out some sweets and holding it out. Slowly, the fairies got out one by one and gently took the sweets from her hand.
" Awww they're so adorable! ", Lee cooed.
" Isn't this place wonderful? ", George nudged his twin brother.
" Huh- oh, yeah. It's amazing. ", said Fred.
Right, Fred had been oddly quiet ever since the stepped in this place.
" You okay, Fred? ", Anastasia asked.
" Yeah. Just amazed. ", He said as he sat down beside her.
" But is this legal? Pixies and fairies staying here, I mean. I don't think having them as pets are legal unless authorized. ", said Lee as he nudged a fairy playfully.
" Well, it's Hogwarts. They're probably under the Headmaster's protection. ", said George.
The four sat down on the ground, forming a small circle. Out of boredom, Anastasia began creating flower crowns. The other three copied her and began making their own ones. Time gradually passed eventually. George and Lee were dead asleep on the ground while Fred was designing Anastasia's braided hair with flowers.
" You really seem awfully quiet, Fred. ", said Anastasia.
" What's wrong with being quiet? "
" Nothing. Just doesn't fit you. I honestly prefer your energentic side. "
The atmosphere returned to comfortable quietness after that. Fred eventually stopped designing Anastasia's hair which looked like flowers grew out of it. He rested his head on her shoulder as he let out a sigh. " I guess I'm just sleepy. "
Anastasia didn't buy it one bit. A sleepy Fred in one of their adventures?
" Let's head back to the castle then. ", said Anastasia as she moved closer to the other two and woke them up.
" Merlin... Felt like sleeping here the whole night. ", Lee muttered as he dusted himself off.
Anastasia slept with her head full of flowers that night.
The next morning, the four woke up sleepy yet emergentic as always. Their eye bags didn't attract attention anymore due to them waking up with those almost every day due to their little trips around the castle.
" Morning guys. ", Neville greeted them as they sat beside him.
" Good morning, Neville. "
" Mornin' Nev. "
" Hey Neville. "
" You guys didn't sleep well again. How come this happens almost everyday? ", asked Neville.
The four just shrugged their shoulders. Honestly speaking, compared to Lee, Fred, and George, Anastasia looked better. Though she also has eye bags, they were less noticable than the three. You wouldn't know she slept late if it weren't for her sleepy gestures.
Across them, Hermione looked focused on reading her book. It seems like her friends were late as usual.
Speaking of, Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall and zoomed beside Hermione. Hermione merely gave them a strained greeting before going back to reading.
" Post is due any minute. I think Gran's sending on a few things I forgot. "
At the mention of post, Anastasia brightened up a bit. She finished her porridge and waited in anticipation for her post.
I hope Ary and Lexter got me some of those muggle sweets...
Just then, the sound of wings flapping against the wind and owls calling out caught everyone's attention. The owls have arrived. The students looked up and catched their packages.
" I think my parcel will be delivered soon. Can you get it for me if I'm not here? It's already paid anyway. "
Anastasia brushed the sudden memory off. That was now her second random memory that doesn't even belong to the prophecy.
A big parcel fell on top of Neville's head and bounced off him as he failed to catch it. A second later, an owl crashed onto Hermione's jug, splashing milk to everyone near her.
" Errol! ", Ron called out to the owl.
" Ugh... Really Errol... ", Fred muttered as he and his friends casted a spell to clean themselves.
" That's your family owl? ", Anastasia pointed at the unconscious owl on the table.
" Unfortunately. ", said Fred and George.
Just then, an owl briefly stopped a few meters above the four before carefully making its way down towards Anastasia. It landed in front of her with a few parcels. On its right leg, there was a blue ribbon with the Glasswater Crest tied around it.
" Hello, Mira. ", Anastasia greeted the owl and gave it a piece of her toast before it flew away immediately.
" Wow, your family owl sure is a busy one. ", Lee commented.
" Oh no- ", said Ron.
" It's all right. He's still alive. ", said Hermione as she gently prodded Errol.
" Can you give him to me? ", Anastasia asked. Hermione then handed her the unconscious owl. And just a few seconds after Anastasia held the owl, it immediately sprung back to conciousness and flew away, making the others flinch in surprise.
" It's not that- It's that. ", Ron shakily said as he pointed at the red envelope that Errol left behind.
Anastasia looked at it curiously. She remembered seeing a few of them in the manor at Lexter's office but never knew what they were for. On the other hand, the twins and Lee looked like they were holding their laughs in.
" What's the matter? ", Harry asked.
" She's- she's sent me a Howler. ", Ron fiantly said.
" You'd better open it, Ron. ", Neville nervously whispered. " It'll be worse if you don't. My Gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and- it was horrible... "
" What's a Howler? ", Harry asked once more.
Ron wasn't able to hear him as his full attention was only on the red envelope which was now smoking in its corners.
" I think you should open it, Ron. It looks like it's about to explode. ", said Anastasia.
" It probably will. ", Fred whispered, causing George and Lee to snicker.
Ron then moved his shaky fingers forward and slit the letter open. Neville seemed to have made himself ready by covering his ears with his hands.
" RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR?! "
Everyone at the great hall became silent as they listened to the Howler.
" I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME! — Oh, and Ginny dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud. "
Everyone watched intently as the letter ripped itself into shards.
" ... ", said Anastasia.
"... ", said Harry.
" ... ", said Hermione.
" ... ", said everyone else in the Great Hall.
And then, almost everyone began to laugh.
Anastasia didn't know how to react.