31 May 2020, 23:12
Ana's Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer
TRIGGER WARNING: mentions murder, abuse, homelessness, do not read if any of those could cause any mental health problems for you!
Anastasia's Summer 2020
The Train Ride Home June 27
The Train Ride Home June 27
Anastasia honestly couldn't believe her parents. She had thought that they were joking when they'd said something along the lines of because of her inheriting all of her aunt's considerable fortune, she would be even more desirable for the young Pureblood boys looking for a wife. She'd laughed nervously about it and told them that it wasn't a funny joke. Not that they joked, ever, but the idea of talking her getting married seemed insane and she hadn't given it much more thought before she'd gone back to school, seeing as she had actually been grieving her aunt. Then that Shen fellow had owled her and attempted to talk about it, but Ana had been spectacularly unreceptive. She had also not connected it with her parents' stupid joke, just thought that his family was rather odd and it was coming from them entirely.
Then, this letter came. They had timed it so that she got it just as she was leaving Hogwarts so that she had no time to formulate a plan to get out of it or argue about it or anything. As the train pulled into the station, she unfolded the cursed thing again and reread it, even though she had already unintentionally committed all of its vile contents to mind.
Then, this letter came. They had timed it so that she got it just as she was leaving Hogwarts so that she had no time to formulate a plan to get out of it or argue about it or anything. As the train pulled into the station, she unfolded the cursed thing again and reread it, even though she had already unintentionally committed all of its vile contents to mind.
The contents were still as offensive as ever and Anastasia wasn't even sure how she was supposed to respond to something like that. While her parents controlled most of her life, she'd assumed she would at least get to decide who she married, since they themselves had gotten that. Apparently, that wasn't the case. The worst part is that they made it sound as though she was a piece of their property that they would sell to the highest bidder. The idea that her 'preferences will be taken into account' but her parents getting to actually decide was terrible, too. They weren't even trying to make it seem like she had a choice in the matter.Anastasia -
I hope that this letter finds you well. As we mentioned once in New York, it is far past time that we begin discussing an advantageous marriage for you. Despite your best attempts otherwise, you are, in fact, a desirable young Pureblood, and your aunt's fortune has only made you more so. As such, you already have several suitors and their families express interest in you. We would like to discuss with you which ones you would be interested in meeting with, seeing how rudely you responded to the young Mister Lee's advances. While your preferences shall be taken into account, we will have the final say on this matter.
Sincerely,
Your Mother and Father
Anastasia had only recently noticed boys, but now that she had, there was absolutely no way that she was going to be engaged to one forever and marry him as soon as they were both adults. She was the one who had to live with the person for her entire life. She felt as though she should get some say in the matter. This somehow was worse than her parents trying to dictate what she would do when she got older. With that, she understood the life that they wanted her to have, she just didn't want it. It was fairly common for purebloods, and many of her childhood friends had similar expectations. This was different. Nearly nobody she knew had parents this insane and controlling. Anyway, this wasn't just them saying that she oughtn't to plan on having a job for long since she would need to manage her households and children. This was such a personal and important decision. She knew plenty of people that hadn't exactly chosen their job but were happy anyway. She couldn't imagine being forced to spend her life with someone based on blood and money. Hell, she'd half resolved to marry a Muggle or at least a Half-blood to get her parents to shut up about the Beckett line and let her live.
As the train stopped and she numbly got up and gathered her luggage, her mind was spinning with things to say to them. She had many eloquent replies planned, all of which were well thought out and well structured and, Ana thought, convincing. Her parents stood waiting with the majority of her two dozen trunks. However, the second Ana laid eyes on her parents, all of her careful planning went out the window. She set down what she carried, pulled out the letter, ripped in half and dropped in on the ground before saying something that was in fact, not what she had planned to say. "Absolutely the fuck not."
She wasn't sure where she thought that would get her. Where it got her was sent to her room and a severe scolding. She didn't care. This was the hill she was willing to die on. They had tried to force her into a mold for most of her life, and she had let them before Hogwarts. No more. She wasn't going to be bullied into something this big.
Things didn't improve in the following week, with some letter detailing Ana's recent activities involving her assault of one Gem Stuart and setting more than one person on fire. If she had been smart, she would have denied the letter when her parents confronted her about it, but she had been rash and demanded to know who had sent it, pretty much confirming everything in the letter. Somehow none of her explanations seemed to cut it and she slammed her door after being sent to her practically daily now. She was going to murder whoever it was who had sent that. The problem was she really didn't know who it was. Aurelia was in a coma, and most of the other suspects wouldn't have known about the fact that she set more than one person on fire. The punching, which they were most irritated about, wasn't something she could really defend, since talking about that meant risking spilling about that stupid secret ball, which she somehow felt like wouldn't help convince her parents she was spinning out and rebelling. It also really didn't help that she wasn't fully mentally recovered from all that had happened that April night.
The Day She Would Never Forget 11 July
Another Day Ana Would Never Forget July 18
Picking Up The Pieces The Rest of the Summer
Anastasia felt like she was in a dream. She couldn't believe anything that had just happened, despite her swollen cheek and bleeding lip and nose. Her legs felt like jello as she walked the empty streets. Her father disowning her wasn't the worst part. What he had done just before that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the fact that her mother had stood by and let it happen. Sure, she had started to move to stop him, but with a shake of his head, her mother had frozen. What kind of parents did that?
The girl who had everything now had absolutely nothing but her wand and her wit. She had to formulate some kind of plan, had to do something. She couldn't just disappear into nothingness, which she knew was exactly what would happen to a 13-year-old girl wandering the streets of London alone at night. This still just didn't feel real. Stopping for a moment, she let out the sob she had refused to let out in front of her - she didn't even know what to call them anymore. Regardless, she had refused to cry in front of them, and it was all coming out now.
The girl who had everything now had absolutely nothing but her wand and her wit. She had to formulate some kind of plan, had to do something. She couldn't just disappear into nothingness, which she knew was exactly what would happen to a 13-year-old girl wandering the streets of London alone at night. This still just didn't feel real. Stopping for a moment, she let out the sob she had refused to let out in front of her - she didn't even know what to call them anymore. Regardless, she had refused to cry in front of them, and it was all coming out now.
She could feel her right eye was getting puffier by the moment, but her nose and her lip seemed to have stopped bleeding, which was a small mercy. She would have to get the blood out of her dress, her silly, stupid, frilly dainty blue dress. That, just like everything that had happened that evening, didn't feel like it was hers. She felt like she was watching all of these events play out in someone else's life. Like she would wake up any moment and be in her bed in the Gryffindor Common Room with Jaz. Jaz, her poor kitten. That had been solely her cat, and she was suddenly terrified of what her father would do to the cat considering what she now knew he was capable of.
Her mind focused on something. The Gryffindor Common Room. Hogwarts. She was still a witch. She couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts since she was underage, but it occurred to her that she could go to Diagon Alley, which would be far safer than where she currently was. Maybe get a room at the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't have any money on her, but she hoped, given her current appearance, the owners would let her stay for a night. She would have to go to the bank first thing in the morning. She hoped she could access her Aunt Demetria's money.
Another Day Ana Would Never Forget July 18
It was alarming how quickly she had adjusted to her new way of life. Despite having grown up having everything done for her, she had become self-sufficient enough to survive, for now anyway. More than anything, she missed her cat and her owls from friends.
She wondered exactly what the legalities of disowning someone involved. She assumed it meant she would no longer inherit the Beckett fortune, which made her extremely glad for the money from her aunt. She'd been able to access a small sum of money, since she had her wand on her, but had been told that she would need her parents to access anymore. Still, it was enough to pay for a room for a little over two weeks. She was grateful for that, but she was going to need more eventually.
She wondered exactly what the legalities of disowning someone involved. She assumed it meant she would no longer inherit the Beckett fortune, which made her extremely glad for the money from her aunt. She'd been able to access a small sum of money, since she had her wand on her, but had been told that she would need her parents to access anymore. Still, it was enough to pay for a room for a little over two weeks. She was grateful for that, but she was going to need more eventually.
She was going to go to the bank again today, and see what she could do to be able to access all her money when a thought struck her. What if the Becketts hadn't told anyone about what happened yet? That could explain why she couldn't get at the rest of her money, but she couldn't fathom why they would do that. She didn't want to jump to conclusions though and just decided to see what would happen today.
Of all the things she'd expected, Athena Beckett entering the bank at the same time she did was absolutely not one of them. The older Beckett's face turned visibly pale at the sight of Anastasia. Ana knew she must be rather a sight since she had been wearing the same dress for a week and cleaning it every night was probably cause it to wear faster. She also knew from her mirror that her right cheek was still fairly bruised, and the cut on her lip was still visible.
Ana made eye contact with Athena and was not going to be the first one to break it. She refused to let either of them know how much she was struggling. "I-I, what are you doing here?" the woman finally said. Seriously? That was what she said after all the had happened. Wow. Ana arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. She instantly regretted it, since it made her still tender cheek throb, but she didn't give any indication that she was in pain. Her mother noted her expression. Then, something completely unexpected happened. Her mother burst into tears and wrapped Ana in a hug. Ana was utterly shocked. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd ever been hugged by either of her parents, and she didn't think she'd ever seen her mother cry. "I'm so sorry, I never thought that he would have-" the woman began, before being interrupted by a sob. After a moment, her mother wiped her eyes and made eye contact with a very confused Anastasia. "Come by the house this evening, love. We can figure this out."
With that, the older Beckett swept out of the bank and Anastasia stood, frozen for several moments, trying to process what on earth had just happened. It also occurred to her that her mother was likely there to do whatever legal and monetary stuff came with disowning your heir.
Anastasia almost didn't go. She was alarmingly used to being on her own now, and she didn't know if she could bring herself to go back there after what had happened when she'd left. Still, she wanted her broom and her cat and wouldn't say no to another outfit or two, so she decided she would go and try and get her hands on those.
Despite her resolution, she still stood at the door for several moments, unable to knock. As she tried to work up the nerve, she heard shouts from inside. Then her mother screamed, there was a green flash, a loud clatter, and a louder thud. "Alohomora!" she said fiercely, flicking her wand at the locked door. She heard a satisfying click and shoved the door open. She walked in to see her father shaking. What was making him tremble like that? As she entered, she saw her mother on the ground. She heard someone scream. After several moments, she wondered what was wrong with that person and why they wouldn't stop screaming.
Then she realized she was the one screaming.
When she finally managed to stop, her throat was raw and she was hardly processing what was happening around her.
Then she realized she was the one screaming.
When she finally managed to stop, her throat was raw and she was hardly processing what was happening around her.
Even several hours later when everything was calmer, she could only remember flashes. Her father weeping, the Aurors suddenly appearing. Ana had been frozen and numb throughout it all. She remembered wondering if the Aurors were there for her since she'd used magic outside of school. She'd only realized what was happening when her father was being taken away and one of the Aurors, a younger female one was trying to ask her what had happened. She also vaguely recollected begging the one who seemed like he was in charge not to tell anyone. She remembered something along the lines of "I'll lose everything and everyone if people know about this".
Picking Up The Pieces The Rest of the Summer
Anastasia was still processing everything that had happened. She'd stopped leaving the house after she'd spoken to the Aurors on July 19. The house-elf, Kilsey, had been making sure she ate and showered every day. Ana padded around the empty house like a ghost. She hadn't gone to the trial, but the kind young Auror from that night had told her that her father had been sent to Azkaban.
Ana had insisted that he hadn't done it. That there had to be some other explanation. Like maybe someone had apparated in, killed Athena, and disappeared. Maybe, he'd been having a rough go of it, but he loved her mother. Anastasia knew that, in their weird Pureblood way, they did love each other. Right?
Days blurred together and ceased to have any meaning. Ana wasn't exactly sure who was her guardian at this point. Her aunt Dalphene and her older cousin Lydia stopped by once or twice a week to check in on her, but Ana mostly ignored them. It would have been alarming and concerning to anyone who knew her well to see this fiery vivacious Gryffindor so listless and withdrawn.
Then one day in late August, the loyal little Kilsey mentioned that she should shop for school supplies. Ana had protested that she hadn't any money. The elf had looked at her strangely and reluctantly explained her that she was the owner of all Beckett properties and assets in addition to her inheritance from her great aunt. Somehow, inheriting both of the massive fortunes didn't feel as amazing as one would have thought. Ana managed to drag herself out the door and to Diagon Alley to retreive school supplies. She didn't pay much attention to the others there, but she could feel their stares and whispers.
Somehow, she knew that the girl returning to Hogwarts would be worlds away from the one who had left.
Reducio
Song that felt like it fit: Wait for it, specifically 1:00-1:55, but really the whole thing
Long story short, I survived
Stats - Strength: 5, Agility: 6, Control: 12, Stamina:7