Anton Was Stunned

ps: Because I got the timeline wrong in the previous chapter, I've adjusted the dates. The years that disappeared have been changed from fifty to thirty-six; nothing else has been changed. Thank you.

ps: Anna had been out of the ice for two years, so this is now thirty-eight years ago.

Anna really was just a little girl, because the way she handled things was still very childish.

"Oh no, how are we going to get into the manor to see Mother?" she said, her little face creased with worry. "The Castle isn't surrounded by Magic right now, but Father is a powerful Wizard, and there are lots of House-elves in the manor. They'll find us, too!"

"Haha." Anton laughed. "I thought you'd made thorough preparations. Turns out you came rushing here without even a plan for the first step?"

Anna lightly thumped Anton, then gathered her skirt and crouched beside the Street, looking bewildered and despairing as people passed by.

A hand reached out gently in front of her.

She looked up. Anton was grinning brightly.

"Well, my adorable little princess, would you like to experience turning into a bird and flying through the sky?"

Anna's eyes lit up.

She gently placed her hand in Anton's, and he pulled her to her feet.

The two of them went to a dim corner of the Street. A flash of Charms, and the world looked strange; everything seemed to have grown enormous.

The little bird Anton had turned into came hopping over and gently pecked Anna's bird head.

The two plump birds played around for a while, then flapped their wings and flew into the sky.

The Color-Changing Windbird sounded like an animal, but this Potion was actually a cluster of invisible spores that could control the wind. In essence, it belonged to the plant kingdom.

It was nimble and agile, but that was all.

Compared to the Owls of the Wizarding World, its speed over long distances was practically that of a snail.

So the two birds stopped on the roof of a Car, on the back of a Bicycle, on the tail of a Skateboard, and on people's heads.

After changing from one mode of transportation to another along the way, they finally reached Manyflower Manor.

Anton finally understood why it was called Manyflower Manor.

From the Hillside, he could see a European-style Castle almost entirely surrounded by countless flowers. Even its walls were covered in blossoms.

Where the flowers were at their fullest bloom stood a Wooden Cottage.

Anna and Anton changed back into their human forms.

They quietly approached a window and leaned against the wall. Anna nervously clutched her skirt.

Anton gave her an encouraging look. Only then did she take several deep breaths, turn around, and carefully peer through the window.

Then another head popped up beside hers.

The two of them peered curiously into the room.

It was quiet inside.

An exquisite dressing table, adorned with gilding and intricate carvings, stood alongside a wardrobe and other furniture. A Rainforest painting hung on the wall.

In the middle of the room stood a large bed with tall Roman columns. Gauzy curtains hung from the ceiling and parted around the columns. A wind chime made of seashells hung in the center, making clear, musical sounds in the breeze.

Beside the large bed was a smaller princess bed, where a little girl of about six slept soundly.

"It's you." Anton watched with interest.

"Mm." Anna nodded quietly, her gaze wandering over every corner of the room. She seemed to have sunk into fond memories.

It wasn't long before footsteps sounded in the distance. Anton hurriedly grabbed Anna, and they turned back into birds.

They hopped onto the windowsill, waiting for Anna's mother to arrive.

"I should never have given birth to her!" A beautiful Eastern Woman with black hair walked in. Her eyes were full of sorrow. She turned to the man behind her again. "I should never have given birth to her. It was a mistake!"

Anna swayed and nearly fell off the windowsill.

Anton quickly took flight and caught her, carrying her outside the window. Her intense emotions made the newly developed Charm terribly unstable.

The two of them appeared beneath the window.

Anna huddled beneath it, her face deathly pale and her eyes wide with disbelief. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clenched her teeth and shook her head.

Anton sighed silently and gently took her hand.

Memory was like that sometimes. As time passed, some things you thought you remembered perfectly were only scenes you'd pieced together after imagining them over and over.

But...

Anton frowned. Anna's mother seemed strangely familiar, as if he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Nana, no." It was Mr. Rosier's voice; Anton remembered it. It no longer had that mature, weathered, deep and magnetic quality, though. Instead, it was more like something from a romantic song or poem.

"She's the fruit of our love, the continuation of our lives."

Anton cautiously peered around the window. Rosier was tenderly embracing his wife from behind. A moment later, Anna poked her head out too, looking at her mother with sorrowful eyes.

Anna's mother leaned against Rosier's chest and wept bitterly, her voice low and stifled. "No, Andrei. She should never have been born. She should never have been born!"

Rosier gently crouched down and held her thin shoulders with both hands. "Nana, let's go find Pedro, all right? Let's ask him to deal with this."

Nana's emotions were clearly running high. Her face was filled with a deep, bone-chilling hatred as she ground her teeth. "I never want to see him again!"

Rosier remained firm, gently wiping away her tears. His deep green eyes looked at her with tenderness. "For your sake, and Anna's too. All right?"

Nana hesitated, staring blankly at Rosier. "For Anna?"

Rosier nodded emphatically. "He invented the Blood Curse, and he was the one who cast the Charm on your mother. Find him and make him lift the Curse! Don't let this vicious Curse pass down through the bloodline for generations!"

"That's right!" Nana's gaze turned resolute. "Make that bastard lift Anna's Curse. She can't be made to suffer the same tragedy I did!"

Rosier pressed his lips together and shook his head. "He's dangerous. We can't take that kind of risk. You and I will go find him first. Just the two of us, all right?"

Nana looked at Rosier with her pale face, then finally nodded. Sadly, she stroked her daughter's face.

Rosier called a House-elf and told it to prepare the Carriage.

Not long after, the couple left. Anna stared blankly at their retreating figures. "Mother really does love me, doesn't she?"

Anton smiled and nodded. "I could see it in her eyes. They were full of love for you."

He pointed toward Rosier, who was giving the House-elf instructions in the distance. "Want to follow them and see?"

Anna wiped her tears and nodded resolutely.

Once her emotions had settled, Anna turned into a bird again beneath a flash of Charms.

Anton gently landed on the roof of the Carriage.

Anna, however, flew straight inside and settled in her mother's arms. Her transformed body was so light that her grieving mother didn't even notice her.

With a soft command, the White Horse flapped its wings and carried the Carriage into the air.

It raced along the horizon, passing over the River Thames and circling around Buckingham Palace. It even flew through a ripple in midair before heading straight over Knockturn Alley.

Anton looked down from above and only then noticed that the Great Lake at the back of Knockturn Alley was filled with gravestones.

"I had someone ask around. He's here."

Rosier had offered plenty of comforting words along the way, but none of them had drawn a response from Nana. Those words, however, made her burst into tears.

"I don't know, Andrei. I don't know how to face him. I'm scared."

Rosier fell silent for a moment. "We have to face him eventually, don't we?"

The Carriage stopped in front of an empty patch of ground. Rosier called out clearly, "Master Pedro, Andrei Rosier of the Rosier family has come to visit with his wife, Nagini."

Before long, the empty space rippled, and a crooked little building appeared before them.

A younger version of the Old Wizard walked out. "Alex Fiennes sends his regards on behalf of my teacher. Please, come in."

Anton stared at Anna's mother in shock. "Nana? Nagini?"

"Holy crap!"

His mouth twitched. He didn't know how to describe how he felt.

He was completely stunned. He appeared from behind a Great Tree.

Anna changed back too, her face bright with excitement. "You've heard stories about my mother? Can you tell me about them? So my mother was called that. I never dared ask Father about her, and I only just found out."

Anton stared blankly at Anna, his expression strange.

How was he supposed to explain?

Should he tell her that Nagini had excellent taste? Her first boyfriend was Credence of the Dumbledore family, and her last boyfriend was Voldemort of the Gaunt family. In between, she'd also gotten together with Andrei of the Rosier family?

Just then, a voice sounded beside them. "I was quite handsome when I was young, wasn't I?"

Anton turned around in astonishment. A hand was holding up a head that was facing him. "Teacher?"

"How did you get here too?"

The Old Wizard shrugged his headless shoulders. "You should be glad you planted the Elephant-Eating Vine at home. It blocked the Time-Turner's ripple. Otherwise, everyone in London would've come."

"!!!"

"My foolish teacher came too, and he's awake now. How interesting."

Interesting? Anton swallowed. "Came where?"

"Over there, the Safe House. I just saw him go in."

One revelation after another left Anton utterly stunned.