On Christmas day, Rebekah found a long package on the coffee table. She slashed the packaging opened with a knife and found a polished ebony handle. She tore the rest of the package and squealed in delight, letting the broom float at the perfect height.

A polish Firebolt with several zeros lined the hand with a single seven at the bottom. This was the seventh Firebolt ever made. The hazel twigs that made the bottom were perfectly straight and started just below the undetachable bipods flipped forward to allow her to mount. When she was mounted, even in her pajamas, the footrests flipped back and allowed her to properly seat it.

Rebekah jumped off and went to get changed, pulling on her black runed robes for extra warmth and protection. Placing Emperor in the front of her top, he clung to her as she zoomed out of the opening in the window and into the cold, Christmas air.

Even with the calm air, the wind was whipping past her as Rebekah forced the broom to go quicker and faster, doing tricks like hanging upside down as Emperor tried to stick to her before he could fall. She laughed as she did loopty loops above the lake.

"Come on, little squid," Rebekah said and allowed her hand to barely dip into the icy waters. "Play with me!"

The Giant Squid accommodated her by making large hoops with its arms for her to fly through. Eventually it tried to make her dismount the broom by flinging water at her. She coughed as some of the freezing water landed on her.

She played for a couple hours before she decided she was hungry enough. Lunch would be served soon and so she landed at the Entrance Hall and made her way, with her broom in hand and soaking wet, to the Great Hall.

Instead of four tables and the High Table, there was a single table set for twelve. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were already there and seated with Filch, two nervous First Years, a sulking Fifth year, Hermione, and Ron.

"Oh, am I late?" Rebekah said as she walked up to the table.

"You're soaking wet, Potter," Snape said. It was like he was telling her to dry herself without saying so. "Though you are not late, where were you? I retrieved Malcomson but you were not in your dorm."

She dried herself before taking a seat, leaning the Firebolt against the chair. "I went flying. I stayed within sight of the castle and I had Emperor with me."

"Did your broom come then?" Hermione asked.

"Better," Rebekah gestured to the Firebolt next to her. "This came as a gift and I just needed to test it out."

"Rebekah, that broom is expensive!" Ron said and leaned over Hermione to look at it better, gasping. "It's the seventh one ever made! Who sent it?"

"My aunt," Rebekah lied easily. She had already an idea of who could have sent it, and if she told the truth, it would be confiscated.

"...If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him —" Trelawney said glumly.

"Imagine that," McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I doubt," Dumbledore said in a tone that ended their conversation. "that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus, you've made the potion for him again?"

"Yes, Headmaster," Snape said, his face as neutral as ever. "I believe Miss Potter will be able to make the potions if I am unavailable for whatever reason. She has been training under me for the last few terms."

"Are you praising the girl?" McGonagall said, surprised. She smiled into her goblet as Snape sent her a glare.

"I am speaking of her capable skill for her age,"

Rebekah went pink as the teachers laughed at Snape's half sneer.

She was back with Tom Riddle in the dream, vision, whatever it was called when she met him when she was asleep. She still wore the strangely vintage dress and he still had the vintage version of a suit.

"You aren't very ladylike, are you?"

Rebekah snorted. "I'm a lady, so I'm ladylike. My manners are good, my posture is perfect because of Quidditch and I'm not clumsy because of Potions."

"See, no lady should be on a broom," He flung a hand out to gesture to her.

"Why? Because men are scared that a woman will beat them?" She asked as she clasped both hands together on the table. "I was eleven when I was chosen for my House's Quidditch team. First years weren't allowed brooms but I still got one so I could do Quidditch. I'm the only girl on the team."

"Why aren't First years allowed brooms?"

"My Head of House said it was so they could concentrate on learning the basics of Magic,"

"Magic, right," He said, trailing off. "How are your studies with the Dark Arts coming along? Found anything I haven't mentioned?"

Rebekah allowed her lips to tug up as she began to explain.

The Witch quickly became bored when January second came around. It was the day the Hogwarts Express would bring back the rest of the students. With the fresh icy air, Rebekah was tempted to explore the Hogwarts grounds some more. So Rebekah donned a winter coat, boots and jeans, and mounted the Firebolt while Emperor snuggled himself in the coat.

She flew until the air was barely breathable. It was cold and the winds were strong enough to make her ponytail flurry, yet Rebekah felt better than she ever did in a stuffy room. Her heart was steady in her chest as Emperor clung to her, she smiled down at him as she made the broom go faster, edging towards the limits of the Hogwarts grounds.

At first, she simply looked out into Scottish highlands as the snow gently glided down. Everything was a pristine shade of white, untouched and beautiful. There was something serene with the view, it almost had a divine quality as life stilled for the moments she watched.

There was a flicker of light to one side, just peeking over a hill to the left. Rebekah raised the broom to go higher, still staying a metre or so away from the high walls that contained Hogwarts. She was quite surprised when she finally got a view of it.

"Emperor, there's a town!" Rebekah gave voice to her excitement and surprise with a short squeal.

She wanted to simply speed over to the town, she presumed it would be a Muggle one, but she didn't know if she could actually leave the grounds without Magic preventing her. Rebekah went to the very edge and carefully stuck her hand over the walls, watching in hope and then gleeful relief when her hand went through.

Emperor meowed and Rebekah nodded, pulling her invisibility cloak over her shoulders and hiding. She stopped before the hill that hid the small town. Emperor jumped from his hiding space and completely sunk into the snow. Rebekah pulled him out and watched as he shook off the snow that clung to his furs. There were only a few dozen metres between where they were and where the town started.

Emperor shifted to be the size of a normal Maine coon, and they both strode to the town. Luckily, Aunt Petunia had insisted on making Rebekah exchange some money to be Muggle, in case she needed something at the end of the year in Muggle London.

The sign had been painted by hand, deductible by the intricate details on each layer. Warner Market Town was written in white outlined by black.

The whole town's ground was cobblestone. This place didn't have many cars come through, though the shop owned vans sat in a single line. The shops and building were made completely of the same stone, creating a uniformed little town with its brass accessories. The whole place was open, there was a designated road but most people simply walked on it constantly.

Rebekah's coat seemed a little too fancy for such a place, by the glances people gave her. Bright silver fur lined the hood, going down the front and both sleeves. It cinched in at the waist and was a darker grey colour. Her lace-up winter boots hardly made noise as she walked with her chin up.

"Good morning," Someone greeted her as she walked. She stopped and smiled pleasantly, Emperor stood by her feet. It was a boy not much older than herself. He smiled as he looked at Emperor. "Strange cat you've got. Absolutely beautiful."

"He is beautiful and he knows it," Rebekah said as Emperor's tail swirled until it was hooked around one of her ankles.

The boy almost smiled a sneer, reminding her of Draco a little bit. "How much?"

Rebekah paused then shook her head. "He's not for sale."

"Everything is for sale," He said and stepped closer, holding her by the bicep. "Name your price."

"Not for sale," Rebekah said and snatched her arm back. "Don't touch me. Emperor, come."

"Emperor, stay," He said, thinking the feline was trained to listen to commands. He scoffed when Emperor sent him a dirty look as the feline sashayed after his mistress. The boy stormed off to find his father.

"Idiots," Rebekah said as she opened the door to a very small tea shop.

"No pets!" A voice yelled from under the counter.

"He's trained,"

"I have perishables, and there is a no pets policy," The voice said again before the owner popped his head up. "He can wait outside… it's a bit strange to have a cat following you around."

"Wait outside for me please," Rebekah asked and began to walk down the length of the shop, her eyes roaming over each variation of tea.

"So where're you from?" He said, before almost gasping. "Excuse my manners, I'm Zander Kettle of Kettle's Tea Shop. Yes, my last name is actually Kettle."

"It's not the strangest one I've heard," Rebekah muttered before glancing over the lavender tea. "Is the lavender from around here?"

"Yes, almost everything that is in here is grown locally," Mr Kettle smiled as Rebekah adjusted her coat and House scarf. "Slytherin, eh? That was my House a decade ago."

Rebekah hummed in agreement, smiling softly.

"What brings you so close to school during the holidays?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "It can't be because of my little shop."

"I'm staying the holidays at school," Rebekah fiddled with the fur of a sleeve.

His blonde eyebrow twerked up accusingly. "You've snuck out, haven't you?"

"There's like six of us staying, and I don't like any of them," Rebekah then sighed, shrugging. "It's kind of overwhelming staying there. With Sirius Black, I'm under close supervision. Surprisingly, there isn't lavender tea at Hogwarts. I was quite surprised by that."

"Well, House-Elves usually just attend to the mass wants," He said as he wrapped up a small package of lavender. He suddenly came out from behind the counter, swearing. "Damn that kid and his dad."

Rebekah turned around and saw an older man hold Emperor by the scruff of his neck. She paid and quickly left. She watched as he tried to give the squirming Emperor to his son, the latter had a triumphant grin.

Emperor saw her and scratched the man's hand. She crossed her arms around Emperor when he jumped into them. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Come on, I was only getting my son his new cat," He tried to reason.

"Hmm, yeah, problem,"

"What?"

"He," Rebekah lifted Emperor closer to her upper chest and he relaxed even more, "Is mine. Please don't touch him, he doesn't like strangers."

"Yeah, right," The son scoffed. "Dad, I want the cat. He'd be a good companion for Durmstrang."

Durmstrang? Wasn't that a Wizarding school hidden in Europe? If her memories were correct, she had read about it when she had gone through a book about Magical schools. It would make sense if these people were Wizards then, they'd be forced to abide by Magical Law.

She chuckled lightly. "Hmm, no. Emperor is already my companion. Not just my companion for school, he's my Familiar."

The father turned to his sulking son and said, "You chose the one thing you literally can't have."

"Why? He's a cat, I want him,"

"That cat is bonded to her, Magically bonded and so it can't be broken," He said and gently shoved his son to walk. "Sorry about that, it won't happen again. Come on, Logan, you've done enough."

Rebekah went back into the shop and arranged for a weekly delivery of lavender, and several other types of tea, to be sent to the castle.

She allowed Emperor to become small and then she went into a small cafe. Ordering a hot chocolate, she watched the snowfall as Emperor hid in her lap. Checking her watch, Rebekah decided to head back to the castle before lunch.

Everyone would be back by the evening meal and Rebekah wanted to spend some uninterrupted hours in the Library before her friends bombarded her with gifts, news, and stories.