"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?" Madam Pomfrey wasn't happy at all when Rebekah snorted at her question. She shoved another piece of chocolate at Rebekah before going to Ron to check his leg.

"The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again!" Fudge's voice echoed through the halls and into the Hospital ward when he walked in with Dumbledore and Snape. "I'd better go and notify the Ministry."

Dumbledore then said, "And the dementors? They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"We needn't have another incident with Potter falling off her broom because of them," Snape drawled.

"Last time wasn't pleasant," Rebekah snorted and ate her piece of chocolate before Pomfrey could complain again. "See? I'm eating my fifth helping of chocolate, I'll gain a stone after all of this chocolate."

"Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent girl, Albus. I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps we should think about Dragons at the school entrance."

"No thanks, we've had a HellHound and a Basilisk within the school already, we don't need another creature," Rebekah snorted again.

"Especially with your knack for bonding with them," Snape rolled his eyes a tad bit, slow enough that it was hard to see it.

"Well, I don't want to bond with a Dementor, the train was bad enough. I think Tercet will be keeping Lupin company until the morning."

Madam Pomfrey quickly shoved all three Wizards out of the room when Rebekah tried to get out of her bed. When Rebekah brought her large piece of delicious chocolate to her lips, her hand was tugged by an invisible force and she managed to get chocolate on her chin.

She glared as Snape snapped his head back but she saw the evil little smirk on his face when he stashed his wand away.

Rebekah wasn't allowed to leave the Hospital ward until the next morning. Today was another Hogsmeade day and luckily all of her friends decided to stay back to check on her.

"—Where in Merlin's name were you, Rebekah?"

"—Off with Black and persecuting a known criminal?"

"— Emperor was worried—"

"—You're acting like a bloody Gryffindor—"

"Talpey, can you bring me my lavender tea, this may take a while…"

The HouseElf came in and bowed in his purple suit before placing a full tea set on the coffee table. Rebekah reached for it, finding her cup the perfect temperature as she listened to her friends.

"—You should have told us—"

"—We could have helped you—"

"—I bet you helped him—"

"Oh, be quiet already," Rebekah snapped, sighing in relief when they quietened down. "Gods. I'm gonna tell you what happened alright. I met Sirius Black the night I ran from my Aunt's, Emperor trusted him and you know how Emperor would never put me in danger. So when I saw that he recognised me, and I recognised him from the Prophet, he began to explain that he was innocent. He kept showing me his forearms for some reason, and he then said…."

Rebekah was enraged when she found out that Lupin was resigning.

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Rebekah said. "And the first one I haven't killed."

Lupin snorted, slightly amused and not at all surprised. "Tell me about your Patronus."

"How do you know about that?"

"What else could have driven the dementors back?"

"Good point," Rebekah sighed, crossing her arms as she sat on one of the desk tables. "Well, I would have thought my Patronus would have been a lioness, not a bloody Dragon, a Hungarian Horntail no less."

"Normally that is the case, but having a Dragon as your Animagus form would have been very inconvenient,"

"Being a weirdly coloured lioness is already,"

"I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," Lupin said and passed her the Invisibility cloak before going back for the Marauder's Map and handing her that too. "I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you'll find uses for it. Even if I'm not a teacher, I feel sorry for those who have to deal with you."

"I'm not that bad!" Rebekah smiled.

"You're as bad as Sirius and James together,"

"Okay, that is bad," They laughed together for a moment.

"James would be highly disappointed if his daughter had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle," Lupin said. "He'd be sad that his genes didn't pass down."

"What genes? The ability to do whatever we want and find a way to get out of trouble?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock and a voice, "Your carriage is at the gates, Remus."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Lupin said as he took his briefcase before winking at Rebekah. "Goodbye, Cub. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime."

"Bye, Moony," Rebekah said as he left. It was still annoying that she couldn't convince him to stay, but that was his choice.

"Why so miserable, Rebekah?"

"Lupin's leaving and Pettigrew is still out there," Rebekah kicked a table leg when she stood up. "That rat is still alive when he should either be dead or in Azkaban!"

Rebekah made the mistake of looking Dumbledore in the eyes. She threw her memories through the glass and forced only the good ones forward. He probed for a second before backing out, only seeing her accomplishment of a Patronus.

"Pettigrew owes his life to you," Dumbledore said, gauging her reaction. "When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them, and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Rebekah Potter."

"I don't want a connection with that rat!" Rebekah spat. "He's the reason I have no parents. I've known about him since the beginning of the year, I couldn't do anything. If I told you or another teacher, they wouldn't have believed me. He's lucky I didn't kill him for what he did."

"This is Magic at its deepest, it's most impenetrable. But trust me . . . the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life." Dumbeldore continued but Rebekah's mind stayed on that fact. "I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later, Rebekah. He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it."

"I'm not my father, sir," Rebekah said, standing up to her full height. "I am not my father nor am I my mother, you need to understand that, sir."

"I know that, Rebekah," He muttered. "Your mother's intelligence, your father's ability. A Gryffindor's spirit but a Slytherin heart and soul. Will you still take all of your subjects? I heard that Miss Granger has decided to drop two of hers."

"I'm not changing my schedule," Rebekah mumbled, sighing. "When I get my results, I expect to see full marks, otherwise I will try and see if I can improve them."

There was nothing to improve on when the results came out. Top of the class in each subject, Snape suggested that she keep all of her lessons until she chose what to do for NEWTs. Rebekah decided she might as well do that, she had nothing better to do until she graduated Hogwarts and that wasn't going to happen for another four years.

Winning the Quidditch Cup made sure that Slytherin won the House Cup again, for almost a decade now. Flint clapped her on the back, congratulating the whole team individually.

Fidele almost bit her to wake Rebekah up that night. "The egg is hatching. Come! Come!"

Rebekah tumbled out of the bed and shoved her arms through a simple robe set. She tore through the castle as she pulled the cloak over her head to hide. It took a minute but she got to the bathroom, finding stairs leading down to the Chamber instead of the stupid big pipe. She was thankful for that as she dashed down the stairs to open the door and go in.

"Vibora, is it hatching?"

"Aye," Vibora said, curling around Rebekah as she neared the egg which had several cracks in the top. "I suggest you keep your eyes closed until I tell you it is safe, the hatchling knows not of you yet."

Vibora began to slowly command the hatchling to come out of the egg, chip this bit, crack that bit, and it was free. Since the egg was the size of her palm, Rebekah knew it would either be a fat snake, or a long one. She did as Vibora asked and closed her eyes before the rest of the Basilisk hatchling came out of the shell.

To say Rebekah was excited would be an understatement. Her nerves were on edge as she thought of the possibility of having a young Basilisk trained to her words and commands. She didn't want a servant, she wanted another companion and someone to protect the school if needed.

She sat cross-legged on the floor, moving the robe to make herself comfortable. A soft touch of fur against her exposed knee told her that Emperor had followed her down. She was glad that she wasn't alone.

"If you so much as attack her or her Familiar," Vibora's voice had lowered dangerously, it made Rebekah's instincts go frazzled until she told herself she trusted him. "You will find yourself gone before you move."

"Human…" The voice was very different from Vibora's who had an almost grandfatherly tone. This voice had an oily hue that reminded Rebekah of Snape a little, it drew its hisses to the back of its throat before saying them fully. "Witch? Pathetic…"

"I dare you to say that again!" Rebekah couldn't help but say. She was not pathetic and would never allow anyone to call her that. Rebekah didn't get up from her seat but she did keep her eyes closed. "When can I open my eyes?"

Rebekah felt the warm body of a thin snake crawl up her legs before it slithered around her back and rested itself across a single shoulder. She bristled but remained calm.

"Open your eyes, speaker,"

"Is it safe? I rather not be petrified,"

"It is,"

Rebekah opened her eyes and almost gasped. "Look how cute you are!"

"I am not cute!"

The hatchling had a dark emerald colouring covering its whole body with a thick line of white scales down its spin. It started from the nose of the Basilisk and ended at the very tip of the tail. With brilliant white eyes with tiny narrow pupils.

"Alright, you're handsome. Happy?"

"Much,"

"Do you have a name?"

"Choose it for me,"

Rebekah thought for a moment and saw that the white scales looked like armour, much like the ones that knights would wear to protect themselves. The way he slithered was very different from the way Fidele held himself, this hatchling had an admirable pride and cautiousness.

"I think Paladin will do nicely," Rebekah smiled.

The next morning Rebekah was exhausted and so decided to go back until one in the morning and sleep until the morning again. She had stayed in the Chamber all night to bond with Paladin so she hadn't gotten any sleep beside the few hours before being awoken by Fidele.

Rebekah had woken up refreshed, she took a shower in the spacious bathroom before brushing her hair and allowed it to drape down her back. She pulled on a simple robe after she donned a short skater skirt and a collared shirt with a navy jumper.

She was the only one in her year to wear Muggle styled clothes because the others knew their parents wouldn't approve.

Blaise snorted loudly as he shoved Theodore's shoulder. "I dare you to tell her that you like her!"

"No! My father would kill me if I dated anything below a HalfBlood," Theodore said and quickly glanced to Rebekah. "Sorry, Rebekah."

"No, it's fine," Rebekah said and then rolled her eyes. "Your father wasn't the most pleasant, to begin with. I don't like him nor do I care for his beliefs. If you like her, you like her."

Snape's voice interrupted their walk to the Great Hall, they had just passed his office when he called, "Potter, in here for a moment."

"Sure, sir," Rebekah said before turning her head to her friends. "I'll catch up."

Snape opened the door to his office completely and allowed her to walk in. Emperor had followed the group to the table while Fidele had curled around her shoulders loosely.

"I've sent the documents that said you will continue using the Time-Turner,"

"And?"

"They've said that the Time-Turner must stay at the school,"

Rebekah smiled as she shifted Fidele over to one shoulder to properly take off the chain. "That means that I'll have the same Time Turner next year."

"Meaning you will have the same extra twenty-four hours," Snape said before piling the chain and hourglass into the drawer of his desk and locking it. "Off to breakfast."

"Bye, sir, have a pleasant summer,"

Rebekah was extremely pleased about that, almost ecstatic at the fact she would have the same time as she did this year. It would allow her to do what she wanted, almost. Her learning and education came foremost in her mind and so she learnt as much as she could before she began to practise them.

Rebekah had made it to the doors of the Great Hall before Hermione stopped her.

"Have you given it back yet? What classes did you drop?"

"I didn't drop any, I'll be using it again next year,"

"Why? The workload is horrible and frankly, Divination and Muggle Studies are completely useless,"

"Divination might be but it does open up many career paths if I get all Os in my OWLs," Rebekah said. "Why should I limit myself?"

"Well—"

"Oh, I don't care," Rebekah turned around and went to sit at the Slytherin table.

The train arrived soon after and Rebekah and the group found their seats in the carriage alone with some of the Quidditch team in the corner, and some of the sixth year students discussing career plans by the windows.

"Are you going to the Quidditch World Cup this summer?" Blaise asked the two tables. "My mother refuses to allow me to go."

"My father is invited by the Minister himself, Mum and I are going. Are you going, Rebekah?"

"I blew my uncle's sister up," Rebekah gave him a look. "Do you really think he's gonna let me go and do something fun? I'll see what I can do to change that."

The trolley came and stopped with a, "Anything of the trolley, dears?"

Rebekah jumped up at that, "A dozen Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, along with six Assorted Sours, six Sugar Quills, and a dozen Tooth Splintering Strong Mints."

Her friends gave her the weirdest look.

"What? I don't have access to these things,"

"Five Galleons in total," The Trolley Lady said and Rebekah happily gave the five gold coins over.

At around one o'clock, a very tiny owl that looked very much like a fluffy Snitch appeared at the window. Rebekah shoved the glass aside and grabbed the owl gently before the wind could take it. Within its tiny talons was a letter addressed to her.

She scolded Fidele when he hissed that the owl smelled delicious. Rebekah opened the letter carefully as her friends watched but they still continued their conversations as she read.

Dear Cub,

I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post.

I am in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job.

I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted.

There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt. I was glad to see that you make good use out of it.

Emperor was kind enough to take the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your GodFather.

I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable.

If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me.

I'll write again soon.

Sirius.

P.S. I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat.

And on the other little not was:

I, Sirius Black, Rebekah Potter's godfather, hereby give her permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends.

"Who's that from?" Blaise asked, jutting his chin up.

"Black," Rebekah said calmly before Emperor jumped off her lap to allow her to stand up. She gently held the owl in her hand as she got out of the booth. "I'll be back in a few moments."

It took a full minute of walking all the way down to the end of the train to find Hermione, Ron, Lavender Brown, and Padma Patil in a booth. Rebekah had spoken to the latter two girls and made somewhat of an agreement about gossiping about Rebekah. There wouldn't be any hostility from the Slytherin members of the year if they kept their traps shut about Rebekah and her own.

Rebekah passed Ron the owl and said, "My GodFather sent him for you, cause you lost Scabbers. Thought he should give you a pet since you lost one."

She was so happy for her bottomless clutch. Rebekah didn't have to lug around her trunk, and Hedwig's cage, and Fidele's terrarium, and books, and potion ingredients, and clothes, and sweets. All of that would have taken at least four trolleys to actually haul them around, and she was glad that she didn't have to.

Rebekah had rucked the envelope into the side of her skirt when she greeted Uncle Vernon.

"What's that?" Uncle Vernon started to snarl, "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another —"

Rebekah waved a hand before stroking Fidele's head beside her collar bone. "It's a letter from my GodFather."

"Godfather? You haven't got a godfather,"

"Remember Sirius Black, the man who escaped last summer? Well, he's my GodFather, I saw him the night I left the house," Rebekah said carefully, watching fear enter UncleVernon's eyes as she said this. "He said that he wants to keep in touch, check if I'm happy and whatnot. He said that he doesn't want to lose contact again, he'd be concerned if I didn't reply to his letters."

This summer would be interesting and Rebekah couldn't wait to see how it ended this time.

Hopefully, it went better than last summer.