Chapter 74

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"Why does the locket feel so familiar?" Tom Riddle asked as he sat next to Rebekah, two armchairs pulled close to the fireplace in a room neither could remember. "And why has it been transported here with you?"

"I don't know," Rebekah tapped her nails against the warm leather arms. "We were cleaning up the drawing room and one of us found it. They couldn't open it and I found it kinda cute. I feel like it suits me a little so I took it. It felt too familiar to be binned."

The golden locket was cold against her skin, barely hanging above her cleavage in this dress. Instead of the ugly uniform dress she had to wear in this dream world, Rebekah found that if she concentrated she could wear whatever she wanted. This resulted in a long navy dress with a red floral print all over and a low neckline.

Now Tom Riddle had changed his outfit too. Instead of the simple school uniform he used to wear or the grey outfit Wool's Orphanage made him wear, he was in a simple black suit. As the years waned on, Rebekah could see his eyes becoming bloodshot and slightly redder by each meeting.

He was an adult now, though only in his early twenties.

After Rebekah had gone to the trial a few nights ago, her age had been tested and it stated that she was over nineteen but had the body of a fifteen year old. The Ministry made sure that the user of a long term Time Turner wouldn't age unneededly, but their Magic would. That wasn't something they realised.

The Magical Trace that was put on every student as soon as they had their first day at Hogwarts had already run out. Legally, Rebekah could do Magic outside of Hogwarts or outside the presence of an adult. She didn't tell anyone this, of course. Sirius and Remus knew because they kinda figured it out.

That couldn't be helped.

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"Mum says it's time for dinner," Ron said, popping his head into Rebekah's room. "You don't know how lucky you are, having your own room."

Rebekah hummed as she skimmed her finger down the lines of the pages of a book she found, taking in the information easily. She sat on the bed, her legs crossed under her as she bent forward a little to read. She didn't even look up as she answered. "I have four animals, three of which love to cuddle. Do you really think I'd fit on any mattress that was less than a double?"

"You sleep with them?" Ron warilly looked at the animals scattered around the room. Hedwig napped in her open cage while Enyo hung from the mini chandelier. Emperor laid in his full lion size on the floor, stretched out completely as Fidele kept himself warm by wrapping himself around most of Rebekah's torso and one of her thighs.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Anyway, Mum wants you down for dinner."

"I already ate,"

"You'll have to tell her that," Ron said, leaving the room with a mumble. "I'm not telling her you're not coming down. She's already in a bad mood."

"Fine." Rebekah snapped the book shut before getting off the bed, giving Emperor a scratch on his huge chin and putting her hand up to catch Enyo. The mini Dragon nestled into front of her shirt, little head peeking out of the low collar of the plain shirt. She also grabbed a pencil and began the trek down the large number of stairs.

It seemed like more members of the Order were here now, several more seats were added to the long table. There was food galore on there, ranging from roast chicken to beef and potatoes. Getting to her seat on the right hand of Sirius who sat at the head of the table, Rebekah took a seat on the bench and waved her hand. The plate and cutlery floated back to the cupboards from where they came.

"Aren't you eating?" Remus asked from across her, watching her place the open book on the table. His own plate was full of food as was everyone else's.

"Already ate," Rebekah mumbled, returning to her reading and making notes in the margin.

"Why have you already eaten?" Molly said, glancing at Sirius and her. "I made enough food for everyone."

Rebekah glanced up through her lashes, fiddling with the pencil in one hand before gesturing around the food on the table. "The only thing that doesn't include meat is the potatoes."

"Why does that matter?"

"In my human form I am a vegetarian, in my Animagus form, I am a carnivore," Rebekah leaned forward over the book. "I haven't eaten meat since I was ten. I had a bit of dodgy turkey and it put me off completely. Since I didn't cook any of this myself, I can't even be certain with what is and isn't vegetarian."

"Why didn't you ask for vegetarian food then?"

"I eat when I want,"

"You should be eating with everyone, Rebekah," Hermione said from next to Molly. "It's only polite that everyone eats together."

"I'm still trying to adapt back to twenty four hour days," Rebekah sighed, shoving the pencil in the middle of the book to keep her page.

"The Time Turner only allows you to go back five hours in a day,"

"So?"

"You shouldn't be so out of whack with eating then," Hermione stated. "You should structure your revision around meal times."

"And you should mind your business, Hermione," Rebekah retorted back. "I have my meals when I need them. When I'm hungry, I eat. I'm not going to change my habits just so it fits with everyone else's. I've got my routine and it works."

"But it's not fair to everyone else,"

"How isn't it fair?"

"Everyone has to incorporate you into their schedules. You take up all of the table when you revise, and most of it isn't even on the curriculum. We aren't supposed to be learning Nonverbal spells until next year in Defense, and Thestrals we don't learn about until later this year." Hermione scowled. "Don't think I didn't see the book on Spell Creation."

"So?"

"You shouldn't be learning it until we've been properly taught, Rebekah!"

"If I waited to be taught everything," Rebekah rolled her eyes before staring Hermione down with the look she reserved for those who were below her. Hermione paused and saw the black sclera of Rebekah's eyes instead of the white. With a sarcastic yet smug grin, Rebekah showed off the semi transformed teeth. "Voldemort would have killed me during the tournament. So excuse me for wanting to be prepared for anything."

She slammed the book shut before saying goodnight to Remus and Sirius, and the rest of the Weasley family that didn't try and control her, and the few order members that supported her wanting to be prepared. Rebekah stalked away from the table before the kitchen door slammed shut behind her as she went upstairs.

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"To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor Prefects!"

Rebekah didn't lift her glass, only flipping the emerald green badge in her hand as she sighed. She wasn't surprised that she got the Prefect position. She would have to owl Pansy and see if she had received any news from Draco.

Rebekah knew that Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. Even if Voldemort had silenced his conversation with the Death Eaters, Rebekah knew that arrogant posture and wand anywhere. It wasn't safe for Draco to get any mail from her nor could he send her any. Unlike Draco, Lucius Malfoy was not confined and constricted by a spell.

On both hands, the remnants of the ritual stayed stained into her skin. The metallic sheen of the gold was pretty and made her smile. The tattoo type symbol was like a rope chain going around her wrists before having another one attaching her middle and ring fingers by the inside of the palms.

With a ring on each middle finger (she migrated the Black Family ring onto her left middle finger instead of her pinky), and the Slytherin ring on her thumb, they really accented the long nails Rebekah had.

She sported inch long nails that Sirius fondly referred to as claws. The middle and ring finger nails were a glossy black with gold leaf foil, while the rest were just a simple glossy black. Molly had already tried to get her to get rid of them but Rebekah firmly said no and left it at that.

Rebekah had used a growing potion to grow them out to the desired length, Remus said they looked like they could poke someone's eyes out and told her that it wasn't advise and for her to not do that. With a hardening spell, her nails wouldn't break. The colour had to be replayed every two weeks but she was fine with that.

"Anything wrong, Potter?" A red haired Tonks asked from behind her, taking a seat across from her quickly.

"Hmm? Nothing," Rebekah smiled as she placed her hand over the badge.

"I was never a prefect myself," Tonks said, throwing back her waist length hair before putting both of her elbows on the table. "I saw the badge. Did you become a Prefect too?"

Rebekah rubbed the back of her neck, nodding.

"My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities," Tonks grinned as Ginny appeared behind Rebekah and took a seat next to her.

Ginny placed her baked potato down. "Like what?"

"Like the ability to behave myself."

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Just as everyone was beginning to head off to bed, Rebekah was able to sneak into the drawing room with Emperor and Fidele near her. She was curled over a book on a long couch, a thin blanket to keep off the chills. Within her peripheral vision, Rebekah was able to see that MadEye Moody was standing in the doorway.

"Was there anything you needed, Moody?" Rebekah didn't look away from her book.

"Nothin'," He grunted. "You all right, Potter? Yeh didn't look happy at dinner."

"Hermione and Ron weren't the only ones to become a Prefect," She muttered bitterly as Moody hobbled over and made her move her legs as he sat next to her.

He took out a tattered Wizarding photograph before showing to Rebekah who leaned in closer to look at it better. "Original Order of the Phoenix. I found it last night when I was looking for my spare Invisibility Cloak, seeing as Podmore hasn't had the manners to return my best one. . . . Thought people might like to see it."

After taking a look, Rebekah said with a mischievous grin, "This was before you lost your nose, wasn't it?"

"Cheeky thing, you are," Moody grumbled before going back to the picture. "And there's Dumbledore beside me, Dedalus Diggle on the other side… That's Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken, they got her whole family. That's Frank and Alice Longbottom. Poor devils. Better dead than what happened to them… and that's Emmeline Vance, you've met her, and that there's Lupin, obviously… Benjy Fenwick, he copped it too, we only ever found bits of him… shift aside there."

Moody had to shake the image to get more of the hidden people to appear.

"That's Edgar Bones… brother of Amelia Bones, they got him and his family too, he was a great wizard . . . Sturgis Podmore, blimey, he looks young . . . Caradoc Dearborn, vanished six months after this, we never found his body . . . Hagrid, of course, looks exactly the same as ever . . . Elphias Doge, you've met him, I'd forgotten he used to wear that stupid hat . . . Gideon Prewett, it took five Death Eaters to kill him and his brother Fabian, they fought like heroes . . . budge along, budge along . . ."

He had to shake it again, tipping some of the people out of frame.

"That's Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, the only time I ever met him, strange bloke . . . That's Dorcas Meadowes, Voldemort killed her personally . . . Sirius, when he still had short hair . . . and . . . there you go, thought that would interest you!"

"Well," Rebekah said as she still looked at the picture that included her parents fondly. "It was very interesting. I don't think I've ever seen a proper picture of Sirius. I didn't expect him to have short hair."

"He just doesn't mean to suit it anymore. Right, I best be off. Got something to do," Moody clicked as he stood up from the couch, ruffling Rebekah's hair with a half smile. "You be good and stop trying to antagonize Molly."

"Not happening," Rebekah saluted as he left with the shake of the head.

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Molly was not impressed when Sirius, and Tonks, and Bill, and Fred, and George, and Ginny, and Rebekah began to belt out Killer Queen by Queen.

"Caviar and cigarettes

Well versed in etiquette

Extraordinarily nice!"

They were in one of the cleaned living rooms, dancing around the room as they sang at the top of their lungs each lyric. Sirius was able to bring down some of his vinyl collection and plucked them into a music player which was run by Magic, so no pesky electricity would get in the way.

"She's a Killer Queen!" Tonks sang a little off key but no one cared, none of them were that great of a singer so it didn't make a difference. She grabbed Ginny and spun her around the room, almost making both of them fall over with her clumsy footsteps.

"Gunpowder, gelatine! Dynamite with a laser beam!" Sirius gestured for Remus to get into the room when he appeared at the doorway, his arms crossed as he watched in amusement. "Come on, Moony. We used to sing this all the time as kids."

"No thanks, Padfoot, I'm not as young as I used to be," Remus shook his head but Sirius took him by the hand and made him join in with the dancing.

Guaranteed to blow your mind

Anytime."

They continued to dance until supper and soon after, everyone headed to bed. Ginny and Hermione shared a room, the Twins had their own to share with Ron, Rebekah had the Master bedroom, and Sirius and Remus went to their single bedroom that used to be Sirius' room as a teen.

A flustered Witch ran into Walburga's portrait, her face pink. "That one of yours!"

"Again?" Walburga sighed as she allowed the other Witch into the portrait for the night. "They keep forgetting that the silencing spell only works in the room but sound also travels into the walls too. Your poor ears!"

"My poor ears…"

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