After eating, I went straight to my new room. Thankfully, Vannessa left me alone.

I went straight to the desk in my room, setting up my school books for studying.

It was ironic because when I thought about growing my stats in my past life, I pictured defeating slimes or goblins.

But now, to level up I was doing things that would have made my mom happy, like studying and exercising.

I couldn't practice magic because I was still underage, and it was solely for that reason that I couldn't wait to resume school.

It was the 20th of August 1999, which meant that I would be leaving for Hogwarts in 11 days.

I wasn't a big fan of school in my past life but this wasn't just any school, it was the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was where the legendary 'Boy Who Lived' attended.

I was about to enter my 6th year and the previous session was when the legendary Battle of Hogwarts happened.

'Sucks that I wasn't there to see it.'

I could hardly concentrate on reading, too distracted with my plans of thievery to do so.

After staring at the same page for several minutes and writing nothing but ink smudges, I pushed up to my feet.

Echo was sitting on the window sill and she watched me curiously as I got to my feet.

It would be rude to go around exploring my Aunt's house, it wasn't like I was 5 years old.

So, I went outside to explore instead. Before I left, I grabbed my broomstick and snuck out like I was already stealing.

I couldn't use magic outright but there weren't any rules against flying a broomstick.

I crept down the hallway, holding my broomstick close. Fortunately, I didn't bump into Vannessa but I did bump into her cats.

The two black cats sat on cushions in the living room and watched me with unblinking emerald green eyes.

I froze up at the entrance to the living, locked in a staring contest with them.

What were their names again? Catsor? Castor? And something Poll…

I honestly didn't care, I also didn't have any reason to be scared of them but I couldn't help but be cautious.

They stared at me like they had human sentience, it creeped me out.

I safely got out the front door though without the cats attacking me or shrieking to alert my Aunt. I felt like they would pose a big problem when the time came to steal the newspaper article.

I would have to think of a way around them.

But that was a worry for another time, now all I could think of was the wide field around me and the broomstick held in my grip.

The sky had cleared up a bit from the gloom of the morning, it was still early afternoon but it seemed like the sun would break through the clouds soon.

The broomstick was black and silver and looked cooler than the models and illustrations made back on earth.

It reminded me of Draco Malfoy's broomstick, the same one he had bought for the entire Slytherin Quidditch team to bribe them to let him play.

Considering that I probably played for the Slytherin Quidditch team and my parents could afford to buy me one, it was definitely a Nimbus 2001.

I looked closely at it, mentally smacking myself over the head for not noticing earlier, it was pretty obvious.

The make was imprinted at the bottom of the broomstick. It was indeed a Nimbus 2001.

There was nothing but an open field all around, a distant forest surrounding the open fields.  Even if there was any town or houses close by, they wouldn't be able to see me fly around on a broom.

There was a garden behind the house, and the black car that had driven us here was nowhere to be found.

Honestly, I forgot all about the man in the black top hat as soon as we got out of the car.

He couldn't be a muggle right? Because Vannessa had used magic immediately we got down from the car.

Wizards and Witches didn't use muggle inventions so he must be one odd Wizard to own and be driving a car. Or maybe he was a Squib.

I walked a far distance from the house to ride my Nimbus. Vannessa wouldn't oppose me riding a broom, it was just weird.

At any other time, it would have been perfectly normal, I would have even informed her about it but not right after my family's funeral.

When I was sufficiently far from the house, I straddled the broom.

Echo had flown out to meet me, she found a nearby tree to perch on and then just straight up ignored me.

This was to my advantage, the last thing I wanted was for my pet owl to witness me falling off my broom.

Now that I was straddling the broom, I had no idea what to do next.

"Oh!"

I scrambled off the broom and dropped it on the ground beside me, I forgot to summon my broom first.

I mentally pictured Madam Hooch teaching Harry and the others to fly a broom.

I had to summon my broom first, get on it properly and kick it off the ground into flight.

I chuckled nervously to myself, I hoped I wouldn't lose a couple of teeth.

"Up!" I ordered in a voice with far more confidence than I felt.

My heart jumped when the wooden broom leaped up into my hand, my eyes going wide in shock.

I know I'm supposed to have magic but seeing it happen right in front of me by my own doing was quite the shock.

Without hesitation, I got on it and kicked it off the ground.

That leaping sensation was in my chest again but that was because I had jumped into the sky.

I was a decent height off the ground, roughly 20 feet or so and after moving from place to place and doing a little twist and turn, I realized that I instinctively knew how to fly a broomstick.

I rose even higher and let myself get a little adventurous, I wasn't a bad flier at all. It would add up if I ended up being on the actual team.

It was a dream come true.

Not only was I now a student at Hogwarts, but I was also on a Quidditch team.

I flew around for a while, keeping an eye on Vannessa's house the entire time. I hadn't forgotten about the newspaper article.

Echo joined me to make a few loops in the sky and reluctantly, I got down.

As much as I would love to fly for the rest of the day, I was pushing the time that Vannessa would decide to check up on me and then catch me flying.

I snuck back into the house, her black cats still eyeing me up. Hopefully, they didn't know how to talk or something.

Dinner came and went. I was solemn the entire time but it wasn't because I missed my family or felt sad over their death but because I was figuring out the best way to perform a robbery.

After dinner, I retired straight to my room and worked at leveling up my stats.

They were all better than average now, even my intelligence but I would still need to get better.

After a long, arduous wait, it was late enough. At least I hoped it was.

The last thing I wanted was to bump into my Aunt crying in bed or worse.

I had scouted out her room before, it was right at the other end of the hallway as she said, and should be fairly easy to access if she didn't lock her door.

And she didn't. Bless my carefree Aunt's heart, she just saved me a lot of trouble.

I gingerly pushed the door inches open only to stumble onto my nightmares.

Yeah, it was Catsor and Bullocks.

"Shit!" I whispered, freezing up.

They were both staring me down with their creepy green eyes, almost like they were daring me to take a step forward.

I slowly tried taking a step forward but this only caused one of them to meow loudly and sharply, causing me to panic and quickly shut the door.

I leaned against it and waited, holding my breath as I expected my Aunt to wake up and catch me red-handed.

A few moments passed and there was nothing but silence, I heaved a sigh of relief. I had gotten lucky this time.

I paced down the hallway, thinking. 'How the hell do I get rid of those cats?'

Cat treats. My brain provided for me and without debating it I went straight to my room.

I would need a lamp anyway to be able to search properly for the newspaper article. I could drape a cloth over it to keep the rays from Vannessa's face.

I needed it for my first mission too, which was to get rid of the cats.

I got the lamp and went to the kitchen instead of Vannessa's room.

'She has to keep something like cat treats in her kitchen, right?'

'You also guessed right, I am planning to bribe the cats with treats.'

They were pets so I really hoped this would actually work.

After a quick frenzied search, I found it!

It was in a glass jar far above their reach and although I could easily lift it and open it, I had a feeling that it had some anti-cat spell on it.

I grabbed a couple of the treats and started for Vannessa's room.

Just like before, the two cats sat right at the entrance like sentries.

I gingerly rolled two treats their way, they looked homemade and smelled very fishy.

Catsor and Bullocks were over the clouds for it though and were very willing to be bribed.

I left them quietly munching on the handful of treats that I left in a pile for them and safely stepped into the room.

Vannessa's room was arranged like mine, simple and free of clutter.

I headed straight to her bedside dresser, it would be the most obvious place for her to keep it which was the reason I checked it first.

I doubted she thought I would try to steal it and I was right, the newspaper article was sitting right at the bottom of her second drawer.

I grabbed it and dashed out of the room, not stopping to spare a glance at the cats who were quickly finishing up their treats.

The little bastards could start screaming again when they ran out of treats, I wasn't taking that chance.