"Skylar! Wake up, you sleepy head!"

 "Marley.... It's 9 o'clock-"

 "Which is the time you should wake up!"

 "Geez, girl I sleep til 12 o'clock in holidays..."

 "Alright then! We will let you know when we come back from Diagon Alley."

 Skylar bolted up and looked at the calendar pinned to her wall. Marley was grinning from ear to ear while backing away towards the door.

 "That woke you up. Baiiiii!!!!!"

 "Marley Sarah Jeffery!! Come back here you little-!"

 But Marley already rushed out of the room. Cursing under her breath, Skylar went to the bathroom to wash up. After she washed her face, she looked into the mirror. Her hair grew until her shoulder over the summer. It was extremely bushy and messy. She smiled to herself. For some reason, she liked this kind of hair. She swung her hair around to have a look at it from all angles. But Aunt Bertha disapproved. Unlike Skylar, she liked everything neat and tidy and formal like any normal person. Skylar sighed and went to her room while grabbing her brush and brushing her hair with it.

 When she came down Uncle John, who was reading today's Daily Prophet, looked up and said, "Hello, Skylar. I was wondering... do you... want another owl? Or another pet? After what happened to Elladora... I wouldn't be surprised if you are still depressed... you had so little time with her..."

 After spending about seven years with them, you would expect them to know everything about you but this was not Skylar. She used to get over everything pretty quickly. The maximum she was depressed about something unless it was continuous was about a week.

 "No, I am alright and... I've been thinking and... I want a phoenix."

 Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Skylar. Hogwarts only allowed owls, toads, or cats.

 "Or... maybe... a small fox? Because I saw a few kids who brought rats and everything... that's not allowed either is it?"

 "Bertha, you deal with her. I dunno what to do about this. If you allow, well, I will try and get it from somewhere."

 "Skylar, you are entirely sure?"

 Skylar nodded.

 "No regrets?"

 "Yeah."

 "Oh well then. I did see a few kids who had ferrets and hamsters in my year too so..."

 The debate was won, that was for sure. But where were they going to get one of these? They ate breakfast. Uncle John came home at the evening after work and before taking off his cloak and even sitting on his armchair he said, "Make your decision, Skylar. A fox or a phoenix?"

 "A fox."

 "C'mon Skylar, we are going somewhere."

 "Where are you going, Uncle John?" Marley said.

 "A small village named Mould-On-The-Wold. Skylar c'mon"

 Marley looked curious but Aunt Bertha just murmured goodbye and went back to finish off the cooking. Uncle John probably told Aunt Bertha about what they were going to do already. Skylar swung her cloak over her shoulder and followed Uncle John out. The sun stood low over the horizon and there was a slightly hot breeze and there were few fluffy clouds dyed red in the sun's rays.

 "Do you know about Apparition, Skylar?"

 Skylar shook her head.

 "Well then, it's a method of travel wizards use. You will understand. Now grab my arm. Don't lose your grip OK?"

 Skylar gripped harder than ever and felt them turn on the spot. The overall sensation was worse than Floo Powder or any other way of travelling in the wizarding world. It felt like being squeezed into a narrow rubber tube. Her eyes were forced into her skull, her eardrums into her head, and she could not breathe. Then, she gasped, let go of Uncle John and breathed roughly while supporting herself on a tree.

 "You alright? Well, that was Side-Along-Apparition. I also did not fancy it much on my first time either. But you will get used to it. You learn it and get the licence when you are seventeen, or in other words, when you come of age."

 "Yeah...well... I don't think I'll even bother... I prefer Floo Powder and more than that... brooms..."

 "You like brooms do you?"

 "Yeah and I'm thinking to try out for my house Quidditch team," Skylar said casually as she followed Uncle John.

 They walked a few paces and came to a halt in front of a shop. It had velvet walls and a lilac color sign saying 'Fantastic Magical Beasts' and a fire-breathing dragon.

 "Bertha and I thought we'd buy one in Diagon Alley but our old senior, Gary Zackleman, works here so we thought otherwise. He was a seventh-year Head Boy when we went to Hogwarts."

 They stepped in as the bell on the door rang. There were a few people, about five or so. One of them seemed to be a clerk. He was wearing velvet uniform.

 "Zackleman!"

 "Oh hey there, Feloni. Been a long time hasn't it?" said Zackleman in a deep, fast voice, while taking money from a lady with a indigo cloak who was holding a cage.

 "Excuse me, Mr Zackleman," Skylar said, looking at a sleeping creature which looked like an artic fox, except it had nine-tails.

 "What's this?"

 "Ah, no one ever wanted to buy that little friend for six years! It's name is Yumina. Imported from South Korea."

 "Can you explain about it?"

 "Yes. Yumina is a Kumiho. It is native to Korea but we believe there are some in China or Japan, not founded yet though. They are known to have shape-shifting powers and they are even known to Muggles. The legends and facts known by both Muggles and wizards are quite similar. Muggles believe they have shape-shifting powers and usually shape-shift into beautiful women and win over men's hearts and eat their hearts and liver."

 "Er-Skylar, how about we-"

 "Continue," said Skylar who was (unrecognizably) getting interested on every word.

 "They DO have shape-shifting powers, but they don't hunt in graveyards and feed on human flesh. Well, not if we hunt them anyway. They are like normal foxes with shape-shifting powers. Mischief managers, pranksters. They are pretty harmless if you manage to make them like you."

 Skylar looked at Yumina. She was awake now and noticing she had watchers, moved around her basket like cage as if showing off her magnificent features.

 "Can I see it closer?"

 "Sure. Yumina, come here."

 Yumina jumped out of her cage. She was as small as a baby fennec fox, fitting perfectly into Mr Zackleman's hand.

 "I got close to her so she is calm with me," said Mr Zackleman said while scratching Yumina's ears "but for you, you should hold her gently and treat her like you would treat other human beings. Be careful not to touch her tail or ears. Best touch hold her paws in a handshake-like way until she nods her head showing her approval."

 Skylar took Yumina. Her eyes were deep purple and under the light, her twinkling eyes were galaxy-like. Yumina looked at Skylar and nodded.

 "Uncle?" Skylar looked at Uncle John with the pleading look. She was good at this.

 "How much is it?"

 "I'll take ten Galleons."

 After a while they were back home. Skylar was up in her room while Yumina roamed around freely. She liked to be out of her cage. With lots of persuasion (credits to Marley who whined for an entire hour), Aunt Bertha let Skylar keep Yumina. She also had excellent hearing and vision and was also smart. She was probably the best pet Skylar would ever have.

 After a while, Yumina went to sleep in her cage and Skylar, staring at the ceiling also went into a deep sleep. Her dream had Yumina going somewhere. Skylar walked after her but was still in her place. Then there was a green light and there was Elladora, dead. Frightened, Yumina ran to Skylar and Skylar clutched her in her arms. Another green light missed Skylar by inches and another red light went past her from an airborne wand in front of her. She turned around and saw a hooded figure.

 She woke up in cold sweat. After calming down, she went to sleep again. She forgot about the dream next day.