Chapter 1

The Niece and the wand

"My lord, the girl, she is in her room." A snake hissed and slithered down the hall towards a tall figure whose back was turned to face the mirror. His own red eyes staring back at him in the dark corridor of the silent home.

"Good, good..." He said and turned around picking up the snake from the floor and placing her around his shoulders.

"Now Nagini you must be quiet." He petted her head and walked into the darkness. He opened a door only to reveal a flight of stairs. Silently he glided down them, not a sound heard. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he opened another door. In this new hallway were about 20 different doors, only one of the doors had light peeking through the bottom. It was at the end of the hallway, almost the last door there. Silently Lord Voldemort reached the door, and opened it. Inside was a fifteen year old girl facing her closet. Her blue colored room was a sudden burst of color compared to the dark, black walls of the rest of the home. Her black hair with small brown highlights facing the snake-like face. She was unarmed, her wand on her bed side table about 7 feet away. Voldemort silently took his wand out of his robes and raised it to her back.

"Now, now even you should know that it is very cowardly to kill an opponent when their back is turned." Her voice ringed through the whole room as she turned around, her brown eyes staring into Voldemorts.

"It is also very cowardly to kill an unarmed enemy." She smiled and walked towards her wand.

"Ara, how dare you call me a coward?!" He yelled putting his wand back into his robes.

"I am here to tell you that you will be attending Hogwarts, starting tomorrow." Voldemort said quietly with no emotion in his voice. Ara's eyes widened and she dropped her wand on the floor. She let out a small delighted scream and ran towards Voldemort. She hugged him tightly.

"Wait," she let go and backed up a bit "am I going to have to start at first year, or am I going to start as a fifth year?" She questioned him, dreading the thought of being stuck in a room with a bunch of little first years.

"You shall be sorted into a house but start as a fifth year." Each one of his words louder than the one before it.

"OH! That is wonderful! Thank you so much Uncle Voldemort!" She screamed and turned to her closet.

"What should I pack?" She smiled and turned to see Voldemort already leaving the room.

"Pack these." He left a slip of paper on the table next to her doorway.

"Thank you!" She said back to him as he closed the door behind him. She picked up the piece of paper and smiled wide.

"I hope I get sorted in Gryffindor." She whispered to herself. Then she looked at the paper and walked out her door, closing the lights with a flick of her wand. Even though she had never gone to Hogwarts, she was a skilled witch because her uncle, who was lord Voldemort, had taught her how to do skillful magic. So she was about as good as a fifth year, or maybe even better. She closed the door behind her and plunged into the darkness of the hallway.

"Lumos."

She whispered and put her wand in front of her face. She was not like most in this house, she had an Indian look to her since her mother was an Indian witch. Her mother was a great witch who had, one say, went to an old village and saw a handsome young man by the name of Tom Riddle, it was love at first sight. So she had made him fall in love with her, but not by using magic. They got married and had a baby boy named August who was a wizard. He had an Indian look to him like his mother. He got married to a witch named Riya and they had a baby named Ara Riddle. Lord Voldemort had killed Tom Riddle, and had killed his son August and his wife Riya. He took Ara, who was at that time barely a year old, and raised her as his own. Now she was fifteen and walking down the dark corridor. She finally arrived at the room she was looking for. She knocked at the door and said

"It's me" quietly. The door opened slowly and the silhouette of a tall boy could be seen.

"Ara, what are you doing awake at this hour?" He said looking at the clock by his bed it said '1:12'.

"Draco, can I come in?" She asked still whispering.

"Sure, sure come on." He moved out of the way to let her in. The room looked like a muggle hotel room, with a bed in the center and small tables everywhere.

"Thanks." Ara said and sat down on the bed. He took a seat next to her.

"Okay, guess what?" She smiled not able to hold her joy back.

"What?" Draco said not in the mood to guess.

"I'm going to Hogwarts!" She wanted to yell in his ear but stayed quiet because of the hour.

"Really!?" Draco said surprised. He sat up straighter to listen to her.

"Yes, Uncle Voldemort told me a few minutes ago! Except, I don't have any of the right things. So... I was wondering if you would go to Diagon alley with me, now." She grinned and waited for his answer.

"I don't know... Shouldn't you ask your uncle?" Draco said hoping to be in the presence of Lord Voldemort.

"Sure, sure. If he say's yes then will you come with me? Please?" She smiled.

"Yes, I will." He said and walked to his wardrobe. "Turn around." He ordered her. She closed her eyes and turned around and he changed into his robes. "Okay, let's go." He said pulling her up and picking up his wand.

"Yes, lets." She followed him.

"Lumos."

They both said at once and their wands lit up. "Come on, this way." Ara said taking lead and walking through a secret passage in the wall. "Alohamora." She pointed to the lock on the door and it opened allowing her and Draco to enter the small corridor. At the end of the corridor was a small door. As the two walked down the corridor it was getting smaller and smaller. Ara was in front and she opened the other door and walked out finally to stand up. Draco did the same but he was taller than her so he was even more cramped in the small passage way. "Okay, you wait here." She said to him. Then she saw a large door and knocked on it. "Who dare's disturb me?" The snake like voice called out from within the room. "It's me uncle, may I come in?" She asked.

"Make it quick." He said and she scurried in. She spent a few minutes in there talking quietly. Then she hurried out and smiled.

"Come on Lets go!" She smiled and pulled him out of the house. "He said yes as long as we get back by three." She said and pulled his hand over to her face and said, "lumos" to see his watch. It said that now it was "1:30". "So we have one hour and thirty minutes." She frowned. "Okay, so hold my arm." She said and picked a spot. "Now, we dissaparate." She smiled. She felt him hold tightly and then they were swirling and she felt a weird feeling in her stomach. Then they were both in Diagon alley. It was quiet and there was no one on the streets. All the shops were open though. "Hm.. What should I get first?" She smiled and looked around.

"Here." He said and pointed to Flourish & Blotts, he pushed the door open and she went in. "Wow." She added amazed by all the books. "Now what shall I get?" She turned to Draco as he was studying her list of things needed. "Well let's get all the book you would have gotten from between first year and fifth year." She hastily nodded and started to look around picking up all the books she could in her arms. Soon she couldn't life anymore and put them all on the ground. "Draco, how many books have you got?" She asked him, his arms full of books too. "I have twelve. How many do you have?" He placed the book down too, next to Ara's stack. "Twelve and we needed twenty-four, right? So that means we have them all! Locomotor Books" She pointed her wand at the books and they lifted from the ground and started to follow her. "Um, may we purchase all these?" She asked the woman at the front desk. "Why so many?" She asked Ara with a puzzled look on her face. "This is my first ye—" She got cut off by Draco. "Just give us the books; you don't need to know why." He said fiercely. The clerk became a little intimidated and told Ara the price. She paid for it and walked out, the books still following her.

"What shall we do with these?" She pointed at the books. "Just send them back home." Draco said pulling out his wand and pointing at a tin can on the ground. "Portus!" He held onto all the book and held the new portkey and was sent home. In about 3 seconds he was back with the tin can. "There, they are safe in my room now." He said smugly. "Why didn't you place them in my room instead?" Ara asked. "Well, I didn't know if I was allowed in your room…" He said. "Of course you are allowed there! You are the only person that actually has my permission!" She said a bit loudly. "Oh, well I am sorry. If you want I can go back…" Draco said a small frown on his face. "No, no, its fine. Now let's see, what else do I need?" She grabbed the list from her pockets. He snatched it from her crossing out all the names of the books.

"Okay so now how about we get a size 2 pewter cauldron?" Draco stated rather than asking. He started to gain his pace and Ara had to run to keep up. "Why are you walking so fast?" She asked him, finally catching up. "How much time do we have left?" He said still walking quickly. Ara had completely forgotten about the time limit.

Oh, um… It's 2:03 according to your watch so we have 57 minutes. That should be enough right?" She said a bit worried now. "Yes, I hope so…" His voice trailed off as they approached the cauldron shop. He went in and Ara waited outside the door. After 6 minutes of waiting the door finally opened to reveal Draco carrying a small cauldron. "Cross this off the list." He said to her doing the same thing he did with the books, using the same tin can portkey from before. "All right…" Ara said but he had already disappeared.

"Now we have to get 1 set glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, 1 set brass scales, and I have to get myself a new wand… This one is just one uncle took from a death eater." She said, remembering how Voldemort had taken a death eaters wand and used the Cruciatus curse on him.

"Okay, so let's go to Ollivanders last then." Draco said, he didn't like Ollivanders much and he wanted to go there last, or maybe if they ran out of time he wouldn't have to go at all. That thought pleased him.

"Um… Sure, then should we go to the magical instruments shop and get all the other things I need, then off to Ollivanders!" Ara said gleefully then skipped on to the next destination. She had reached there while Draco was only half-way to it, so she went in and he stayed out. After 12 minutes she came out her head looking back, "Thank you!" She said, still holding onto all the things she was carrying.

"Look, Draco. It's only 2:21! We have 39 minutes left. Mind delivering this back home for me?" She asked him and before he even nodded she handed him all the things in her arms. He disappeared with the portkey and then he reappeared, his arms carrying nothing.

"Now, Ollivanders." She said, not as a question but as a statement. She grabbed his unwilling arm and pulled him along with herself. "I wonder what kind of wand will choose me. I hope it's a phoenix feather." She had always been interested in the phoenix. Never had she actually seen one, but what she'd heard about them made them one of her favorite creatures. On the way to the wand shop they passed by knockturn alley. Draco made a sudden movement towards it but Ara's grip was tight. She wouldn't let him go there. She continued to drag him to the end of Diagon alley to Ollivanders.

When they reached the shop she went in and Draco was forced inside too. Ollivanders back was turned to them as he was helping someone else. A tall looking boy, a little chubby was standing there. "Longbottom!" Draco sneered and he boy turned around. "No, not you." The boy said and turned his sight to Ara. "Who's that?" He said his eyes moving from her to Draco. "None of our buis-" Draco got cut of. "I'm Ara." She said. "Are you two friends? Or by knowing Draco, enemies?" She moved toward him extending her hand for him to shake. He took it but his eyes stayed fixed on Draco. "How could someone as nice as you be friends with that?" He said shifting his eyes to Ara. "Long story…" He smiled as she said the words. "Do you attend Hogwarts? I don't think I've seen you around." He found this girl interesting. "No I'm going to start this year." As she said these words his face grew solemn. "You don't look like a first year…" He said tilting his head as she laughed at his expression. "No, I'm starting as a fifth year. Its just that my uncle didn't allow me to go to Hogwarts before now." She kept a smile glued on her face. "Oh, your uncle reminds me of someone." Neville said, his grandmothers face floating around in his mind.

"Yea, uncles a little bit crazy some times. He's quite famous though. Or infamous…" She said whispering the last two words. Neville smiled and turned around as Ollivander said his name. "Here you go my boy, your wand is good as new." He smiled and handed Neville a wand that looked like it was only held together by a piece of tape connecting the bottom half with the top half. "Thanks Ollivander. I'll try to be more careful." He said waving the wand around in the air a little. "And you, young lady, how may I help you?" He smiled turning to Ara who was not paying attention and quickly whipped her head around to turn to Ollivander. "Um… I need a wand." She said. "What about the one in your pocket?" Ollivander said, eyeing her suspiciously. "This isn't mine…" She said quietly, taking it out of her pocket and laying I on the counter separating her from the old man. "Oh, I see. But does it work well?" He said picking it up and putting it to his eye, studying it as though it was a piece of evidence that would solve a crime. "Yes, It works just fine, but I would rather not use it." As she spoke he smiled. "Okay then I will just throw this one away and let's get you a new wand." He threw the wand in a furnace and it turned into ashes instantly.

"Now, this will take some time. You will have to go through many wands to find the right one." Ollivander said, turning his back to her to get many boxes of wands down from the shelves. "We've only got 32 minutes left, hurry it up old man." Draco scoffed at Ollivander.

"Draco, you shouldn't speak like that!" Ara turned her head and glared at Draco. That's when she noticed that Neville was still standing there staring at her and Ollivander. "Oh, um.." Ara managed out a small giggle and turned back to Ollivander. "Yes, Draco was very rude but he's right. My uncle wants me back in about 30 minutes." She said with a small frown. "Then let's hurry up." Ollivander said a grin forming on his face. He got out 5 different boxes, each of them carrying a stunning wand.

"Let's start with this," Ollivander picked up a wand, "it's a unicorn hair core, 10 inches and made of holly." He handed her the wand and as soon as it touched her hand it broke in half. "Oh my…" He said looking at her stunned face. "No, no, no, no, no… Let's try this." He handed her another wand about the same size. This one just flew out of her hand and went back into the box. "No... How about this one?" This time it was a larger wand and it just sat on Ara's palm. It let out a little bit of smoke from its tips and Ollivander took it from her. "Only two more wands left to try out." He laughed and gave her the small pink one. "This one is cute, you might like it." She looked at it and frowned. "I hate pink." She said and held the wand in her hand which, like the one before it, sent smoke out of the tips.

"Okay, that leaves this one." Said Ollivander taking the wand currently resting in her hand, and giving her the last wand. It immediately lit up and the tip sent out jets of blue and purple sparks. "Peculiar." Ollivander said staring at the blue and purple jets of light coming from the wand. Ara's smile was greater than any smile she had ever been able to produce. She held the wand tightly and looked at Ollivander. "Why is this peculiar?" She said, her smile slowly fading away. "This wand is the third and last wand I have that was made with the feather of Fawkes the phoenix," he said, "That wand is a brother to the wand of Harry Potter himself, and… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…" Ollivanders voice slowly becoming a whisper. Ara's eyes widened and Neville gasped. Draco seemed bored. "Well what a coincidence." He said a grin appearing on his face. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander. Now Draco and I must be on our way. We have to go." She said bidding him farewell and turned around. "Bye Neville." She said walking up to him and giving him a good-bye hug. "Now I will see you at Hogwarts, will I not?" She said in the doorway to Neville. "Yea, I'll be there. Gryffindor all the way." He smiled and she left.

5