Nikki's POV (A/N: I'm going to start using Nikki a lot more so be prepared.)
I woke up the next morning to the sound our shuffling feet outside my door. I grumbled, annoyed that someone woke me up. I crawled out of bed and rubbed my eyes. I pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a green shirt. I got my hair in a messy bun, knowing I really didn't want to deal with it. I grabbed my trainers and put them on before going out the door to see who was still pacing. I opened the door and to my surprise, a very nervous Haden was pacing. He didn't even notice me until I cleared my throat, he was so deep in thought. He looked up and I saw the tears in his gorgeous green eyes. I frowned before engulfing him in hug. He was shaking.
"Whats wrong Hade? I thought you would be happy today. Your getting to meet your mum." I said. He looked at me, green eyes gazing into my brown ones. He couldn't seem to get a word out untilI pulled him into another hug and reassured him he could tell me.
"It's alright Haden, you know you can tell me anything. Hey, why don't we go and sit on my bed, probably more comfortable then pacing in the hall." I said motioning to the open door behind me. We walked in and sat down on the bed against the head rest. He was looking at his feet which were right in front of him. I grabbed his hand a smiled at him when he looked up. He smiled back and finally started talking.
"I don't know Nikki'. What if she doesn't want me? What if she doesn't like me? What if she kicks me out because of what happened? What if sh-" He started rambling, but before he could continue I put my hand over his mouth.
"Haden Carlton Riddle, shut up and stop thinking the worst. Think the best. When she meets you, she will instantly adore you and love you. Then you will have a family and you can get some answers about your father." I said reassuring him. He took at deep breath and then looked at me.
"I guess your right but will you come with us today? I don't want to go alone." He asked. I beamed and nodded.
"Of course I will! Merlin, when are we going, I have to look presentable. I look like I just crawled out of bed? Granted I did but I do-" I started panicking until Haden put his hand over my mouth, mimicking what I did to him. He took his hand off my mouth and started chuckling. I glared at him before slapping him on the back of the head.
"Ow. That hurt." He said rubbing his head. He then looked at me with an evil glint in his eyes. He then proceeded to pin me to the bed, holding my hands above my head with one hand and using the other to tickle me. I was wailing with laughter.
"Ha- Hade! Sto- stop ple- please!" I said between breaths and laughs. He laughed before releasing my hands and pulling me up so I was resting my head on his shoulder. I was breathing heavily. It was such a perfect moment, we though nothing and nothing could ruin it. We soon found out we were very wrong. Two words describe it, Draco Malfoy.
Draco's POV
I just woke up from a brilliant sleep. Last night we find out my best friends were really my long lost cousin and the Dark Lords kid. I couldn't be happier. I hopped out of bed before putting on some grey shorts and a black t-shirt. I grab my shoes before heading out of my room. I was walking through the hall when I suddenly hear lots of giggling coming from Nikki's room. I decide to investigate, just to make sure she isn't doing anything I wouldn't do, which is a small number of things. The door is already open, so before I head in, I take a peek in. I see Haden holding Nikki's hands above her head while he is tickling her. She is hysterical and he seems to be enjoying himself. I smile to myself. They look so happy. I smirk to myself as I see Haden stop ticking the poor girl. He pulls her up and then she rests her head on his shoulder, just enjoying each other's company and being in each other's presence. They just seem to know how to keep each other comfortable and calm. Nikki has her head on his shoulder and he leans his head on hers. They just seem to work together well. I, being the amazing person I am, decide to ruin their peace. So I do the only thing reasonable. I waltz in and plop on the bed right between them.
Haden's POV
When we thought nothing could go wrong, Draco has to come prancing in to ruin the peace. He plops himself down, right between me and Nikki. Damn, I was having fun. Prat! I glare at the blond before scooting over to make myself comfortable again.
"Morning Draco, whats up?" Nikki said. She was smiling but I looked in her eyes and I saw the anger towards Draco in them.
"Oh not much, just relaxing. What about you two? Having fun?" He asked.
"Just talking. Hey do you know what time we're going to meet my mother." I asked.
"I think in about a half hour. You guys should come get some breakfast. Nikki are you going as well?" He asked.
"Yeah I am? I'm assuming you are too." Nikki said.
"Actually no I'm not. Mum was going to just bring Haden but I guess it's now the two of you." He said.
"You can come as well, the more the merrier." I said. He raised and eyebrow again.
"Muggle saying." I said. He nodded before replying.
"No, I think I should let you two go." He said. We nodded before getting up to get some breakfast. We headed down the many stairs and into the dining room. Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius, as they told me to call them, were already there dressed and ready for the day. As soon as we sat down a house elf popped in and asked us what we wanted. I said pancakes and syrup, and Draco said an apple, and a piece of toast with jam. Nikki on the other hand looked warily at the tiny creature.
"Nikki, whats wrong now? Why won't you ask for some food?" I said. She looked at me before shaking her head and answering.
"I don't like how house elves are being treated around the world. I don't want them being abused, it's just cruel, they don't do anything to us. What the bloody he-" She started ranting before I put my hand over her mouth, again. That seems to be a normal thing now I guess. She narrowed her eyes at me. I unclasped her mouth. She was about to start speaking but I stopped her.
"Nik, I observe things pretty well, and from what I've seen, the Malfoy's treat the elves well. If i'm wrong then please correct me but be ready for Hurricane Nikki to hit." I said smirking at a blushing Nikki.
"Yes we do treat our elves well and so do a lot of others. Haden your father had even said before that he will give more rights to house elves after he gains control. Anyways thats not the point, we do treat our elves well and consider them family of a sort. I mean with everything they do for us, we would be monsters not to treat them with respect." Narcissa said. (A/N Yes the Malfoy's are nice to the elves. I had to do it other wise it wouldn't have worked well with the story because I am keeping Hermione/Nikki's feeling to protect elves from the canon in this story and we wouldn't want Hurricane Hermione/Nikki to come down on her aunt, uncle and cousin.)
Nikki sighed in relief before turning to the elf waiting for her to tell him what she wanted.
"Hello there, what is your name?" She asked. The elf smiled.
"My name is Dobby Mistress Nikki. What can I get yous?" Dobby asked. Nikki frowned.
"Hello Dobby. First of all no 'Mistress Nikki' it is just Nikki. Alright?" She said. Dobby smiled and nodded and then she continued.
"Second, I think I'll have some strawberries, a glass of pumpkin juice and a piece of toast with blueberry jam. Thank you Dobby." She said with a smile. He grinned a toothy grin before popping out to get the food, only to return seconds later. He set the food down before popping out again. Draco, Nikki, and Haden started eating right away.
"So Haden, after breakfast you should go and get dressed and then we can go and meet your mum, okay?" Aunt Cissa said.
"Actually, it won't just be me. I want Nikki to come as well. But other then that okay." I said looking over at Nikki smiling. I swear that I could see Draco smirking with looking at us with some kind of knowing look. I shook it off before returning to my breakfast.
Ten minutes later Nikki and I left to go and get changed I headed to my room and put on a nice pair of muggle dress pants and a button up blue shirt. I put some dress shoes on before looking in the mirror to see if I could tame crazy hair. I grabbed a brush and tried brushing it. Three minutes later, realizing it was useless, I put the brush down and headed out. There standing right in front of me was my beautiful looking best friend.
Nikki's POV
After breakfast, Haden and I walked upstairs to change. He headed into his room and me into mine. I quickly took a 15 minute shower and then went to get dressed. I figured that we should look nice so I picked out one of the dresses Aunt Cissa got me after she saw I only had one. It was emerald green dress. It flared out at the hips and stopped just below the knees. I put a pair of earrings she got me as well. They perfectly matched the dress as they were green. I went and looked in the mirror to figure out my hair. I quickly dried it with a charm and then curled it into long wavy curls with another charm. I left it down but I put a silver headband on to keep it off my face. I then put a black jacket as it was a little cold out. I slipped on my silver flat sandals and then headed out to knock on Haden's door. Merlin I hope he is alright. I hate seeing him all nervous. I walked over to his door but before I could knock, he opened the door, looking handsome as ever. Damn Nikki. Stop thinking like this. He is your best friend. No feelings like that. He wouldn't feel the same. Right? He had a blue button up shirt and some black pants on. He emerald green eyes bore through my brown ones. His raven hair, messy as ever, was just right. He smiled at me and I blushed. I hope he didn't see that.
"Ready?" I asked. He nodded before holding his arm out. I took it and we walked downstairs. When we got there, Aunt Cissa was already there waiting. We walked up to her waiting for her to tell us what to do.
"Alright, your mum doesn't know that her son is coming. She does know she will be meeting someone important. When we get there, we're going to sit down and then talk to her, not just blurt it out okay?" Harry and I nodded.
"Alright, we will go by floo. Nikki you first and then you Haden. Just go into the fireplace, grab some floo powder and say Riddle Manor." She said. Haden walked over to the fireplace, took some powder and then said Riddle Manor. I went next and then Aunt Cissa. When we arrived, we were met by another magnificent sight. The Riddle Manor was even nicer then the Malfoy Manor. It was colored with green and silver all over. There were many many paintings and portraits. The floor was made of marble and the walls were painted wonderfully with different images. The ceilings were at least 40 feet high and the furniture looked old but priceless. The floor shined as the sun seeped through the windows all around the place. The front door that was to our left was twice as big as the Malfoy's and outside the window as Haden and I looked, the garden was being tended to by some happy house elves. There were all sorts of flowers. Roses, daises, sunflowers, lilies, iris', orchids, and tulips. There was a huge pond that could rival a small lake with lots of trees surrounding it. Under each tree was either a swing or a bench. There was a small fenced area with lots of different magical and non-magical animals. To the far right of the garden was a Quidditch pitch and even stands. I had no idea why they would need those unless they held matches. Haden and I turned around to see a beautiful woman standing with Aunt Cissa chatting quietly. She was around 5'7. Her hair was pitch black just like Haden's. Her eyes were a sea blue with a hint of red in them. She was wearing a floor length red dress that hugged her curves quite nicely. Her hair was put up in a complicated bun. When she smiled at Aunt Cissa, Haden and I got a glimpse at her perfect teeth. She looked gorgeous. My mouth dropped in awe, and Haden had to physically shut it and then take my gaze away from his mother. Even though he moved my gaze from looking completely gobsmacked, it didn't stop him. He stared at said woman and his eyes started to get glassy with tears. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug, making sure he could still see his mother. Aunt Cissa then walked over to us.
"Alright you two, we are going to go into the parlor and talk. Follow me." She said. We complied and followed. The parlor was a huge white and blue room with a glass ceiling. There was a nice looking white couch and some chairs with a table in the center. We settled down before a house elf popped in with some tea. Haden still hadn't taken his eyes off his mother, and this didn't go unnoticed by said woman. She was also staring questingly at Haden, trying to figure out what was so familiar and why he was staring at her. Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Aunt Cissa started the conversation.
"Kathleen, what we are about to tell you will most likely shock you a lot and you might not believe us. I need you to promise to keep an open mind about everything that is said here today alright?" She said. Kathleen nodded, her eyes not leaving Haden's.
"Brilliant, Nikki why don't you introduce yourself and then pull him out of his staring contest with Kathleen so she can talk." I nodded and put my hand on Haden's chin and pulled his head so he looked at me. I gave him a smile and then turned to Kathleen.
"Hello. My name is Nikki Grace Lestrange. We probably met when I was a baby but then I was taken by Dumbledork and put with muggles. Those muggles left me at an orphanage when I was four. When I got my Hogwarts letter and then went to Gringotts, I found out the truth. Anyways all I really need to say is please listen to him." I said looking back over at Haden who was now looking at me. I blushed at the sudden attention.
"Hello Nikki. Wow I do remember when Dumbledore and the Order took you. Your parents were so devastated. Bella, your mum, was, is one of my best friends. I remember that night vividly. It was the same… the same night that my- my son was taken as well." She said tearing up. I reached across the table and grasped her hand while smiling at her. I looked over at Haden who was for some reason still looking at me. I nodded and smiled reassuringly. He then looked over to his mum nervously. I scooted over to him and took his hand.
"And who might you be young man?" Kathleen asked. Haden looked at her and then opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"You can do this. I know you can." I said to him and gave his hand a squeeze. He took a deep breath.
"I don't know exactly how to say thins so I'm just going to say it. You said that your son got kidnapped the same night that Nikki did, well I guess I'm saying that I'm your son. I'm Haden Carlton Riddle." Haden said looking at her waiting for a reaction. What he didn't expect was her to leap across the table at engulf him in a bone crushing hug that rivaled mine. His eyes went wide before he hugged back Kathleen was now crying hysterically while muttering words like 'my baby is home' or 'I'm gonna murder that old goat bastard for taking him' and 'god bless'. After a very long hug, they pulled apart and both had tears streaming down their faces.
"Ho-How did you find out? Never mind that, how did you survive? I thought Dumbledore would have killed you? When I saw that Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, I thought it couldn't be true." She said.
"Well he didn't kill me but I found out when Nikki and I went to Gringotts after Dumbeldore took us to Diagon Alley. Nikki said she grew up in a muggle orphanage, well so did I. The same one actually. After he took me, I was left with the Potter's. My old identity was, as you know, Harry James Potter. After they died, I was dropped off at the Dursley's. Nikki came a couple years later and we were instantly friends. The the old goat, as you brilliantly put it, shows up and says 'your a wizard Harry' and boom I'm in the Wizarding World. Dumbeldore took us to Diagon Alley and then had to leave for business so he told us to go and get our supplies for Hogwarts. I was paying for Nikki after I saw the amount of gold in the Potter vault. We grabbed some but it wasn't enough so after we ran out, we had to go back without him. We didn't have a key though, so we did a heritage test. That was when we found out. Nikki knew she was adopted so she took it as well to see if she was from magical parentage. That was when we found out she wasn't Hermione Jean Granger, but Nikki Grace Lestrange and I was Haden Carlton Riddle. When we got to Hogwarts, we got into Slytherin and befriended Draco Malfoy and he invited us to the Manor for Christmas seeing as we had no where to go. Thats when we told them about our relations and now we are here. I'm just glad we decided to go to the Lestrange vault so we could find that letter Nikki. Otherwise we still wouldn't have any idea who we were. Speaking of that, maybe we should go back and see what is in your parents trunks and what else is in the vault. Maybe there is something interesting there. Anyways, where was I, oh yeah, after we came to the manor for Christmas and we told them who we were, I asked if I could meet you and here we are." Haden said. Kathleen had more tears in her eyes and she hugged Haden again.
"Trust me I'm just as glad that you went back to Gringotts and into the vault. Do you have any questions before I ask you some?" She said smiling at Haden.
"Just one, I want to know if there is a way to help dad? I know the whole story about that night at the Potter's and all I want is for him to become strong again." Haden said. Kathleen glanced at the ground.
"Yes there is a way, a ritual. But it is very complex and could take years to work. The only other option is to wait out his 3 years and have it be easier for the ritual to work. If we wait the three years and then help him rise then, It might work better. Up until then, we should just keep his followers in line and maybe even break Nikki's parents out of Azkaban." This earned a wide smile, teary eyes, a hug from Haden and for Nikki to shoot up and attack Kathleen with hugs and kisses, which had the rest of the occupants in the room laughing.
"Really, we can do that? We could really break them out? I read a lot about Azkaban and it is said to be impossible to break people out because of the dementors. Maybe we can come up with a way to do it though. Ohhh I'm so excited now. Merlin what if it doesn't work? What if they get killed in the process? What it the-" She started getting panicky again so Haden did what he does best in situations like these, he put his hand over her mouth.
"Nik, don't worry we will get them out if it's the last thing I do. Then we will help my father with this goddamn war that the light has no chance of winning." He said which earned a scolding from Nikki.
"Language Haden and thank you." She said. Kathleen was watching us intently. She seemed to like the way our banter sounded. She smiled at us.
"Well then, Haden, Nikki, Cissa it's getting late, why don't you bring Lucius and Draco over with you three tomorrow and we can spend the day together. You three should head home though. But I want to see you tomorrow. I just got you back, I'm not losing you again." She said to Haden. She stood up and opened her arms. Haden happily went into them and hugged his mother. I watched him with the sheer look of happiness on his face and could just see the love Kathleen felt for Haden. Aunt Cissa, Haden and I then walked back to the fireplace and flooed back to Malfoy Manor. When we headed up to bed after telling Draco and Uncle Lucius about it, I couldn't get one thing out of my head. When Haden said that we should go back to the vault, I couldn't help but to agree. My trunk was completely empty, but maybe there was something in there that would be useful to us. Maybe there was something that could help me learn some more about my parents. I got undressed from my dress and put on some pajama pants and a green tank top. I lied down and fell asleep dreaming about the vault and my green eyes best friend.