"Misssssssstresssssssssssss. Good to ssssee you reunited with Masssster."
"Nagini! How are you! I can tell you've been fed well. You're twice the length you were before!" Isolt hissed in fright as his form became bright red with stripes like a tiger, his tail fuzzing up until it was twice its usual size.
"It's alright Isolt. This is Nagini, daddy's pet snake."
"It'ssssss not the food which issss making me large misssssstresssssss. Magic feedssss me. Riddle Manor issss an ancient building which hasssss absssorbed a lot of magic over time. Sssso I have been able to grow a lottttt."
"Well try not to eat all the magic or you'll take up most of the house!" Tom exclaimed and petted her gently. She nuzzled against his thigh and slithered away.
"What do you want to do first? Explore then unpack? Unpack then explore? Unpack while exploring? Though the last one may prove a bit of a challenge." He smiled.
"Ummmmm... Unpack! Then the rest of the day can be spent on exploring!"
"Your room will be the whole of the East tower. It's divided in two, and one room will be yours, and the other will be Harry's when the time comes. My room is the South tower, which is pretty close to the East tower." They arrived at a room which was currently being prepared by house elves.
The cylindrical tower was divided down the middle perfectly in half. There were three floors in all. The first floor was filled with book shelves, potions equipment, and an area to sit in by the fire. The second was much brighter, the entire circumference of the tower covered in glass windows, allowing the light to seep in. This floor had a small stove in the centre of the room, with comfy chairs and bean bags surrounding it. There was a table of her own, a small staircase for Isolt and her bed. The third floor was her bedroom. Half the cone shaped roof was her own. The ceiling, again in glass let her see the setting sun. There was a futon on the ground rather than a grand bed with drapes. The futon was covered in cushions, and there were shelves all around the room for books and her belongings in the future. There was also a closet for her future selection of clothes.
It was identical on the other side of the tower, though there was one clear difference. Her side of the interior was green, whilst Harry's side was red.
Sensing her question, Tom began to explain. "You see, after we realised that Harry was going to be born, we thought that one of you will be a definite Gryffindor and the other a Slytherin. I know that's biased, and it's just a silly little argument Lily and I had, so if there's a favourite colour you have, I'll change it immediately!" She smiled in response but looking at the interior and reminding herself of the great outdoors, she had decided.
"My favourite colour used to be blue, but now I know that it's definitely green! So you don't need to change anything daddy!" Tom sighed in relief.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I am sure! Also, who are they?" She pointed at the mysterious creatures of magic she had never set her eyes upon before.
"They are our house elves dear."
"But are we allowed to force them to do our jobs?"
"Well, that apparently is what they live for..."
"Really? Does that mean you're really good at cooking? Cleaning? Fixing?" She asked.
"Yes mistress Camellia. All of house elves are trained since born."
"Can you teach me?"
"What!? A house elf!? Teach their master!?" She exclaimed dragging down her face in horror.
"You wish to be a housewife or something Mellie?"
"Oh no. I wish to just have useful skills. It may help me somehow in the future. I have no plans on staying at home after marriage. I'll be working just as much as whoever my husband may be!"
"But mistress wants to learning from Bunkun!?" The she-elf, now discovered as Bunkun asked.
"Yes! From all of the elves! I have one week until school! And I have nothing else to do other than catching up with magical and normal knowledge, which you can teach me, and getting to know daddy, and exploring Riddle Manor."
"Then I understand. Bunkun and the rest of the house elves shall do their best to teach mistress Camellia!"
"Don't call me Mistress... You are all far older than me, it sounds weird."
"Then what shall we call you?"
"Mellie or Camellia will do fine!!!"
And so. For the rest of the remaining week, Camellia learnt as much as she could on housework, her father, her family history and magic. She, similarly to her father, spent most of the time in the main and personal library, reading and memorising everything which managed to fit into her small head.
Though in the middle of the week, Tom had a surprise for her.
"Camellia darling, today, I've called over the three boys I was talking about. Neville, Ronald and Draco?"
"Oh really!? Why? Not that I mind of course..."
"Yes. I just thought that you would be bored of just our company. They'll leave tomorrow, but they should be arriving in a few minutes."
"How?"
"By floo of course." As soon as he said those words, the fireplace shone green, and yells were heard as three boys tumbled out. They were sooty from top to bottom, shiny green powder littering their skin and clothes. They were on top of each other like piles as they groaned.
"Are you alright!?" Camellia rushed forward.
"Fine, fine." The boys stood up, brushing the dust off.
One had brown hair, then a red headed one, then a platinum blond.
"Draco! How are you!?"
"Other than the fact that I was squashed by two other guys, fine. Wait, Neville? Ron? What are you doing here?"
"I heard from mum that there's a girl who's in our year, and on mister Riddle's side, like we are."
"Same. Gran told me that she was Harry Potter's twin."
"What! That nutter has a twin?" Draco exclaimed.
"Draco! Harry's my twin!"
"Then you're that girl?"
"I thinking introductions are needed. I'm Tom Riddle. In some people's words, Voldemort or He-who-must-not-be-named, or even You-Know-Who."
"I'm Camellia Riddle. Daughter of Tom and Lily Riddle. Twin sister of Harry Potter. Though that last one is a secret okay?" They nodded, and first Draco started.
"Sir, Harry's your son?"
"Not legitimately, Mellia'll explain it to you when she's comfortable." Tom gestured to Camellia.
"You all should know, considering how two of you are my friends from a young age, and the other two, I met recently, but I'm Draco Malfoy. Son of Narcissa Malfoy and a stupid father called Lucius." Tom narrowed his eyes with a hint of suspicion.
"You shouldn't say that! He's your father isn't he?"
"You don't know Camellia. He hurts mum..." Draco looked down. Tom was furious. Narcissa was like his little sister, and was best friends with Severus and Lily. Camellia hugged him as the other two boys side hugged him.
"Well, I'm Ron Weasley. Only my mum, dad, and two older brothers, Fred and George, with my two eldest brothers, along with my little sister Ginny know about me being friends with Draco, so that's a secret I must ask you to keep... My third eldest brother is on Fumbledore's side."
"I thought his name was Dumbledore?"
"It is, just that he's so old, he fumbles with everything lately..."
"How many brothers do you have?" Camellia was the one asking all the questions. She loved learning about new people, and surprisingly, no one felt awkward about talking about their family with her.
"I have five. Bill, the eldest, who works for a branch of Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Charlie, who works in Romania with dragons. Then Fumbledore-lover, Percy, who's prefect of Gryffindor. Then the twins Fred and George. Then me, and my youngest sister, Ginny, the only girl."
"Wow! Must be very eventful at your house then!"
"You could say that."
"Well, I'm Neville Longbottom. I don't have siblings, and my parents have been stuck in the wizarding hospital, St.Mungo's, because of certain reasons..." He looked down, and he gasped when he felt arms around him, hugging him tightly. A red head bobbed around as Camellia tried to lift the boy's spirits. He was reminded of the time he visited the burrow.
"Now, since the introductions are done, why don't you go to the garden or the library to play?"
"Thank you daddy!" The four children ran outside, grabbing their wands as they cast hexes at each other as a prank.
That was where their friendship had started.
One day and a half did them well, and soon there were no secrets between them. Even within those few hours, Camellia matured, using slightly more sophisticated language, due to Draco, learned more on magic and traditions from Ron, who learned far more because of his older brothers, and learnt of school and how their families were connected to Dumbledore and reasons for hating him, from Neville.
They learnt of the truth behind Harry, and the abuse by Lucius, the lies from Percy and the torture of Neville's parents.
Tom smiled as he found the four all bound together, limbs tangled and intertwined with each other. He brought them to the guest rooms, and decided to let her sleep together with them just for the night.
~oOo~
"Camellia! I've packed your trunk! Oh Bunkun will miss you ever so much!" The head house elf cried.
"Don't worry Bunkun. I'll come home for Christmas. Besides, you're an elf, if you want to, you can secretly meet me at Hogwarts." She whispered,and though Tom heard her stage whisper, he didn't say anything, noticing the mischievousness from Lily inside her.
"Oh thank you very much Camellia! Ooh!"Bunkun immediately put her hands to her mouth and giggled, remembering that it was a secret.
"Shall we go to King's Cross Station then?"
"Yes daddy! Oh I'll miss this place. I'll miss you, Nagini, Bunkun, the library, the manor... Everything"
The grey russian blue cat jumped onto her shoulders and they were off... To what felt like a great adventure.