TRIGGER WARNING: this is so much fluff i want to puke
oh, and unhealthy relationships near the end...oops?

"you should call draco"

—

"OUR mother was a witch," Elijah explained to Eden, sitting next to her with one hand in her hair in the hotel room on the bed.

Nik was fiddling with his phone, head resting on her lap, her hands running through his curls.

"An ancestral witch?" Eden questioned, and Niklaus nodded in confirmation.

"She's the one who cursed me," he informed her. "And cursed us all, really. Our parents were terrified of losing us after our little brother died."

"Henrik," Eden replied, the name slipping out before she could stop it. "I remember that name."

A beat of silence fell over the trio before Elijah spoke again. "Yes," he confirmed. "And after losing Henrik, they were terrified to lose us. Mother created the curse to grant us immortality."

"Ancestral magic is passed down," Eden recalled from lessons in Care of Magical Creatures. "Did any of you have magic?"

"Kol," they said together, exchanging a look.

"He loved it," Nik added. "He was devastated when vampirism took it from him. And he's a ripper, like Stefan. His rage is...brutal."

"That's sad," Eden sympathized. "I can't imagine losing my magic, especially if I'd known it my entire life."

Elijah brushed a tendril of hair behind her ear. "Kol will enjoy your company, I think," he commented. "He's very...humorous. The closest would be George and Draco in the same body."

Eden tried to picture the combination but without the missing pieces of the past year and her supposed friendship with Draco, she couldn't put it together completely.

"Interesting," she responded, and Nik pressed a kiss to her palm. "Do you guys think Stefan and Bekah are eh-eh-eh-eh," she made creaking noises with her mouth like a bed and they both grimaced.

"Stop it," Nik groaned. "I don't need — stop it."

"We've caught Rebekah enough with former suitors that we're scarred enough without additional imagery," Elijah added. "Especially not with Stefan."

"I'm glad he's happy," Eden sighed softly. "It was hard watching him pine after Elena."

"Well, she's dead now," Nik shrugged, closing his eyes. "Now he can be happy with our sister and all's well."

Elijah and Eden exchanged a look.

"Niklaus, are you unaware?"

"Of what?" Nik asked, leaning into Eden's touch.

"Elena's alive, puppy," Eden moved her hand as Nik shot into a seated position, his eyes dark. "I saved her after you killed her. She did technically die, but with a healing spell that Draco and I spent weeks—" her eyes widened. "I called him Draco."

Both men looked at her with hopeful eyes. "Remember anything else about him?" Nik asked, pushing aside his frustrations for the moment.

Eden thought for a moment and then shook her head "No, but...he helped me save Elena. That has to count for something, right?"

"Of course it—"

"I'd like a bit of elaboration on that bit," Nik looked between the two. "Why wasn't I informed she was still alive?"

Eden shrugged. "I got kidnapped," she offered. "And I couldn't remember anything until a few weeks ago, that makes me less in trouble?"

Nik sighed, narrowing his eyes on her before moving up and pressing a kiss to her head. "Not mad, love, just figured out the reason behind our hybrid problem." He looked to Elijah. "Elijah, why didn't you inform me of the doppelgänger's status?"

Elijah frowned. "I truly thought you were aware brother. Your curse broke and she technically died."

"But now my hybrids won't turn," Nik grumbled, leaning back onto Eden's stomach. "Do you think I'll have to kill her again?"

"Try it and I'll cut your dick off," Eden bopped his head lightly with her hand. "That's my niece, Nik."

Nilaus grumbled to himself, sighing. "I just want to make my hybrids," he whined. "Why is everything so hard?"

"Oh, cry me a river," Elijah mocked, rolling his eyes.

—

Eden stuffed herself into a dark red dress, zipping it up from the back.

"Bex," she called over the stall. "Can you zip this for me?"

"I can," Nik's voice sounded over the stall and Eden rolled her eyes.

"Brother, control yourself," Elijah countered.

Eden smiled softly to herself, staring at her reflection in the mirror. From the chest up she was pretty. Her face and hair — which had grown quite a bit the past few months, now coming to her mid-back, she'd have to cut it soon — but her arms were a problem.

She'd stopped bandaging her forearms a week ago and the scars were glamored from Muggles, but that didn't stop Eden from seeing them. Or Nik or Elijah.

Eden looked down at the newer one, tracing the word. How strange that it had been months ago now since her kidnapping. They were entering the middle of July and she'd been kidnapped in May. She could still only remember bits and pieces of the past year, but she was proud of herself, nonetheless.

She missed Harry often.

While she loved spending time with Nik, Elijah, Stefan and now Rebekah, she missed her best friend.

Eden wanted to plan a trip to see him, but the guilt still gnawed at her when she thought of Teddy and James.

Either way, his birthday was in two weeks, so Eden would have to visit him. She'd never missed a birthday and she certainly wouldn't start now.

"Eden," Rebekah knocked at the door lightly. Eden opened it and let the vampire in. Rebekah looked her over, smiling at her appearance. "You look lovely. That dress is a bit short, but I think my brothers will enjoy it. Here," she zipped Eden up and pat her shoulders. "Let's show our boys how good we look, yeah?"

Eden nodded, a smile pulling at her lips. She and Rebekah hadn't spent too much time together yet; but she wanted to make an effort. And Rebekah was easy to love. She was intelligent and caring and funny.

And she made Stefan so happy.

"So, women in the twenty-first century dress like prostitutes, then," Rebekah remarked, stepping out of the stall first, dressed in a short low-cut black dress with a high belt. "At least Eden pulls it off."

"Well, I was born in this century," Eden shrugged, looking at Elijah and Nik, who had their eyes glued on her figure.

The dress was tight, showing her curves and accentuating the parts of her body Eden could confidently mark as desirable. It was low-cut and Dolohov's scar across her collarbone and chest was obvious but had faded to slightly raised skin.

After Elijah declared that he loved that scar in particular because of the way goosebumps rose to her skin the first time he'd made love to her — when he described it very precisely in the car — she stopped hating it as much.

"I'm buying you that one," Nik's eyes trailed over her figure. "If it were up to me, you'd wear that every day."

Rebekah gave her a knowing look and put a hand on her hip. "Stefan?"

Stefan was watching Rebekah hungrily, then sped in front of her and pushed a piece of her hair back. "You're not a prostitute, you look incredible."

Eden smiled softly as Rebekah grinned up at Stefan, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before dragging Eden back into the stall.

—

The five made their way to a pizza joint, after Eden begged them to get deep-dish pizza so both she and Rebekah could try it. Begrudgingly, the men obliged, though Nik grumbled about needing to make hyrbids and stopping was pointless.

(Eden told him he should enjoy the time with his family, soulmate, and best friend and he went quiet after that.)

They'd decided not to use Gloria, Nik and Elijah trying to find a way to create more hybrids without Elena's death being the root of it.

Eden munched on the pizza, sat in between both vampires, while Stefan and Rebekah sat on the other side.

"So, who is this Elena?" Rebekah asked casually. Too casually. Stefan and Eden exchanged a look.

"Rebekah," Stefan started hesitantly. "Keep in mind that I couldn't remember you."

Rebekah's eyes narrowed. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"It's complicated," Stefan winced. "I swear, she's — she's Eden's niece and I did love her, but I think she's with my brother now, or she will be, and anyway, you're my soulmate."

Eden blinked, mouth wide open, looking between the two, pizza hanging over her hand, threatening to fall into her lap. Elijah took it from her so it wouldn't fall and placed it on the plate.

Eden smiled at the visual of Elijah, in his fancy suit, eating pizza. He somehow made it look proper. He was so cute.

"She's your what?" Eden asked. "I didn't think two vampires could be soulmates."

"They can't," Elijah confirmed. "But we all have dormant witch blood, from our mother. Rebekah never tapped into it, just as Niklaus and I failed to do the same. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"Similar to how you have magic, but if, god forbid, something happened to you," Rebekah continued, gesturing to Eden. "That resulted in you dying, and coming back a vampire, that magic would still be dormant. You couldn't wield it, but it still exists. Elijah's your soulmate through magic, and Stefan is mine."

"But Stefan doesn't have magic," Eden's eyebrows furrowed.

"And humans can have soulmates," Niklaus countered. "So long as they're magical. Our family is special, we're the Originals. We have a stronger connection to...everything. And that includes the dormant magic."

"Huh," Eden responded, taking another bite of her pizza. "Hermione is going to love this conversation."

"I already told her," Nik shook his head. At Eden's baffled look, he shrugged. "We have conversations, she's always coming up with questions about me and our family."

"You're friends with my friends?" Eden asked dubiously, a smile pulling at her lips. "I know Elijah is, we've spent time with them, but you talk to them?"

"Only Granger," Nik shook his head. "Although, Ginny has a certain charm to her."

"You're friends with my female friends," Eden snorted. "You get on better with them than my male friends, don't you?"

"I get along with all of your friends," Elijah pointed out. "Regardless of preferred gender."

"Harry likes Elijah more," Eden pointed out. "But I don't think he properly knows you. He only told me that when James was born, and Elijah was left with the rest of the lot."

She blinked.

"Oh Merlin," her eyes filled with surprised tears. "I remember meeting James."

Everyone broke into smiles at her words and both Elijah and Nik pressed a kiss to her cheeks, and Eden quickly sent an all-caps message to Harry, who responded immediately with a "took you long enough bon" which made her laugh.

Gods, Eden was happy.

—

Eden leaned against Elijah as Nik drove, Stefan and Rebekah driving in the moving truck behind them. They were heading back to Mystic Falls, to find answers on why Elena's death hadn't created more Hybrids.

They'd bounced ideas off of one another but none of them could properly figure it out.

Niklaus wanted to compel someone to drive the moving truck, but Elijah asked Stefan and Rebekah to do so instead. The other coffins were in the back of the truck, coming with them to Mystic Falls, and he didn't want anything to happen to them.

Eden thought it was sweet.

Sprawling her legs out on the seat, Eden put her head in Elijah's lap, letting him gently run his hands through her hair. She pulled out her phone and texted some of her friends in Europe, and then sent a message to her sister, explaining she'd be home soon and had a ton to talk to her about.

She was nervous about seeing Jenna again. As her relationship with Nik blossomed, she feared Jenna would be upset with her choosing to be with someone that killed their niece.

But as her eyes met Nik's when he glanced back at her, sending a small, dimpled smile, she realized she couldn't find it in her to truly regret it.

"I need to practice occlumency again," Eden spoke up, pressing a kiss to Elijah's palm as it traced her skin. "I know you both can't compel me, and I doubt your sister ever would, but on the off chance we come across other vampires and you both aren't with me...plus, it helped me the first go-around with Dolohov. It's been ages since I practiced."

"You should call Draco," Elijah suggested softly. As Eden opened her mouth to protest, he gently continued. "I understand how you feel about him, but he's a gifted Occlumens."

Eden rolled her eyes, biting the inside of her lip. "I don't like him."

"It may help you sort through memories," Nik added from the front seat. "I read that recently, your memory loss is tricky, but Occlumency can help you identify false memories from real ones and deduce which and when and where you're missing the originals. And in doing so with Draco, you may find them more quickly."

Eden hated the logic in that statement.

"Since when are you an expert on memory loss?" Eden frowned.

"Since you were affected by it in St. Mungo's," Nik answered easily, taking a right turn. "I can't compel your memories back and we'd never trust someone else in your head, so I've read up on the magical ways for you to get them back. It's all theoretical, but...you're extraordinary, love, and if anyone can beat the trauma of a cruciatus curse, it's you."

Eden watched his figure from her place in Elijah's lap, a rush of adoration and gratefulness pouring through her.

"I'm so happy I have you both," Eden whispered, tearing up.

Nik smiled, glancing back at her, and Elijah grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"We're happy too, drottningin mín."

—

"You bought a house," Eden blinked, standing in front of the large white mansion. Columns and windows lined the property, with a wrap-around porch and a long driveway. "Are we all meant to live in it?'

"If you'd like," Elijah nodded, standing next to her as Nik pulled her against his chest. "We bought it for the family, but we'd prefer you stay with us."

"We've been paying your flat bills, though, if you'd like to stay there," Nik added as Eden's eyes widened. Rebekah and Stefan passed them, walking into the house with a shared laugh. "It's not finished, we have to fix it up."

"But you fixed us," Elijah looked down at her. "We'd love your assistance in ensuring it's perfect for our family."

"Can I live at my place for now?" Eden asked softly. "And...and help fix it and then when it's ready...?"

"Of course," Nik pressed a kiss to her temple. "We asked Harry to fix up the floo here too, though, just in case."

Eden turned, cupping the side of his face and pulling his lips down to hers. A chuckle sounded next to her — Elijah was amused by her display of affection, as though she wouldn't just kiss him in a minute, too — and Nik smiled against her, kissing her softly.

"What's that for?" He asked quietly when she pulled away.

"Just because," Eden pulled away from him, pressing a kiss to Elijah's cheek as she passed and then heading into the house. At the top of the stairs, she placed her hands on her hips, sending the lovestruck vampires a cheeky smile.

"You two coming?"

—

Eden and Stefan entered the school, equally furious looks on their faces.

"Can you hear him?" Eden asked, glancing to her friend.

Stefan stopped for a moment, then nodded, heading to the right. "Gymnasium," he scoffed. "I thought he was going to go about this the right way. I thought you made him all goody-goody or whatever."

"I'm not trying to change him," Eden shrugged. "I don't mind at all when he kills people, and sometimes I think it's kind of hot, but my niece? Again? Has he learned nothing?"

Stefan laughed hollowly, then looked at Eden nervously. "I saw Elena," he confessed. "The night at Gloria's. She and Damon came, tried to get me to come back. It was before I got Rebekah back and...now it's all messy."

"Aw," Eden teased with a smile. "You're so nervous, it's adorable. Elena will be fine," Eden rolled her eyes. "She has your brother and how far would that relationship go, anyway? You're a vampire, she's only eighteen, with no plans of changing her mortality status." Eden shrugged. "It'll hurt, but she'll be alright." She nudged Stefan. "You deserve happiness, and I love Bex."

Stefan smiled down at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and tugging her into a half-hug. He let out a small laugh. "When I first met you, this is not how I thought our relationship would go."

Eden laughed with him. "You mean, us dating three siblings from the same family and by extension becoming family?"

"Exactly."

"I like it," Eden smiled up at him. "You're a pretty good brother."

Stefan squeezed her, his smile meeting his eyes. "I never had a sister, though Damon's dramatic enough to be one," at Eden's laugh, he pulled back and ruffled her hair. "You have more adopted siblings than you need with all your European friends, but I'm proud to be the honorary American sibling."

"Come on," Eden rolled her eyes fondly, pulling him into the gym, and crossing her arms when she spotted Nik and Rebekah tormenting her niece. "Seriously?" She raised her eyebrows. "This is what we're doing? You know we had plans for a Lord of the Rings marathon, and instead you decide to do this."

"It's not great," Stefan added. "Elijah's cleaning up the mess you both left in your haste to get over here."

"He's pissed," Eden nodded her head. "Can confirm, he will probably yell at you both for an hour, and the only reason he isn't here to stop you is because he's telling Ric and Jenna what you two idiots are planning."

"Watch it," Rebekah snapped, then looked between Elena — who was staring at Stefan hopefully — and Stefan. "I have to teach her a lesson."

"About what?" Stefan asked with raised eyebrows. "She's my ex, Rebekah, just drop it. She's Eden's niece, the last thing she needs is to lose someone else."

"Quiet," Nik snapped, glaring at them all. "I'm making my hybrids and—"

"—Not if it means killing Elena, and how do you even know it's the right—"

"—Unless you have a better idea, love, this is how it's got to be—"

"—Who are those two?" Eden asked, pointing to a pair of teenagers, one who was crying on one foot, the other looking at her nervously. "Nik, are you torturing innocents again?" Her eyes found Caroline and Bonnie sitting next to an unmoving Tyler Lockwood. "Niklaus Mikaelson," she stormed up to him, glaring at him. "What is that?" She pointed to Tyler. "You saw what happened last time and—"

"—I saw you in pain, and I'm not putting you through that again. We've got a week to figure it out and I'm not going to—"

"—I'd rather be in pain than have Caroline in pain. That's George's girl."

"Wait, what?" Caroline asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Nik and Eden said together.

"You're being wholly uncooperative," Nik scowled down at her.

"Geez, they have weird foreplay," Stefan remarked, taking a seat next to Rebekah. "They've been like this all summer."

"Shut up, Stefan!" They snapped, and then stared at each other angrily.

"Stop doing that," Eden's eyes narrowed. "I'm furious with you."

"I don't actually care, love—"

"—What is going on with you?" Eden asked, crossing her arms. "You storm back into Mystic Falls and put on the big bad hybrid act, when in reality, you don't want to hurt Elena and —"

"—And let's say I don't kill your friends because you asked nicely," He began, speeding to Elena and holding her in a chokehold. "Sorry, love, changed my mind as I said it, I'm doing it anyway."

"What is wrong with you?" Eden asked, looking at him with a hurt expression. "This is what you're doing, really? We're back to square one, as if this summer hasn't happened. As if we all haven't moved past it—"

"—I'm going to get my hybrids!" Nik shouted over her, tightening his grip on Elena. "Tell you what, Eden, you figure it out, and no one dies. You don't, I'll kill everyone in this room that I don't fancy."

Eden's face hardened. "Let go of Elena."

"Tyler will live through the transition," Nik directed his attention to a crying, confused Caroline. "Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments, and what-not," he told Bonnie. "I'll hold on to Elena for safe-keeping," his eyes met Eden's. "Sound like a plan, sweetheart?"

Eden shook her head in disbelief at the man before her. What was wrong with him? He'd been soft and doting and sweet all summer but the second they step back into Mystic Falls, he's villainous again? It felt like a complete turnaround, and it made her feel nauseas.

Eden pulled out her phone and pressed the first number on speed-dial, giving Niklaus a knowing look and pressing it to her ear. "Bring me my wand," she asked him. "Klaus is trying to kill everyone."

His face morphed into one of shock, and mild confusion at her words, and she knew exactly why.

All summer, he'd been Nik to her.

But if he wanted to dismiss his humanity and kill the people she loved without warranty and forget all the progress they'd made — she could do the same.

—

hehe...oops? but i PROMISE there's a reason for him acting like this, just stick with it. we're so close to getting the rest of the originals and eden's getting her mems back soon and then mikaelson ball UGH things are good. okay byeyeeeyee