QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE, THEN THE STORY!

Okay, so before reading this, you need to know a few things. First, Elena never existed. It goes by the television TVD, not books. Brooke and Stefan may seem flirty with each other at first, but that's over before the end of this chapter. The love triangle will be her, Damon, and George. There's not much about that in this chapter, but plenty in the next, so please read. Any questions, just please ask me. Also, it starts with the TVD pilot, then kind of jumps to Episode 5. Feel free to PM me suggestions! Enjoy and remember that reviews mean updates!

Chapter 1

September 1, 2011

Dear Diary,

Well, I turned 18 years old a month ago yesterday. And now I'm going to muggle high school for the first time in my life. Today should be interesting. It's also going to be different. I'm going to make my life different today. I'm going to smile at people I don't know, and tell the few that I do know that I'm fine. I'm not going to be that depressing girl with the scar who kept losing her loved ones. I'm going to start fresh, and be a new person. That's the only way to get through all of this.

-Brooke

I put my pen down on my nightstand, closed my journal, and placed it adjacent to the writing utensil. Standing up from where I was leaning against the headboard of my bed, I took a few long strides over to my mirror, where I eyed myself carefully.

I was Brooke Gilbert. Or, Brooke Potter? I used to be Brooke Potter, but I still shared some physical similarities with the person I was. I was still nearly six feet tall. I had my long, wavy, raven black hair. I had pale skin, and bright green eyes. I had a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on my forehead, but it had began fading at the start of my sixth year at Hogwarts.

But I wouldn't think about that. About the people there. For now, I had to adapt to this life. The one I was meant to live.

Back to the point, the lightning bolt scar wasn't even noticeable anymore, allowing me to ditch the bangs I had on my forehead and pull some hair off my eyes. I did, however, always wear it down, to hide the fresh scar I received just four months earlier. The long, ugly, line running up and down the right side of my face, just off my hairline.

Realizing it was showing, I ran my fingers through my dark locks, and they adjusted over the scar.

Much better.

Now dressed in non-heeled brown cowgirl boots, and a rose-pink and black dress, I made my way down the stair towards the kitchen towards Jenna and Jeremy.

"Hey, how about toast? That's something I know how to make!" suggested Aunt Jenna. She looked as if she were ready to pull her hair out.

"It's all good, Aunt Jenna. The only thing that actually matters is the coffee," I responded, pouring myself a paper cup of the drink. Jenna looked relieved that she didn't need to worry about cooking at the moment. I turned to face the sound of another entering the room.

"We have coffee?" asked Jeremy, strutting into the room, dressed in his baggy jeans, emo-rock band t-shirt, and black hoodie. He ran a hand through his messy, light brown hair, and poured himself some coffee after I handed him the pot. I know I'd only met Jeremy a few months earlier, but he was my little brother, and I was worried about this 'phase,' he was going through, as Jenna had put it.

Speaking of Jenna, she'd left already, muttering something about being late for a meeting about a thesis. I hoped she'd get there on time. I didn't want her late because of us.

Returning my attention to Jeremy, I stood at eye-level with him, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Rolling his eyes, he responded with, "Don't even start," before grabbing his coffee, and leaving the room. I sighed in frustration, leaning against the counter top, thinking back to just over 3 months ago.

3 and a Half Months Ago

"I'm so sorry that you had to come and get me," I spoke in the tensionless car to my long-lost parents. I was such a git. I'd gotten lost in my new town of Mystic Falls, and had to call Greyson and Miranda to come get me.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," responded my newfound father.

"Your dad's right. You're new to this town, to this country! No one's expecting you to know your way around after just a week. And besides, we're your parents. When you need help we're at your side. It's our job." She'd said it having turned around in her seat to face me with a motherly smile.

I supposed she was right. I had only been there a week. But it was still embarrassing. Mystic Falls was a small town, and I couldn't figure out my way around it.

After leaving the Weasley's and Hermione, I'd set out to figure out what the hell was going on, and why a dumb piece of paper was telling me my parents were not Lily and James Potter. It was very strange. I'd just kind of showed up on the Gilberts' porch, and when they'd opened the door, all I could say was, "Hi, there. Um, I'm Brooke, and I just wanted to find out if you knew anything about why my birth certificate says that you're my parents."

Miranda had gasped, gripping her husband's arm. Greyson only stared back in shock. After a few more moments of this, he'd invited me inside to sit down and talk, and we'd work everything out after a few hours.

It had turned out that Lily and James Potter were looking for someone's followers (deatheaters, alright?) in America when I'd been born by the Gilberts. Lily was injured, having been cursed by one of the followers, and Greyson had found she and her husband. He decided to take them in and help them, but when he couldn't assess her injuries, she and James had to explain everything to Miranda and Greyson. The four of them came to the conclusion that the deatheaters believed Lily and James to be dead after the encounter. Greyson and Miranda had then revealed to the other couple that they, too, were mixed up with some 'bad guys.' There was a supernatural force, unknown, coming for their newborn baby. Lily and James had shared a knowing look, and both offered to watch over the baby. At first, Miranda protested, but Greyson saw the point they were getting to. It had all made sense. The force looking for the Gilbert baby, or, me, wouldn't know where the baby was, and the Potters were thought to be dead. If they took the baby home with them, it would be safe. And besides, they'd always wanted a child, but couldn't raise one while they were being hunted. Since that was no longer an issue, an agreement was made. The Gilberts would give me to the Potters, so that I could be kept safe.

I wanted to cry. So Lily and James weren't my parents. It was by coincidence that I had her eyes. And I was not the half-blood witch I'd thought I was. I was muggle-born. Not that there was anything wrong with that. It all just came as a shock.

After they'd shared their side of the story with me, I'd went on to share mine. I told them of how just over a year after the Potters adopted me, word had gotten out that they were actually alive, and Voldemort (who I also explained to them), came to the new home in Godric's Hollow to kill them, as well as I. I told them everything from my destroying Voldemort as a baby and being sent to my aunt and uncle, to finding out I was witch and starting at Hogwarts, to spending seven years working my way up to end Voldemort once and for all.

When all was said and done, Miranda and Greyson had thrown their arms around me and began apologizing for letting me leave all those years ago. They promised that nothing would separate us again. They also informed me that they knew how much the Potters loved me, from the way I spoke of them. Then they introduced me to my little brother, Jeremy, who was not so little. Jeremy, who we'd decided before hand, would have no knowledge of this magical world. I'd told them I would no longer use magic, since it seemed to always get people hurt, and I wasn't going to let that happen to them.

Back to what was happening in the car, I'd noticed we were now driving over Wickery Bridge, which I'd grown quite fond of in my time there. That was, until, something when wrong, and the car drove straight off of it, killing my parents, who I'd known for only a week.

I'd woken up on the shore, surrounded by paramedics, perfectly fine.

Present

Awoken out of my daydream by the horn of a car beeping, I grabbed my bookbag, and ran outside to meet Bonnie, one of the few friends I'd made since coming to Mystic Falls.

~stoppingtosmellroses~

Bonnie was rattling on about how she was probably a witch.

If only she knew.

"Brooke!" I turned to face her after staring out the window for a few minutes. "Back in the car!" She smiled at my blank expression.

"Sorry, Bonnie, I zoned out again. You were telling me about Heath Ledger, or something?" I said, shaking my previous thoughts out of my head.

Her grin continued to glow. "Yes, I'm psychic. But that's not what matters right now. What matters is that, with the exception of Matt, Caroline, Tyler, and myself, you know no other person in the student body. And they are going to tear you apart with that jolly good accent," she joked.

I laughed in return. "Okay, I think if they could deal with it, everyone else could, too. Besides, it's lessened since I came here."

Our good time was interrupted when she stopped short after a crow hit the windshield. We both shrieked.

"Brooke, are you okay?" she asked me with concern.

"I'm fine," I responded hesitantly. It wasn't like I was afraid of cars. The truth was, I just hadn't fancied them since they'd killed my loving new parents after I'd just met them.

Bonnie sat back in her seat, and, after sighing in relief, began driving towards school again. After a few minutes, she spoke up.

"With my psychic powers, I am declaring that I know that senior year is going to be kick-ass! Especially with you around!" she exclaimed with a smile.

~stoppingtosmellroses~

It was a while later that we were at our lockers, and Caroline had stood slightly on her toes and engulfed me in a hug, asking how I was doing as if I weredying.

"You saw me last week at the grill, Caroline," I said when she asking if I was dealing with everything alright.

"I know, it's just that all that happened before the summer, plus it's you're first time in an American high school, I though you might be stressed. But I guess you're doing just fine! See you guys later!" she finished with a perky smile, before strutting away.

Bonnie and I turned to each other. "No comment," was all I said, and by the way Bonnie was laughing, I felt like I was already doing a pretty good job at fitting in. We shut our lockers, and started towards our homerooms.

~stoppingtosmellroses~

It was now two nights later, and I was taking a stroll with Stefan Salvatore. I'd met him three times before hand. First, in the men's room. But that was a whole other story, having to do with Jeremy and his idiotic need to destroy his body with drugs. Second, in the graveyard, where freaky fog had appeared out of nowhere, and I'd run into him after tripping. What had happened next was even weirder. He couldn't look at me after he'd seen the blood on my leg, and out of nowhere, disappeared. Normally, I'd blame it on magic. But I was trying so hard not to jump to that conclusion. Besides, all wizarding schools were in session at this time of the year, so no one around my age would be using magic. The third time I'd met Stefan was when he showed up at my door, returning my diary to me. He was so sweet, saying that he'd never read another person's thoughts, their memories.

And now, we were walking away from the party neither of us wanted to be at, and he was asking about my mysterious demeanor after I'd questioned him about his.

"It's not exactly party talk," I'd told him, not wanting to bring up a subject to lie about.

"I'm not into party talk, if that's okay." He smiled warmly at me.

"Alright, but you asked for it," I warned him. He chuckled lightly. "A few months ago, I met my real family after living my whole life with my adoptive aunt and uncle in England, hence the dumb accent. I was new to this town, just like you, I guess, and I got lost, so they had to come pick me up. While my father was driving, something happened, and our car went over Wickery Bridge and into the lake. They died. I didn't. I'd only known them for a week. And that's it." I was no longer looking him in the eye. What I'd said was all he needed to know. I couldn't go revealing the magical world to muggles.

As I kept on walking, I realized that he'd stopped. Turning around to face him, I saw him take a small step closer to me, and, holding my hand, say, "You won't feel like this forever, Brooke."

"Oh, I don't think you understand the whole story," I chuckled, looking down at my shoes.

"But I'm sure I will in time." I looked up at him curiously. "I want to get close to you. I want know more about you. And I want you to know that the accent isn't dumb. I like it."

Looking back at him, I pulled my hand out of his, and said hesitantly, "Thanks, but I'm not looking for a relationship or anything like that right now." This had just gotten awkward, and now I couldn't help but think of George. Great.

"Neither am I!" He immediately cleared up. "I'm sorry. I should have worded that better. I meant I want us to be friends. I'm just getting over an ex, and it's really weird how much you look like her, minus the eyes. I just think that you seem like a really cool person, and I think we'd be great friends."

"Oh, wow," I spoke, relieved. "I feel stupid. But, okay, yeah, I think we'd be great friends, too." I was smiling now.

"Great," he grinned back. We started back towards the party, After a few minutes, he asked, "Is that how you got the scar? The accident?"

My hand immediately shot up to my forehead, not realizing that the faded lightning bolt wasn't what Stefan was talking about. When I did, I ran my fingers up and down the fresh one that my hair was supposed to be covering. Then I began t fix my hair, hiding the wound once more. "Um, no, I got that a while earlier, in England. That's a story you're definitely not hearing for a while."

"I'm sorry if my asking made you uncomfortable. The breeze blew your hair off your face before, so I asked." He looked apologetic.

"It's no problem. Really," I said, trying to help him from feeling bad. It was hard considering that the question had struck a nerve, bringing back the memory of jumping off the astronomy tower, locked onto Voldemort.

We talked a little longer, mostly about the people I'd made friends with since coming to Mystic Falls. Then I'd gone home. Jeremy had told me he was getting a ride home from Vicki and Matt. I wasn't worried.

~stoppingtosmellroses~

A few days later, things started to settle down after all the commotion. Some animal had attacked Vicki, as well as other citizens of Mystic Falls. It was getting really weird.

The weirdness had turned to happiness at one point, because I'd finally found someone to share my secret with: Bonnie. It had turned out that she really was a witch, and even though she was just beginning to learn magic, she didn't seem to need a wand.

Maybe it's an American thing.

It was great. I was showing her all the basics, and she was helping me to learn wandless magic. We were both excelling, and I'd told her everything about my life. She was now the one person in town who really knew me. Not even Jenna knew about magic. My parents hadn't told her, and I wasn't intending to either.

One bad thing, however, was that Caroline was having random blackouts, areas of memory where she didn't remember anything. I'd also seen her wounds, all too similar to those of the animal attack victims. And it'd started with her beginning to date Damon Salvatore, Stefan's brother.

When I'd asked Stefan why he seemed so unhappy that his brother was in town, all he's said was that they had bad history. I'd left it at that, figuring he'd tell me eventually. But I wasn't going to lie. I was worried.

It wasn't until Stefan started acting weirdly about certain things, and when I'd done some research that I began to piece together a puzzle about him and Damon.

They didn't grow old.

They never got hurt.

They changed in unexplainable ways.

Bodies were drained of their blood.

If my education at Hogwarts served me correctly, I knew what was going on. They were vampires. It was most definitely magical. But I had to be sure. So that's why I was banging on the Salvatore Boarding house door at 11 at night.

Stefan answered, looking extremely angry, and I could see Damon stand behind him, staring at me like he knew I'd figured something out.

Just as Stefan was about to ask if I was okay, I cut him off, out of breath from running there.

"What the hell are you two?"

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