Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries
Rei lurched forward with a sharp gasp of pain. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes tightly shut; she pressed her fisted hands into her knees as she forced her body to work through the pain. Her breaths were raspy and dry and her chest felt like it was on fire.
Without warning, Rei suddenly threw her head back and screamed at the attic roof.
Why was this so hard?!
She kicked out, hitting the urn that was in front of her, the porcelain shattering loudly under the aggressive force of her attack.
Rei pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes only to fling them away a second later with a lethal look.
This was useless. She knew that she was expecting far too much too soon, but that didn't stop the bitter disappointment she felt when she caught sight of the pencil she'd spent the last two hours trying to levitate with no success. It hadn't moved an inch!
She was being stupid. Expecting her magic to function as it had before the…accident. Her body hadn't even fully recovered from the pain that her week in St Mungo's had put her through. No, this wasn't going to work.
Ignoring the violent protest of her fatigued limbs, Rei pushed herself to her feet and, stumbling approached the bookcase.
Something had to change. She ran her fingers down the spines until she found the one she wanted. Flipping open the dusty cover she ran her eyes over the contents, soaking in the information with interested eyes.
Rei glanced up with a small triumphant smile, closing the book with a snap.
…
"You invited Damon!"
Alaric winced at the look in Jenna's eyes.
"He's a friend?" He said weakly. God, did Damon have to go around pissing everyone off?
"And I have no idea how that happened," Jenna was quick to remark. "Damon's an ass. Do you know that I came home the night of the fire to find-?"
"To find him kissing Elena," Alaric finished for her. "Yeah, you've told me...multiple times now." He mumbled.
She threw him a dirty look; obviously he hadn't been as quiet as he'd thought.
"I've already invited the guy, I can't rescind the invitation." He coaxed, trying to appeal to her sense of decorum if nothing else.
Damon would show up anyway, without or without an invite. The vampire was determined that today would be the day he outed Mason Lockwood as a werewolf.
Jenna rolled her eyes, not fooled in the least by his placating words. "Fine, but he better keep his hands to himself." She warned.
"He will," Alaric promised unconvincingly.
Jenna scoffed loudly before abruptly cutting off, her face adopting a speculative expression.
"You know," She began, a light in her eyes that for some reason Alaric felt very wary of. "Damon's hitting on Elena because he's single, lonely."
He raised his eyebrows at the woman disbelievingly.
"What? It might be that!" She defended.
"Yeah," Alaric drawled.
She waved her hand in the air impatiently, "That's not the point. The point is that we both know someone else who is lonely in town."
He frowned, completely lost. "Who?"
"Rei!"
He was out of his chair and half way across the room before she could blink. "No way!"
"Why not?"
He gave her an incredulous stare, "Jenna, I realise that you're worried about Elena, but I'm not going to allow you to throw Rei to the dogs so that you might sleep more soundly at night!"
She raised her hands in surrender, surprised by the emotion behind his reaction. They'd only known each other for less than a week, why was he being so protective of the black haired girl?
Alaric sighed, "Besides, she already shot Damon down the other night."
Jenna looked up from the salad she was preparing, intrigued. "Really?"
He frowned, "You're surprised?"
"Well, I might hate the guy but I'm not blind, Rick. It's rare for Damon not to get the girl that he wants. It sounds disgusting, I know, but it's a fact."
"You sound impressed," Alaric crossed his arms.
"Any girl that can shoot down Damon Salvatore without second guessing herself has my respect." Jenna grinned and gave him a mock cheer's before swallowing the last of her white wine.
…
Rei pushed open the door of the Grill and stepped inside.
It was busy. Very busy.
Her stomach grumbled at her loudly attracting the attention of a pair of old ladies who were now fixing her with disapproving frowns. Rolling her eyes, she gave them a small salute as she walked past.
"Way to ingratiate yourself with the locals," An amused voice drawled.
She stopped.
"If you're implying that you're on good terms with all of the female seniors in this town Salvatore," She turned to face the grinning man. "I believe you."
"Ooh, ouch." He pressed a hand against his chest dramatically. "Are you always this friendly?"
She looked around hoping to spot a spare table, "Only when I'm hungry." She sighed, there weren't any left.
"Is that an apology for the other night?" He asked cheekily.
Rei finally looked back at Damon and, without another word, invited herself to share the booth he was occupying. When he opened his mouth, no doubt to comment on her lack of manners, she spoke up.
"No, it's not. But I figure inviting myself to sit at your table would make us even. Especially considering you did the exact same thing to me the other night."
"Touché," he smirked.
She rolled her eyes.
"Rei!" She glanced up to see a smiling Matt looking down at her. "What are you doing here?"
"What do all people, pretty or otherwise, come into the Grill for Donovan?" Damon drawled.
Rei shot him a quelling look before looking up at a red Matt with a small smile. "Jenna Summers has told me that the Mystic Grill makes brilliant burgers, would you recommend one in particular?"
She kicked Damon under the table when he let out a loud snort.
"The Beef burgers good," Matt smiled, grateful that she was being so nice and not saying anything about his clumsiness, pretending she didn't notice.
"That sounds great," She nodded once, "I'll just have water with it."
"Don't like soft drink?"
Rei smiled, "Not exactly the stable beverage where I'm from." She very much doubted that they had pumpkin juice in the back.
"Alright then," Matt wrote the order on his small pad, "It shouldn't be more than ten minutes."
Not two seconds after Matt had left hearing range did Damon let out a whine of fake pain, "Did you have to kick me so hard?"
"I'm guessing you're not a fan of Matt's?" She asked, ignoring his pout.
"He's dull," Damon shrugged as if that explained it all.
Rei sat back, "And you're what? A hoot and a half?" The sarcasm in her tone was inescapable.
Damon leaned forward, his lips stretching into a lewd grin as his eyes ran down her sitting figure slowly. "I'm out of this world," He whispered sensually.
…
She burst out laughing. "On Merlin" Raising a shaking hand to her eyes, she'd wiped away the tears that had escaped them. "Does that actually work for you?"
Instead of becoming unbearably flustered and angry with her reaction as most men would, Damon looked at her with genuine interest in his eyes and answered her question.
"Almost always."
"Well then my compliments," Rei nodded at him with amusement.
"So, you know Elena's guardian?" Damon suddenly asked.
Rei frowned at him with confusion, "Who?"
Why did he actually feel surprised that someone in this town didn't know Elena? He shook his head, "Jenna," He explained.
"Alaric introduced us the other day," Rei confirmed.
Damon frowned, "Alaric?"
His surprised voice was interrupted when a shadow fell on them. Rei looked up to see a pretty brunette staring down at them with wariness.
"Damon?" There were copious meanings behind that one warning word.
Rei raised an eyebrow as she watched the supremely confident man blink up at the girl with innocence practically radiating from his eyes.
"Elena." He mimicked her tone perfectly.
Looking between the pair and the staring contest they were having, Rei was inordinately pleased when a bright looking Matt interrupted seconds later.
"Here you go, Rei." Grinning widely, he placed the food laden plate in front of her. "One beef burger."
…
Elena frowned deeply at the smile her ex boyfriend was giving the dark haired girl. "How's Caroline Matt?" She interrupted their small talk with a pointed look.
The quarterback instantly backed off and left with a small goodbye.
"Well you certainly know how to clear an area, I'll give you that." The unknown girl spoke up.
For the first time since she'd walked inside and seen Damon chatting up some girl in the booth, she looked at her.
Elena knew that she was attractive. Very attractive. She'd had the attention and compliments for far too long now to be ignorant of the fact. It wasn't often that she felt challenged by another girl's appearance. Even Caroline, as pretty as she was, always had to spend far more time than Elena did getting ready.
Long, loose black curls framed a blemish free, cream coloured face and piercing green eyes.
Elena coughed, for some reason feeling embarrassed.
"It's a long story." She explained, remembering Matt. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met?" She shot Damon's lounging figure a warning look as she spoke. She didn't want to see yet another woman abused and made into his personal blood bag.
"I'm Rei," The girl smiled at her confidently. "Would you like to join us?"
"It's my table-" Damon piped up.
"Just ignore him," Rei interrupted him with a smirk, not removing her eyes from Elena's steadily warming brown.
Elena didn't know if it was charisma, the girl's obvious poise, or something else, but there was an energy that surrounded the young woman that somehow made her stand out from the crowd.
"I've actually got to get going, but thank you for the offer." The brunette apologised sincerely.
Damon suddenly clapped. "That's my cue." The elder Salvatore grabbed the cake box that was sitting beside him and stood up.
Elena scowled at up at the vampire when he stopped in front of her, an expectant look on his face. "What are you talking about?" She snapped, annoyance virtually steaming off of her.
Rei grabbed a chip, dabbed it into the tomato sauce, before throwing it into her mouth.
"Well, I assume you're headed to the barbecue at your house," He said it like it should have been obvious, only increasing the brunette's ire. "I was invited." He stated importantly.
Elena purposefully turned back around towards Rei, who looked entirely focused on the enormous burger in her hands. "So, you just moved here?" She asked with interest.
"I thought we had to go," Damon complained loudly.
Elena bit her lip to stop the acidic retort on the tip of her tongue from making an appearance. "In a minute," She said tightly.
Looking back at Rei, she flushed when she noticed the black haired girl watching them with wide, shocked eyes.
"Damon's my boyfriend's older brother," She felt the inexplicable urge to somehow explain the strange dynamic that she knew existed between her and the blue eyed vampire.
Rei looked at her sharply, the shock in her eyes surprising Elena. It wasn't that strange, surely. Without reason or warning, her unique green orbs fluttered closed, and Elena, despite still being angry at him, couldn't help exchanging a bewildered look with Damon.
"Rei?" Elena called hesitantly.
The black haired girl shook her head and exhaled with a laugh, "Sorry, yeah, I just moved. Still getting used to the place." Seeming to shake off whatever had momentarily distracted her from the conversation; Rei looked up at the brunette. "I actually met your aunt the other day."
Elena's eyes suddenly lit up with recognition, "Of course! God, she was only telling me about you the other day, you're friends with Mr Saltzman, right?"
This was the girl that her aunt had wanted her to meet! She hadn't been very open to the idea when Jenna had brought it up, her life already felt impossible enough as it was. But when she'd learned how the girl was living all by herself, no parents in the picture, her own circumstances had ensured her sympathy at the very least.
Having now met her, Elena didn't think her aunt's request would be much of a task.
"Alaric?" Rei asked.
"Yeah, he's my history teacher so..."
The black haired girl laughed lightly, though the sound came across as a little strained. "You're lucky, he's nothing like the sorts of teachers I had."
Getting the feeling that she'd somehow upset Rei but not knowing how she possibly could have, Elena just nodded and pretended not to notice.
"Listen, I've got to run, but," She pushed her hair behind her ear, "There's this picnic/clean-up thing going on tomorrow. If you wanted to come, I could introduce you to a couple of my friends, I'm sure they'll love to meet someone that isn't from Mystic Falls." She said hopefully.
Rei bit her lip, her indecision obvious.
"It's supposed to be a fabulous day tomorrow," She coaxed gently.
Jenna had already told her how Rei wasn't going to be going to school, despite being seventeen she'd apparently already graduated. At least this way she could meet some people that were her own age. Rick was great, but Elena was almost certain that he wasn't qualified to converse on all things teenage girl.
"Come on Potter, don't be a loner." Damon teased from beside her.
Rei's back straightened and she levelled the vampire with an unreadable glance. Elena frowned faintly. Sure, she knew Damon could come across as an ass but as far as offensive comments that one was hardly deplorable.
"This, coming from the man that's attending a barbecue that the host's own niece doesn't want him at?" Rei drawled, her eyes narrowed on Damon's shrugging form.
Elena hid her smile of appreciation.
"We're not talking about me," Damon sung. "What's the matter, don't like manual labour princess?"
Seeing the way emerald eyes suddenly sharpened with those words, Elena quickly stepped in. "You don't have to stay for long."
Rei looked between the pair for a long minute, her gaze lingering on Damon.
If Elena hadn't seen the suspicious glint in those green eyes for herself, she'd have thought that the British girl was checking him out. The sheer number of long-lasting glances she'd shot Damon's way in the last five minutes of conversation was almost guaranteed to give anyone watching the impression that she was smitten with the vampire.
"…Sure," Rei nodded slowly.
Elena grinned, "Great! Why don't I pick you up?" She suggested. "This town has so many public parks no one would expect a non-local to find the location."
"Um, you know what?" Rei lifted a finger in the air in a motion to hold on and started rifling through the purse that was resting on the seat beside her. "It's a bit of a trip to find the place so why don't you just text me your address and I'll meet you at your house tomorrow morning?" The words themselves were a suggestion but Elena got the distinct impression that this point wasn't up for debate.
"Sure," Elena agreed easily, watching as the raven haired girl scribbled what she could only assume was her mobile number on a spare bit of paper. "Just come round at about ten." She took the outstretched sheet of paper with a small smile.
"Alright," Damon grinned sarcastically. "Now that that truly boring agenda has been set, we've," He pointed between them. "Got to go."
Worried that Damon's behaviour might have insulted the girl, Elena was pleasantly surprised when she looked across to see Rei staring at them with a blank expression on her face. If she was offended she certainly didn't look it.
"It was nice to meet you, Rei." She glared at Damon. "And thanks for the advice." Perhaps just ignoring him would be best.
"...You too Elena," Rei nodded once before going back to her food, somehow making the brunette feel like she'd just been dismissed.
The vampire made a face at Elena, childishly mocking Rei's cold expression as they turned to leave.
Without warning, Damon suddenly lost his footing and stumbled forward.
He was simply too close to the female waiter that had been in the process of skirting around him to even hope to avoid her. Elena felt her jaw drop as she watched him, Justine and the tray full of drinks she was carrying clatter loudly to the floor, attracting the whole restaurant's attention.
"I told you not to have that last drink, Damon." The soft reprimand seemed loud in the silence that naturally followed such unexpected, loud accidents.
Elena spun around, eyes wide, to see Rei smiling genially down at the glaring vampire.
The constant murmur of voices that characterised the Grill returned rapidly, everyone promptly going back to their own business and meals, but not before Damon was subjected to numerous disapproving glares and tittering comments about his alcohol consumption.
Rushing forward, Elena helped a flustered Justine pick up the empty glasses and beer bottles that had scattered across the floor.
"God, I feel like such an idiot," Justine was bright red in the face and Elena sent her a comforting look even though she was still processing the audaciousness of her new acquaintance.
"Somehow," Elena looked behind her to see Damon now leaning over an unintimidated looking Rei, his blue eyes narrowed with anger. "I don't think that you're to blame, Justine."
Her theory was proved right a second later.
"You tripped me."
Elena watched with worry as Damon leaned closer to the still comfortably eating Rei. God, the black haired girl looked so small with the blue eyed vampire towering over her like that!
Finishing her task as hastily as possible, Elena didn't even wait for the thank-you that Justine looked ready to throw her before spinning on her heel and hurriedly returning back towards the booth, hoping to stop Damon before he did anything stupid.
Rei shrugged. If she was uncomfortable Elena couldn't see it, her demeanour didn't look aggravated in the least by the close physical presence beside her.
"You should have been watching where you were going, Salvatore." Was the simple reply.
Ordinarily, Elena would be thoroughly impressed to see a girl so easily holding her own against a guy, but Damon was no ordinary guy. He didn't like being made to look a fool and he had a temper, one that was usually only quenched through fatal methods.
Just as the brunette skidded to a halt at Damon's side, the vampire leaned down even further, "You deliberately stuck your foot out in front of me."
Elena gulped at the low tone of his voice. God, she looked around the room frantically, where the hell was Stefan?!
…
Damon knew he was probably overreacting but he couldn't help it!
Katherine's reappearance had thrown his emotions off a cliff.
He had only been holding onto the very last piece of his self control by the skin of his teeth!
When he thought about how she must have been laughing at him all these years, years that he had spent tirelessly trying to release her from a tomb she'd never been trapped in in the first place! Her admission, that it was always Stefan that she had loved, not him. After all that! God! He just, it was just all so humiliating! He was humiliated. And the sheer depth of his fury over the fact that, despite everything she had done, he was still heart-broken over her degrading words...
Not counting the fact that he was livid and frustrated by Elena's continuing denial that this thing between them was all in his imagination. That she currently hated him for killing her brother even though Jeremy had come back to life afterwards!
He was no in the mood to be mocked by some nobody who thought far too highly of herself.
When a nervous looking Elena pulled at his arm in a silent message to let it go, he shook her off roughly and leaned down even further so that his next words were heard by no one but their intended target.
"Apologise, now." He ordered, his fists clenched tightly as he fought the urge to rip her throat out right then and there. "Or I swear to God, you'll regret it." It was a promise, and perhaps she sensed that, because the girl he was hovering over abruptly stiffened, her back straightening as those whispered words floated over her.
Rei slowly pulled away, turning her neck so that she could look him straight in the eye.
Surprise flashed through him. He'd expected horror, fear, anger or apprehension. Damon hadn't expected this.
Her previously warm eyes were icy, hard. They looked at him with a fire so cold it even made him hesitate. "Back off, Salvatore." She murmured lowly, her voice so soft that only he could hear her warning.
Damon couldn't help it. A goading smirk pulled up one corner of his lips while he arched an eyebrow, openly mocking her command.
"Damon, come on," Elena's pleading voice didn't even register through the haze of anger that had finally overtaken him. He wasn't willing to walk away from this. It was one thing too many at the wrong time.
Damon froze; astonished, when a tiny, almost non-existent growl escaped the elfin girl he was standing over.
"You don't want to do this, Salvatore," She warned darkly, emerald eyes flashing with mounting hostility.
The presumptuous nature of her statement only succeeded in fanning the flames of the vampire's own vicious temper.
"Apologise," he hissed darkly.
"Damon!" Elena pulled sharply on his arm but her strength was nothing to him.
Gradually, her face blank, Rei leaned forward until her mouth was brushing against Damon's ear. "You're being foolish," She whispered.
He gritted his teeth together, the muscles in his neck straining against the pressure as he forced himself to ignore the steady beating of her pulse. That's when he realised. Even lost in a haze of ignited fury as he was, Damon was somehow able to comprehend that the way her heartbeat hadn't once quickened throughout this entire exchange wasn't right.
Her pulse should be racing by now. Fear and adrenaline should be forcing her heart rate to increase as her primal instincts reacted to the proximity of a predator she wasn't able to consciously recognise.
"I could make life very difficult for you, Mr Salvatore." She crooned into his ear.
Damon stiffened. Eyes that had been narrowed with blind fury abruptly widened and he jerked backwards.
Bright green eyes were staring at him with a knowing glint.
Damon stared at her with shock plain on his features. Did she just-?! Did she know?!
"Damon!" Elena ordered sharply, "We have to go!" She hadn't heard what Rei had whispered to him.
"What do you know?!" He demanded threateningly.
"Everything alright here?" Came a suspicious voice from behind them.
He looked up to see a stern looking Matt staring at his threatening figure with a dark frown.
"It nothing, Matt," Elena said quickly.
Worry seized him and he darted a look at first Elena and then down at the steady green gaze boring into him.
He didn't want this girl around Elena. Not until he figured out exactly what that last comment did and did not mean. There was no way he was allowing an unknown variable to ingratiate herself with the small group of people he'd come to care for in this town.
"You okay, Rei?" Matt asked the black haired girl directly. "Is he bothering you?"
He saw Elena frowning at Matt's uncharacteristic stubbornness; he normally took the female Gilbert on her word.
"No," Rei shook her head slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. "I believe that Elena and Damon were just leaving."
"Come on, Damon." Elena pleaded with him.
He clenched his jaw tightly. Every gut instinct he had was telling him not to let a possible threat go free but he couldn't do anything else at the moment.
Without warning, he wrapped an arm around Elena's waist and pulled her towards the exit. The brunette he was holding gasped at the unexpected action but Damon didn't slow. He wasn't interested in anything but getting her out of here as quickly as possible and explaining exactly what had just happened.
…
"How do you think she's doing?" Hermione asked softly.
Ron sighed loudly, jerking a hand through his red hair in agitation. "Probably driving herself insane," he grumbled moodily.
Hermione bit her lips, her eyes watering with concern. "Merlin! It's not right!" She suddenly exclaimed. "She should be here! With us!"
Her boyfriend quickly drew her into his arms.
"She'll be back as soon as she can, Mione." He whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head comfortingly. "You know Rei, she won't rest until she's back here."
"I don't want her to be sad," The bushy haired witch hiccupped. "I keep thinking that she's wasting away in that house, furious with the world…alone."
Ron scoffed, running a hand up and down her arm."Come on, Mione. Rei can make friends with anyone, you know that."
She nodded silently. She did know that. Rei Potter could be extraordinarily charming when she wanted to be. Sirius had insisted that her ability to charm people was inherited from her father. Wherever the dubious talent came from, Hermione had seen firsthand just how well her best friend could wield it to her advantage.
"I just don't want her to be lonely," The witch whispered. "She's scared of being alone, Ron... I don't want her to feel alone."
Ron stared into the roaring fire and squeezed his girlfriend closely to his chest. He swallowed thickly. "Me either."
...
Rei lent back against the car head rest, eyes closed, concentrating on breathing in and out, in and out.
Vampires. Of all the places in the world that Mione could pick…!
She hadn't been sure. Damon had been standing next to Elena, annoying her with childish complaints about having to leave when she'd caught sight of the strange ring on his finger.
There were rumours in her world about Wiccans that had the power to supply vampires with a piece of enchanted lapis lazuli which would allow them to walk in the sun. Most people didn't believe it. It would take a powerful Wiccan to accomplish such a feat but more importantly, why would they ever choose to do so?
She'd been stuck for words when she'd seen the ring.
Shock; followed by the sudden unwelcome knowledge of exactly how vulnerable she really was without her magic had made her clumsy, attracting both of their confusion.
She'd tried to regain her balance as quickly as she could, but it was extraordinarily difficult with both of them staring down at her.
The Ministry's of Europe had tried, over the centuries, to put in place strategies where they might control the blood craving creatures. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it didn't. Mostly it was scrambling to find ways to keep them as far away from the magical communities as possible. They'd developed specific wards to keep them out, others to keep them in, it was the only legalised blood magic that was still allowed.
Their strategy, for as long as the history books had recorded was one based on defence.
Because when you were dealing with a creature that could break your neck before you could bring your wand up in time to cast a shield, when that same creature would heal from deep lacerations and bone breaking curses in only minutes, the only thing the magical community could do was run and get behind protections that they couldn't pass.
Not that magic users were defenceless. If a witch of wizard knew of a vampire, knew that they were about to attack, they could plan. They could thicken the air so that their enhanced speed was impeded. Those with quick reflexes could banish a conjured piece of wood into their heart. Even the third year spell incendio was capable of conjuring a fire that was strong and hot enough to kill any vampire.
The problem was, rarely do predators announce their presence with enough warning for a witch or wizard to have the time in which to act. They were already dead.
All of this information had been running through her mind as she'd tried to focus on what Elena was saying, even as she desperately searched the brunette for a similar piece of jewellery. Rei was relieved when she didn't find any on the girl and once Elena's question had finally registered, she had opened her mouth with every intention of refusing her invitation.
But as she'd been looking into kind, brown eyes so much younger looking than her own haunted orbs, a terrible thought had occurred to her.
Did Elena know?
If Damon was a vampire, and Rei wasn't even sure if that was the case, did the girl know?
It was ridiculous! What was the chance that she'd run across one of the blood sucking husks in a small southern American town? The ring could easily be a coincidence! She, more than most, knew the danger of believing everything you read or heard. And she certainly wasn't about to put her entire faith in mere rumours of Wiccans that had made their way to the Wizarding World.
Still, no matter how much she didn't want to believe, no matter how absurd it sounded, she simply couldn't stand the thought of letting them leave without knowing for sure.
Her mind had swiftly formulated a strategy. She'd already seen evidence that Damon was a highly emotional individual and if he was a vampire that was a certainty. Mad-Eye had made it very clear when training her in the rare hours they could spare for such a luxury, that a vampire's heightened emotions was one of a magic-user's biggest advantages against the manic creatures.
It might have been rash. No, it had definitely been rash. But she'd only had seconds to think of something before Damon left with a young girl that might or might not be his next meal.
Rei breathed in and out, in and out, calming her heart.
Even if she could cast magic right now she wouldn't be able to stand living inside blood wards. Merlin, but she hated feeling so helpless! She was not a victim! The mere idea that she was helpless against a vampire, more so that any of her kind, filled her to the brim with barely restrained fury.
When everything else in her world was crumbling around her, when all was lost and destroyed and broken, she had still always had her magic. That comforting warmth in her chest; the tingling along her skin that was her magic signalling to its Mistress that it was at her command and ready to be used.
She needed to force Damon to fall into a highly emotional state and look for any signs that would betray him for what he was. So she'd stuck her foot in his path at the very last second and watched the chaos she wrought through sharp eyes.
"A vampire will always go for the kill, Potter!" Mad Eye barked at her, his eyes serious. "You can't reason with one, you can't bargain and you can't persuade. If they want to kill you, they will."
"Than what can I do?" Rei asked with a deep frown. He spoke about them as if they were animals, completely controlled by their baser instincts.
"There's only one thing you can do," He swept the legs out from under her and drove her small figure down with a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Make them angry. Make them furious. Goad them until they are blind with fury and are thinking only of the most painful way to rip you apart."
A conjured stake was hovering over her heart as she stared up at her instructor through wide eyes, her breaths loud in the silence of the room.
"Then you kill them, before they kill you."
Damon had already been fuming, lying tangled up with the fallen waitress, but Rei had to be sure.
Her comment was mean, cruel and most importantly, it was heard by the entire room.
When Salvatore placed both hands on the table in front of her and leaned forward, his eyes like chips of ice, she had had to force her own formidable temper to quieten. Being the type of person she was, Rei had never responded well to threats of intimidation but this time she'd shut her mouth and watched the man closely. No matter how much it rankled at her.
Anyone else would have missed it.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Rei had told him to back off, hating the way he was towering over her like she was some weak willed ninny that was about to cower away from him.
That's when she'd seen it.
Vampires are predators. They enjoy the chase. The hunt. Her words had appealed to that base part of him, that part that enjoyed seeing fear in his intended prey.
Her previously warm eyes were icy, hard. They looked at him with a fire so cold it even made him hesitate.
"Back off, Salvatore." She murmured lowly, her voice so soft that only he could hear her warning.
A malicious, pleased smirk had taken over his face instantly. And at the last second, before he could control the reaction, ice blue orbs had darkened in colour while scarcely visible veins began to emerge around his eyes.
Most would have called it a trick of the light, the change gone before they could be certain of it.
But to Rei...their brief appearance had been all the proof she needed.
Vampires. In Mystic Falls.
…
Yes! We're getting somewhere, hey? ;D Did you enjoy it?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!