rewrite date: 1st of april, 2016
view outfits: fairycastles at polyvore (moving on collection)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Vampire Diaries.
Fred Weasley and creative OC lovers should definitely check out banshee-hime's story called Singed. You won't regret it.
A couple of hours after Kreacher apparated the girls back to Nathalie's home, they were (to put it simply) wasted. Two empty bottles of Firewhiskey sat on the table between them, having been shared out quite evenly. Another bottle had been opened and was about three quarters full. Caroline was more than capable of holding her drink now that she was a vampire – even though this stuff was significantly stronger than anything she had tried before – and Nathalie was more than able to keep up after years of practice drinking Firewhiskey with Fred and even Hermione and the girls. It was actually pretty funny the way the girls were giggling about how Camarin had wrapped herself around Nathalie's neck like a very cute and slightly macabre scarf.
'She's so cute!' Caroline cooed, reaching her hand out to tickle the kneazle under her chin. Camarin stayed stock still for just a moment before she relaxed and released a sound that faintly resembled a purr. The vampire seemed to make Camarin a little uncomfortable, although she didn't seem particularly alarmed in any way. Nat put it down to the fact that vampires were generally considered 'dark' creatures.
Generally. If Camarin truly felt threatened by Caroline, she would've made it very clear to everyone by now.
'So what else can you do? Y'know, apart from use a wand,' Caroline asked, blinking to focus her blurry vision on Nathalie. She shrugged in response.
'A lot of things. What d'ya have in mind?'
'Do you use broomsticks?'
Nathalie nodded. Caroline perked up, her eyes shimmering in excitement. 'Really?' she breathed, astonished. She was used to Bonnie, and she was definitely not like the stereotypical story-time kind of witch. She figured that witches were actually total opposite to everything she learned about them in fairytales. Now, she had actually found a witch that was quite similar to the ones in her imagination! Apart from, y'know, the green skin and boiles and crooked nose. (It still bugged Caroline incessantly that Nathalie was so damn pretty.) 'Is that how you all get around then?'
'No,' Nathalie chuckled, reaching for the bottle and pouring more drink into both of their tumblers. 'There's portkeys, the floo network, several ways of flying-'
'Explain,' Caroline commanded. Her eyes hardened in her curiosity, and a glimpse of the pre-transition Caroline shone through with her demanding ways. Nathalie laughed.
'A portkey is an object that has been charmed to transport one or more wizards to a specific location at a particular time, usually in the form of a piece of junk like a stick or an old boot so it doesn't attract the attention of Muggles-'
'What the heck is a muggle?' Caroline interrupted, and Nathalie's eyes flickered to the blonde for a moment.
'Non-magical beings, normal humans. Anyway,' Nathalie continued, 'We use the floo network, which is basically travelling through a fireplace with floo powder. You step in, say where you want to go and if they're connected to the network, then you can travel to that location.'
'Why can't we have that?' Caroline pouted, crossing her arms. Nathalie snickered, eyebrow raised.
'Have you forgotten you're a vampire?'
'Right, point taken. You can fly without brooms?' Caroline was once again enraptured by the brunette witch sat next to her.
Nathalie nodded. 'Not just on our own though. Brooms are the most popular way of flying. There used to be more popular ways of doing it, but they were banned in the U.K because they were classed as Muggle artefacts. Like flying carpets, or cars. My godfather had a flying motorbike.' The last statement caused Nathalie's eyes to glaze over slightly, reminiscing – she looked saddened for a moment, although it escaped Caroline's notice.
'Those are real too?!' Caroline shrieked. This girl was turning more and more into a fairytale witch as the minutes go by! She never imagined that flying carpets would be real. Flying cars, too? She'd love one of those.
'Yep, and they're legal in most countries around the world. Most commonly in Asia, I believe,' Nathalie nibbled on her thumb. 'Popular, too, if I remember right.'
'Popular enough to get into Muggle fairytales,' Caroline remarked, and Nathalie chuckled.
'Yes. Oh, and I can apparate too. It's-'
'What the hell is apparation?' Caroline interrupted (again). Nathalie glared at her slightly, and she leaned back into her seat in apprehension at the look the brunette was giving her. 'Sorry.'
'If you keep interrupting me then I probably won't tell you anything about my world,' she stated, eyebrow creeping further and further towards her hairline.
'No!' Caroline said, whining ever so slightly. 'You can't tell me that there's so much more out there and not give me any details!'
'Then stop interrupting,' Nathalie stated. Her tone was firm, yet playful. Caroline noted that she should probably learn how to use that tone herself – might come in handy one day. 'As I was saying, I can apparate. It's basically teleportation. Like Kreacher does.' As she finished the sentence, Kreacher apparated into the room with a loud crack!, eyes curious.
'You can do that?' Caroline breathed.
'Mm,' Nathalie said. 'It's not very pleasant, though. It's like being squeezed through a really tight rubber tube.'
'Why don't you just travel like that all the time?'
She shrugged. 'It's difficult,' she said. 'It takes a huge amount of focus to do so. Kreacher practices a different strand of magic to me. He practices elf magic. He's much better at it than I am, so usually he takes me places, just like how he brought us home tonight. Plus, I have to know where I'm going. That usually means that I have to go there first. Kreacher doesn't need to know things like that.'
'Are there a lot of you?' she questioned.
'Well, there's magical communities all round the world,' Nathalie said. Her world geography and politics wasn't great, but she wasn't ignorant of the other magical dotted around the world. 'There's a good amount of witches in the States, although as far as I'm aware they're mainly present in Massachusetts. Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is there.'
'Salem is where Bonnie and her family came from,' Caroline said. At Nathalie's questioning look, she continued. 'Bonnie is my friend. She's a witch, too, but I think you called her a Wiccan?'
Nathalie nodded in understanding. 'Yeah. I'm no expert, but Wiccan witches are far more common in the U.S than my kind – whereas Wiccan witches are fairly limited in number in other places in the world. Ilvermorny is a pretty small school, many go to other places for their magical education.'
'So there's, like, witch schools everywhere?' Caroline said. Nathalie nodded.
'There's eleven in total. Scotland, France, Scandinavia, Japan, Russia, Africa, Brazil. Obviously, the one in Massachusetts and I can't remember where the others are. It's actually pretty rare for any of the schools to interact. It only happens once every few years.'
'What's the difference?' Caroline said, noticing that Nathalie was looking at her questioningly. 'Between you and the other witches.'
'Wiccans?' Caroline nodded. 'Well, I don't know much about Wiccans to be honest. From what I've read, they're basically Muggles that have a little bit more magical capability in them, but not quite enough to use it the same way we do, so they use what little they have to channel the magic around them.'
'I thought they channelled nature, or their ancestors,' Caroline's brows were furrowed.
Nathalie shook her head. 'I guess that's what they believe. There's magic all around us, though, and there's really only one kind. They just get it from a different source. I was born with magic, you see. And when I cast a spell or apparate or make a potion, for example, I'm using my own magic.'
'But what about the whole balancing nature thing?'
The witch chuckled. 'That's just a set of rules that were put forth to them a long time ago to prevent them from doing anything too outlandish. Many of the consequences they face from supposedly 'upsetting the balance' are actually inflicted on themselves, by themselves or their ancestors, because it's too big of a magical change for them to handle. These rules have just been exaggerated more and more as the years have gone on.'
Caroline thought about this for a minute. 'So, you're basically more powerful than they are, because you were born magic and you don't have those limitations.'
'We do have limitations, although they're mainly laws and then the general limits of any kind of magic. I mean, it's like anything else in life, some are better at magic than others – but yes, pretty much.'
Their tumblers were empty again, so Caroline reached over to fill them back up. Information and details that seemed insignificant to Nathalie were quite monumental for Caroline, and she needed a moment to let them sink in. Watching the wonder on Caroline's face took Nathalie back to when she was eleven, when Hagrid told her that she was a witch. It took her back to the first time she went to Diagon Alley, the first time she watched a spell be performed, and the first time she performed her own spells. It was a wonderful if confusing feeling that she had basked in when she discovered the community that had been living under her nose unbeknownst to her during her first eleven years of life. The feeling of wonderment, of fascination and complete awe when she tried to figure out whether these things were actually real. Now that she was older, she understood the impact of growing up as a Muggle and how it had shaped her character. If she'd grown up in the magical community, she would've never seen self-washing pots or Quick-Quotes Quills as anything special. She had something to compare all of these marvellous things to. So, she let Caroline stew in her thoughts and, before they both knew it, the third bottle was empty.
'So,' Caroline started, a cheeky grin working her way onto her face (it had taken a little while for her to gather the courage to ask this question), 'Can I see your broom?'
'D'you want to ride it?' Nathalie had a crooked grin on her face, eyes slightly glazed over showing just how drunk she actually was. Her voice of reason chirped in protest in the back of her mind – it's never a good idea to go flying whilst intoxicated, but it was dark out and she was feeling reckless. She couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction when she saw the joy in Caroline's eyes.
'Really?' she gasped, clapping her hands together. 'You're serious!'
'I'm serious,' Nathalie affirmed, crooked grin still in place. 'Accio Firebolt.'
They heard a rustling and a small 'bang!' before a broom zipped into the room and Nathalie caught it, making sure not to hit any of the bottles off the table. She stood up, slightly shakily, broom clutched lovingly in her hands.
'Oh wow,' Caroline said, staring at the broom curiously. 'It's so sleek.'
'Were you expecting just a pile of twigs?' Nathalie laughed, looking at the lovely, tidy bristles of the broom. Caroline nodded. 'I lost this broom three years ago. It was a gift, for my thirteenth birthday. It was just a pile of twigs when I found it.'
Nathalie walked towards the front door, and Caroline followed behind wordlessly, too much in awe to really make a response. When she was on the patio, she turned to Caroline. 'This might feel a little weird.' She waved her wand over Caroline's head, who gasped when she felt the feeling of an egg being cracked over her head, the contents running down her face and body.
'What did you just do?!' she shrieked, reaching up to feel for the offending egg and finding nothing out of the ordinary. Her eyes were the size of saucepans when she noticed Nathalie beginning to distort before her eyes, seemingly blending into the background behind her. Caroline looked down at her hands and noticed that she was doing the same thing. She sputtered slightly in shock.
'Disillusionment charm,' Nathalie said flippantly. 'Makes you harder to see. Obviously, you're a vampire, so you'll be able to see me no matter what but this will hide us from prying Muggle eyes.'
Nathalie mounted her broom, gesturing to Caroline to do the same. 'Get on,' she said excitedly. 'Pretend you're on a motorbike. Make sure you hold on tight. Just don't, y'know, break my back or anything.' She seemed to realise at the last moment that Caroline could quite easily break her spine if she wasn't in her right mind – for example, panicking from zooming up into the air at high speeds with no safety measures to protect her.
She walked up to the broom and reluctantly put her leg over it, not quite sitting down but placing herself very close to Nathalie none-the-less. She held onto her waist as Nathalie pushed off from the ground and they hovered there for a minute as Caroline got her bearings.
'Ready?' Nathalie said. Her voice was laced with utter happiness, excitement and perhaps a slight drunken slur. Caroline was probably feeling brave because of the Firewhiskey, but that didn't matter. She nodded anyway, ignoring the fact that her breath rate was speeding up rapidly.
Without further ado, they took off.
Nathalie took note that, next time she took someone on their first broom ride on a Firebolt of all brooms, she should probably cast a silencing charm on her passenger as well. She wasn't sure whether her ears would ever recover from a scream that loud. She would later ask herself why she could even hear Caroline's scream at all – it was unbelievably loud and high pitched, and Nathalie was very surprised that it wasn't only in the hearing range of dogs.
Stefan sighed.
It had been a long night. Dealing with the body, Damon, the Lockwood mystery and (and this is the kicker) Caroline getting turned into a vampire, he was feeling an exhaustion that he wasn't sure whether was normal for a vampire. About half an hour ago, he had got a text from Caroline letting him know exactly where this Nathalie girl lived. It was full of typos, but Google Maps eventually helped him decipher the text.
Caroline had clearly taken Nathalie up on the offer of alcohol.
Walking towards the gate, he pressed the buzzer and rocked on the balls of his feet as he waited for an answer. A few minutes passed, and no response came – he repeated the process a couple of times until he got bored waiting. Rolling his eyes, he opened the gate and stepped through. It felt strange – like walking under a very, very light shower of extremely cold water – but he shook off the feeling and started making his way up the driveway. Straining his ears, Stefan tried to listen to any conversation in the house. Apart from the occasional shuffle, he heard nothing. Surely, if there were more than one person in there, he would hear more than just the occasional shuffle?
He narrowed his eyes, running every possible scenario through his mind. Perhaps he was wrong to trust the new stranger just because Caroline did. Stefan knew of her nature; she was many things, but naïve was probably Caroline's most prominent trait. Without a moment's hesitation, he flashed towards the front door. As soon as he stopped, he heard a loud hiss and jumped in surprise – there, in the shadows, a pair of glowing, yellow eyes were staring at him. He couldn't help but stare back, enraptured in the gaze. It was unnerving, seemingly staring into his soul and Stefan felt the urge to flinch. Perhaps what was making him most uncomfortable was that he could literally only see the eyes – that was completely creepy in itself.
'Stefan?'
He whirled back in surprise. Two very windswept looking girls were standing behind him. He was sure they weren't there moments ago – he would have heard their heartbeats – yet, here they were. Caroline was wearing the same clothes from earlier, a healthy flush in her cheeks and her usual curls ruffled in a kind of endearing way. Nathalie was also in the same attire as before, her longer hair appearing more tangled but still looking like it was supposed to be like that. She, too, had a healthy flush to her face and both girls appeared exceptionally cheerful, much to Stefan's relief. His eyes focused on the broom in Nathalie's petite hands. It looked very shiny, very well kept, and like it had never swept up a speck of dirt ever. It looked weird, but Stefan shrugged it off. He was there to take Caroline home.
The silence was awkward, though. It was the kind of quiet where in the movies, a bit of tumbleweed would roll across the screen and it lasted for a good few minutes before the silence was broken.
'Stefan,' Caroline repeated, looking cautiously at the jumpy vampire. (Were vampires even supposed to jump?)
'Caroline,' he said in response, almost automatically. He felt like smacking himself upside the head when he said that, realising that it was a completely pointless greeting seeing as they had been staring at each other for several minutes prior. 'I've, um, come to take you home.'
'Oh!' Caroline jumped. Apparently she had entirely forgotten that she had to go home and compel her mother to let her in at some point. She had been enjoying herself a lot with Nathalie – drinking, learning about Nathalie's world, letting out her worries and going for a fly. What seventeen year old in Mystic Falls can say that, to unwind, they went for a fly around town? After the first minute of sheer terror, she had actually enjoyed the ride a lot. Maybe it was the speed of the broom or the fact she was flying several hundred feet above the ground with absolutely nothing stopping her from falling off and going splat on the ground apart from a miniature woman and a stick giving her a huge adrenaline rush, but it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. 'Right, okay. Are we going now?'
'If you're happy to,' Stefan said, looking at Nathalie cautiously. She hadn't said anything since he had appeared at her doorstep. She seemed calm – the fly had certainly sobered her up and she was feeling relatively normal apart from the headache building in her temple and the general 'off' feeling that indicated a hangover creeping up on her. He wouldn't have known that though, so to him, she just seemed like a fairly intimidating nineteen-year-old girl who was staring him down.
'Yes, yes,' Caroline said. The awkwardness was making her feel flustered. Turning around quickly, she grabbed Nathalie in a hug. She felt arms wrap around her waist after just a moment of surprise, and she gave the witch a small squeeze. 'Thanks for having me, Nat. And for looking after me.'
'No problem,' Nathalie grinned warmly. 'You're welcome any time. Drop by soon, okay? You still have my number, yes?'
Caroline nodded. 'I'll text you; we'll do something soon. Maybe Stefan can come!' she turned to him expectantly. Somehow, he didn't seem to like the idea of spending the day with the two girls, but Caroline decided that could be remedied. He looked at Nathalie apprehensively, debating what the correct answer to that statement would be. Despite feeling like her emerald-green eyes were staring into his soul, he found no ill-intent, dislike or discomfort in them. She didn't seem overly bothered by his presence, so he nodded and shot them both a smile. Caroline squealed, clapping her hands whilst Nathalie laughed at the over-enthusiastic blonde. She could always appreciate someone who was enthusiastic. Enthusiasm was definitely one of Caroline's more prominent traits; she couldn't help but be amused around her, even finding herself fairly happy around her. She was no stranger to contentment after living through the chaos she had for the first seventeen years of life, but actual happiness was rare for her, particularly after Fred passed away. Caroline was like a ball of sunshine and fresh air, which she appreciated greatly.
'I'd like that,' Nathalie said, shooting Stefan a quick smile. 'Call me if you need any help with anything, alright?'
As the girls embraced once again and said another goodbye, Stefan couldn't help but wonder to himself how exactly this girl would be able to help a baby vampire without getting herself killed as, in his experience, most people who 'helped' newborns were helping by providing a long and satisfying meal. He was miles away when Caroline turned to him expectantly, waiting for him to say goodbye and leave with her.
'I'll see you another time, Nathalie. It was nice to meet you,' he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a small (reluctant) smile. He got one back, except her expression appeared far happier and lit up her face, despite the lack of light around them.
'You too, Stefan,' she said. To his surprise, she walked towards him and gave him a quick hug. Her scent - that close to him - caught him entirely off guard. He fought to keep his true face in check, his inner vampire jumping for joy at just how delicious this girl smelled. Definitely abnormally appetising for a regular human. By the time he had registered what had happened, she had pulled away and had, once again, turned to the blonde. 'Text me when you've got yourself inside, alright?'
Once again, Caroline nodded. Giving Nathalie one last smile, she held her hand out to Stefan who took it. Both of them sped off home as Nathalie watched them from her spot on the patio. Camarin, who had been observing the whole exchange, slinked out from under the shadows. With a noise similar to a purr, she wrapped herself around Nathalie's legs, rubbing his cheek on her shins. She smiled, picking her up and holding Camarin comfortably in her arms. Turning to walk into the house, she waved her wand at the direction of the broom, which zipped back into the house and returned to its rightful home before it was summoned to her. Not once ceasing the tickles on Camarin's content belly, Nathalie made her way through the house, thinking over the events of the day and contemplating just how interesting Mystic Falls was turning out to be.
'You had a good time, then?' Stefan asked, glancing at Caroline in the passenger seat. She was bobbing her head to the music, rather enthusiastically and he was trying to contain his chuckle.
For someone who had made her first kill not six hours ago, she seemed quite cheerful.
'Nathalie's great,' Caroline said happily. 'She has this insane whiskey. Stefan, you'd love it. You like whiskey, don't you?'
'I do like whiskey,' he said. How much had she actually had? He knew that it took much more for a vampire to get drunk than an average human being. She must have had a good amount for her to be this cheerful.
'Oh, you'd love this one. It's like breathing fire. Except, you know, you're a vampire so maybe you wouldn't like it, but I like it. Surpisingly. And it's so cool! I bet you've never had it before. It's called Odgen's Firewhiskey, something like that. I think, anyway. Oh, you have to try it sometime. She never told me where she actually got that stuff. I'll have to ask her tomorrow,' Caroline babbled.
Stefan chuckled. 'If you remember to ask her tomorrow, that is.'
'I will!' she protested, voice indignant. 'I'm not that drunk, you know.'
'So you say.'
She huffed in response, crossing her arms. Instead of bobbing her head to the tune on the radio, she started tapping her foot instead. Stefan had a slightly cheeky smirk on his face that just aggravated her more.
'I won't be able to go outside tomorrow, will I?' she said quietly. All of a sudden, the light-hearted mood in the car evaporated. Caroline was a social butterfly; she thrived in social situations, around people. He could feel the distress rolling off her in waves as she thought about being cut off from the outside world.
'No,' he said shortly. Stefan hated to be the bearer of bad news – he had to reaffirm it for her, though. She sighed.
'I don't suppose Bonnie will want to make me a ring either,' she said sadly, turning her head to look out the window. For a moment, she found herself enjoying the view because of her enhanced vision. Normally, she wouldn't be able to see a metre out of the car in the dark. One of the perks, she supposed. 'She doesn't seem to like me very much now.'
'Bonnie will come around,' he said firmly, turning the corner towards Caroline's house. 'She's your best friend, I don't think she'll let that go because of something that wasn't your fault.'
'Yes, but she's a witch now,' Caroline said bitterly. 'Because witches are apparently in charge and now I'm the worst, most despicable creature to have ever walked this earth. Unnatural.'
'You're not,' Stefan said. Even to his ears, this protest sounded feeble – he, himself, knew how it felt to think of himself as a foul, wrong creature that didn't belong on the spectrum of what was natural. He did however believe, wholeheartedly, that Caroline was a bright, happy girl that would make it as a vampire if she went down the right path. At that moment, he decided that he would help her in a way that he wished someone would have helped him when he had first turned. 'I'm going to be teaching you how to hunt.'
'What, so I'm on the vampire vegan diet now?' Caroline joked. Her vampire instincts were protesting at the thought of living off bunnies for the rest of her eternal life. A part of her felt more guilty hunting animals than humans. They were, after all, much cuter.
'Yes,' he nodded. Caroline groaned, but leaned back in defeat regardless.
'When?'
'Soon.'
'Can Nathalie come?' she said, after a moment of quiet. It was slightly hesitant.
'What?' Stefan said, surprised. 'Why would you want Nathalie to come?' He couldn't find it in him to understand why Caroline would want to expose the girl to such a dangerous environment. A vampire in hunting mode, especially a new vampire with little to no control, would be completely unable to stop themselves from killing whatever was in their path regardless of the emotional attachment to them. Nathalie would be fresh bait for Caroline, especially since she smelled so good. Why on earth would she want Nathalie there?
'She can look after herself, and I like her,' Caroline said simply, shrugging.
'What's up with that girl, anyway?' he said suspiciously. They had pulled up in front of Caroline's home now. There was still a light on, so Sheriff Forbes was obviously home. 'Is she a hunter or something? She could be dangerous, Caroline.'
'You're right, she is dangerous,' she replied. Stefan's eyebrows rose in surprise as he took in Caroline's expression – it wasn't in her usual nature to be this serious about anything, but she looked confident in her words. She stared directly into his eyes. 'But I like her, and I don't think she's a threat to anyone. As for 'what's up with that girl'-' Caroline rolled her eyes, 'she has a name, by the way – you should ask her yourself. She's really nice. Honestly.'
Stefan narrowed his eyes. 'The great gossip of Mystic Falls isn't spilling secrets?' he gasped sarcastically. 'Vampirism has changed you.'
Caroline's eyebrows furrowed, missing the joke. 'You trusted her enough to let her look after me tonight. If you want to know anything about her, then maybe you should ask her yourself.' She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards the door. 'Thank you for the ride home, Stefan.'
He was surprised by her reaction. She seemed a little annoyed with him for asking about Nathalie, very defensive indeed. He decided that maybe he shouldn't prod Caroline for answers right that moment – her neurotic tendencies were amplified, after all – and settled for handing over a black duffel bag to her instead when she looked at him questioningly.
'There's some blood bags in here. Just in case.'
She looked at him for a minute, before nodding. Caroline shot him a small half-smile, taking the bag and stepping out of the car and walking up the path to her front door. As he drove off, she took a deep breath and rung the doorbell.
'Caroline?' Liz chided, answering the door. She was in her nightwear. This was a little strange in itself, Caroline wasn't used to seeing her in anything but her work uniform. 'Where on earth have you been?'
'You're going to invite me in,' Caroline compelled, hoping to every higher power above that her mother wasn't on vervain. 'And when you've invited me in, you're going to go to bed and forget that I ever asked you this question. You'll think that I went to Elena's house and came home a little late, and that nothing is wrong.'
'Why don't you come in, sweetheart?' Liz smiled, her annoyed expression disappearing. Caroline nodded, making her way into the house. 'Did you have a nice time at Elena's?'
She smiled at her mother, putting her acting skills to the test. Her mother looked so happy to see her home and had gone to get Caroline a glass of water, like absolutely nothing was wrong. Like her daughter hadn't just taken away her free will, lied to her and also been turned into a creature that would make her skin crawl if she only knew the truth.
She couldn't help the stab of guilt that pierced her heart, tearing through her body like a tidal wave.
Stefan slammed the car door shut as he pulled up to the boarding house, dreading facing Damon somewhat. A part of him wanted to simply speed up to his bedroom and avoid any confrontation with him, although the rational side simply shot down that idea with an, 'Oh, he'll come find you anyway.'
He sighed.
'And so the prodigal son returns!' Damon sang. 'Had a good night looking after your beloved Elena and new protégé?'
'Shut up, Damon,' he said wearily, making a beeline for the alcohol. 'There's enough to think about without dealing with your crap tonight.'
'Ah, yes,' Damon nodded. 'Like the Lockwood mystery.'
'That,' Stefan agreed, 'But there might be something else.'
'Elena broke a nail, maybe!?' Damon gasped dramatically, falling onto the sofa. 'Whatever shall we do?!'
'No,' Stefan snapped. 'Something else. Have you heard about that new girl in town?'
Damon seemed to sober up slightly. 'Might have come across her. Why?'
'She knows about vampires,' he replied thoughtfully, swirling his whiskey around his tumbler and ignoring Damon's frown. 'Caroline went to her place tonight.'
'I knew there was something off about her,' Damon said, brows creased in thought.
'You met her?'
'Bumped into her at the Grill with Ric. She gave Matt an eighty-dollar tip, for God's sake. Weird, I tell you.'
'There is something a little off about her,' Stefan was contemplating everything he knew about Nathalie thus far. 'Caroline said she's dangerous, so obviously she knows something.'
Damon rolled his eyes. 'And Caroline didn't tell you? Dude, if there's anything about that girl that stands out is that she cannot keep her mouth shut to save her life.'
'She did about this,' Stefan said firmly. 'She wouldn't say a word about Nathalie Potter. Told me to ask her myself.'
'Tried that,' he said. 'Shot me down.'
Stefan's lip quirked up into a wry half-smile. 'Maybe you're not as charming as you think.'
'Why do you hurt me?' Damon shot back sarcastically, chugging back the rest of his bourbon. 'Don't think she lives alone, either. She had two meals with her when she left the Grill.'
'I didn't see anything when I went to pick up Caroline. And she didn't mention anyone else,' Stefan paused. 'Got a creepy cat, though. But you might be right, I heard shuffling inside the house.'
'Kill her and be done with it,' Damon shrugged. 'We have a bigger problem to deal with. Like Mason Lockwood, and we can get Ric to come round in the morning so we can bug him about it.'
Stefan frowned as Damon stood up and left the room, ending the conversation there. Somehow he felt like killing Nathalie Potter would be a mistake as well as being wrong; she seemed to be quite an enigma, and his gut instinct was telling him that, if he caused her any harm, it would come back and bite him in the ass.
Hard.
Nathalie pulled the curtains shut as Caroline sat quietly on her bed.
'Can't you make a daylight ring?' she said sadly, staring at Nathalie with a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
'I had no idea they even existed until you called me about it,' Nathalie said calmly, sympathetically. 'I'm sorry, Caroline.'
'I guess I'll have to rely on Bonnie, then,' she sighed, leaning her head back. 'I really want to go spend the day with Matt.'
Nathalie couldn't help but laugh. 'Of all things you're worried about, you're worried about spending the day with your boyfriend?'
'Hey!' Caroline snapped, causing Nathalie to raise her hands defensively (whilst still chuckling under her breath). 'It's important, you know!'
'I know, I know,' her mouth quirked into a smile, 'It's sweet.'
Caroline huffed. 'Maybe to you.'
'Stefan will convince your friend to make your ring. I mean, she's been your friend for years, and she'd be a bloody awful one if she abandoned you over something you had no control over,' she said, before frowning. 'Unless Wiccans truly are as judgy as everyone at home says.'
'They are,' Caroline confirmed, her tone quiet. Nathalie tilted her head sympathetically at the blonde.
'Hey, it's not all flowers and rainbows in my world either. Halfbreeds aren't looked at with a very sympathetic eye.'
Caroline was just about to enquire what exactly a half-breed was, when her phone rang on her bedside table.
Caller ID – Stefan.
She reached for the phone, directing her first statement at Nathalie as she rolled her eyes. 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear. You need to convince Bonnie to make me a daylight ring,' she said immediately, clutching the phone a little tighter than she probably should.
Stefan sighed on the other end. 'I'm working on it, I'm just going to see Elena off and I'm meeting Bonnie at the Grill after.'
'Where's she going?' Caroline said, feeling a bit out of the loop. She was wondering why the friend that shouldn't have a problem with her being a vampire hadn't come to visit.
'She's going to Duke with Damon.'
Caroline waited for a moment for Stefan to expand, but he didn't. 'Um, why?'
He didn't reply immediately, and the silence was tense. 'Damon and I don't think that Mayor Lockwood was killed by accident. He was affected by the Gilbert device, but he's not a vampire.'
'O-kay,' she said slowly, still not understanding. 'And this has to do with Duke – and Elena and Damon going away together even though he was a jerk to me and she's supposed to be my best friend who's on my side – how?'
'Alaric's wife – Elena's mom – studied Mystic Falls for years,' he started. Caroline could almost picture him pinching his nose as they spoke. 'We think that the answers we need might be in her research somewhere.'
'And you're here because you're babysitting me,' she said bluntly, rolling her eyes. 'You know, Nathalie can look after me, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to.'
'Caroline, it's not like that,' Stefan groaned, although he couldn't deny that his main reason for staying was because he needed to watch her. 'I'm happy to stay here.'
'Don't lie to me Stefan. Nathalie's here anyway.'
'No, it's fi-'
She cut him off. 'Any ideas on what the Lockwood's might be?'
'Alaric says that Isobel studied the lycanthrope as well as vampires.'
Caroline gasped. 'What, like – as in, werewolves?'
At this point, Nathalie went from waiting patiently for Caroline to finish her conversation to listening attentively at every word being said (at least, on Caroline's side). Her sudden interest didn't go unnoticed by the blonde.
'Yes,' Stefan said. 'We just need to see if there's actually any truth to it, seeing as Isobel mainly studied folklore.'
She rolled her eyes. 'Well, vampires were supposedly folklore yet here we are,' she said dryly. 'Do you need someone to pick you up from Elena's?'
'No, I was just going to walk-'
'That'll take too long,' she interrupted again. 'I need this ring as soon as possible. Nathalie can pick you up from Elena's and drive you over, I think she was going soon anyway.' Caroline's eyes shot to Nathalie for confirmation, who shrugged in response. She didn't mind.
'Caroline,' Stefan sighed.
'Stefan!' Caroline retorted. 'Just convince Bonnie with your broody, sympathy-inspiring face to make me a daylight ring and then I can go live my life as normal.'
Caroline hung up, rubbing her eyes. This was far more stressful than anything she had ever had to deal with.
'Mason Lockwood?' Nathalie enquired, eyes curious.
The blonde turned to her in surprise. 'You know him?'
'I bumped into him at Target a few days ago. Did you say that Stefan thinks he's a werewolf?'
'Yeah. Damon and Elena are going to Duke to do some research about it today apparently. You don't mind picking him up from Elena's, do you? I really need to go out.'
'It's fine with me,' Nathalie shrugged again. 'So, a werewolf, huh?'
'Could that actually be true?' Caroline enquired, feeling slightly scared and even more so when she looked at Nathalie's knowing grin.
'Well, yeah.'
'No,' Caroline breathed. 'Seriously? Are they dangerous?'
'Extremely,' Nathalie nodded, 'But only on the full moon. And, for future reference, I suppose I'd better tell you that almost any creature you've heard of in your fairytales, and more, are most likely real.'
'Even fairies? Mermaids, dragons?' she said dryly. Her eyes widened as Nathalie smirked, amused. 'Really!? Dragons!?'
'Yes,' she nodded. 'All of those things are real. Mermaids aren't very pretty, though. The legends have somewhat warped the perception of mermaids a little. Anyway, you wanted me to pick up Stefan from Elena's?'
Nathalie snickered as she waited for Caroline to give her the address. Her departure was delayed by a good ten minutes due to Caroline's shocked stupor and consequently very excited questions about mermaids and dragons and where she could possibly find them.
A short time later, Nathalie pulled up outside Elena's home just as two pretty women, one brunette and one with dark blonde hair, walked towards Damon followed closely by Stefan and Alaric. She noticed wryly that this was the suspicious one she had met at the Mystic Grill not forty-eight hours ago, and gave an internal (sarcastic) jump for joy.
As she parked behind Damon's car, she got the attention of the group. Before she got out, she pulled on her shoes - they were black with tweed patterning, a round toe and a wedge heel.
She could barely drive in heels on the correct side of the car. She had no chance when her driving in America was ropey enough as it was.
Her outfit consisted of a pair of black leggings, a baggy grey t-shirt and a khaki green, sleeveless cardigan. It was simple but accentuated her rounded curves nicely. Coupled with a grey handbag, her boots made the outfit look more sophisticated and made her look much taller than she actually was. Her ears were full of silver studs and around her neck was a choker necklace that held Fred's silver engagement band. Her make up was simple, a subtle brown smoky eye with a translucent pink lip balm. Her long, dark hair fell in it's usual messy, beach curls to the small of her back. Her wand was tucked safely into her boot, ready to be wielded if any occasion should call for it. She knew she looked good today – apparently, she wasn't the one who noticed.
The men were looking at her with interest, all having met her briefly since she moved into town. The women were appraising her, looking her up and down and wondering whom exactly this girl was, and whether she was there to steal their men.
'Nathalie,' Stefan greeted. 'You're early.' Elena turned to him sharply as he greeted her. How did he even know her?
'Bang on time actually,' she said, looking down at her silver watch. Her accent cut through the atmosphere like a knife, in stark contrast to the American ones surrounding her. She turned to the girls, a warm smile on her face. 'I don't think we've met. I'm Nathalie Potter, resident newbie.'
'I'm Jenna, Jenna Sommers,' the blonde stuck her hand out towards Nathalie, grinning right back at the girl. She gestured towards Elena, who had a somewhat pained but friendly enough expression on her face. 'This is my niece, Elena.'
'Pleasure,' Nathalie said happily, taking Jenna's hand and giving it a firm shake. Jenna wasn't a large woman by any means, but she couldn't help but notice how her hand engulfed Nathalie's small one quite easily. 'I've been enlisted to drive Stefan to the Mystic Grill once he's seen Elena off. Fair warning though, Stefan, up until about four days ago I drove on the other side of the car. And road.'
'Apprehensive,' Stefan said, a crooked grin on his face. Jenna and Alaric laughed as Damon stared Nathalie down, whilst Elena chuckled nervously.
'Enlisted?' Jenna enquired.
'Caroline sent me,' she shrugged. 'Persuasive, that girl. Definitely a force to be reckoned with.'
'You're Caroline's new friend,' Elena said quietly, realisation dawning on her. This is the girl that Stefan told her about last night – the one who knew about vampires, whom Caroline had gone to before she went home. Elena couldn't figure out whether she felt even more uncomfortable, or somewhat relieved that Stefan wasn't romantically interested in the newcomer in any way.
'Mm,' Nathalie hummed in agreement. 'Don't let me keep you from your goodbyes, though.' She cast one more smile at the group, before walking back and leaning against her car, pulling her phone out of her handbag as she did so.
'Sorry you can't come too, Stef,' Damon smirked, slowly tearing his eyes away from the strange girl in front of him and turning towards his brother.
Stefan pointedly ignored him. 'Call me if you need anything,' he said, smiling gently at Elena.
'Oh, I'll take really good care of her,' Damon chimed in, looking triumphantly at his brother. This didn't go unnoticed by Elena, who glared at the older Salvatore. She turned to Stefan, grabbed him by the neck and kissed him hard. Nathalie, never a fan of public displays of affection, couldn't help the disgusted look that crossed her face (which Damon mirrored) and the sarcastic, gagging noise that flew from her mouth.
When the couple pulled away from each other, Nathalie was made into the target of Elena's glare as she shrugged, a cheeky look on her face. 'I'm not a fan of P.D.A. Sorry.'
She didn't sound apologetic at all.
Opening her mouth to say something, Elena was interrupted by Damon. 'Okay, time to go,' he said, rolling his eyes and getting into his car. Instead, she turned to Stefan, giving him one last smile as she got into the passenger seat.
Before long, they had driven off, Jenna had said 'Lovely to meet you' to Nathalie again before disappearing into the house and Stefan was in the passenger side of her car.
'So, I hear your brother and your girlfriend are going to Duke to do some werewolf studies,' she said casually, not once taking her eyes from the road.
'Yes,' he said stiffly. He felt a stab of annoyance that Nathalie had clearly been let into the loop – obviously Caroline had filled her in. He couldn't say he was surprised, considering her past history of gossiping, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He wasn't sure how he felt about Caroline keeping Nathalie's secrets, whilst she was perfectly okay with spilling theirs.
'And how do you feel about it?' Nathalie said, smirking. Stefan turned to her questioningly, not quite sure what she was talking about. 'I've heard you're broody, but you have a face like a slapped arse right now.'
Stefan glared. 'I'm not broody. And I'm fine.'
'Right,' Nathalie nodded. 'Totally fine.'
'What's that supposed to mean?'
'I mean that,' Nathalie sighed, 'Your brother's a complete dolt from what I've heard. A handsome dolt, but still a dolt. Your girlfriend is going with him to a university to research a creature you weren't even aware existed. It can't be a normal day for you.. or is it?'
'What do you mean 'you even aware existed'? Do you know something?' Apparently, Stefan was deaf to everything Nathalie said apart from that particular statement. 'I've been around for over a century and a half, and not once have I come across one. Neither has my brother. I mean, odds are we would have come across one of them by now.'
The drive from Elena's to the Grill wasn't a long one. It was by complete chance that, as Stefan asked that question, she pulled up just outside of it.
Nathalie shrugged. 'You exist, don't you? Doesn't that mean that werewolves could exist too? A hundred odd years isn't that long of a time. People live to a hundred and never discover the supernatural world. What's another fifty years on top of that?' Stefan stayed quiet, staring at her. Nathalie shooed him away. 'Now, get in there and get Caroline her ring.'
'You obviously know something,' he protested. 'Tell me what you know.'
Nathalie raised an eyebrow, challenging him as his stare intensified.
'Get out of my car, Stefan.'
'Is Mistress hungry?' Kreacher croaked as she walked through the front door, dropping her keys on the side table. 'Kreacher can make some pie for Mistress.'
'No thank you, Kreacher,' she shook her head, patting his head as he looked saddened. 'I'm going to floo home for Sunday dinner, I think.'
'Mistress is going to the Weasley house?'
'Yes, I think so,' she nodded, looking at her watch. It was about the time that everyone arrived for the weekly Weasley gathering, and she missed her family and friends. Missed her kind of normal. Not as much as she thought she would, but still. 'I'll bring you some home, alright? Maybe you can work on that list of things you want for your cellar whilst I'm gone.'
Kreacher perked up. 'Yes, Kreacher will do that, Mistress,' he said happily. Well, it sounded very begrudging and miserable, but Nathalie knew that his tone of voice never strayed far from his usual grumpy croak.
'Great. I'll see you in a couple of hours, then,' she grinned as she stepped into the living room. After Caroline had left the night before, she had received an owl from the Kingsley informing her that her fireplace had finally been connected to the network. It would be much easier now for Nathalie to go home.
'The Burrow,' she said clearly, stepping into the green flames. She still felt a little fear of the floo network after her accidental trip to Knockturn Alley just before her second year. Maybe that's why she enunciated everything so clearly now.
'NATHALIE!'
'This is Nathalie. Leave a message or drop me a text, I'll get back to you soon.'
'She's not picking up,' Caroline groaned, 'It just keeps going to voicemail.'
Her and Stefan were walking through the woods, beginning their hunting lesson for the day. They were currently out stalking for bunnies, squirrels and possibly a deer, if she was lucky enough.
'I still don't understand why you want her here whilst you hunt,' Stefan said, slightly grumpily. He wasn't into the fact that Nathalie had, essentially, kicked him to the curb this morning.
'I think she could help me,' Caroline said airily, scanning the vicinity for a bunny to eat.
Stefan rolled his eyes. 'Why, because she knows things? Like how she knows about werewolves?'
'Exactly!' Caroline chirped, not expanding on Nathalie's knowledge of them. She knew only of what she had been told that morning; to be honest, after Nathalie mentioned the existence of unicorns she had been far too distracted by that to ask about a werewolf and she knew pretty much nothing anyway.
'Can't you ask her about the wolves?'
Caroline glared, and Stefan put his hands up defensively. He then placed them together, in a begging gesture, his tone changing into a plead. 'Please, Caroline.'
'All she said is that they're only dangerous on the full moon, and that there's good ones and bad ones just like normal people,' she retorted, once again scanning the area.
'And you believe that's all she knows?' Stefan asked, brows raised. 'Come on, Care. She knew about alcohol helping vampires control their cravings and that's not exactly common knowledge. D'you really think that there isn't a possibility that she knows much, much more?'
She let out an exasperated huff. 'Fine, Stefan. I'll ask her.'
'Now?' he prodded. Caroline narrowed her eyes at him.
'In case you haven't noticed, Mister Salvatore, I've been calling her for an hour and she hasn't picked up once. I will ask her when she picks up,' she snapped. 'Anyway, wasn't this day supposed to be about me learning how to eat on your vegan vampire diet?'
'Right,' Stefan said, turning his attention to the ground. He couldn't help but feel guilty; he was supposed to be helping Caroline, and yet, he's bugging her about problems that wouldn't- shouldn't- have been hers to begin with. 'Yes. Sorry.'
'Okay,' she nodded. 'So, what am I supposed to do again?'
'Chase it, grab it,' Stefan said. 'Feed on it.'
'Isn't killing cute, defenceless animals the first step in becoming a serial killer?' Caroline sniped, grinning playfully at him.
He fought back the small smile trying to make its way onto his face.
'Well, you sort of skipped the serial killer and went straight to vampire.'
The Burrow was pretty full that day. Everyone, including Andromeda and Teddy, had made it to Sunday dinner apart from Charlie, who had once again gone back to Romania. Nathalie couldn't be happier, and they were all ever so excited to see her.
Especially Teddy, Hermione, Ron and George.
'Natnat!' Teddy squealed, holding his chubby arms out towards her as his hair turned a bright, bubblegum pink in his excitement. She laughed and took him from Andromeda's arms, spinning him around as he clung onto her neck tightly, giggling all the while. 'I missed you!' he chortled happily, smiling into her neck as she held him close.
'Missed you too, Teddybear,' she grinned. 'It's only been a few days though sweetie pie.'
'Go home with you!' he said, his English sounding a little broken and slightly slurred, but impressive regardless. He was very good at speaking for his age, most likely because of his large family. The Burrow was never quiet after all and he spent many, many hours there; learning to talk quickly was part of the territory.
'One day, sweetheart,' she said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
'Alright, Mum, Angelina's on her wa- Nathalie!' George walked through the front door, his face brightening as soon as he spotted his friend. He sped over, engulfing Nathalie in a hug and picking her up, causing both her and Teddy to squeal in surprise.
'George! I have a child here!'
'Teddy loves it, don't you mate?' he said, smirking as the child giggled. 'How's life across the pond? You look divine as usual my love.' Nathalie rolled her eyes playfully at him.
'Interesting,' Nathalie smirked right back, eyes twinkling underneath her glasses. 'I have so much to tell you all.'
'You best not be getting yourself into any trouble,' Mrs. Weasley chided, walking into the room with several plates of food following behind her. She turned to Nathalie with a raised eyebrow, smacking George's hand away from the roast potatoes without looking at him. She ignored his glare as she put her hands on her hips, scrutinising Nathalie. 'You said you'd be careful.'
'I am!' Nathalie protested, cowering slightly under Mrs. Weasley's glare. 'Blame Ron, Mrs. Weasley, he picked where I was going to live!'
'Hmm, we'll talk about everything after dinner,' she said, looking at Nathalie carefully. 'George, where's Angelina?'
He rolled his eyes. 'I told you, she was on her way. She was just finishing up the trifle.'
'You said absolutely no such thing,' Mrs Weasley snapped, just as the flames went green and Angelina stepped out, clutching a large, glass bowl full of trifle.
'Auntie Angie!' Teddy chirped, waving happily at her (although he still hadn't released his hold on Nathalie).
'Hey Teddy. Didn't expect to see you here Nat,' she said, leaning over and giving them both a hug whilst carefully balancing the pudding in one arm.
'Oh, thank you for the pudding, dear,' Mrs Weasley said, hurrying over and taking it from Angelina. 'Looks delicious.'
'You already cater for an army,' she chuckled, 'It's absolutely no trouble at all.'
'You're going to regret saying that Ang,' George chuckled as she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. 'She'll just keep giving you things to cook from now on.'
Mrs Weasley smacked him upside the head.
'Now, where on earth is Ronald?'
Mrs Weasley shot out of the room, making a beeline for the kitchen where Andromeda was peeling a mountain of carrots. Teddy cooed slightly, twirling Nathalie's long waves in his hands as her, Angelina and George looked on in amusement.
Leaning back into the sofa, Ronald let out a long, drawn out belch, earning him a smack from Hermione and Nathalie as the rest of the women groaned in disgust whilst the men laughed.
'Ow!' he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. The entire family and extended family had gathered into the living room. Hermione, Ron, Neville and Ginny had squashed themselves on the sofa. Mr Weasley was sat in one of the armchairs, Mrs Weasley perched on the arm whilst Fleur and Bill shared the other. George had his back against the side of the sofa with Angelina leaning on his chest. Percy had pulled two chairs from the kitchen, one for himself and one for Andromeda. Finally, Nathalie was leaning against Hermione's legs, clutching a sleepy Teddy to her chest. Dinner had been quite an affair, many people talking over each other with a huge amount of food consumption that probably wasn't healthy for anyone. Basking in the afterglow of a lovely meal was therefore a strict requirement (after Mrs. Weasley made them all clean up of course).
'Tell us about your new place then Nat,' Bill said, trying to ignore the discomfort of his overstuffed belly. 'Are you liking it?'
'I've not really explored that much, to be honest,' she replied, shifting Teddy's head so that it was snuggled against her neck. 'There's literally one restaurant, though. Absolutely tiny town.'
'But you said it was interesting earlier,' George said, raising an eyebrow. 'That sounds completely tedious, to be honest.'
Nathalie tried to shrug. 'It's full of vampires.'
'What?!' Mrs Weasley shrieked as everyone sat up a little straighter, all sharing a similar expression of surprise. Teddy's eyes snapped open at Mrs Weasley's voice. His eyes began to water as the shock wore off, and Nathalie quickly cradled his head and shushed him, giving him a kiss on the forehead. 'Oh, I'm sorry, Teddy dear.'
He sniffled as Nathalie continued to speak. 'They seem alright. I mean, the townsfolk are still walking. There's Wiccan witches too. Maybe a couple of werewolves.'
'You said this was a Muggle town,' Hermione said, forehead creased in concern. 'That doesn't sound very Muggle to me.'
Nathalie, again, tried to shrug. 'I don't think you could class this town as normal to be honest. It's probably the closest to our strand of magic that the Muggle world has to ours,' she turned to Ron, her face amused. 'Of all places you could've picked, Ron.'
'Hey!' he protested as Mrs Weasley glared at him, 'Don't blame this on me!'
'It's alright,' Nathalie laughed, rubbing the back of Teddy's head trying to get him to go back to sleep. It seemed to be working. 'I did nearly get eaten by a vampire the other day.'
'How did that happen?' Mrs Weasley snapped, 'I told you to be careful!'
'I am being careful, Mrs Weasley,' Nathalie sighed exasperatedly. 'She got through my wards, which meant she meant no harm when she crossed them. She was turned the night she found me, and I felt bad for her. She's actually really lovely, you'd like her a lot. Her name's Caroline.'
'Vampires are turning Muggles?' Percy intercepted sharply. 'Is that even legal?'
'Most vampires start off as Muggles, Percy,' Hermione chimed in. 'It's just how it is.'
'These ones can walk in the sun,' Nathalie said airily.
The room was shocked into silence.
'What?' Andromeda breathed. 'How on earth-'
'Wiccan witches can cast a spell on a piece of Lapis Lazuli jewellery to enable them to walk in the sun,' she said, appraising all of the expressions around her. They varied from blankness, to horror, to plain old shocked. 'It's a pretty well-kept secret, though, even in the vampire community. Caroline told me that Wiccan witches keep Grimoires with spells they've either created or collected and pass it down through the generations, and apparently they don't like sharing. As far as I know, only a few vampires even know of it's existence, let alone actually own one, seeing as there's only one bloodline of Wiccans who know the spell left.'
'That should be impossible, though,' Mr Weasley protested. 'Wiccan magic is supposed to be far weaker than ours, and we've not found any solution like that yet.'
'Maybe it just works completely differently,' Angelina said. 'I mean, has anyone in our world even tried finding a solution to the sun?'
'Not as far as I'm aware,' Hermione said, shaking her head. 'But prejudice against creatures and half breeds has always been a huge problem with the people and the Ministry, in my opinion.'
'You need to look after yourself better, Nathalie,' Fleur said, concern laced in her heavily-accented voice. 'Nobody needs to be peeking you up in a coffin.'
'I'm absolutely fine, Fleur,' Nathalie laughed. 'I actually quite like it. For once, I'm not worrying about my own problems.'
'Is being away helping?' Mrs Weasley asked quietly, true worry shining in her eyes. It lessened slightly as Nathalie gave her a soft, reassuring smile, feeling warmed by the concern for her wellbeing displayed by everyone in the room.
'Yes, Mrs Weasley. I really think it is.'
'And you'll let us know if you need anything at all?'
'Promise.'
'Good.'
Caroline was yanked away from Matt. In her frenzied feed, she tried desperately to kick against her captor, who was holding her arms down and saying something to her in an attempt to calm her down. She couldn't quite understand what he was saying, and she continued to fight her way towards the source of the blood.
Eventually, though, she understood.
'Stop! Stop, stop, stop!' Stefan said, holding her tight as his tone cut through the fog of her brain like a knife.
Her eyes, fixated on Matt, widened as he fainted from the blood loss.
'Oh my God,' she breathed, guilt pooling in her stomach as she realised exactly what she had done. Almost blindly, she pulled her phone out from her pocket, dialling her most recent number and ignoring Stefan's protests. It took a few rings and she was sure it was going to be directed to voicemail like it had done earlier, but eventually, she picked up.
'Caroline?' Nathalie said, her voice concerned.
'I bit Matt,' Caroline choked. 'I didn't mean to.'
'He's not dead, is he?' she replied, her voice neutral. In the background, Caroline heard a distinct 'what?!' and a few surprised gasps, but ignored them. She shook her head rapidly, before realising that Nathalie wouldn't be able to see. 'No,' she said softly. 'No, no, no. Stefan stopped me.'
As she said his name, she realised that his eyes were wide, panicked. Her forehead creased in confusion.
'Good. Alright, I'll be there in just a minute, okay? Hang tight.'
'Caroline, we need to get out of these woods now,' Stefan said quickly, eyes darting around the trees. 'We need to leave.'
She heard a rustle behind her.
'What was that?' she stuttered.
'Matt, stay down,' he said firmly, 'Do not move.'
The rustling became louder, and it was no longer in one location. Neither Stefan or Caroline could pinpoint exactly where the noise was coming from.
She could feel the panic bubbling up her throat.
'You, and me, we're gonna run,' Stefan instructed. 'It's gonna follow us; we need to lead it away from Matt. You need to run as fast as you can, do you understand me?'
He sounded like a parent, Caroline noted, but nodded anyway.
'Go, go!'
Both of them sped off, arriving at the old ruins before long. Caroline couldn't wait any more - she stopped, and asked Stefan the question that was burning in her mind.
'Wait!' she said, causing him to stop and turn to her. 'What is it?'
'It's a werewolf. He will try to kill us, and he can,' Stefan said, panic laced in his voice. He held onto her arm with every intention of pulling them away from the woods, when they were interrupted.
'Hey!' Tyler appeared from the ruins. 'What are you two doing?'
A loud crack! echoed through the trees. All of their heads snapped in different directions looking for the source, but saw nothing.
'What are you doing?' Stefan retorted slowly, peeling his eyes away from the trees for just a moment. Tyler was about to respond, when the werewolf pounced.
It took less than a second to take Caroline down, looking completely rabid as spit dripped from menacing, sharp teeth. She screamed, trying desperately to keep those jaws away from any part of her.
Stefan rushed towards them, pushing the wolf off as Tyler stared on in shock.
The wolf started prowling again, growling at the two vampires. Out of nowhere, a shadow crossed the group from above and they all turned their heads to it, including the wolf.
Without any warning, it let out a large caw and made a dive towards the wolf. Its huge talons cut deep into his back, causing him to howl in pain and whimper as he fell to the ground. It took only a moment for him to recover, completely ignoring the blood pouring from his back as the bird circled around him. A vicious bark tore at his mouth as he turned towards the once vampire again, his instincts screaming that a vampire was a much greater threat than a bird.
'No!' Tyler shouted as the wolf prepared to leap towards her again. The eagle had flown between the two, looking very ready to pull the wolf's eyes from it's sockets. It even looked like it was glaring at the predator, who stared back for a few moments.
It was quiet apart from the sound of the bird's wings flapping as the wolf turned to Tyler, sizing him up. Slowly the wolf turned away, deciding to follow its orders. He attempted to run off, but the deep tears in his back slowed him down significantly as the blood pouring from the wounds started staining his fur. He swayed and hobbled a little bit, trying to find a way to run that wouldn't pull the muscles too much and hinder his getaway. As he ran, he didn't notice the eagle following him until he was out of sight of the vampires. The creature then landed on the ground, staring into the direction the wolf had run in.
A few seconds later, it was no longer an eagle.
Nathalie took a deep breath, noting the blood stains on her boots with a sigh and ran back in the direction of Caroline, Stefan and Tyler.
Stefan sped towards Tyler, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye. 'You won't remember seeing me and Caroline tonight.'
'I won't remember,' Tyler chanted.
Stefan sighed, relieved to see that he could be compelled. It was short-lived, however, as a familiar husky voice reached his ears.
'That's not going to work for long, you know,' Nathalie said airily as she appeared before them.
'Nat!' Caroline breathed, launching herself at the girl. The scent of blood reached her nose then. It wasn't as appealing as human blood, otherwise she probably would have lost control, but the smell was definitely there. She looked to the source of it - Nathalie's shoes - and gasped. 'That was-'
'Yes,' she interrupted, her eyes still fixed on Stefan, who was staring straight back. 'Later, Caroline.'
She nodded, and Nathalie continued. 'Care told me about your animal diet. You're weaker than you should be,' she said matter-of-factly, 'Your compulsion will wear off before you know it. Especially since he has the wolf gene.'
'And what do you propose we do, Nathalie?' he snapped, fed up of how she seemed to know so much. It had been a long time since he had actually wanted to torture someone for information seeing as she was being so cagey with him.
'Move,' she said firmly, pulling Caroline off of her and pulling her wand from her boot, pointing it in Tyler's face. Stefan looked on in confusion, noticing how Caroline's face was quite impassive.
'Obliviate.'
Tyler's eyes glazed over as he turned and walked in the opposite direction, heading to another part of the woods. Stefan's eyebrows shot up as he noticed that Tyler's expression was eerily similar to a person who had been recently compelled.
He gaped at her as she turned back to him, her eyes totally serious.
'I feel like we have a lot to talk about,' she said calmly, 'But let's deal with the Matt issue first. You bit him, Caroline?'
She nodded.
'Lead the way.'
Caroline started walking towards where they had left Matt, followed closely by Nathalie. Stefan stayed rooted to his spot for a minute, contemplating what he had just seen.
Slowly, he lifted his left foot and started taking one step after another, following the two girls.
'You're not going to remember what I did to you, or what you saw me become,' Caroline compelled, her voice laced in sadness.
'We were just making out in the woods,' he said robotically.
'And then an animal attacked you and bit your neck.'
'It's weird, it just came out of nowhere.'
Nathalie focused on her poker face, refusing to show Stefan and Caroline how weird it was to watch the compelling process. She felt extremely sorry for the busboy, but pushed back any of these feelings in favour of the compassion bubbling in her chest towards Caroline. She had absolutely no idea how she must feel - what Nathalie did understand, however, that death was now part of Caroline's nature whether she liked it or not. And she felt proud that, despite a couple of slip ups, that she was managing to keep herself in control extremely well if the context of the situation was taken into consideration. She had only been turned a few days ago, after all.
Nathalie had seen witches and wolves more driven by their bloodlust than Caroline.
Caroline turned to her and Stefan. He was standing next to her, dividing his attention between his new protégé and the mystery girl that had unwittingly barrelled her way into their town and become fast friends with the blonde. 'What are we going to do about Tyler?'
'It's dealt with, and we'll get Matt on vervain. It'll keep you from compelling him, and keep you from drinking his blood.'
She nodded slowly. 'I can't believe I hurt him,' she whispered brokenly. Stefan took a step towards her, as Nathalie took a step back. She knew that this would be a vampire-vampire moment, and decided to stay out of it.
'I know,' he said sympathetically, putting his hand on her arm.
'He's the one person on this planet that I never wanted to hurt,' she sighed, unable to cry.
'It's not going to get any easier. You're just gonna have to work that much harder.'
'I shouldn't be with him, should I?' she said rhetorically, shaking her head. 'Because if there's any danger…'
'I'm the last person to make that kind of decision for you,' Stefan said softly, 'If I had to follow my own advice, I would have walked away from Elena a long time ago.'
'You ever think you should have?'
'I know I should have,' he said resignedly. 'I just can't.'
The two vampires looked at each other, realising that they were coming to an understanding. Despite the interesting turn her night had taken, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two forming a genuine bond even though the reason for it wasn't particularly pleasant.
'Come on,' she said gently, holding a hand out to each vampire. They looked at her curiously. 'I have a few bottles of Firewhiskey left. I'm sure you have a few questions for me, Stefan, and you could both use a couple hours of relaxation.'
Caroline shook her head. 'You go first,' she said, coming to a decision. 'I have something I need to do.'
Nathalie and Stefan looked on in sympathy, knowing exactly what that meant. She gave them a soft smile in return.
'Call Kreacher when you're finished. He'll bring you back to mine.'
She nodded, speeding away from the two. Nathalie again held her hand out towards Stefan, who took it cautiously.
A second later, a loud pop! had signified their departure.
'Jesus Christ!' Stefan gasped, trying to suck some oxygen into his lungs. He felt queasy, which he hadn't felt in almost a hundred and fifty years and he had forgotten how unpleasant the sensation was. One second he was in the woods; the next, he was standing outside Nathalie's home. Gasping for air, he stared at her with a horrified expression on his face as she looked on in amusement. 'What the hell did you just do?'
'Straight to the point, aren't you?' she chuckled. She turned to the door and shoved the key in the lock, giving it a twist before she swung the door open. 'Let's sit you down and get you a drink. Make yourself at home.'
'What are you?' he asked, this time more fiercely. She rolled her eyes at him and made her way to the kitchen anyway, pulling out two bottles of firewhiskey and three glasses. She decided to tuck a bottle of elf-made wine under her arm for good measure. Somehow, she managed to carry three bottles with one side of her body and six glasses with the other (three tumblers and two wine glasses in one hand, with the last wine glass also tucked under her arm). She made her way back into the hallway, heading towards her living room as Stefan stayed frozen in the doorway. She placed everything down on the coffee table, pouring Stefan a firewhiskey and holding it out to him with a raised eyebrow.
He didn't take it, but he did start walking towards the living room.
Nathalie rolled her eyes, pushing it into his hands regardless once he was in arm's reach. 'Look, Stefan, I get that you're feeling all protective and suspicious and all that, but right now you need to have a drink,' she eyed his posture up. 'I'm not telling you anything whilst you're this strung out.'
He looked down at his drink. It felt slightly warm in his hands, yet not – it was a strange sensation, and curiosity burned his insides. 'Is this the Firewhiskey Caroline told me about?' he said slowly, trying to relax. He needed the information more than he needed anything else and she didn't look too dangerous at this moment (he couldn't help but stare at her boot where that stick of hers was tucked into every few moments) so he decided that following her advice would probably work out best for him in the long run.
Nathalie nodded, her mouth quirked up into a smile. 'She likes it a lot.'
He was apprehensive, but after a few minutes of staring into his glass, he raised it to his lips. Stefan couldn't help but feel surprise at just how strong it actually was. And, it was pretty delicious – he didn't think he had ever tasted anything like it. Damon would have a field day over this stuff.
'It's good,' he said, the compliment sounding empty even to his ears. He winced slightly.
Nathalie tilted her head, looking at him blankly. Without any warning, she reached out and placed her hand on his knee, giving it a soft squeeze when he tensed up at her touch.
'I'm not going to hurt you or anyone else here, Stefan,' she said softly, a genuine smile playing at her lips. 'Chill out.'
He didn't respond. A century on this planet had taught him how to read people fairly accurately – from what he could see, Nathalie was being genuine about her claim. He slowly leaned forward as she took her hand away, his placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward, waiting.
'This conversation will last forever and go in fifteen hundred directions if we don't set out what's going to be talked about,' she joked, knowing that Stefan had too many questions for her to even comprehend. 'I'll tell you who, and what I am, and then we'll talk about werewolves, alright?'
He nodded, and Nathalie opened her mouth to speak.
'I'm a witch.'
An extra long chapter to make up for the wait and to celebrate 100+ reviews in 3 chapters!
Thank you all so much for your positivity. xo
