Disclaimer: Still don't own either The Vampire Diaries or Harry Potter.

IV

"I can make you move against your will, yeah.

Don't it make you sad to lose control?

Every single thought of yours, distracted.

Broken voices, I stunt your growth."

-Broken Voices, Ari Hest

ooo

He was warm and comfortable. Really, anything on top of those two facts was superfluous. He was lying on a terribly soft surface and wrapped in a cocoon of warmth.

Had he felt like wakening the cognitive portions of his brain, he would've realized that he was in a bed.

Harry lay there, completely content to keep his mind firmly in the 'off' position, and bask in the comfort of his mental wonderland. That is, until a unbelievably bright light seared through his eyelids. He immediately retreated under the covers of the bed, hoping to block the offensive light.

Bonnie was a little amused by the high-pitched whine that Harry emitted, unaware that such a sound came from anything other than a cat in heat. She turned from the newly opened curtains towards the bed her best friend was sequestered in.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Bonnie cried, giving a cheshire-cat grin to the lump in the bed. "Grams is downstairs, and she wants to talk to you."

A string of unintelligible words came from the gray down comforter.

"I'll take that as 'Alright, Bonnie, I'll be downstairs in a minute.' You don't want Grams to come up here, you know that." With that thinly veiled threat, Bonnie backed out of the room and went to the kitchen, where her Grandmother was waiting.

ooo

Harry had wasted another good ten minutes suffocating himself in the too-comfortable bed located in Bonnie's guestroom before he finally emerged and decided to venture downstairs. Bonnie and her Grandmother lived in a nice, two story home a few streets over from Remus and Sirius' house.

Honestly, all of the houses in Mystic Falls were nice. The suburb was notoriously well-to-do, with the Weasley's being the least wealthy in the area, but still having a respectable three bedroom home.

The bannisters of the staircase were a burnished dark cherry wood, and the walls were a deep maroon. There were few photographs on the walls. They were mostly covered in various pieces of artwork: landscape paintings, a few rough sketches, portraits of Bonnie at differing ages. Grams was an artist when she wasn't teaching classes on the occult and polytheistic religions at the local college, and you could tell her house was a work of love for the woman.

Harry's pondering of the décor occupied his thoughts so heavily that his arrival in the kitchen was announced by a smothered curse as he walked, head first, into a clock mounted on the wall.

"You're more than just a pretty face, aren't you dear?" Grams was seated at the kitchen table, Bonnie fiddling with the coffee maker.

Sheila Bennett, Grams, was a formidable woman. As petite as her granddaughter, she had brown shoulder length curls, milk chocolate skin, wickedly sharp cheekbones, and a mouth on the precipice of bursting into either a warm smile or a deeply cutting frown. She was on Harry's list of People Likely to Feed You to a Crocodile.

She was awesome.

"Some days I like to recite poetry and debate philosophy." Harry smiled tiredly through his retort.

"Sit down, child. Bonnie's either making coffee or trying to create a renewable fuel source, I can't figure out which, it's taking her so long." Harry took the cue and sat down across the table from Grams, leaving a seat open on either side of the four-seater table.

"There's no need to be snippy, Grams," Bonnie frowned over a spoonful of coffee grounds.

"Mmm," Grams pursed her lips at Bonnie. She was very youthful, hardly having aged in all of the years Harry had been coming to her house. Bonnie's parents had divorced while Bonnie and Harry were children, and Bonnie's mother had moved in with Grams. When her mother left, Bonnie stayed.

"Now then, Monkey," Harry smiled softly at the childhood nickname. "We need to talk about what's been going on with you."

His smile vanished at Grams' statement. What was she talking about? Damon?

"I don't suppose you'd like to come out and admit to anything, would you?"

"No," Harry replied slowly. "I can't think of anything I'd need to talk about."

"Really, nothing strange has happened to you recently? No random accidents occurring around you? Nothing that you think would tie-in to your fainting spell last night?" Grams was raising a fiercely arched eyebrow at Harry as Bonnie placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her before taking a seat next to the two of them.

"Well, now that you mention it," Harry trailed off. "Some...odd things have been happening recently, I suppose."

Grams waited for him to continue, adjusting her cream-colored scarf and taking a sip of her coffee. Bonnie merely looked at him nervously.

"I guess I should just start with yesterday. I felt weird, all day. It was like someone placed the wrong kind of battery in me." Harry chuckled softly at his analogy. "One that was too strong. I felt like I was on the edge of exploding all day long, and then when the comet flew over, it got so strong I just couldn't handle the energy anymore. I guess that's when I passed out."

"See, that wasn't so hard to admit, now was it?" Grams smiled graciously at her surrogate grandchild.

Harry gave a lopsided smile in response before turning his attention to Bonnie, who was biting her lip like it was going out of style. He frowned a little, "Bonnie, are you okay?"

Her pretty face scrunched itself up unattractively and she emitted a quiet, shrill squeak in response before bursting into a shout. "Grams and I think you're a witch like us!" She slapped her hand over her mouth as Grams rolled her eyes and muttered something about needing rum in her coffee.

Harry blinked a few times at his now-panting best friend before exploding into peals of laughter. He was laughing so hard, in fact, that his face had taken on a rather unattractive shade of violet.

"Dammit, Bonnie. You broke him," Grams' quip was lazy. She leaned forward in her chair and her eyes glinted harshly in the light. "Harry," she said, and the single word was a command for him to gather himself.

"Oh," The boy was somewhat breathless. "Yes, Grams? I'm sorry. It's just that it's such a ludicrous thing to say. I can't be a witch."

"And why not?" Grams asked, sitting back and sipping her drink.

"I'm not a female, and there's no history of witchcraft in my family." Harry nodded, convincing himself as much as Bonnie and Grams.

"There are just as many male magic users as female ones. Also, you don't know enough about your family history to say that. It's not like it would be written on your grandparent's tombstones, no one was alive when you began manifesting, so no one would have mentioned it to you as a child." Grams reasoned, placing her coffee cup on the checkered tablecloth.

"Harry, you passed out last night because our magic is tied into the comet's passage. Grams and I both felt energized by the comet, but we think your reaction is because you're more powerfully magically than either of us. Our bloodline is very diluted, with no pure witch having been in it for several generations. We think that your powers come from a stronger, more recent source." Harry's best friend went back to biting her lip.

"Aside from falling out yesterday, I don't understand why the two of you are saying all of this. I haven't done any magic," Harry's voice became louder as he grew more upset.

"Don't you raise your voice at me, Monkey," Grams voice took on a decidedly sharp edge. "I will knock you into next Thursday, boy."

"I'm sorry, Grams." Harry flushed, looking at his lap and wringing his hands.

Bonnie returned to the topic at hand, "You have shown your powers though, Harry. You just weren't aware of it. Do you remember Mr. Binns' class on the first day of school? How did you feel when Stefan was staring you down?"

"Uncomfortable, to say the least. I zoned out; you sent me that text to snap me back into reality before Binns had me for lunch."

"Yes! I needed to distract you, because as Stefan made you more anxious, your bag started to float. As soon as you came back to reality, it fell back onto the ground. Also, do you remember when I took you home from the party at the falls? You nearly passed out and I had to cart you home because you slowed down the bloodflow from Ginny's neck."

"That's not true," Harry scoffed, though his eyes were wide. "I didn't do anything to Ginny's neck, I just sorta went blank."

"Are you noticing a pattern, Monkey? Say these are coincidences, though, have any other things happened while you weren't paying attention, or while you were overly emotional?" Grams asked.

Harry was silent for a few seconds. "I blew up a sink," he finally whispered.

"Come again?" Grams let out a short laugh.

"I got mad at Jeremy and a sink in one of the boys bathrooms at school blew up. It flooded the bathroom and they had to move one of the freshman Chemistry classes on the hallway."

"That was your fault?" Bonnie was astounded.

"That was also when I met Stefan. He was in the bathroom when the sink went Chernobyl." Harry replied distantly, frowning. "So, let's say for a second I am a witch...wizard...warlock? Anyways, if I am, what happens now?"

"First things first, Bonnie pours me a shot of Patron. Then, we teach you how to control your abilities, so the Vietnam Conflict doesn't occur every time your twerp of a brother pisses you off. Lord knows that boy could start an argument in an empty house."

With that, Grams stood up and began towards the living room, muttering all the while.

ooo

"The first step to controlling your magic is to find it." Grams had cleared the living room floor, moving all of the furniture up against the walls. There was incense burning, and the room was lit by candlelight solely.

"And the frankincense and myrrh are supposed to help how?" Harry asked, eyeing the incense distastefully.

"Oh, they just set the mood. It feels more official this way." Grams shrugged, pulling her scarf off and sitting in the middle of the flood, gesturing for Harry to sit across from her.

"Can't I just MapQuest my magic or something?"

"I will slap the taste out of your mouth, boy."

"Sorry, Grams." Harry's gaze fell to his feet as he sat back on his knees across from Grams. Bonnie had escaped to her bedroom at the first opening, though Grams had sent a threat up after Bonnie in case the girl didn't clean her room.

"Children. They hit puberty, start blowing things up, and all of sudden think they know everything. With their Facebook, and their iPhones, and their Blueberries."

"BlackBerry, Grams."

"I know that, Monkey. I am a college professor, I was trying to get you to relax." Grams laughed a little. "Now, on to the work. Close your eyes."

Harry did as she asked, and attempted to calm his nerves. He took in a deep breath and concentrated on slowing his racing heart.

"Good. Now, I want you to picture a fire. This fire is the source of your magical energies. It's the very core of your powers and your being."

The green eyed boy was surprised by the ease in which he visualized the fire.

"I want you to hold your hand out, and imagine the fire in your hand. Feel the heat from the fire on the palm of your hand," Grams instructed.

Harry had a moment of tranquility as his hand warmed gently under the arcane fire. He then realized exactly what was happening, and his eyes shot open in shock. Sitting mildly in the palm of his hand was a bloom of fire, crackling softly.

The boy's breathing stopped at the sight of the fire, and the realization that he was, in fact, a witch like Bonnie and Grams. Grams had sensed the change in the air of the room, and opened her eyes to see Harry entranced by the fire in his palm.

On the green-eyed boy's part, he had become fully aware of his powers in that instant. His eyes glossed over and began to glow the eerie green they did whenever his magic manifested. The small fire in his hand was nowhere near the proper size for the deep well of his eldritch abilities. The fire began to grow unchecked.

"Harry!" Grams tried to snap the boy back into himself. The teen's hair began to blow about as if in a breeze, and the fire, still growing in size, began to flicker as if wind was blowing through it as well. "Ah, hell," Grams muttered, before vocalizing a spell that doused Harry in cold water, snapping him from his reverie.

Harry moaned weakly, sliding from his knees onto his rear. "Why am I wet?"

"Look up," Grams commanded, glaring at her ceiling.

As Harry did, he saw a large black scorch mark directly above him on the otherwise cream colored ceiling. "Oh, my..." He said breathlessly.

Sheila Bennett turned her glare down to her surrogate grandchild. "I suppose this means I'm going to have to get a little bit...creative with you."

ooo

A good four hours later, at two in the afternoon, an exhausted Harry and a triumphant Grams exited the living room, Harry in search of Bonnie, Grams in search of booze. It had taken them the entire time to find a means for Harry to visualize his power well without it overwhelming him. Grams had handed Harry a large and heavy tome of some sort and told him to begin studying it. She would be teaching him hands-on lessons twice a week, but he would have to study spells and such on his free time as well.

He found Bonnie in the living room, laid out on a couch engrossed in a program on the television.

"Hey!" Harry shouted, vaulting over the back of the couch and landing on top of the girl.

"Oof! Get off me!" Bonnie laughed, pushing at Harry's face with her hands. He finished burrowing his head into her neck and cuddled up to her. "That traumatic?"

"Grams is half-shark. I'm fully convinced." Harry muttered into his friend's neck. Bonnie merely laughed.

"Hey, sit up," Bonnie finally intoned. "I've got something I need to tell you."

"Something else?" Harry sat up on the couch, untwining their legs. "I don't know if I can handle any other life-altering shocks today."

"No, it's not that serious. It's about Damon," Bonnie became quiet for a second, pulling her thoughts together. "Last night, I gave him your number."

"Bonnie!" Harry shrieked, interrupting her.

"Shut up," Bonnie snorted. "You forgot again last night, if I hadn't done it, it would never get done."

Harry nodded his head reluctantly. "I guess that's true."

"And completely beside the point. When I handed him the paper, our hands brushed for a second, and I felt...odd." Bonnie was wary of Harry's reaction.

"Odd how?"

"He felt like...like death."

He cocked his head to the side and watched her for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright."

"Alright?" She asked.

"Yep. I don't really know what to make of it, so it's whatever to me at this point. I mean, he isn't dead. As far as I know, anyway," Harry giggled. "I trust you, and I trust that you felt that bad juju from him. I just don't know what to do about it. I'll just stay aware, I guess."

"That's all I can ask," Bonnie finished. "Now, you're making me miss season three of Grey's Anatomy."

"Bonnie, it's a DVD. Just start it over."

ooo

Harry spent the rest of the weekend with Sheila and Bonnie, only coming home Sunday night, at Remus' request. Monday morning saw him in the bleachers of the Mystic Falls High gym marking up a copy of the Poisonwood Bible while idly watching his twin sister fail terribly at cheerleading practice.

Harry had no illusions about her motivations for trying out for the cheerleading squad. Her sudden interest in the team was fueled by the fact that Stefan had been invited to join the football team after he caught a ball Tyler Lockwood was trying to nail him in the face with.

His morning continued in this manner until Hermione finally got fed up with Elena flailing about the basketball court, and called practice off early. Harry wasn't sure if this was a good idea, considering the exhibition game was that evening.

He wondered who he would sit with, given the fact that Ron, Tyler and Stefan were all on the football team -not that he would have sat by Tyler anyways-, and Bonnie, Hermione, and Elena were all cheerleaders now. Damon, Harry thought. He could always ask Damon to come to the game.

Damon may have had his number, but he still didn't have Damon's. Come to think of it, Harry honestly wasn't sure if Damon or Stefan had a cell phone. They always just kind of...appeared. He didn't believe sending the query through Stefan would work either, considering either brother seemed to foam at the mouth when the other was mentioned. No, Harry decided, I'll simply have to drop by the boarding house.

The rest of his day was terribly mundane. The fact that the highlight of his scholastic career was when Binns called him out, Harry had made it a point to be on his A game since that disastrous class in which Stefan had saved his ass, was a very sad fact indeed. Stefan and Binns had another debate-team-scholar-bowl-nerd off, with Stefan emerging victorious again. His defense when Bonnie questioned him was that he played a lot of crossword puzzles as a child.

After school, Harry went over to the Boarding House to see Damon, as he knew that Stefan would be at football practice, and Harry would have the car all to himself as Elena would be at cheerleading. Until she quit, anyway.

The drive from Harry's house to Damon's was short, but momentarily depressing, as he had to pass over the bridge his parents' accident had occurred on.

He pulled into the driveway of the inordinately large home and sat in the idling car for a few seconds, garnering the courage to get out and knock on the door. Harry let out a sigh and got out of the car. He adjusted the collar of his orange plaid button down as he approached the door. His knocks went unanswered for a few seconds, and he almost began walking off, when the door suddenly swung open.

A completely unfamiliar man peeked his head around the door. "Hello?"

"Hi," Harry answered, smiling hesitantly at the man. "I'm looking for Damon Salvatore, is he here?"

"No, he's not in right now. Would you like to wait in the living room for a bit? I think he should be back soon." The man said, stepping out of the doorframe and motioning Harry in.

"Thank you," Harry smiled graciously. "I'm Harry Potter, I'm a...friend of Damon's."

"I"m Zach," The man supplied his hand, which Harry shook. "I'm Damon and Stefan's uncle."

"Neither of them mentioned an Uncle," Harry said. He was now perusing the living room of the boarding house, looking at the photographs hanging on the walls.

"They don't like to brag."

Harry could hear the man's smile in his voice, and couldn't help but turn and grin at the man. "I like you." He announced.

"I'm very glad," Zach replied, moving to sit on the couch. "So, Harry Potter, what's your reason for seeking out Damon?"

"Well, he's kinda saved my life a couple of times now. I've also pretty much poured my life story out to him, and I was looking to find out a little more about the elusive Damon Salvatore. You wouldn't happen to be able to help me out, would you?" Harry's grin turned diabolical as he moved to sit next to Zach.

"What would you like to know?" Zach asked, eyeing Harry seriously.

"Why is there so much animosity between Stefan and Damon?" Harry cut straight to the question that had been bothering the most. Having a twin sister, Harry didn't quite understand how a pair of siblings could harbor that much malignancy between themselves. Harry didn't think Elena could do anything to ruin their relationship if she tried.

"Whew. Right to the million dollar question, huh?" Zach exhaled loudly. "There was once a girl. A beautiful young girl who lived here in Mystic Falls. She looked a lot like you and your sister, actually. Her name was Katherine. Katherine Pierce. She was Stefan's girlfriend."

"Why do I feel like she wasn't content with just one Salvatore brother?" Harry asked.

"Smart boy," Zach smiled. "She wasn't. She was playing around with Damon on the side for the entirety of her relationship with Stefan. Though I'm sure if you asked Damon, he would say that Katherine was dating him and playing around with Stefan. Regardless, she played both of them like a harmonica."

"What happened to end all of it?" Harry asked, running his thumb along his chin thoughtfully.

"She died," Zach said frankly. "There was a fire, and she died in it. Damon and Stefan were left behind, with nothing but malevolence and bad memories between the two of them."

"Whoa," Harry breathed. He had been expecting some minor drama leading to a grudge, not 'bitch ex-girlfriend sleeping with a brother and then dying in a housefire' drama.

"Yeah, whoa. Telling you that may have been a slight overstepping of boundaries, so if you could keep that between us, at least until one of them comes clean to you, that would be great." Zach grinned sheepishly.

Harry agreed, and the two made small talk for another twenty minutes or so, until Damon came in looking as delicious as always. He had the body of a fighter, long and whipcord lean. The tight black t-shirt all but telegraphed his negative body fat. His black hair was artfully mussed, and his blue eyes lightened somewhat upon seeing Harry.

"Harry! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hi, Damon," Harry cursed his complexion for the flush he could feel heating his cheeks. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to the scrimmage football game at the school tonight."

"A chance to see Stefan get smashed into the ground by a chunky teenager in need of deodorant? And I get to sit next to a sexy guy? I'm there." Damon's lips turned up and revealed those perfectly white teeth.

Harry's cheeks were still flushed prettily as he stood up from the couch. "Good, I'll meet you at the front of the stadium at seven?"

"It's a date."

As Harry got in the car to go home and get ready, he found that his face was sore from the ridiculous grin he'd worn since Damon's last statement.

ooo

After football practice was over, the team had a window of about an hour to eat, chill, shower, have sex in a janitor's closet, or whatever else they needed to do to prepare for the scrimmage. Stefan found Elena at the front door of the gym, dressed in a pair of jeans and a green tank top.

"Why aren't you dressed out for the game?" He asked.

"I quit," Elena stated darkly. "I'm a quitter."

"Oh," Stefan's green eyes shined with sympathy and some amusement. "I suppose that's for the best. I saw you practicing. You looked miserable."

Elena gave a pathetic laugh. "Yeah, I was. I wanted so badly for things to be like they were."

"How so?"

"I wasn't always sad girl, you know? There was this whole other Elena you've yet to meet. She was very busy, into everything."

"Well, I look forward to meeting her." Stefan smiled down at Elena, causing her heart to skip a beat.

"I figured the best way for things to be the way they were was to do the things I did. Whoa, tongue twister. I guess it's just not that easy though."

"You'll have to cheer me on from the stands this evening, then." Stefan shook his head sadly.

"We're a pair, you start something, I quit something."

"It's a nice balance. It keeps us from being one of those annoying power couples."

Elena couldn't help but beam as she felt warmth rush through her.

"I hope you don't think this is too soon, or too weird, but I have something for you." Stefan threw a sheepish look her way before pulling a necklace out of his bag. The necklace was a thin gold chain, with an abstracted angel-esque trinket on it.

"I think it's beautiful," Elena was breathless. She pulled her hair back and turned, allowing Stefan to clasp the necklace around her throat. "It's wonderful."

"I'm glad you think so," Stefan's eyes held a special warmth as he gazed down at Elena.

ooo

Harry and Damon met at the gate to the football field at exactly seven, a half an hour before kick-off. Harry would vehemently deny having been almost thirty minutes early to anyone who asked, though.

The two made small talk on the way to the field, Harry discovering the Damon's favorite color was black -shock-, and Damon discovering that Harry was allergic to strawberries and was a cheap drunk. This continued until they reached the stands, where they saw a fight going on in the endzone between a football player and some kid.

"That guy's getting his ass handed to him," Harry murmured, wincing slightly as the kid took a right hook to the jaw. "Ow."

"Harry," Damon trailed off. "Isn't that your brother?"

"Jeremy? Why would Jeremy be fighting with any of the...oh, shit. Jeremy!" Harry shouted, and took off down the stands towards the endzone, Damon in tow. Damon slowed down as they reached the stairs to the field though, leaving Harry to approach the endzone by himself.

Harry arrived on the field in time to see Stefan pull Jeremy away from Tyler, his hand getting sliced open on an edge of Jeremy's belt buckle. Jeremy was clearly drunk, his curses were slurred, and his thorough ass-kicking could be blamed on his pathetic coordination.

"Jeremy!" Harry closed the distance between himself and his brother, and began checking him over for injuries. His brother's jaw was swelling already, he had the beginnings of a black eye, and his nose was bleeding in a slow dribble. "Come on, Jer. I'll call Remus to come get you."

"No," Jeremy slurred. "He'll kill me."

"Just shut up and let me do the talking, we'll pretend you have a concussion. I'll take you to the doctor tomorrow. Also, don't worry about Remus killing you. As soon as you're well again, I'm going to kill you. What the hell were you thinking picking a fight with Tyler Lockwood? While he's wearing football pads? Stupid." Harry muttered, now-half carrying his much larger younger brother towards the gate.

Stefan came up behind them and grabbed Jeremy under his other arm, taking most of the weight from Harry, earning him an Earth-shattering smile. The two managed to get Jeremy up to the parking lot before sitting him on a bench. Ten minutes, and one intense phone call with Remus later, Jeremy was in the back seat of a car with Remus and Sirius driving, half way between killing him and crying.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Stefan asked, watching the car drive off.

"Today? They'll baby him and he'll be fine. Tomorrow? His ass is dead." Harry snorted. "Let's get back down there. Don't you have like warm-ups or something?"

Stefan and Harry turned back around and made for the field. The whole school was built on a hill, with only the very front entrance visible from the road. The front lawn was massive, and the stadium was built directly behind the school, at the bottom of the incline.

Once they made it down the hill to the stadium gate, Harry had to flash his ticket again, and the two prepared to separate. Harry frowned as they reached the top of the stands. They were beginning to fill up, as kick-off was within fifteen minutes, but he couldn't spot Damon at all.

"Where'd your brother go?"

"Hmm?"

"Your brother? You know, about six feet tall, dark hair, talks with his eyebrows? Ring any bells?" Harry rolled his eyes internally.

"I'm sure he's just in the restroom or something. If you'll excuse me, I should probably join the team." Stefan was shuffling about.

"Oh, yeah." Harry laughed at himself. "Good luck!"

Stefan waved him off and starting jogging down the stairs. Harry allowed himself a moment to thank all of the deities he knew of as he watched Stefan's butt in the too-tight football pants.

"There is a God," Harry breathed. He snapped back from his creepy-staring reverie with a frown. Harry was sure that Stefan's hand had been cut open on Jeremy's belt, he had seen it happen and seen the blood on the belt. However, when Stefan waved him off before leaving, his hand had been perfectly unmarred. Shaking his head, and shaking it off, Harry went off in search of Damon.

After checking the men's room, the concession stand, and walking up and down the stands for a good ten minutes, Harry sat down with a couple of minutes 'til kick-off. Right before the game started, Harry's attention was diverted by someone dropping down next to him. It was his sister, dressed normally, and looking happier than Harry had seen her in some time.

"Hey there, cheer-loser. Where's your mini-skirt and push-up bra?" Harry teased, eyes alight.

"Ha. Ha. Jerk. I quit," Elena's doe brown eyes glared at her brother. "Although, I don't think I would have lasted much longer if I hadn't quit. I'm pretty sure Bonnie or Hermione would have killed me by now." She had a little self-deprecating laugh at the end of it.

"Nah, they would have just stuck you in the back. You know, behind Kelsi with three fingers and a missing tooth." Harry held a completely straight face.

"You are a horrible little troll," Elena hit him on the shoulder.

"Hey now, what's this domestic violence?"

"Damon!" Harry called out in surprise. Damon sat down next to him, definitely in Harry's personal space. Not that Harry cared at all, mind you. It was kind of nice to have the larger male enveloping him. It didn't hurt that he smelled heavenly, either, nice and woodsy.

"Sorry about taking so long, I had to take care of some business really quickly. I'm all yours for the rest of the game, though." Damon grinned down at Harry, causing his stomach to flop uncomfortably.

The three turned their attention to the game, as the kick-off had occurred, and they were a few minutes into the first quarter. The exhibition match was against a team from a neighboring county, and there wasn't much in the way of rivalry between the teams. The stadium was only sparsely populated, as most alumni and parents would start coming to the games at Friday's regular season game.

Harry quickly lost interest in the game itself, and due to his intense lesson with Grams two days previous, and his practicing in near all of his spare time, was decidedly tired. Before he realized it, his head was leaning on Damon's shoulder, and he was nodding off to sleep.

Damon's arm wrapped itself around Harry's waist, securing the younger male against his side. Elena's focus was solely on Stefan, currently on the field.

The game passed in this manner, with Harry asleep, Elena enraptured with Stefan, and Damon alternating between annoyance at the girl and a grudging acceptance that it felt...natural to have to boy nestled against him like this.

The match finally ended, with Mystic Falls emerging victorious, and Damon reluctantly awakened the emerald eyed teen against his side. Harry was a reasonably good sport about being woke up, only glaring at Damon for a few minutes.

"Hey, will you guys walk over to the locker rooms with me? I don't want to go by myself." Elena stood, already expecting a negative from Damon, who knew Stefan would be there.

"Of course," Harry answered, yawning. He stood up, dislodging Damon's' arm, and waited for his sister.

"Actually," Damon stood as well, replacing his arm around the other boy's waist. "I'll go with you guys. I need to congratulate my baby bro, don't I?"

Elena and Harry shot him a disbelieving stare before the three made for the locker rooms, located on the opposite end of the field. The closer they got, they noticed a lot of commotion coming from the small building. People were sprinting about, some on their phones, and most all of them looked panicked. Harry noticed Bonnie standing with Ron and Stefan slightly out of the crowd, and pointed them out.

"What's going on?" Elena asked as they zeroed in on the three, noticing Ron's particularly colorless pallor, and his glazed eyes.

"It's Mr. Binns," Bonnie explained, appearing on the verge of tears. "He's dead. Ron found his body."

"What?" Harry couldn't help but withdraw into Damon's side. "He's dead?"

"He was murdered," Ron answered, not looking away from the locker room.

The four teenagers were too busy staring at the small metal building to notice Stefan and Damon's locked eyes. Damon sneered at his brother over the other's heads, victory in his gaze.

ooo

A/n: This was the hardest I have ever had try to write something, and I'm honestly very unhappy with it. I think opening a vein over my laptop would have been easier. Please forgive any typos, after two weeks of work I never want to read this chapter again, lol, and I still have no beta.

If you'd like to help me out and be my beta reader, send me a message please!

Thank you for reading, please review, and I hope your holidays were as lovely as mine. Good luck to everyone beginning a new semester this week.

: )