Later that night, Riley's parents returned home. Riley had stayed in the living room, not daring to go to sleep until she was sure both of her parents were safe. Her father grabbed a box from his study. It contained many elixirs that they obtained from their witch friends over the years. One of the elixirs was placed on the doorway to prevent Klaus from entering the house. Since Klaus was currently possessing Alaric's body, her father was unsure if he could step into the house because Alaric had been invited inside a few times. Riley told her parents about her encounter with Klaus and the revelation that he had been the vampire to attack her in France. She also opened up to them about her magical abilities. Though they could act very well, their shocked expressions made it clear that they never made the connection between the incidents in the council records and Riley being capable of magic. She believed that John had some kind of explanation but her parents were not willing to trust him. Her mother found it suspicious that John never mentioned anything to them, even before they left Mystic Falls.

Riley was sitting in the passenger seat of her car. Her parents had expected her to stay in the house until they figured out a way to handle Klaus. She decided to take matters into her hands and contacted John. With Klaus already in town and able to possess anyone, Riley wanted to understand her magic. John was the key to those answers. She convinced John to take her to the cave outside Mystic Falls. They were twenty minutes away from the town, at a rest stop near Charlottesville. She opened her purse and looked at the map that she had found under her floorboards. After her parents left for work, she had snuck into her father's study, taking all of his documents on the Original family. The drawing of seven stick figures under a large oak tree made much more sense to her when she thought about her dreams. She assumed that the first two people were Elijah's parents and the other five were Elijah and his siblings, including Klaus and Rebekah. One of his siblings appeared to be different from the rest, due to the intertwined sun and moon drawn above his head.

John entered the car, holding a soda bottle. "Sure you didn't want anything?"

"No. I'm not here for some road trip where we'll make lots of cute memories. You're supposed to be helping me. Every minute you waste is another minute closer to Klaus finding me again and possibly killing me"

"Where did you get that map?"

"It was hidden in my room. Any idea what it means?"

He took the map from her. Studying it for a few minutes, he deduced that it followed her mother's ancestry. The surnames were what her ancestors used during that time and the city was where whoever wrote the map found them. Considering it was hidden in the Gilbert mansion, he guessed that it had been the handiwork of a Gilbert. She questioned why her maternal ancestors changed their names frequently over the centuries. Being his usual cryptic self, he did not answer her and continued to drive down the road. As they entered the woods, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Elena was calling her. Riley had ignored her past ten calls this morning. She did not fully forgive Elena for her part in daggering Elijah. It took more than one conversation to fix their friendship. Hesitantly, she answered the phone.

"Riley, finally. Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

"Well normally, that means I don't want to talk to someone"

"Y—you're still mad at me?"

"Very. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check on you. Alice thinks that you're at my house right now with Bonnie and Caroline. Where are you?"

"That is on a need to know basis and you really don't need to know. I'm not in Mystic Falls right now but I'm safe"

"What do you mean, you're not in Mystic Falls?" she asked, confused.

"What part do you not understand? I'm not in Mystic Falls. I can't get much clearer than that. Maybe Stefan and Damon can help you figure it out. I'm sure with your heads put together, you can understand it. I should be back later. Be a good cousin and keep pretending that I'm with you in case my parents call"

Riley hung up the phone. John, overhearing the conversation, did not look pleased.

"You're still angry with Elena?"

"I'm angry with you too but my curiosity about what you know is overpowering my anger towards you. Despite my size, I am capable of a lot of rage. Don't start lecturing me on how I should always forgive family or some other advice that you got from a fortune cookie"

John stopped the car at the end of a dirt path. Getting out of the car, Riley followed him around the woods. He had her describe her dreams about Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah. She did not leave out any details. He pushed back overhanging branches, revealing the entrance to a cave. They took out their flash lights and walked into the cave, side by side. The cave seemed to extend for miles. After what felt like an hour of walking, moving through multiple tunnels, they reached a dead-end. The cave walls were covered in paintings and rune carvings. He instructed her to find a carving that resembled two entwined snakes. She discovered the carving close to the bottom of the wall. The snakes were colored with white and black paint.

"Found it. Now what?"

"Put your hand against it"

"That's it?"

"According to Isobel"

"Yea, let's trust the word of a woman who was friends with Katherine" she said, sarcastically.

"Riley, do as I say"

Rolling her eyes, she touched the carving. She waited for something to happen but the wall remained the same. As she was about to yell at John, the carving was outlined with a faint golden glow. The cave shook wildly. John lifted her up from the floor. The wall separated, revealing a small enclosure that contained a wooden chest. He opened the chest with the key that was in the bookcase at her house. Inside the chest was a stack of books. She recognized one of them from her dream. It was the book that the witch dropped in the forest when Rebekah grabbed her. John touched the books. He quickly retracted his hand, wrapping a handkerchief around a cut that formed on his palm. Cautiously, Riley picked up the books. She did not feel any sort of pain. John brought her back to the car. She looked at the spine of the top book, seeing the word Nouri.

"What do you think that means?"

"I don't speak many languages. Your mother would be good for this"

"She doesn't know that I'm here with you. If she found out, she'd send me to live with you permanently and that is a fate worse than death"

As she flipped through the book, she realized that it had detailed accounts of a family's history. Nouri was their surname. She told John that it could be the original surname of her maternal ancestors. John looked at one of the pages, commenting that it was blank.

"You can't see anything on this page? How is that possible?"

"Perhaps it can only be seen by their descendants"

"We went in the cave and got a bunch of books. How does this help me?"

He grabbed a box from the backseat. It was filled with folders of Isobel's research. Taking out a folder with her name, he showed her one of the documents. It had the word Nouri written across the top of the page. He explained that the name was related to a family of witches and warlocks. They were considered the witch version of the Originals, being the first to practice magic. The family had been capable of transferring their magic to other people, leading to other witch bloodlines. One page of the book depicted a family tree. It stopped with the Cranes, her mother's maiden name. The aramaic writing in all of the books made it difficult to understand any of the writing. She could not even open the book from her dream. It was sealed with a magical lock. The reason that vampires felt attracted to her blood was that the first witches drew their power from nature. To a vampire, her blood was like tasting sunlight, something that eluded most of their kind.

"So Isobel thought that I was descended from the people who created magic"

"From your dream, I assume the witch you saw was an ancestor. She cast a spell to connect her bloodline to those three Originals. It's the reason why you feel their pain and they feel yours, Riley"

"That doesn't make sense, John"

"Why not? It fits perfectly"

"Because in the 1800s, the map says that my ancestors were in England. That's nowhere near New Orleans"

"You're putting too much thought into this. These books will help you learn magic"

"Why doesn't my mother have magic then?"

"Between the 1800s and now, something happened to your family. I'm not sure if the Originals are to blame but Isobel said that your family lost its magic. Somehow, you inherited it. I think it's time to leave"

As John drove back to Mystic Falls, Riley had questions swirling in her head. She believed that Isobel was right about her mother's ancestors. At the same time, she could not stop thinking about her dream. There was some connection to New Orleans. John suggested that the map did not track all of her ancestors. He parked in front of her house.

"I wouldn't tell your parents where we were today…not until we have a better understanding of your magic"

"I won't tell them. Can I ask you something? That night you left me in the clinic with the vampires, did you leave me on purpose? Be honest"

"Those vampires were never after me. I paid them to chase after you. Isobel was already thinking that you had a connection to those witches and I decided to test it"

"What if you were wrong? You were going to let me die because of some hunch? There was no other way for you to test me. I had to be almost killed for you to see that I could do magic. That's great"

"Riley"

"No, it's fine. What else would I expect from you? Let's hope you don't do the same to Elena"

Riley entered her house and hid the books under her bed. She heard someone knock on the door. Heading downstairs, she checked the enchanted candle in the living room. If a name was spoken to the candle, the flame would turn green when that person was outside the house. Her father used it for both Klaus and Alaric. The flame did not change color. Taking a precaution, she picked up a wooden stake from the closet and hid it behind her back. She opened the door. The stake fell from her hand when she saw Elijah.

"You're alive"

"Yes. Elena removed the dagger. I know that you're angry with her at the moment. I would come in but"

"Come in" she said, taking him inside and kissing him.

Elijah pulled away. "Riley"

"Stop talking"

Riley kissed him again, tugging on his shirt collar. She blindly led them up to her bedroom. Elijah lifted her up from behind, placing her on top of her dresser. Her arms wrapped around his neck. He deepened the kiss as his hand pushed up her skirt. She jumped at the sound of the front door opening downstairs. Hastily, she shoved him into her closet and laid down on her bed, pretending to read a book. Her mother entered the room.

"Riley, I didn't expect you to be home. I thought you were with Elena"

"She had to get ready for a date with Stefan. You're back from work early"

"I forgot one of my binders for a meeting. Your father is taking on a double shift at the hospital so he won't be home earlier than midnight. I should be back around the same time, maybe a little later. If you don't feel safe by yourself, call me and I'll come straight home"

"I'll remember that. Have a good meeting"

She peeked out the window, waiting for her mother to drive down the street. Elijah emerged from the closet.

"I need my own house" she said, exasperated.

His hand brushed against her cheek. "I've missed you. I know you had nothing to do with what happened at the dinner party"

"If I did, I would've gotten you out of the house before Damon could go through with his stupid plan. I'm guessing Elena undaggered you so you could help with Klaus"

"I hope my brother did not harm you"

"I think I did more damage to him"

Riley spent the next ten minutes, telling him what he had missed since the dinner party. She mentioned being in a comatose state for two weeks, just moments after he was pierced with the dagger. Seeing the concern in his eyes, she assured him that she woke up without any lasting damage. She also described her dreams about Elijah and his siblings to explain the connection between them. When she confessed that Klaus had once attacked her before her return to Mystic Falls, she felt Elijah's grip tighten on her hand.

"He didn't bite me again. My magic kicked in and took care of him"

"Are you in control of this magic?"

"Pfft, no. I just found out about it. I'm still thinking that John is crazy and it's all coincidence. There are a few gaps to fill in but for the most part, I'll be able to learn more…once I learn aramaic"

"Perhaps I could translate"

"I don't think you can read the books. John couldn't and he said it might only be visible to descendants of that bloodline. I'll figure it out. Until then, I'll just hope that anytime I see your brother, my magic shows up"

"I will not let him near you again, Riley"

"So where's Elena?"

Elijah told her that Elena was taking care of Jenna. Klaus had snuck into her house and revealed the existence of vampires. It did not take long for Jenna to believe him because Stefan had arrived at the house to save her and she saw his 'vampire face'. Elijah had been discussing his history with Katherine with Elena and how the sun and moon curse was fabricated by him and Klaus, who wanted to break an entirely different curse. Before walking over to Riley's house, he asked Elena to return there after comforting Jenna. They sat in the living room. Riley showed him the drawing of his family. He pointed out that he was the eldest, followed by Finn, Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah. Klaus was the stick figure with the symbol over his head.

"Where are your other siblings?"

"Buried at sea by Klaus. The two of us are the only remaining members of the Original family"

"I'm sorry. I mean, I didn't know them but from my dream, Rebekah seemed…interesting. What did that witch do to Kol?"

"He was harassing her at a tavern. He had caught her scent and attempted to bite her so she cast a spell on him. It made him rot from the inside. I am not proud of my actions that night"

"It's in your past. People learn from their mistakes. I know you're different now. Did you know them really well?"

"No. We thought the line had died with the girl's mother. She was killed by other vampires. I suppose she had another child to carry on her legacy"

Elena walked into the living room. She sat beside Riley, awkwardly playing with her hands.

"How's Jenna?" asked Riley.

"She's in shock but she'll be okay"

Elijah looked at Riley. He made a subtle nod towards Elena. Understanding what he meant, she silently mouthed in protest. She gave in, sure that this was a losing battle, and muttered quietly to Elena.

"What?"

"I'm not mad at you anymore. Let's just put it behind us and focus on more important things"

Elena hugged her, sighing with relief. Riley asked Elijah about the actual curse. He explained that Klaus and their father had a terrible relationship. It became worse when he and his children were turned into vampires by their mother's spell, exposing the truth about Klaus's own father. Their father killed him and his entire family as revenge, leading to a war between vampires and werewolves.

"So when Klaus became a vampire, you somehow knew that his real father was a werewolf" said Riley.

"After his first kill"

"If his father was a werewolf, what does that make Klaus? A werewolf…or a vampire?" asked Elena.

"He's both"

Riley looked at the stick figure that represented Klaus in the drawing. The intertwined sun and moon symbol represented that he was a vampire and werewolf.

"That can't be possible. Nature is all about balance. There is no way nature would be okay with some super hybrid that's got the abilities of a werewolf and a vampire"

"You're correct, Riley. That is why witches placed a curse on my brother to keep his werewolf side dormant"

Elijah confirmed that this curse was what Klaus truly wanted to break through the sacrifice. If he could trigger his werewolf side, he could sire his own bloodline of hybrids, which would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. The dagger would be useless against him because of his werewolf gene. Elijah's plan was to attack Klaus during the full moon when he would be vulnerable during his transition. If Bonnie channeled enough power, it could kill him. The attack needed to happen after the sacrifice but he could revive her with his special elixir. They headed over to the boarding house to discuss their new plan. Stefan and Damon were fighting in the living room.

"Stop!" said Elena.

"Now you invited him in?" asked Damon.

"We renewed the terms of our deal"

"The two of you will come to no harm at my hands. I only ask for one thing in return. An apology" said Elijah.

Damon scoffed under his breath. Stefan apologized to Elijah for his role in daggering him and swore that he would always protect Elena. Riley knew that pigs would fly before Damon ever gave an apology. Even after Elena told him that Elijah had a way to keep her alive, he refused, leaving the room.

"That was tame for him. If he was really mad at you, he would've tried to shove the dagger in you again"

Riley chose to stay at the boarding house for the night. She thought it was a bad idea to leave Elena alone with just Stefan and Damon. Considering Damon hated this plan and tended to be impulsive, he could do something drastic to keep Elena away from the sacrifice. She was sitting in her room, looking through one of the books from the cave. Before leaving her house, she had hid the book in her purse. The door opened and Elijah entered the room.

"I see you're still awake"

"I'm trying to translate this book. So far, google translate is failing"

"I'm quite fluent in many languages. I could help you" he said, sitting beside her.

She smiled. "Are you going to be my handsome professor? Do I get a something when I'm right?"

"We'll see"

Riley wrote down one of the passages in the book. Elijah translated each sentence. Within a couple hours, she was getting a good grasp on the words.

"Your turn" he said, pointing at a sentence.

"I call…upon…the spirit"

"Correct" he said, pecking her on the lips.

"That's very good incentive to get all of this right. If you keep doing that, I will be the fastest learner in history"

For the rest of the night, they had their language lessons. Riley had not felt this cheerful since the dinner party. Just being with Elijah made her happy. The next day, she, Elijah, Elena, and Stefan were going over the plan. The full moon was tonight, meaning it was time for the sacrifice. Damon entered the room, questioning why they would let Klaus break the curse if it would turn him into a deadly hybrid. He brought up their old plan involving Bonnie. Elena reminded him that Bonnie would die if she used too much power.

"I'll write her a great eulogy"

"I could help Bonnie with my magic" said Riley, thinking that their combined magic would be strong enough to kill Klaus.

Elena and Stefan looked at her, surprised. "Your what?" asked Damon.

"Well, fireplace that mysteriously spoke"

"We're still doing this silent treatment, huh?"

"Don't interrupt me, fireplace. As I was saying, I can do magic"

"Riley, you have no grasp of your magical abilities. It would be far too dangerous" said Elijah.

Elena agreed, not wanting to put her or Bonnie in danger. Elijah went over each part of the sacrifice, including the release of the spell within the moonstone and the deaths of a vampire, werewolf, and doppelganger. He opened a box, taking out a vial of clear liquid. When Katherine was going to be sacrificed to break the curse five hundred years ago, he acquired the elixir.

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date? I'd take a better chance on Riley's sudden magical powers. What about John's ring?" asked Damon.

"The ring only works on humans. The doppelganger is a supernatural occurrence. Odds are that it would not work"

"I'll take those odds over your elixir. What if it doesn't work, Elena?"

She shrugged. "Then I'll just be dead"

Damon was frustrated with her answer. Stefan followed him out of the room. Elena looked at Riley, asking her what she meant by magic. Riley informed her that she was descended from the original witch bloodline.

"Do Alice and Brendon know about that?"

"Not everything. I just found out yesterday. John took me to this cave outside of town. We found a bunch of books. It's kind of hard to read what's in them but I have a good teacher"

"Get out!" she heard Jenna say.

They hurried towards the front door. Jenna was holding a crossbow, directing it at Alaric. Riley tried to summon any kind of magic. Nothing appeared in her hand.

"Damn it. You're lucky, psycho. If there was a ball of fire in my hand, I'd be using it to burn you to a crisp"

Alaric insisted that he was himself, no longer being possessed by Klaus. Last night, Klaus was returned to his own body. He sent Alaric to inform Elena that the sacrifice would happen tonight. Klaus was using his apartment as a hideout and Katherine was there. Yesterday, Damon had visited the apartment with Andie to give Katherine some vervain. They sat in the living room while Elena went upstairs to find Damon. Riley stared at her hand, crinkling her nose.

"Riley, it will become more natural over time" said Elijah, resting his hand over hers on the couch.

"It was natural when I was mad at your brother"

"Fear and anger easily trigger magic"

"You can do magic now?" asked Alaric.

"Yea, I kind of hurt you at the dance. Sorry about that. I'm going to try this outside"

Riley sat outside, reading the book. She focused on creating a ball of fire in her hand. After six failed attempts, a small flame formed and she moved it between her hands. She heard shouting from inside the boarding house. Damon left, wiping blood from his mouth. She extinguished the flame in her hand.

"I know you're mad at me. You have every right to be. I wanted to tell you the plan but then I saw what was going on between you and Fancy Pants"

"Is this your version of an apology?"

"Pretty much. If I knew that you would've been affected by the dagger too, I wouldn't have done it. I told Stefan that it didn't matter but it did. Right now, I really need a friend"

"What happened in there? What did you do?"

"Why do you assume I did something?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Damon"

"I fed Elena my blood so that she could come back as a vampire after Klaus kills her. If you want to hit me, you can get in line"

"Let's go to the grill. I think we both need a drink. You can drink to forget what you just did and I can forget that John almost let me die when I was seven as some kind of twisted experiment"

Riley and Damon walked over to the Mystic Grill. Matt was watching him, carrying a trash of dishes. As they passed, Matt grabbed her arm. Damon sat at the bar.

"Riley, have you seen Caroline?"

"I haven't been out today. Is something wrong?"

"I just need to—look, you shouldn't be hanging out with Damon. He's trouble"

"Matt"

"I'm going to try to call her again. Just take my advice, okay?"

Matt left the grill, calling Caroline. Riley went over to the bar. She convinced the bartender to give her a glass of scotch. Damon was like a wounded puppy. He did not say a word, just drinking from his glass. She was worried about Caroline. Knowing her, she would instantly text Matt back or answer his calls. She waited for Caroline to reply to at least one text. Minutes later, Alaric joined them.

"I figured you'd be here. Riley, you should tell us if you're leaving. Elijah was worried" he whispered.

"Damon needed a few drinks. Caroline isn't answering her phone"

"You think something happened to her? Does she know that Klaus isn't possessing me anymore?"

"Yea, I warned her. Maybe she got stuck hanging out with her mom for some bonding time"

"I screwed up" said Damon.

Alaric nodded, sitting next to Riley. She took Damon's glass, not wanting him to get drunk.

"Gentlemen, why so glum?"

Riley tensed up, recognizing that voice. She had heard it in her dreams over and over again. Klaus walked over to the bar, standing next to Damon. Now that he had his own body, he was speaking with a British accent. He looked very similar to his appearance in her dreams except that his hair was much shorter and he had light stubble. She stared at her glass as Damon confronted him.

"I'm told you and your brother fancy my doppelganger. Just thought I'd remind you not to do anything you'd regret"

Damon let out a small laugh. "Thanks for the advice"

Riley could feel Klaus's eyes on her. Cracks formed in her glass. Damon asked if he could postpone the sacrifice for at least a month. Klaus mentioned that he had the vampire, werewolf, and doppelganger so nothing would stop him from breaking the curse. Riley thought of Caroline and her random disappearance, anxious that Klaus had chosen to kill her for the sacrifice.

"If you want to live, don't screw it up"

"Here's another offer. If you postpone it like a month, you can get a night with Riley"

Her fists clenched in anger. Alaric glared at him.

"I guarantee a great time. She's a fun girl"

Riley bashed his head into the counter and left the grill. She called Caroline repeatedly, walking down the street. The calls went straight to voicemail.

"Caroline, please pick up. If you don't call me back right away, I'm going to come find you and if a certain psycho vampire is listening to this voicemail, I will kill you with my bare hands"

"That's quite the threat"

She closed her phone and turned around, facing Klaus. He smirked, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"If you take one step towards me, I'll hurt you again"

"You're very confident, considering you have no idea how to control that magic"

"You want to take that chance?"

"I do like to take risks"

Using his vampire speed, he snatched her phone and backed her against the wall. She tried to knee him in the groin. He blocked her hand.

"Need to be quicker than that, love. Katerina told me that you got close to my brother. Did he have a taste before his unfortunate demise?"

"No. Unlike you, he can control himself"

"He always did have excellent restraint. It is a pity. He's missing out. Would you like to be a guest at the ritual tonight? You could see for yourself just how powerful I'm about to become"

"You can have all the power you want. You're still weak and pathetic"

Klaus groaned in pain. A stake had pierced his side. Her father stepped out from behind an alley. He was holding one of his stake guns. Klaus removed the stake, snarling.

"I think it's time you stay away from my daughter. These stakes might not kill you but seeing you hurt is good enough for me"

"Daddy to the rescue again, is it? How sweet"

"If I catch you near Riley, I'll get someone to really scare you. You wouldn't want me to wake him, would you?"

Klaus became paralyzed with fear. Her father kept her next to him.

"You're bluffing"

"Take that chance. Alice and I know where he is and she'll get him without a second thought. Keep that in mind"

Riley walked away with her father, confused over what had just happened between him and Klaus. When she questioned what frightened Klaus that badly, he was suspiciously quiet. She begged her father to help her check on Caroline and they headed towards her house…

A/N: Thanks for reading. All reviews are appreciated. The next chapter is going to cover the sacrifice and the aftermath of it. I'm planning on Riley leaving with Klaus and Stefan so there can be some build up between her and Klaus. Promise to update soon :)