Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and The Vampire Diaries. They belong to J.K. Rowling and L.J. Smith. I am writing this just for fun and no money is being made.

AN: I would like to apologize in case of any mistakes. I do not have a beta.


After Midnight

"Are you alright?" Stefan asked.

Elena gave him a small smile and assured, "I'm fine."

He nodded, feeling unsure what to say. His mind was whirling and the only person on his mind was Valeria. How much she must've suffered when Katherine killed her or how hurt she must've been when she saw the two of them together. No wonder she hated him. He hated himself. And at the moment, he wanted to be anywhere but here. Elena wasn't Katherine… but she was a mirror image and looking at her only reminded him of his betrayal which not only cost Valeria her life but also their baby's.

A baby.

His and Valeria's.

A green-eyed baby who will never be born.

Katherine had compelled him, he remembered. There was no way he would've slept with her otherwise. He never loved her. Katherine never accepted the fact and in process, destroyed all their lives. They had been nothing but Katherine's puppet. Even now, after all this time, his feelings were all over the place. He had never felt for anyone what he felt for Valeria. She had been his first love… and possibly, his only love.

But she had seen him… And then he had gone and killed her mother. What had he done?

"Stefan?" Elena's soft voice brought him back and he blinked. She asked softly, "Everything alright?"

He nodded because what could he say? That he wasn't sure about his feelings anymore? That Valeria was more important to him than Elena could ever be? That he had gone and messed it all up? And there was no way Valeria would ever forgive him.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and spoke, "Stefan, I want to be with you. You know that… right?"

Again, all he could do was nod.

"Katherine being gone… there's still so much and I'm not sure about anything at the moment. I need to wake up and know that the people that I love are safe. I need to feel safe. Do you understand?" she asked softly.

Stefan wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to assure her that despite his feelings, she was important to him and he would make sure she and her family stayed safe. But he didn't stay it because the relief that rushed through him was overwhelming.

So, when Elena leaned up and pecked him on the lips softly, Stefan closed his eyes and just felt. He didn't open his eyes until he heard the engine of her car.


The Tomb

The vervain was still in her system, so it took some effort, but she asked, "Where am I?"

"Where you should've been all along," Damon replied calmly.

Katherine glared at him and whispered, "You should've killed me."

Damon glared back, seething and said, "Death would've been too kind."

With that, he moved to close the door and was halfway done, when Katherine pleaded, "No. Damon, don't. Damon. Don't. You need me, Elena's in danger."

That stopped him short and he asked, "From who?"

Katherine stayed quiet, so Damon moved the door when she stated desperately, "Valeria."

"You're lying." He whispered.

"Why do you think I killed her all those years ago? It was her or me." She stated urgently.

Damon stared at her before shaking his head and spat, "You're lying again."

"You don't understand!" Katherine shouted. "Elena is the doppelgänger! She needs to be protected."

"Then I'll protect her," said Damon as he moved to close the door. "While you rot in hell."

"If he found out…" she trembled at the mere thought. "…only one can be saved and he will kill Elena."

His eyes narrowed and he asked again, "Who?"

Katherine shook her head and said instead, "I know how you feel about her and I can help. There's no other way, Damon. Please."

Damon huffed and finally closed the door, even as Katherine started screaming and begging. "No. Damon, don't. I'll do anything, please, Damon, you need me. You need me. You need me!"

She banged her fists against the door and screamed again, "You need me!"

Damon closed his eyes, swallowed hard before walking away.


Bonnie's House

Bonnie couldn't get the images out of her head and she couldn't help but feel pity for the witch.

There had been so much pain… agony such as she had never felt in all her life. It was as if someone was torturing her soul and there was no one listen. Valeria might not remember all that had happened to her, but the first thing Bonnie had seen were the violent deaths – not one or two, but so many that she was unable to keep up with all the memories. How could a person suffer so much… only to be back again for the cycle to repeat?

Both Damon and Stefan had been there in her memories… more importantly, they had been human. It certainly explained the strange behaviour of both the Salvatore's regarding 'the new girl'. Elena had been worried… but from what Bonnie saw, Valeria's life was intricately twined with the Salvatore's and there was nothing that could be done. The witch had been surrounded by darkness… something that had latched itself onto her and had followed her through all her lives? What could she have done to deserve such fate?

Bonnie sighed, unsure about informing Elena… it wasn't her secret to tell, but on the other hand, Elena was her friend. She wasn't even sure what the future held for them, but whatever it was… wasn't good.


Next Day

The Boarding House

The harsh light hitting her eyes was too much and she groaned. Her head was about to burst with pain and Valeria pulled the cover-up to hide underneath it when she heard a voice she knew too well.

"Morning sunshine." Damon sang.

"Uh…" she moaned pathetically. "Not you again."

"Ouch…" he said rather dramatically. "I thought we were friends!"

Valeria snorted at the word 'friends' and muttered sarcastically, "Yeah…"

Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at Damon, who was perched on the edge of her bed… or his bed and asked, "How did I get here?"

He stared at her before questioning softly, "What do you remember?"

"Enough." She tensed visibly and changed the topic. "Where's Katherine?"

He eyed her warily and said, "Locked."

Her eyes narrowed at this and she said, "You know, I could just peek into your mind, right?"

Damon's eyes widened at that and for a moment he looked ready to attack, but he calmed himself and scowled at her.

She wasn't the one to get scared and asked with a snort, "What? You thought you were the only one with tricks?"

"Look… I know…" he started, but his phone rang and he held a finger up in the universal gesture for her to wait.

"What?!" he snapped as his brows furrowed, listening to whatever was being said before stating, "I'm coming."

As soon as he hung the phone, Valeria asked, "What happened?"

"Someone kidnapped Elena." He replied as he rushed out of the room.

Valeria followed him, deep in thought. One thing she knew with clarity was that the doppelgängers and the Salvatore's held the answers to all the questions she was trying to find. She was closely connected to them in some way and if she wanted to know more about her dreams, she would have to follow them until she figured it all out.

Was staying with either safe? Definitely not!

Did she care at the moment? Nope.

All she wanted was for the dreams to go away. She wanted it to be done and go back home. Away from all this mess, where things weren't complicated. Where everything was clear and she had the rest of her life mapped out before all this started. And she knew she was going to accept Draco's proposal once this was all over.

Nodding to herself, she told Damon, "I'm coming along."

Damon came to a screeching halt, whirled around and stated, "No."

Valeria merely raised an eyebrow and threw a look which screamed – 'Stop me if you can.'


AN: It's my sister's wedding on 16th and everything is darn hectic. I'm just uploading this one in a rush. I would reply as soon as this madness gets over. Hope you have a nice day.

February 13th, 2021