"I am glad to see that you're doing alright, Nathan" Rupert Vardemus, the new headmaster of The Salvatore School said with a smile. His eyes ran over the boy's face before going to his mother.
"Now everything about your son seems to be alright. A gifted witch with an equally gifted academic mind, it would be a shame for me to reject him. A loss really" he closed the file in his hands and put it aside. "Nathan is free to come back to the school and join his classes again. I'm sure he can catch up on the lessons fast, judging by how our counselor speaks of you."
"Thank you, sir" Nathan smiled and stood following his mother's example.
"Ms. Faust," the professor spoke, "I know your son has suffered a great tragedy in these very halls. And that too because of the negligence of my predecessor. But I promise, I run a much tighter ship and am fully committed to the safety of my students."
"Thank you, sir" Natalie nodded her head, her frown replaced by the barest of smiles. Nathan accepted the files he had brought and the number of his room before mother and son walked out of the headmaster's office, finding Wade, Josie, Landon, and Dana waiting for them.
"I'm back" Nathan grinned and Josie tackled him in for a hug, followed by the rest of his friends. "But sadly, I'm in a new room."
"Yeah, I guessed that" Wade muttered, his tone sarcastic. Wade had gotten a new roommate when Nathan was pulled out of the school by his mother after what had happened to him. So naturally, Wade had gotten a roommate and Nathan a separate room. He just wished his new roommate was not some douche.
Nathan turned to his mom and the two shared a hug. "I'll be okay. I promise" the boy assured his mother, but the mother still looked plenty worried. Nathan escorted her to her car and waited until she had left before entering the school building again. He walked to the Witch's part of the residential wing, followed by Josie, the rest going off their own ways. When Nathan had found his room, he stood outside it and let out a laugh.
"Is it just me or should this room officially be reserved for Josie Saltzman's significant others" he joked, receiving a slap on the back of his shoulder from the said girl. The two walked into the room, finding it plain and empty, barring the wardrobe, study table, and bed of course.
"Okay, I got this whole room to myself" the boy laughed, putting his bag down before jumping on his bed and sinking into the mattress. "This is going to be awesome!" he cheered. Josie walked up to his bed and sat down, looking around at the bare room with a thoughtful look.
"You look like you're thinking of decorations to put up" Nathan pushed himself up by his elbows. "Are you planning on moving in with me?"
"Hm?" the brunette looked over to him with a lost look on her face. Nathan frowned at her before it dawned on him. This was also Penelope's room at one stage. A room Josie had memories of for sure.
He pulled her down and put an arm around her frame. "You wanna help me settle in here?" He asked, mumbling into her hair. He felt Josie relax against him and give a small nod of her head. The doors opened and the two looked up to see Landon stood there.
"Professor Vardemus called a school meeting" he informed them and rushed out right away. Nathan was sure he felt awkward seeing them like this. Revenge for the times Nathan ran into a lovey-dovey Hope and Landon.
Speaking of Hope, when Nathan had asked them about her a week prior, they had no idea who she was. And no matter how much Nathan tried to figure it out or see if they were joking, he ran into dead ends. This only led to the single thought, Hope had jumped into Malivore to save Landon. And Nathan was not pleased by the revelation at all. She was pretty much erased from existence and his friends thought he was hallucinating her in his dreamworld or something.
Nathan and Josie walked out after a moment longer of just laying on the bed and joined the rest of their faction members in the great hall. There were familiar faces in the crowd, and there were unfamiliar faces as well. Younger students who looked a tad nervous. Witches and Werewolves mostly, Nathan was sure of that.
"As you are all aware of" the headmaster began, holding a football on the tips of his fingers. "It's time for the annual American Football match with Mystic Falls High" a round of groans went across the student body and Josie let out a harsh breath beside him. It was the usual story every year, Mystic Falls team came in, The Salvatore School laid down and let the team win. It was absolutely stupid and Nathan hated every moment of it.
"Today, you will not be forced to lose a game so that humans can feel superior" the statement was met with surprised looks from the students. "Everyone of you is special. Every one of you" the man looked around, walking between the rows of students. "And it's time you showed it" the declaration was met with a round of applause.
"How?" Josie asked, standing up from her seat and looking at the headmaster with a confused look on her face.
"By using your powers in moderation, Ms. Saltzman" the headmaster informed her. "The goal is not exposure, merely to win" Josie slowly sat down, keeping her eyes on the headmaster. "Think of it as an exercise in control."
"I am here for it" Kaleb stood slowly, clapping with every word. He looked to his fellow students, "After last year, it'll feel really good to show those Timber Wolves what we're all about. Right?" the question was met with nods and words of agreement.
"And who better to lead you in this endeavor, as your quarterback, than our own Landon Kirby?" he declared, throwing the ball to Landon who fumbled the catch, the opinion is supported with cheers and applause from the rest. Landon looked around with a mix of shock and confusion, giving stares to his friends who looked at him with awkward shrugs and smiles of their own.
The meeting was called to an end and Landon pulled Nathan aside. "You're taking my place on the team" he blurted out before Nathan could even speak. "You've played sports before. You can take the reigns in this one too."
"Firstly, I played Basketball. Not Rugby" Nathan informed him in a matter-of-fact tone. "And secondly, no. I don't even like Rugby."
"Putting aside your displeasure at using the American names for the sport, you know I suck! I can't take the field. I'll make a mockery of myself" the curly-haired boy complained.
"You can use your powers" Nathan pointed out and the boy rolled his eyes.
"My powers consist of being able to summon wings of pure fire and shooting fireballs."
"You can shoot fireballs now?" Nathan asked, cutting him off from his statement.
"Yes. And that's not suitable for the game!" he exclaimed.
"True" Nathan nodded his head. "But I think you're forgetting something."
"What?" the boy asked.
"The things I asked you to learn" Nathan stated. "The main parts you have to do is focus and observe your surroundings. Your reflexes are not half bad."
"I can help you with practice" Josie piped up, having walked over to them to check up on Landon. "We can throw ball and stuff."
"See?" Nathan grinned, smacking Landon on the back. "You got yourself a coach! Now go and get changed or whatever. And meet us on the ground."
"He's not gonna be okay is he," Josie asked once Landon was out of earshot.
"Please make sure he doesn't get himself hurt on the field" Nathan mumbled, draping an arm around his girlfriend's waist.
"I make no promises" she leaned into him. "You know, you could still take part in the game. We could use someone strong like you."
"I hate Rugby" Nathan made a face. "Plus," he turned to the brunette in his arms, "the team already has a very powerful witch on their side."
"We could always use another one" Josie smiled, leaning up to peck his lips. "Also, why do you not call it football like the rest of us normal Americans?"
"Ignoring how you referred to me as an abnormal American, football involves more foot and ball contact than hand egg" he scoffed and Josie rolled her eyes with a small smile.
The scene changed to the football field, Nathan watching Josie help Landon practice. "Yellow 80. Yellow 80" Landon drawled, wincing when the football hit him square on the chest, Josie turned around with wide worried eyes while Nathan just let out a breath of air.
"Sorry, Foster care didn't have a football team" he sighed. "I really shouldn't be playing today. What did I tell you? I'm just shit! And now the whole school is going to know that I'm shit!"
"You're going to do just fine" Nathan rolled his eyes. "You're too tense. You need to focus" he patted her on the chest. "Stop thinking about what others are going to think and think about. Worry about your surroundings and the task at hand."
Nathan moved to take Josie's spot. "Now breathe. Relax and get into position" he turned around with the ball in hand and crouched, mimicking Josie from a moment ago. Landon let out a deep exhale and took his position as well.
"Black 3" Landon called, sounding more confident from a moment ago. "Black 3."
Nathan threw the ball back and Landon caught it smoothly. "There we go" Nathan grinned, turning around high fiving the curly-haired boy. "The rest you can rip off from how the others plays."
"Gee that sounds easy" the Phoenix rolled his eyes, but a grin was plastered on his face. The small victory meant quite a bit to him.
"Black 3?" Josie asked, raising an eyebrow at the two.
"My jersey number from when I played Basketball back at Mystic Falls" Nathan explained and Josie nodded in understanding. She turned to Landon and asked for his hands. When the boy gave it to her she cast a spell. "What does that one do?" Nathan asked.
" Try it out" the brunette just smiled and Landon took the ball and threw it, the ball going way further than any of them had expected.
"That's my quarterback" Kaleb called out, voice full of emotion. It made the three chuckle at him. The sound of a bus pulling in made the three look away from Kaleb and towards the Mystic Falls Timberwolves that just arrived. The players got down one after the other, each one eyeing their opposition. But it was the last player that really caught Nathan's attention.
"You two" he pulled Josie and Nathan towards him, one under each arm. "You see that girl that came out last?"
"The one that's staring at us?" Landon asked and Nathan nodded.
"You're not checking her out are you?" Josie asked, an edge in her voice.
"Are you?" Nathan threw back, his brow raised at her question. Seeing Josie scoff he chuckled. "That my friend and girlfriend, is Hope Mikaelson."
"The girl that supposed to be a figment of your imagination while you were in your dreamland?" Josie asked, now her gaze pinned on the other femme.
"Not so made up now is she?" Nathan asked before walking over to Hope, Josie, and Landon close behind him.
"Nathan!" the former headmaster of the Salvatore School greeted once the trio was close enough to him. Nathan's eyes went to him and he returned his smile with a tighter one.
"Professor Saltzman" Nathan greeted, his tone polite. Something the new headmaster of Mystic Falls High did not fail to notice.
"How are you feeling now? When did you wake up?" he asked and behind him, Hope looked curiously at the man. Nathan's smile though remained as tight as ever.
"A week ago," he informed the man, "I'm also feeling better. Thank you for asking."
"Nathan," the man finally sighed, seeing how his former student was not at all warm with him. "I just want to apologize for my part in your coma. I did not mean for things to go as they did. I was only thinking about the safety of the humans."
"And what about the safety of this school? Of the students, you were specifically given to care for?" Nathan asked, his tone clipped and eyes anything but friendly. "We got lucky that I was the one who got shot by Malivore bullet and that my body can purify dark magic. What if it was someone else? Josie here was shot as well! What would have happened if I couldn't siphon the black magic out of her?"
"Nathan," Josie spoke softly, a hand on his shoulder. Nathan took a deep breath, calming his erratic heartbeat.
"I just think that after the witch hunt and witch trials, humans would be seen as a potential threat to supernaturals as well" he mumbled before moving away from the frozen professor to the auburn-haired femme behind him. "And you, you and I have some heart to heart to do."
"I'm sorry but I don't"
"Save it" Nathan snapped, cutting Hope off. "I remember who you are. So, save it and come with me" Nathan walked off. Hope looked to Josie and Landon who just shrugged. The trio followed after him.
"Of all the stupid and dumbass things you could have done!"
"Nathan-"
"No! You sit down right there and listen to what the fuck I have to say first!"
The four were out in the back at the old mill, Hope sat on a wooden bench while Nathan paced in front of her. Josie and Landon were there too, but far away from the pacing and raging boy.
"You thought that you were created so you could one day defeat a monster that came almost more than a thousand years before you. Did I get that right? That you thought this was your purpose in life?" Nathan asked and Hope gave a tentative nod of her head. "Hope Andrea Mikaelson, that is by far the enraging thing I have ever heard!"
He knelt in front of the tribrid, looking her right in the eyes. "You were created because your parents had unprotected sex. You are a thing because of a loophole in the curse put on your father by your grandmother. If nature wanted you to be the one to fell Malivore, you would have been born some thousand or so years ago! Your father was alive and the means to break the curse was also there. If nature wanted you to do the dirty deed, then nature would have acted out on her wishes!"
Nathan stood and began to pace again. Truth be told he wasn't sure what the fuck nature had to do with any of this. The more history he read on witches, the more he found the words there, that witches are supposed to keep the balance of nature and whatnot. But it always confused him. If nature was so against the creation of so many creatures, of the darkness of magic, wouldn't it act out in some way? The way nature has been put forward, it sounds more like a sentient being. Would a sentient being not do something to stop it? Like, disrupt the creation of Malivore for example. And it was never like nature actually told the witches to do anything. It was always the witches that were hard-assed on their laws and whatnot. It felt to Nathan that it was less nature and more the witches not wanting to stray from their perceived normal.
He took a deep breath and stopped. "Okay, you jumped in Malivore and sacrificed yourself for the greater good like fucking Harry Potter walking into the forest and getting blasted by Voldemort. And then what? Why did you not come here and tell us? Why not tell Landon? You two literally shared a milkshake! Why not me? Malivore's forgetful magic does shit against me!"
"I couldn't actually prove any of it to him" Hope spoke, finding a bit of strength in her tone. "And I kind of forgot about your little ability."
"Of course, you did" Nathan let out a frustrated sigh. "You're coming back to the school" he put his hand up to silence the protest that was no doubt coming out of her. "Knowing you, you'd jump right back into Malivore to stop him the first chance you get" he shook his head. "No, we need you here in the school where you can be of some help to us all in countering the monsters that are coming for Landon."
"What monster is it?" Josie spoke up once she sensed that the rant was over.
"Shunka Warakin" they all turned at the words and found Professor Saltzman stood there. "Dorian found the missing kid this morning. He says he was attacked but the beast did not harm him."
"What the hell is a Shunka whatever?" Landon asked, itching to change the subject.
"It's a supernatural being of Ioway Native American legend that is a large carnivorous creature with huge claws that feeds only on werewolves" Hope recited from memory and they all looked at him questioningly. "Nathan told me about it when we were looking for MG and Landon after Maple Hollows" she explained.
"I did?" Nathan asked and Hope gave a nod. Huh, must have slipped his mind.
"So how do we even get the beast?" Josie asked, looking to her father and then the rest.
"Best bet is to lure it is with a werewolf" the man suggested.
"But where are we gonna find a werewolf when it's not even a full moon?" Landon asked.
"That one" Nathan pointed to Hope pursed her lips and gave a wave of her hand. "Tribrid specialty. She can transform at will and all that jazz" he explained. "But that won't do. For one, this one was sent by Malivore. Meaning it's after Landon here so Malivore can rise."
"So, what? You want to use Landon as bait?" Hope asked, clearly displeased by the sound of it.
"Yup" the confirmation only made her displeasure prominent. "But we don't let it get anywhere near him" Nathan looked at the rest. "The game, go join it. Tell our side to be ready for anything just in case. Hope and I will patrol the woods around the bleachers. The Shunka is sure to come."
"We'll be putting people at risk like this" Alaric pointed out. "Innocent people."
"The Shunka is only after Landon" Nathan corrected him. "It does not go after humans, as you've told us. And the only prey it goes after are werewolves on a full moon. Meaning the only 'prey' it will go for is Landon" he explained.
He turned to the rest, "Go and join the game. Leave the Shunka to Hope and me."
Josie stepped up, looking Nathan right in the eyes as she worded her worries. "You just got better. You've said it yourself, you're not at full power yet. Don't put yourself at risk like this."
"Josie" Nathan put both his hands on the femme's shoulders. "I'll be okay. I wouldn't need to siphon any form of dark magic at all here. I got spells I can rely on. Plus, I got this idiot here as backup" he motioned to a clearly insulted Hope. "I'll be fine, I promise" he assured her. Though it didn't look like it worked much.
"Now guys" he turned to the rest and clapped his hands together. "Let's get to work and capture this overgrown ball of fuzz. Does it have fur?" he frowned before shaking his head.
Cheers rang as the Stallions scored the first point. Hope watched from where she and Nathan were posted, watching over the field while also making sure nothing crept upon them.
"Are they using magic?" Hope asked, a little shocked.
"Yup," Nathan nodded his head. "The task is to win, not to be exposed. It's nothing major to worry about."
"It is" the tribrid turned angry eyes on him. "The humans are going to know that something is up if they suddenly got this good!"
"It's been a year Hope" Nathan raised an eyebrow. "And no, they won't. We aren't blasting spell after spell her. The Vampires are exercising their heightened senses to make better plays, the witches are using magic to dupe the opposition and enhance their own physical strengths. There's nothing that we are doing stupidly unnecessary" he rolled his eyes. "If anything, holding back was highly unnecessary. If we had used our powers in games to actually try to win and not roll over as they do."
"Something tells me we aren't talking about the match anymore" Hope mumbled and Nathan sighed. "What happened to you? The coma, I mean."
"My coven, which is actually a line of demigod descendants, have this ability that any black magic they absorb is purified and added to their core magical reserves" he began and Hope nodded her head. "Josie got shot and I was able to siphon the black magic out of her. But my body was not used to taking such a high concentration of dark magic, so it was hurting me. But with me in the middle of battle, my constant use of magic had balanced it all out for me so I was not as bad as I could have been. Then I got shot by my dad."
"Your dad?" the tribrid asked and Nathan gave a weak chuckle.
"Agent Burr of Triad," he told her and her eyes widened. "Anyways, I siphoned the magic out of it. It took until nightfall, but my body went into shock and I was in a coma all of summer vacation."
"Wow" Hope muttered. "That's horrible."
"I could have survived" Nathan shook his head. "Malivore's magic, it can't be absorbed by anyone. Josie tried it with me but she couldn't. So, if I couldn't have done it either"
"Then it would have been Josie" Hope finished and Nathan nodded his head. "My blood can undo the effects, by the way."
"Yeah, I guessed" Nathan shook his head. "If we were taught how to defend ourselves, even without magic, maybe we wouldn't have had that issue in the first place. You knew how to fight with your hands because you showed initiative and actually trained yourself. The rest were all lulled into a false sense of security and they almost paid the price for it. I was one of them too. I'm lucky that I inherited so much from my coven, otherwise I would be dead now."
"Speaking of that" Hope cleared her throat. "How were you able to use your magic? When the whole school had a magical lockdown?"
"We are all born with a magical core, the witches I mean. It's what makes us witches in the first place. But we hardly ever draw from it. We rely on the spells, which are nature-based magic, borrowing the powers of nature. Or in some cases, from ancestors long dead. I drew from myself. No artifact could disconnect you from your magical core. It would be like taking what makes you a witch."
"Hey," Hope mumbled, speaking up for the first time after listening to the boy speak, understand what he meant and make sense of it in her own head. "Can you teach it to me? It sounds"
"Useful?" Nathan asked and Hope nodded. "Yeah, of course, I will. I'll start on it with you and Wade once you're settled in back at the school."
"And Josie?" the tribrid asked.
"Siphon's aren't born with a reserve. The reason why they can siphon magic from others, their reserves yearn for it. I'll have to think of a way to help her out in some other way."
Hope opened her mouth to speak but a shout of help made them both turn. They shared a worried look before rushing towards the place, fearing the worst. From the corner of his eyes, Nathan noticed a figure walking away before disappearing. He shrugged it off.
The duo came to a halt as they stood before the source of the sound, the Shunka. "It does not have fur" Nathan quipped and Hope threw a look at him. "Right, plan A, turn."
"As soon as you turn away" Hope piped up and Nathan turned around. While the girl stripped to turn, Nathan murmured a spell he had learned from Josie in the week before coming back to school. With the last syllable muttered, a wave of magic spread out around him and shot out.
He turned around and found the Shunka rough up a wolf Hope before throwing her to the side. It rushed towards the forest, heading for the school, only to slam into an invisible wall.
"Containment spell," he told the wolf Hope when her golden eyes fell off him. "Used the trees as the anchors for the invisible walls" he threw her clothes back to her and called on his own magic, making his eyes glow green.
The beast charged and Nathan sent a strong burst of psychic force that hade the thing stumble mid-air and slam into the invisible barrier. Hope, who had turned back to human and had put on her clothes, stepped forward then.
"Incendia" she chanted and shot a burst of fire at the beast. Nathan summoned up his own magic and shot a strong stream of electricity towards the thing. The two kept it up until the Shunka's howls of pain and whimpers stomped completely. They both fell to their knees panting and looked at the charred corpse with a satisfied grin.
"Success" they high fived. Hope got up after that and slowly made her way to the corpse. With a silent chant, she cast a spell that severed the thing's head from its body. "Just to be safe?" Nathan asked and Hope nodded her head. He stood slowly and leaned against the tree. "Let's go back to the match and see how things fared."
The match as it turned out, had gone to shit. The boy named Ethan was in pain while everyone was rushing to him. All but Josie. She was rushing away from him. Nathan gave chase to her while Hope went to Ethan. He found Josie near the farthest end of the pitch, closer to the forest.
"Josie?" Nathan called to her slowly and the girl jumped, not expecting him to walk up behind her like that. "What happened?"
"You're safe!" a relieved sigh fell from Josie's lips and she tackled Nathan into a hug. Nathan hugged her right away and immediately felt a familiar sting. He pulled her back slightly.
"You used dark magic?" he asked and saw Josie's face fall. "Did you do that to Ethan?"
"I didn't mean to" the brunette murmured. "I was worried about you and wanted to get out of this stupid game to go help you. But it just won't end and we had no one to replace me. So, the headmaster gave me a spell that would incapacitate the quarterback. I didn't know it was this powerful and put in too much magic" she rambled on before Nathan pulled her in for a comforting hug, running his fingers through her hair as a calming gesture. He also siphoned the black magic out of her in the process, bending over in pain.
"You siphoned dark magic from me" Josie muttered, the anger clear in her voice. "You're not supposed to do that!"
"It's only a little bit" Nathan straightened and gave her a small smile. "I promise it's nothing. I'm fine" he assured her. But once more it did not seem like it worked. "Let's go back and see how Ethan is," he said and Josie gave a small nod.
Ethan had been transferred to the infirmary, where he was attended by the school nurse Ms. Keating, Ethan's mom the town Sheriff, and his sister Maya. When Nathan had entered, the Sheriff rushed out to see where the EMT was still. Ethan was writhing in pain and Josie hid behind Nathan slightly. Nathan pursed his lips before looking over to Ms. Keating.
"Can you give us a moment?" he asked and the nurse seemed to go into a daze and nodded her head before walking out.
"Hello, Ethan" Nathan smiled, sitting on the chair beside Maya's. "I'm going to do something for you, but you have to promise me that you wouldn't tell anyone about it. And you too Maya. Okay?" he asked. Ethan just grunted whilst in pain and Maya just looked at him oddly.
"Nathan?" Josie asked, confused about what he was going to do. Nathan gave Josie and nod and smile and she understood. The brunette pursed her lips but did not stop him. Nathan touched Ethan's arm tenderly and the boy let out a shriek.
"You're hurting him!" Maya shouted, putting a hand on his arm. But stopped seeing the look in his eyes.
"Trust me," Nathan told her, his eyes glowing green. He looked to Ethan and let out a soft breath.
"Hecate?"
"Focus your magic" the voice came to him right away. "Send your magic into him and use it to find the injury. I think you know how to mend it?"
"Imagine the healing?" he thought and he felt a warmth in him. He took it as a sign of being correct.
Nathan did as was instructed and found the broken places in the bone. He pictured the bone healing, the crack mending, and his arm healing. The process took no time and Ethan suddenly stopped whimpering from the pain. He sat up suddenly and waved his arm around before looking at Nathan with wide eyes.
"What are you?" Maya asked, suddenly feeling a little intimidated by him, moving away from him.
"Your new friend, I promise" Nathan grinned at them both, the glow in his eyes fading and the door to the infirmary opening.