The Wild Hunt

by winter.kornfield

Hermione finds herself navigating not only high school after the war, but obsessive vampires, doppelgangers, werewolves, rouge death eaters and new powers she must learn to control as well. will it be too much for the brightest witch of her generation?

2. Time to Play Dress up

CHAPTER TWO

.~~.~~.~~.~~.

"Good morning Aunt Jenna!" Hermione cheered as she slid down the banister.

"Hermione! How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that? You're going to break your neck!"

"Please like you didn't use to do stuff like that all the time, plus Magic!" Hermione wiggled her finger as mini sparks slid from one finger to the next. Her Aunt shook her head at her and tossed her a red apple from the kitchen counter. John was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. He set the paper down long enough to give Hermione a look.

"You better eat more than that apple before you leave." He said before going back to his paper. They ended up telling him about her magic on Saturday when it was announced that he was staying longer than a few days. She wasn't going to hide who she was from her family and she needed him to understand what really happened to her. She was tired of the secrets, they just put her family in danger. When she learned that Elena didn't tell Jenna and Jeremy about the vampire's she nearly blew her top. She summoned all of her family together in the Living room, including John, and told them not only about the vampires, but more in depth detail about what she experienced in the UK and why the lies could no longer continue.

~~FLASHBACK START~~

It was dark outside, the sun having just gone down, and the house was quiet except for TV in the living room. Aunt Jenna was watching a movie with Elena, and both Uncle John and Jeremy were in their respective rooms, John having claimed one of the many spare rooms that they had. She herself was in the kitchen making a list of things she would need for school on monday. She had decided to attend school with Elena, having homeschooled during the summers when she attended Hogwarts so she wouldn't fall behind and could attend university in the Non-magical world if she wanted to. She sighed and rubbed her temples, losing focus for the umpteenth time. Finally she had enough and slammed her hand down on the table before stomping upstairs. She banged on both her uncles and then her brother's door, yelling at them to go to the living room for a family meeting. Elena and Her aunt cried out when she stormed into the room and turned the TV off.

"HEY!"

"Hermione!" She shushed them with a look and waited with crossed arms as the two other members of her family joined them.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Jeremy asked.

"Sit down please Jer, Uncle John." She took a deep breath and glared at her sister. Elena did not tell them about the Vampire like Hermione told her to, getting fed up, she decided she would. "There are far too many secrets in this family. And I am tired of it."

"Minnie, I don't think-" Elena tried to interrupt her sister but was cut off.

"I don't bloody care what you think Elena! I gave you the chance to come clean, you chose not to. So I will, I'm not losing anyone I care about because you're acting like a blood nitwit." Her sister's face reddened in embarrassment at being yelled at causing Hermione's expression to soften slightly. "Look Elena I know you mean well, but I can't risk something happening to one of you." Elena nodded and slouched back into the couch as everyone watched them in curiosity. "First, Uncle John, you need to know that magic is real and I am a witch . Aunt Jenna, Jeremy, you already knew this but there is more to it and you need to know that vampires are real and frequent Mystic falls." to prove to her Uncle that she wasn't lying, she waved her hand and conjured a chair as she sat down, watching their expressions. Jeremy didn't look surprised which, seeing as how Elena didn't tell him anything, made Hermione think he already knew or found out himself. Aunt Jenna was accepting the news pretty well, mainly because she already knew that it was a possibility since magic was real. Uncle John was the wild card and he was just sitting there quietly staring at the chair she conjured.

"What kind of witch are you?" He asked. The others paused their running thoughts to focus on the two of them.

"Honestly, I'm not sure anymore." She whispered to herself. " I was born with Mage Magic and when I was 11 I was sent to a school to train with others like me. Mum and dad didn't know I was magical until a teacher from the nearest magical school came to them. They chose to send me to Hogwarts in Scotland with Emma and Dan as we were informed that the tuition was less for foreign exchange students. They thought that it was a rare opportunity for me to pass up. Mum and Dad couldn't tell anyone except for Aunt Jenna as she was our Godmother. If they had then they could have gone to wizarding prison, which is usually an island surrounded by soul sucking creatures, called Dementors, that drain all the happiness from you. It's different now since the war, but back then it was stressed to them not to tell anyone else."

"I wish they could have told me but I understand. I know there are different kinds of witches and different types of magic. Your father and I grew up knowing about vampires and witches. In fact all of the founding families are aware of vampires, and they actively protect Mystic falls from them." Hermione decided not to bring up Elena's boyfriend at this moment and to tell Aunt Jenna later on, she had a feeling it would have been ill received by their Uncle at the moment.

"That makes things easier. I also needed to talk to you guys about what happened to me last year. You see, some of the people that hurt me are still out there and if they ever learn where I am they may come here, so I need to stress how important it is not to keep any secrets from one another. There was a war between two factions in Europe, one side was the Pureblood Supremacists, who thought that because they could trace their inbred magic back centuries, they were better than others. The other Faction, the one I was in, Muggle-borns, witches and wizards born to a family with no magic, and blood traitors, purebloods and half blood who didn't believe they were superior to us, fought against each other for years. My side won when we defeated their leader, but we lost a lot of innocent people and I was their second to the top target. Because of my parentage, I was a perfect example of how wrong their Pureblood Ideology was, constantly beating every pureblood in school. This coupled with the fact that my best friend was the only one Prophesied to defeat their leader, well it put a target on my back, and that target is what caused them to go after Emma and Dan. They came and killed them in front of me, tortured them before capturing me. They wanted to use me as bait to draw out my friend Harry. It worked but they weren't prepared for so many to come after me and I was saved two months later." She paused to take a few deep breaths before continuing on, she couldn't look at her family but she could feel their stares as she spoke, facing the floor the entire time. "I was very injured and was sent to the headquarters of Order of The Phoenix, the people actively fighting the Pureblood Supremacists called Deatheaters. Everyone thought the Grangers were my parents and when I was able to talk, I didn't tell them the truth. No one knew I was from America and I didn't want to draw attention to you, so to keep you all safe, I played the orphan. It's one of the reasons I did not return that summer, the other reason being that I actively joined the frontlines my last year of school and joined my friends on a mission that required us to constantly be on the run until the day we were captured and escaped leading to the final battle." She pulled off her long sleeve turtleneck revealing a black tank top. Her left inner forearm arm had the word Mudblood carved into it, both arms had Thick jagged slashes running from the shoulders down towards her elbows, like she was attacked by an animal. Her collarbone had several slashes crisscrossing and the left side of her neck had a three inch cut. Her tank top rode up slightly showing some puckered skin from more scars on her hips and stomach that her clothes hid. Elena and her Aunt tried to hide the tears that came out but it was Jeremy that worried her. She had told him and Elena the other day about her scars, but she didn't show them or go into full detail. She was so focused on her brother she didn't even notice her Uncle get up and walk towards her until he stood in front of her, startling her.

"What caused these scars, Hermione?" His voice was soft, gentle, but the energy around him was full of rage and it was almost smothering her.

"A few things, Cursed blade, meaning the scars it made will never fade, same thing with a cursed whip for my back and some from dark curses." She slipped her shirt back on and moved to face all of them. "This is what I don't want to happen to you guys. If you see someone unfamiliar, don't keep it to yourself, tell me, tell all of us. It could simply be a normal tourist, or visitor, but it could also be a wizard coming after us or a vampire. We can't keep secrets anymore." With that she went upstairs to her room and called Harry for comfort.

~~FLASHBACK END~~

"Don't worry Uncle John, I have some protein bars in my backpack too." She said before taking a bite out of her apple and tossing her bag on the table to double check that she had everything.

"That's not what I meant… Oh nevermind…Teenagers." He went back to his paper as Hermione rifled through her school books. She wore a tight long sleeve blood red turtleneck with black jeans and black combat boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail, a few strands of curls were loose to frame her face. She had on light makeup and had her nails done in a french summoned her leather jacket that she got from Sirius as a christmas gift, and quickly put it on. Elena was going to drive them all to school in her Ford Escape so Hermione made sure that she had everything she would need in her bag. She was planning on getting a car of her own very soon and had an eye on an Impala she saw for sale online.

"Oh don't forget Harry and Ginny will be visiting this week in a few days." she swung her bag onto her back as she heard her brother and sister come downstairs.

"I remember, are they just staying the night?" Jenna asked.

"Should be, but I'm going to see if they can stay longer, Merlin knows that those two need a break. Love you. Have a good day!" She kissed her Uncle's cheek and then her Aunts before following her siblings out to the car.

30 minutes later Elena pulled into the school, Hermione grabbed her bag and put the book she was reading into the front pocket and stepped out of the car. Jeremy bolted, not even saying goodbye before he was out the doors and down the parking lot. She waited for Elena to grab her bag before stepping away from the car. Her sister was going to show her where the office was before heading to her own classes. They were walking side by side when a red blur sped into a parking space. Elena laughed and grabbed Hermione's arm before dragging her to the car. Hermione looked at the car in appreciation before the driver stepped out. Elena stepped up to hug her boyfriend before introducing him to Hermione.

"Hermione, this is Stefan Salvatore, Stefan, this is my sister Hermione." He smiled and reached a hand out to shake.

"Nice car, 1963 Porsche 356 Karmann Coupe right?" He nodded, looking surprised. "Our Cousin I stayed with in England loves the classics. I can't believe you're driving that to school though."

"I thought it was a waste just sitting in the Garage all the time." He said.

"A waste? That car is like a hundred Grand!" Elena yelped in surprise and jumped away from the hood of the car that she had been previously leaning on.

"I didn't know you were coming back today." Elena said before kissing him and putting her arm around his. Hermione moved over so they could all walk to the school together.

"You know, I woke up this morning and I was feeling great and I figured it was time for me to get back into things. That and listening to Damon complain about your sister all weekend was getting on my nerves."

"Yeah I'm sorry, I should have told you I had a twin, but honestly with everything that's been going on I never got around to it."

"It's ok Elena, I get it. I am surprised you hid that she was a witch though, that would have been good to know."

"Eh, I prefer the show and tell, I gave to your brother. He's far too cocky for his own bloody good." This made Elena and Stefan laugh as they walked

"So Elena told me you went a little looney with blood lust, does your being back mean you're good now?"

"Yeah, I mean the worst part is over so…" He faced Elena and smiled. "Now all I want to do is just spend as much time with you as possible."

"I'm ok with that." Elena whispered before stealing a kiss. "We're going to be late."

"Okay, uh, you know what? I'll catch up with you, I forgot some of my stuff. I'll be right behind you." They nodded and continued on to the office. Elena showed her where it was but then had to head to class leaving Hermione to go in alone. She was assigned a locker and given her class courses before being sent on her way. Thankfully her Hogwarts transcripts had a muggle equivalent for those who wish to attend a muggle school after graduating. The only advanced classes she was taking were AP calculus and AP American Literature. She also signed up for Italian as she already knew French. After getting her locker set up she Headed towards her first class which was unfortunately PE. A few hours later she stepped through the open door of her last class and waited for the teacher to finish speaking.

"Good Morning Miss Gilbert I presume?" He asked. She nodded and he motioned for her to take a seat, there was only one spare desk next to her sister, they would be apparently sharing a class together this year. "My name is Alaric Saltzman but all of my students call me Rick. After class please stay behind so I can give you the information needed for your quarterly project." She nodded and grabbed her binder and pencil case out of her bag. She smiled at Elena and winked at Matt who sat behind Elena. She felt someone staring at her and turned around to see Bonnie Bennet looking wide eyed and confused. She realized that Elena may not have talked to her yet as she was staying with her dad to deal with the funeral of her grams.

"We'll talk later" Hermione whispered to her, receiving a nod back in return. As she turned back to the front she caught sight of Stefan and took a minute to check him over. She couldn't explain why but she felt like he wasn't being fully honest with Elena, and if her sister was correct then he handled blood drinking like an addict handled drugs. She didn't have a problem with Vampires unless they killed, it was who they are, but her sister felt strongly about Stefan's diet and she hoped she wouldn't get hurt if he couldn't recover fully. She sighed and turned her attention back to the teacher.

"Okay, this week we're gonna set outside our regular curriculum for a lesson in local history as we approach Founders' Day. Apparently the community leaders feel it's more important than World War 2 but hey what do I know?" She felt her mind wonder as he spoke to her parents. Her parents were very active Founder members, her mother especially. She wasn't looking forward to attending any Founder events without her. Eventually class let out, homework was assigned and passed out, and everyone started to pile out of the classroom. She saw Elena rush out after Bonnie and decided to catch up as soon as she could to check on her. She stepped up to Rick's desk to receive the papers she needed for her assignment.

"Professor?" He raised his eyes and smiled kindly at her.

"Miss Gilbert, Here are all the documents you need, you can choose any of the four topics listed and have it turned in before Thanksgiving break, we will be speaking in front of the class the week you return." She nodded and took the papers from him. "I understand you attended school in the UK since you were 11 so it may be harder to accumulate to highschool here. If you have any questions or need please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you sir." After grabbing the books she would need for homework she sped out the front door, Elena would wait for her and Jeremy but she also wanted to see Bonnie before she left school. She saw them out on the green by the parking lot and jogged to catch up. She waved and gave Bonnie a huge hug when she caught up.

"Hey! I'm so sorry about your Grams." Bonnie gave her a small smile.

"When did you come back? I heard you had been kidnapped? I'm Sorry about your cousins.."

"Just last week, I found out about everyone on Thursday , my parents, your grams. It was a lot to deal with on top of what I went through." Bonnie nodded sympathetically and was going to speak when a perky blond came running up to them throwing her arms around Bonnie before doing the same to Hermione.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Thank god you're home! You too Hermione I'm so glad you came back and are ok! We totally have to have a girls night and update you on all the stuff you've missed." Hermione laughed at her bubbliness, leave it to Caroline to make everything chipper. Caroline faced Bonnie and gave her another hug. "I know we talked everyday but I missed you." Hermione noticed that Elena looked upset and decided to ask her about it at home. "How are you doing?"

"Better. Better. You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy." Bonnie said.

"Well, I can help with that. Major wardrobe problem. You need to help me pick up the perfect dress for the Founders' court." Hermione and Elena looked slightly confused at Carolines request. Elena voiced her confusion while Hermione bit her tongue.

"The Founders' court? Did I miss something?"

"The Founders' court! You know, Miss Mystic Falls. They announced it today and you, Hermione and I are on it." Hermione's eyes widened in shock

"Oh my god! We signed up for that so long ago...I completely forgot." Elena gasped out.

"Woah I didn't sign up, I was across the country being kidnapped and all."

"So, are you dropping out then?" Caroline asked.

"Yea-"

"We can't Hermione." Elena cut her off as she faced Bonnie sadly.

"Why the bloody hell not Elena, I'm not into all this dressy founders shit, you know that!"

"Your mom is the one who wanted you to enter." Bonnie commented, stopping Hermione's tirade.

"She signed you up, hoping you'd be found and be able to attend with me. She thought that having you signed up for the founders' events would magically bring you back. I honestly forgot about it or I would have told you"Hermione felt her eyes tear up and roughly wiped them with her sleeve.

"Ok." She faced Bonnie whispering slightly as Caroline and Elena talked about the founder's court. "Are you free? I wanted to catch up with you about some stuff and If I go home I'm going to get stuck staring at my mom's room and having to pretend I'm ok to not bother everyone else." Bonnie nodded quickly.

"Yeah I can take you home after if you want." Hermione thanked her and told Elena where she would be, only feeling slightly guilty about the sad look Elena gave as she looked once towards her, then Bonnie. They walked away from the others and further into the parking lot. She led Hermione to a White Toyota Prius and moved the books in her passenger seat so she could sit. They drove for a few minutes in silence before Bonnie turned on the Radio. About 15 minutes later they pulled into a driveway. It took Hermione a minute to recognise where they were. Grams House held a lot of warm memories for Hermione, though Bonnie always thought her stories about magic were silly, Hermione loved them and found herself sitting on the floor by the fireplace as Sheila Bennet told her stories of magic and witches and vampires. Seeing her house but knowing she wouldn't be there to greet them or offer a warm cup of hot cocoa. It caused a lump to form in her throat and her head to feel fuzzy like it always did before she cried. Bonnie opened the door and stepped through, not waiting for Hermione. She stepped up to the door frame and froze for a moment. Staring at the notches on the door frame from when She and Bonnie tried to see who was taller at age 9. Sighing, she stepped through the doorway and laughed when she saw Bonnie's relieved face.

"Bon, I'm not a ruddy Vampire, relax." She watched as Bonnie sagged against the banister, the walls she had up before came crashing down as she wrapped her arms around her knees and put her head on her arms. Hermione dropped her bag and closed the door before heading to the kitchen. When they were little and they would get upset, Bonnie's Gram would make them a bowl of ice cream with fudge drizzled on it and extra sprinkles. Somehow she knew that the ice cream would help them open up when upset. She found a tub of chocolate and vanilla ice cream and grabbed a large bowl from the cabinet. There was no syrup or fudge sauce but there were sprinkles and she knew sprinkles were Bonnie's favorite. She grabbed two spoons and sat next to her friend, offering her one first.

"I remember the last time you came to visit, you were so upset that the second you came through the door Gram had a bowl of ice cream ready for you before you sat down. You never did tell us what was wrong but you left with a smile you didn't have when you came in." Hermione waited for Bonnie to take a bite first before grabbing a spoonful herself.

"Your Gram was the best. I can't believe how much has changed in just a few years."

"What happened to you Hermione, when you didn't come back from school during break your parents said it had to do with a school trip. Then your cousins died and the police couldn't find you but they found your blood at the scene. After a few months it seemed that the police forgot about you and everyone was devastated. My father even refused to leave work work for month after that, terrified that something would happen to me too"

"There is just so much to tell you. I know you know about your magic, Elena told me. But do you know much about other types of witches?" Bonnie shook her head no. "Ok so I don't know about all of them either but there is a group of magic users called mages. They are isolated, their population consisting of small pockets of the world, hidden from muggles, those without magic. They separated from the rest of the world following all the witch hunts so long ago. I am a mage, when I was 11 a witch came and told my parents about magic and about the statue of secrecy. If anyone who wasn't a direct relative found out about magic, my parents would have found themself in the wizarding prison and I would have had my magic bound and all that I knew about magic would have been erased from my mind. Because of the cut off date I had to wait a year before starting school and that year was spent researching where I should go. That's when we decided to have me go to school in the UK. it was cheaper and it would help broaden my horizons being able to travel like that, especially since we had family in London."

"Wow so you're a witch too then huh."

"Yes, except my magic isn't the same as yours, mainly because of how I was taught, the magic you were taught has older, more ritualistic and natural roots. There are also a few recent events that happened that changed how I am able to perform magic."

"So what happened? Was it another witch that attacked your cousins?"

"Yes, as well as several Wizards, what men are called in that world. Over a decade ago there was a civil war similar to hitlers regime. The Purebloods, witches and wizards that could trace their bloodline back to medieval times, were attacking muggleborns, those born from parents with no magic. As a baby one of my friends were prophesied to defeat the purebloods leader. To stop this their leader Tom Riddle went after his family, he killed his parents and when he was going to kill the baby, the magic rebound, causing his body to be destroyed and his soul to become wraithlike. Ten years later Harry goes to Hogwarts which is where we met and became friends. Tom Riddle wasn't dead and eventually came back, His followers had resurrected him and the war began anew. I was a main target because of my relationship with Harry and my status as a Muggleborn. The last time I was here I was upset because we lost someone during a fight we were in and I realized how defenseless my family was. I had decided to leave and actively join the war effort but to protect everyone I had to cut ties. I was going to spell my cousins to forget about me and to move to another country. I waited too long though. I thought they were safe because we had different names, but I forgot that the Deatheaters, the purebloods, had children I went to school with that would recognise them. One must have followed me home and summoned the others. We were attacked and I was kidnapped. Held hostage as bait for several months before I was rescued. Everyone thought the Grangers were my parents, and after what happened to them, I didn't tell anyone the truth. I couldn't have that happen to anyone over here. There is a spell that makes the caster have full control of your body. They made Daniel rape and torture Emma to death before they tortured me in front of him. When they let him have control of his body again he grabbed the nearest knife and sliced his own throat ear to ear. I couldn't let that happen to my mum or dad and especially not to Elena or Jeremy. So I stayed silent, fought a war, won and waited until the majority of the other side were gone before coming back. I was too late though, Mum and dad still died, and your Grams, maybe if I was here earlier I could have helped you and her, shouldered some of the burden so it didn't weaken you all so much." Hermione used her sleeve to wipe her tears as Bonnie finished off the last of the ice cream.

"Maybe but you weren't and if you had been you might not have been able to handle it either. After everything you've gone through I bet you needed time to heal physically and magically right."

"Yeah, once I did I made my way here as quickly as I could."

"See so no blaming yourself, the only ones that can be blamed for what happened to Grams, are the ones involved, most especially the vampires." Hermione sighed and put her hand on Bonnie's and squeezed it slightly.

"I am not defending anyone, honestly I don't know them well enough to defend if I was. I just want to remind you that Grams was a strong woman who never held back what needed to be said. If she felt that she shouldn't be doing something, she wouldn't have done it, no matter how much you asked her to. It is horrible what's happened but never forget where you come from. You take all the time you need to heal and understand how you're really feeling. But try not to shut out the ones who care for you while you do so."

"You're talking about Elena aren't you?"

"In part. You two are best friends, I can tell this silent treatment your giving is killing her. Talk to her, if only to tell her you need more time. But don't completely shut her out, we never know when something bad can happen and you don't want to have any regrets." They sat silently for a few minutes before Hermione's phone rang. She bought one yesterday since she was back in the muggle world.

"Hello?"

"Hermione? Are you still at Bonnie's?"

"Hey Elena yeah I'm still here. You ok?"

"Uh yeah I'm good, Aunt Jenna just wanted to know if you'd be home for dinner?" She faced Bonnie and muted the phone for a second.

"Want to go out to eat? Just me and you?" Bonnie nodded and Hermione unmuted the phone.

"I'm going to have dinner with Bonnie and catch up. I'll call when I'm heading home."

"Oh ok. Minni, is she mad at me?" Hermione sighed and tapped her phone at the top of her head.

"Elena, I am not getting in the middle of this ok. Just…Give her a little bit."

"ok , love you."

"Love you too." She put her phone in her pocket and helped Bonnie up from the floor. They moved to the table in the living room and set their school books out to work. Hermione was on her last question when Bonnie started to open up.

"I hate them, Damon and Stefan. I hate Vampires and I wish we never agreed to open that stupid tomb. I don't want to put Elena in the middle but I can't stand to be near her when she's always with him. And maybe it's because it's still fresh, but I don't know and I can't pretend it didn't happen and be the same way I was before it did. And it makes me so mad that she thinks I'm going to just be ok and act like nothing changed when everything did!" Their books flew across the room at Bonnie's burst of accidental waved her arm and summoned all the books back to the table and moved closer to Bonnie and took both her hands in hers.

"You don't have to be the same person you were before, whether it was a few days ago or a few months. What happened was traumatizing to everyone, you especially. No one can tell you how to heal, how to handle what you went through. That's something you will need to figure out yourself. And if you're not ready then tell them to bugger off. But you need to know that the pain will never go away. It will fade over time, moreso when you are ready to let yourself heal, but the pain never fully leaves us. But I do suggest you be upfront and let her know that you need time, and when you are ready to receive help, let us know. If it never happens, then it never happens. But you need to do what's right for you. Bottling up your emotions isn't good, what happened just now can happen again and possibly result in injury to yourself and others. So if you don't want to talk to elena or anyone else. Then write it out, and either keep it for yourself, or burn it." Bonnie nodded and took a moment to breathe and calm down.

"Sorry about your book."

"Please, if you saw the types of things my best friend would do when he was mad. Phew that one has some major temper tantrums, though don't tell him I told you that." Bonnie laughed with her as they gathered their books into their bags and stood to go out to eat. "So since I haven't been here in a few years, where's the best place to eat?"

"I'll take you to the Grill, Matt works there too."

"Sweet lets go." An hour later they were laughing and gossiping at a table in The Grill.

"I can't believe Matts is allowed to serve alcohol here? Don't you have to be old enough to drink the stuff to serve it?" Hermione asked Bonnie as she watched Matt bus a table near them. He bent down to grab a rag that fell and she couldn't help but look. "And when did he get such a nice arse? I don't remember that." This in turn caused Bonnie to laugh so hard she started to choke on the sprite she was drinking.

"HERMIONE!" she cried out.

"What? I can't help it, it's nice and round." Bonnie shook her head at her friend good naturedly.

"Remember when you had a crush on him?" She asked. Hermione sighed dramatically and put her hand on her chest.

"Yes and that she-devil of a sister took him from me. Broke my heart, it did. Till I went to school and realized that quidditch players are quite fit."

"Quidditch?"

"Mhmm, a game where you fly out brooms and try to score points by throwing balls through hoops hundreds of feet in the air. No, I'm not kidding. I'll take you to one if you want." She smiled as Bonnie nodded enthusiastically. "Now I need your help. I know Carolines going to steal you away to help with Miss Mystic Falls, but she's had time to prepare. I only found out recently that I'm in it and I have no clue what type of dress I'll need. Two of my friends are visiting in two days so I was wondering if you'll come with me to go dress shopping. This way you can meet two others that you can talk freely about magic with and I get three votes on dresses. All I was told is that it's formal so I was thinking New York might be the best place to go." She watched Bonnie spew her drink onto the table in shock and took a napkin to wipe the mess up.

"Yes definitely." She laughed with Hermione as they spent the next few minutes just gossiping. Hermione only really had one girlfriend at Hogwarts and missed her friends from Mystic falls a lot throughout the years. She became slightly distracted when she saw Damon Salvatore walk in and head straight for the bar. He sat and waved his hand for the bartender and downed his drink the second it was in his hand.

"Hmm, he seems a bit broody." She remarked to Bonnie, nodding her chin in Damons direction. Bonnie's expression darkened and she pushed her food away from her. "A broody vampire is probably not a good thing huh." She kept her eyes on him as Bonnie nodded in agreement. "Look Elena's been hiding something from me. I want to know what, especially since she's decided to just throw herself into this world like a nutter without a life jacket. I'm not going to make you stay here, especially when you're not ready to confront those dark feelings churning in your stomach right now. Why don't you head home, I'll grab my bag from your car." She ushered Bonnie out the doors and led her to her car. She swung her bag on her shoulder and turned to face Bonnie.

"What are you going to do?" Bonnie asked.

"I'm going to annoy a vampire into giving me some information about what the bloody hell my sister got herself into, I have a means of getting home so don't worry about that." She gave Bonnie a hug and shrunk her bag when no one was around, slipping it into her purple handbag on her wrist that she shrunk to look like a bracelet. She took her hair out of the ponytail and massaged her sore head briefly before fluffing her curly hair to fall loosely on her shoulders. She went inside and chose the bar stool on Damons right side, she waved her hand for the bartender and ordered a Bourbon Neat. Damon took notice and smirked, thinking that she was going to get turned down. She wanted to laugh at his surprise when the bartender gave it to her, not even asking for ID. She wiggled her fingers teasingly at him, allowing him to see a spark briefly flare, to show she used magic. He held his glass up in a show of admiration for the trick. She smirked and down the glass in one shot.

"I didn't expect you to be a bourbon drinker. If anything I could see you as a fruity martini kinda girl." he commented

"Yeah no thanks. I like the burn. Been drinking since I was 14. The School I went to had a lot of parties and some of my friends were older so they'd always sneak stuff in from the nearby stores." He nodded and requested another drink.

"Are you even able to get drunk?" He set his cup down and laughed humorously at her question.

"Yeah, as long as we have blood in us all our functions work, the more blood the more human our body acts. In fact alcohol helps curb blood lust."

"Hmm, good to know."

"I doubt you're talking to me for fun, so what do you want?"

"Awe you sure know how to talk to a girl." She down her second glass and sighed.

"I'm sorry did you not try to put me on fire?" He put his glass down and faced her fully, his striking blue eyes staring into her soul.

"Oh please if I wanted you to burst into flames I would have done so. And I recall your long manicured fingers around my throat first." She countered. They stared each other down for several moments before he grinned and ordered them both another round.

"Touche." he said as he raised his glass. She raised hers with him and savored the burn as she took a gulp.

"I do want something from you though. I want to know what it is that you and your brother got my sister into. I can tell she's hiding something from me, and I already lost to many people because of secrets. I can't lose anyone else." She tried for honesty, for some reason Hermione felt that Damon wouldn't lie to her. She knew something was coming. Something big,, she could feel it in her bones and she had a strong feeling her sister was going right in the middle of it. He looked at her curiously before speaking.

"You know Elena hasn't told us much about you since you came back. Just that you were kidnapped by others like you and were rescued but didn't come back until after it was safe." She looked around and sighed. She just knew she was going to regret this, but if she wanted to keep her family safe from whatever her magic was warning her of, she would have to get more information.

"Look this isn't the right place for a storytime, got somewhere we can go? And it better have something strong to drink." He nodded and slapped enough money on the bar counter to pay for both their drinks. He opened the door for her and led her to his car, a blue 1963 Chevy Camaro. She ran her hand along the side of the vehicle before reaching the passengers side. Damon opened the door for her and waited until she was comfortable and belted in before closing the door. Soon they were speeding down the highway at 100 miles per hour. It was slightly chilly, even more so with the convertible top down, Yet Hermione felt so warm as she sang along with the loud music blaring on the radio. She loved fast cars, her father used to take her out to the race tracks during some of her summers home and during the last summer she spent with him he got one of the racers to take her out in his car on the track as an early birthday gift. She put her arms in the air enjoying the feel of the wind hitting her face as her hair knotted up behind her. They soon pulled up to a large country boarding house. She realized it must have been his house and became a little nervous at the idea of entering a vampire's home. She shook her head and reminded herself that she was not only a witch but was just as invulnerable and immortal as the vampire in question, if not more so with her godly granted powers. She opened the car door and charmed her hair back to normal before following Damon inside.

"Welcome to Chateau Salvatore, where the bourbon never ends." she wasn't able to catch the giggle that escaped in time and he gave a lopsided grin in return. She silently berated herself, She wanted to keep the brothers at arms length and her she was enjoying herself with the one Elena warned her as being the evil murdering one of the sibling duo. Though when someone lives off of human blood for so long it's expected that they're human morals would become slightly skewed. Hermione also doubted that Stefan Salvatore was as clean as he's made himself out to be to Elena.

"Nice place."

"Thanks, it's the one thing I was able to ensure stayed in the family." He led her to the parlor where several seats were located. She took a seat, crossing her ankles as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol from the fireplace and poured it into two thick glasses. He handed her one before sitting across from her.

"Elena told me you killed your last living relative, that doesn't seem like you want to ensure it stays in the family."

"Yeah well he wasn't the first relative I've killed."

"You have an impulse control issue. I barely know you but I can tell, you're an act first and think later kind of guy. Not a good thing for an immortal vampire. How have you been able to stay alive this long?" She finished her glass and held her hand out for the bottle which he handed her.

"My charm." She snorted and handed the bottle back to him. "So what's the story?"

"How about we play a game. Shot for shot, question for question?" He smiled, his eyes lighting up in interest. He stood up and grabbed two shot glasses from the counter behind the sofa. He set the shot glasses on the table in front of them and topped them off.

"Deal, ladies first." She smirked and nodded.

"How old are you?" He laughed at her question before downing his first shot.

"If I was a female that would be very rude. 178. Hmm Why were you kidnapped?"

"I was meant to be bait for my best friend." She took her shot and enjoyed the burn going down her throat. "How did you become a vampire?"

"Did Elena tell you about Katherine?" She nodded. "Well her blood was in my system when Stefn and I were shot by our wonderful father." She cringed as he took a double shot.

"Ouch."

"Yeah muskets suck. How long were you missing, was it other witches that took you?"

"That's two questions so I get two next. I was held captive for several months before getting rescued. I was taken by the wizarding world's version of Hitler. Those like me, born to parent's without magic, were looked down on as though they were dirt. Those that were able to trace their magical lineage back centuries are hailed as near royalty. A halfblood named Tom Riddle rose to the top by convincing those Purebloods that he was like them, like Hitler he convinced an entire group of followers that he would lead them to a whole new world order. All he wanted was power and immortality without the downsides. My friends and I have fought against him since we were 11 and we just won the war right before the summer." She grabbed the bottle and poured another shot. "So my turn, wha-" She was cut off by a knock at the door. Damon in a show of odd protectiveness motioned for her to stay seated as he checked who was at the door. She froze when she heard her uncle's voice and moved on the couch so she could see them but they couldn't see her. She noticed that Damon blocked the way into the room where she sat, knowing that she may not want him to see her here.

"Hey partner!" was the loud greeting from her uncle.

"What do you want?" Damon replied as he crossed his arms.

"You haven't returned any of my calls." Hermione wondered why her uncle would call Damon, they were definitely hiding something from her and she needed to find out what.

"Most people take that as a hint."

"Where do we start looking for vampires?

"What do you really want, John? You obviously don't care about catching vampires if you're here talking to me."

"Actually, I care very much."

"What does Isobel say about that? I mean, considering that she is one." Hermione held back a gasp, Isobel was the name Elena told her was their mother's. Was she a vampire? And what did this have to do with Damon and her Uncle John? She would definitely have some questions for her sister when she got home.

"Isobel and I share a mutual interest. The original Jonathan Gilbert has an invention that was stolen by a vampire. That vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church, or so Jonathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then the vampires weren't killed, were they? They were trapped and now they're free, thanks to you which means the invention can be retrieved."

"What is this invention?"Damon asked.

"The only thing that matters is that I want it back and you're going to help me if you want your secret safe."

"Why bring me into it John? I mean, I don't know what you are talking about, much less who has it."

"Oh come on Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. He was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?" There was a long pause, as they looked at each other in silence.

"I'm not playing anymore. Get out." Damon moved forward, nearly pushing John. " Get out." He ground out as he pointed to the door.

"I beg your pardon?

"You know, I only entertain this whole blackmail scheme thing of yours because I thought that you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine but see, now I know you've no idea where Katherine is, because if you did you would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends. See, you don't know everything, do you John?" John squared his shoulders in defiance.

"I'll tell the entire council what you are."

"Go for it! I'll kill every last one of them. Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that? And do you really want to threaten to tell the council about me when your own niece is a witch!? Now get out of my house!" He pushed him out of the house and slammed the door shut, leaving Hermione alone with a very pissed off Vampire. She sat up and poured a glass of bourbon and handed it to him as he walked by. He drained the glass and flopped down on the couch next to her ungracefully. She sat with him in silence, sipping her glass and going over the conversation she overheard.

"So my biological mother is a vampire? And my Uncle knew you and your brother's vampire ex, who looks just like my sister. John wants you to find some relic but won't tell you what it's for and no one wanted to let me know that my mother was a bloody vampire? I am not nearly drunk enough." Damon laughed and leaned back into the couch, staring at her the whole time. "Why would Elena keep this from me?" He shrugged in response.

"No clue Glenda."

"Glenda?" He smirked and wiggled his fingers the way she did earlier causing her to laugh.

"You know, I've been tortured, raped, belittled, and all I could think about was ending the war so I could get home." Her voice shook slightly as she spoke. Had she not drank so much she probably wouldn't be venting to a vampire that threatened to kill her before. "Now I'm here and everythings gone to shit. My sister has barely spent any time with me, wanting to be with Stefan and I've only been home for less than a week. Jeremy spent the first three nights glued to my side,both of us reassuring the other that I'm back to stay. Jenna spends at least an hour every night sitting with me and even John, who is definitely acting suspicious, has spent time with me and Jeremy going over some of the Gilbert family history. But Elena, after the first night back, she acts like I didn't even come home. And I know you don't care, it is not your problem or anything but I have absolutely no one I can talk to so… yeah."

"I've done my fair share of evil deeds but I have never gone as far as what you experienced. I wouldn't worry about Elena, she's in her own little world at the moment. You said you guys won the war right?"

"Yes we did."

"So take this time to relax, you've played soldier long enough, let loose and have fun." She smiled and leaned forward, her hands resting on his chest.

"And what would you define as fun, Mister Salvatore." She whispered.

"Well I could think of a few things." His voice turned husky as his eyes darkened. He leaned forward and caught her lip with his teeth as he pulled her close to kiss her. She enjoyed the heated kiss for a few moments before raking her upper teeth along his bottom lip and pushing herself off him and standing. She grinned, her face flushed, as she straightened her jacket.

"While I am sure that would be quite fun, I'm not the type to share and you're not the type to commit." He stood up and followed her to the door. She turned, facing him and placed her hand on his chest above his heart. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"You're not evil. I've seen evil. You've just lost your compass. I'm sure in a few hundred years I'll be the same way." She rose up on her toes and gave him another deep kiss, clenching his shirt in her hands. "Mmhmm, yeah this would have been quite fun." With that she apparated away, leaving him standing in the doorway, aroused, confused and contemplating what she had said. She appeared in an abandoned cabin she visited several times before and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

"Hello?" The person she called asked

"Tyler."

"Hermione? What's up?"

"Code Heat." She said, She heard him drop the phone and curse.

"Where?" She smirked at the phone.

"Cabin in the woods."

"I'll be right there." She hung up the phone and fanned herselfIt would take him about five minutes to get to her. Looking around she waved her hand and banished all the dust and grime. She conjured new bedding and lit the never told anyone, let alone Elena, about this place and neither had Tyler. Her last summer here had seen a lot of changes, one being her and Tyler losing their virginity with one another. They weren't dating but they have always been the best of friends and wanted the first time to be with someone they trusted. That summer they made a promise that when they got older, instead of sleeping with someone they would regret, when they needed that release they would call each other. Now if one of them was in a relationship then it wouldn't happen but if neither of them were they would hook up. No strings attached, the perfect friends with benefits agreement. They also agreed that if one of them started to get feelings that the other didn't return, they would stop and put their friendship first. Hermione had been so close to sleeping with Damon, much closer than she wanted to admit. Something about him just pulled her in. She wouldn't let herself give in though, not only was he a vampire but he was still hung up on Katherine and Hermione wasn't going to compete with anyone ever again for a guy, even one as tempting as him. She heard the door open and pulled Tyler in for a deep kiss once it was closed again. She ripped his shirt off, buttons flying. And pushed him onto the bed.

A few hours later she woke up in the arms of her best friend, they must have fallen asleep afterwards. She cringed at the loud ringing next to her ear and realized that it must have been coming from her phone. She fished it out of her jacket pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" she had to clear her voice since it sounded a bit groggy.

"Hermione! Where are you? I've been calling you, it's almost midnight." Hermione jumped up clutching the thin blanket to cover her bare breasts.

"Shit I'm sorry Aunt Jenna. I was with Bonnie and then went to catch up with Tyler and lost track of time. I'll be home in a few." She felt horrible for worrying her Aunt after having just come back.

"Alright, the only reason you're not grounded for giving me a heart attack is because I called Bonnie and she told me about you not wanting to be home after finding out that your mom signed you up for Miss Mystic Falls. But this will not happen again, home by 10 or call with an update. understood?"

"Yes Aunt Jenna."

"Good love you kiddo." Hermione jumped when she felt Tyler kiss her shoulder.

"Oh let Elena and Jeremy know that I'm fine, I'm sure they were worried."

"Jeremy's actually right here, he hasn't left the living room after you didn't answer the second call. Elena's been in her room since school."

"Oh ok, be there soon." She hung up and leaned into Tyler's chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you in trouble?" He asked.

"Yes and no, she was more concerned than mad, if it happens again I'll be in trouble though. It's just…' She sighed and closed her eyes, moaning when he bit her earlobe and kissed her neck. "Keep that up and I'll be very very late." He laughed but stopped and put his chin on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"I was so happy to come home, I missed everyone so much, but I feel like the one person I missed the most rarely wants to be around me. After the first two days back Elena is barely home and when she is she's always in her room. We used to do everything together and I know we went through different traumatic events but our bond shouldn't go away should it? We're twins.``

"No, but Elena changed a lot after you went missing and your parent's accident. She might just not be sure how to act around you anymore. Give her more time, you're back now, you have plenty of it." She smiled and kissed his cheek before getting up to get dressed.

"You're still so sweet. Don't let anyone take that from you." She said referencing his fathers actions from the previous night.

"Only for you Gilbert." She laughed and tossed his pants at his head.

"Come on I need you to drop me off, I walked." She informed him as she grabbed her shoes and slipped them on.

"Damn do I want to know what got you so hot and bothered that you still needed me after a walk all the way up here?"

"No you don't. Oh, are you doing anything on Friday?"

"I have to represent the Lockwoods for Miss Mystic Falls, you know appearances and all that. Why?" He tied up his sneakers and held up his ripped shirt before sighing and tossing it aside. "You owe me a new shirt, that one was a hundred dollars."

"Who spends a hundred on a shirt, you know what, never mind. Anyway I wanted to know if you'll be my date. Elena told me that my, uh, my mom signed me up when I was missing. She hoped both Elena and I could attend together. I don't like stuff like this but I want to honor her request." She took a deep breath so as to not cry and smiled at her oldest friend.

"Of course I'll be your escort, just let me know the colors you're wearing so we can match."

"Perfect, I'm going shopping on wednesday so i'll let you know when I get home." He led her through the woods towards his car and drove her home. When he pulled up to her house he let her out of the car and hugged her.

"Don't let her get to you. Trust me, we all missed you and are glad that you are home."

"Thank you, and thanks for earlier."

"No problem,open friends with benefits arrangement unless otherwise taken, remember."

"Yeah, no strings booty calls for life, isn't that what our 15 year old selves called it." He laughed and walked to the driver's seat.

"See you tomorrow in class." She waved at him and walked inside. Jeremy was asleep on the couch having not left like Aunt Jenna said, until she was home. Her stomach churned with guilt for worrying him. She levitated him and led him to his room, careful not to disturb him. She moved his blanket so she could lay him down and tucked him in like she used to when he was a baby. She moved the hair from his eyes and kissed his cheek before stepping out of the room.

"Hermione?" She heard him whisper as he woke slightly.

"I'm home Jer Bear, go back to sleep."

"Kay." He fell back to sleep and she closed his door. She had to pass Elena's to get to her room and as she did she heard crying from her room.

"Elena?" She opened the door and saw her sister curled into a ball holding the picture frame of their parents to her chest as she cried. Hermione sighed and went to her sister. She removed the picture and crawled into bed, holding her sister tight as silent tears fell down her face, the both of them fell asleep that night crying, missing their mother and father.

When they woke in the morning Elena's hand was covering Hermione's face and her knee was digging into her back.

"I guess some things never change, you still kick the crap out of anyone that sleeps in bed with you. I feel sorry for Stefan." Hermione fell out of the bed trying to avoid the pillow Elena was attempting to hit her with. She managed to dodge her sister and get ready for school. She had been looking forward to the end of school since Harry and Ginny would be coming over tomorrow and she and Bonnie were going to play hooky to go shopping with them. She had asked Elena earlier if she wanted to go but her sister had made plans with her boyfriend and was going to wear the dress her mother had found in a catalog that she wanted for her when she first signed them up. Hermione was disappointed but told Elena that she owed her a girl night out to which her sister agreed. Unfortunately her day was continuing with disappointments as she and the other Mystic Falls contestants were forced to attend a dance rehearsal after school led by Tyler's mother Carol Lockwood.

"Honor your partner. Stay focused, right hand around. Flirt with your eyes." Mrs. Lockwood ordered. Hermione was batting her eyes at Tyler, causing her to laugh. "Left hand around."

"This is ridiculous." Elena exclaimed. Hermione nodded from her spot as she starred her partner down.

"Both hands, children." Tyler blinked and cursed silently, glaring at Hermione's smug expression from winning the eye contest. She laughed as she watched Stefan spin Elena around and catch her in his arms.

"No! No! There's no touching during this part. It's about the simple intimacy of the near touch. Very nice, Amber! Tyler, Hermione that is how it's done.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood!" Amber exclaimed.

"If you ask me, the 'near touch' is overrated." Stefan whispered loudly to Elena.

"I would have to agree with you Salvatore." He leaned forward to whisper in Hermione's ear. "I much prefer touching you." Hermione laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. She moved closer to tease him when she got nudged by her sister.

"Oh, no touching!" Elena said to her sister as she passed her, winking as she did so. Elena was relieved when Hermione told her that Tyler was escorting her, especially after being told by Stefan about what happened between her and Damon. Apparently Stefan was in the house when she and Damon had arrived and, with his enhanced vampire hearing, heard everything, including the kiss. Hermione had endured a long lecture from her sister. After letting her sister yell at her, she informed Elena that she had no intention of pursuing Damon, but if she did that it would have been no business of hers. Elena had then snapped back that he was a sociopathic vampire and that Hermione couldn't trust him. Hermione was quick to remind Elena that Stefan had just as many bodies if not more so and that the only one that needed protection was Elena as she had magic to protect her if anything happened. After cooling off from their fight the sisters resolved their issues, knowing that they were just worried for one another. It didn't stop Elena's relief though at seeing that the dark vampire wasn't escorting her sister for the pageant.

"I just can't get it through her head that we aren't dating." Hermione said. Tyler smiled impishly before grabbing her hand and twisting her into a bow.

"It has to be difficult to believe that someone as sexy as me would be single for long." She laughed and smacked his shoulder.

"You're incorrigible." She smiled at Carol Lockwood before bowing to her partner and stepping back. His mother always liked her and she had fond memories of baking cookies with Tyler and his mom when his father was away for work. She grabbed Tyler's hand and led them out the door just as Caroline entered. Elena was talking to Bonnie and not wanting to disturb her sister, she and Tyler walked in the opposite direction. Hermione turned to say something when she noticed Stefan quickly leaving the area.

"Hey Ty, I'm going to catch up with you later, ok, I forgot something." He nodded and headed out towards his locker. She followed Stefan out the double doors and towards the sports field. She wanted to see if he was ok since he looked upset about something, and while Elena said everything was going well, she knew from personal experience how hard it is to fight addiction. She noticed how he stopped suddenly and started to watch the basketball player closely. Turning to the court she noticed that one of the players was bleeding. She walked up to Stefan and touched his shoulder to get his attention.

"Stef-" He turned swiftly and grabbed her throat. His eyes turned bloodshot and black veins appeared around them, his lips curled back as his fangs extended. She couldn't breathe and didn't want to attract attention by using magic. She started to panic when she heard a cackling feminine laugh echo in her mind. Before she could react Stefan was violently shaken off her by Alaric.

"Stefan! What the hell are you doing?" He yelled

"I'm sorry. I was just...I was feeling sick." Stefan turned and fled as Alaric and Hermione watched. Hermione rubbed her throat, wincing slightly.

"Hermione, are you ok?" Alaric asked, She nodded.

"Thank you." She whispered hoarsely.

"You're welcome. Do you need a ride home?" He asked.

"No , thank you though, I'll be fine." He nodded and watched as she headed towards the parking lot. She found a hidden corner and apparated home. She sat on her bed and rubbed her neck before removing her clothes and burrowing under the covers to take a nap. She must have slept through the night because when she next woke up the sun was up and nearly blinding her. She groaned as she sat up and checked her alarm clock. It was 6:00 in the morning which gave her two hours before Harry and Ginny would arrive by floo. Enough time to shower, get dressed and eat before she and her friends would be picking Bonnie up and heading to New York to go a few boutiques Hermione wanted to look at. Two hours later she was dressed in black jeans paired with a dark green scoop neck sweater, black boots and wearing her hair up in a loose bun. She stood in the sitting room, the one with a fireplace and not a TV, and waited for her friends to arrive. She had just gotten off the phone with Bonnie who would be arriving in 15 minutes and was bringing some pictures from previous pageant outfits for inspiration. She smiled at her sister as she came down the went to give her a hug when Elena shoved her away slightly to look at her neck just as the fireplace lit up with green flames.

"What the hell is this Minni!? Did Tyler do this?" Elena's yell attracted their brother and Aunt who were just coming down from their rooms. Neither Hermione nor Elena noticed them, nor did they notice the couple arriving behind them. Elena traced the bruise on her neck with her finger, visibly upset. The four bystanders just watched in confusion at the raised voices.

"You mean he didn't have the bloody balls to tell you? Why don't you ask your fecking boyfriend huh. And get your hands off me, it's not like you've given a rat's arse about me all week since I came back!" Hermione's hair rose as her magic crackled around her in response to her raising anger.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Elena screeched.

"You've been so bloody obsessed with your boyfriend that you're barely said two sentences to me unless it's in public or to yell at me. IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS KIDNAPPED, TORTURED AND HAD TO FIGHT A BLOODY WAR OR ANYTHING!" Her fists were clenched and sparks started to bounce off her knuckles. The door opened revealing Bonnie who stood in the doorway slack jawed at the raw magical energy around her friend. "And to add insult to injury when I went to check to see if your boyfriend was ok he BLOODY STRANGLES ME INSTEAD!" Elena froze, the words she was going to say getting stuck in her throat.

"He wouldn't do that." Elena said, shaking her head. "You're lying." Hermione felt her magic react, a bolt of lightning hitting the wall, scorching it. This startled both girls, allowing the tension to ease enough for Hermione to control her magic.

"It's sad that you don't believe your own twin, what would I gain by lying to you? Ask him and see what he says, better yet ask Alaric since he's the one that pried your arse of a boyfriend off me. It's funny actually, You were so worried about Damon being a bad influence on me, but at least he's honest about who he is. Stefan hides half of himself from you and your too stupid to see it." Hermione glared at Elena, the hurt hidden by anger. "Go screw yourself Elena." having felt her friends magical signatures she walked past Bonnie out the door and headed towards her car, knowing they would follow behind her.

"Hermione are you alright?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded and leaned on Bonnie's car as Harry and Bonnie caught up.

"Mione, what happened? Who hurt you?" Harry asked fists clenched tightly. Hermione held her hand over her neck and healed the bruise. She had been so tired the night before that she forgot to do so earlier.

"Let's go to the back yard." She led them to the back and sat on one of the benches as her friends did the same. "Elen's boyfriend Stefan did it yesterday, He looked stressed when you and Elena were talking after dance prep, so I decided to follow him. One of the basketball players got hurt and was bleeding and I think when I tried to get his attention he was fighting bloodlust and lashed out. At first I didn't want to expose my magic but at a certain point I started to flashback and completely froze. Alaric had to get him off me, then he ran off. I was so tired I forgot to heal it and assumed he would have told Elena, especially since she swears he's a compassionate and caring person. I can only compare him to Lupin and Moony, he's a vampire, there is no escaping that and instead of learning to accept what he is and controlling it he tries to separate completely from that part. He's acting like an addict going through withdrawal." She looked pointedly at her two wizarding friends who nodded in understanding before facing Bonnie. "Sorry you guys came into all that."

"No problem, I love Elena but she has this habit of focusing on one thing and letting everything, or everyone else fade away, it's gotten worse since your parents accident." Hermione nodded and got up to hug Harry and Ginny. Ginny smiled and put her hands on her hips.

"So how are we doing this, is there a theme or anything to this pageant thing. You may not win, but I'll be damned if you don't look the part of a winner." Hermione snorted at her friend's enthusiasm.

"She and Caroline would get along very well." Hermione agreed with Bonnie and took one of the magazines offered. "Both Elena and Caroline's dresses are sleek and long so we'll definitely need a long dress as well, if you don't want the same color dresses as anyone else I would not choose any shades of pink, green, blue, purple or orange. Those are the colors the others are wearing."

"How did you find that out?" Hermione asked.

"Caroline and Elena told me and the others told their friends so of course everyone else knows." Bonnie shrugged and held up a picture to Hermione's face. "Honestly I think we should go with either Gold or White or both. This will be your first main event since coming back and I think those two colors would look amazing on you." Ginny looked at the magazine Bonnie had and nodded.

"Yeah I agree, we'll keep our eyes open for dresses in white, gold or some combination of both at the shops we go to. Are you guys ready to go?" Harry and Hermione shared an amused look before gathering everyone close. As Hermione was the one who knew where they were going she grabbed both Harry, who was not a fan of apparating, and Bonnie. She waited for Harry to grab Ginny's arm before aparrating out. They arrived in a small waiting room, only Hermione and Ginny remained standing. Bonnie was bent over at the hip gagging and Harry fell into an undignified heap on the floor, Hermione laughed, stepping over Harry to pat Bonnie on the back.

"You're doing better than Harry, his first time sidealong had him emptying his stomach on the headmaster's shoes."

"HEY! That is not a story intended to be shared about." Harry moaned from his place on the floor.

"Then don't share it with me." She said smugly. "So this store is called Little Women and it's one of the few that caters to both magical and Mundane fashion. This room is the apparition room, there are two doors, one leads to their mundane New York storefront and the other not on leads to their Magical storefront but also the NewYork Magical Alley called Shettler's Corner. It's smaller than Diagon Alley though, since New York has several Magical Alcove's hidden in plain sight." She saw her friend's expression and smiled fondly. "Yes we'll take a look around after dress shopping. Ready?" Her friends nodded so she shepherded them to the Mundane Storefront to look at some dresses. If they didn't find any here they would take a look elsewhere at the numerous stores nearby.

"So, Mione, who is this Damon you mentioned Elena thinking was a bad influence on you?" Harry asked, Hermione looked around to see where Bonnie was, seeing she was further away with Ginny, had her opening up to Harry.

"I can't really talk about it too much in front of Bonnie, Her Grams died recently and she reasonably is blaming the Vampires Stefan and especially Damon as it was his Ex they were trying to free from a cursed tomb. Turns out she wasn't even in there and when they tried to close the tomb again her Grams drained too much magic to save Bonnie from serious magical backlash. She passed away that same night."

"Ok, you briefly mentioned him before, I believe the description used was obnoxiously handsome with an arrogance to beat Malfoy Senior." Hermione laughed and nodded her head.

"Well Elena's been keeping secrets so I decided to confront one of the brother's, Stefan would have been a dead end so Damon was my choice. I was just looking for answers." Harry looked at her a moment before smirking.

"Miss Gilbert, are you blushing?" SHe glared at him and after shooting another glance around leaned forward.

"We kissed ok? We kissed and I wanted to do so much more but stopped myself. Shot out of there like a bat out of hell and screwed the shit out of my best friend, were friends with benefits." As Hermione babbled in nervousness Harry blanched at the idea of his near sister having sex and covered her mouth.

"OK,ok too much information. Let's just agree that you find the other brother attractive but not boyfriend material and leave it at that." She laughed and nodded. "Now is the friend you were talking about, the one you told me you were close to growing up?"

"Yeah we've been close since we were in diapers, he can be an arse but he's sweet deep down and means well for the most part. Kind of like you, always looking out for his friends." He grabbed her in a hug and smiled.

"Just be careful, I thought that when you went home you'd be safe, but it seems like you jumped right into the middle of a supernatural hotspot. I don't want anything to hurt you." She pulled out a light gold dress and added it to the small pile they were making .

"I know you don't, but unlike my family, I can't die. Remember?" She had ended up breaking down the night before going home and told both Harry and Ginny, her closest friends, about what she learned from Dumbledore; she needed at least one person that wasn't a painting to know everything she was going through.

"That doesn't mean you can't get hurt or seriously injured, we know you haven't hit the peak of your powers, and we have no clue what else you're capable of, but that doesn't make you invincible. Even the Titans were defeated by lower gods Hermione." She looked at him in surprise before agreeing with his analogy.

"You're right, I'll be careful. I haven't even been able to tell anyone at home, I wanted to at least tell Elena but she's not talking to me much at all." Harry shifted the clothes to one arm and hugged her with the other.

"Just remember you'll always have us no matter what."

"Thanks Harry, I'm going to try these on now." The girls handed their find to her and waited with Harry, looking at the other clothes the store had as she tried on the dresses they picked. After 6 dresses that just didn't fit right she was about to give up at this store when she saw a white off the shoulder dress. The dress was made by a designer named J. Mendel had a high slit that started on her upper left thigh just three inches from her waist. The dress was satin and felt like a second skin when she put it on. She stepped out of the dressing room to take a look in the full length mirror.

"Wow Hermione, that dress is amazing, who picked that one out?" Ginny asked.

"I did." Answered Harry. "I thought she'd look like an angel." Hermione smiled at her reflection. Even with her scars on display the dress still made her look amazing. A necklace or two could distract from the ones on her neck and a pair of long gloves will cover the ones on her arms.

"This one is it, I'm going to change and grab a pair of shoes and gloves. Then we can either head into New York street life or the Magical Alley." She went into the room and changed, on her way to the register she grabbed a pair of white lace heeled boots and matching lace gloves that left her fingers bare but connected to her middle finger by a loop. She rang up her packages and met up with her friends.

"We want to show Bonnie the wizarding side of shopping before going back home but for now we want to see New York as Muggles, sorry Mundanes, as the tourists we are." Ginny wrapped a finger around her red hair as she spoke, practically hopping on her feet.

"You just want to buy more clothes don't you.?" Hermione teased good naturedly.

"Come on, Wizarding fashion is so behind it isn't even funny. I found all the best outfits in the Muggle world and I want to see how different America is from England." The three of them headed out and spent the next several hours shopping. Bonnie and Ginny both found cute dresses and got a few souvenirs for home. Harry even bought a few things and was having a blast. Around 7 they stopped at a pizzeria to eat, around 8 apparated back to Mystic Falls and by 9 Hermione, Harry and Ginny were asleep.

The following morning was a rush of activity, Bonnie was with Caroline helping her get ready, Aunt Jenna was helping Elena and Ginny was Hermione's personal assistant. Harry opted to stay with the men folk and was keeping Jeremy company as they waited for their ride to the founders hall where the girls would finish getting ready. Presently Ginny was charming Hermione's hair and makeup as they wouldn't be able to use magic when they get to the dressing rooms at the hall.

"You look amazing, Hermione." Ginny commented as she magicked her hair into a fashionable half up half down style that tied at the bottom of her head and fell in curls to her mid back.

"Thank you, I'm sorry that your visit ended up being overshadowed by this." Ginny smiled and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'm not, this is a part of your life, these Founders events are part of your history. A history that we didn't learn about until recently. In fact it showed how selfish we were." Hermione turned around to face her friend confused. "You could name so many facts about the Weasley's and the Potters, about Harry and myself. All because you've asked and looked up information and learned about your friends, families and traditions. But we can only name a few about you. You've always put Harry first, Ron First. But they didn't even know about your family, and don't say you never told them. I know for a fact you wouldn't have lied to Harry if he had asked you about your family. And yes they were preoccupied with dangerous life threatening moment's. But that didn't stop you from finding out about each of our lives. Sending the Weasleys treats and gift cards on our birthdays because you know the struggle we had growing up. Sending Harry shrunken food charmed to last all summer because you know his family starved him. You did this because you are a great friend. And it's about time we started acting the same." Hermione hugged her friend before cutting her off.

"You have always been great friends, please never doubt that."

"We'll be doing better here on out, in fact. When Harry finishes his first half of training he'll be transferring to the Macusa Auror Division. One of the reasons he was able to get a longer stay was to look for a new house here in Mystic Falls." Ginny screamed in surprise when Hermione got up and pulled her into a big hug, the two of them laughing as they fell into the bed together. Hermione's door flew open as a nervous Harry came barreling in, wand raised ready to defend. Hermione saw him and faster than physically possible for a mere human, ran into her friend and wrapped her arms around him in a large hug. Harry laughed and hugged her back.

"As much as I'd love to continue to watch you three dunderheads embarrassed yourselves I do need to point out that Young Miss Gilbert may have unlocked another ability." Severus announced.

"I did?" Hermione asked. Ginny nodded as well as Albus who both saw how quickly she ran.

"I think you have some kind of enhanced speed. You looked like a blur when you ran to Harry and you reached him in a second." Ginny responded.

"Huh. I wonder if that's from the Threstral essence. Thestrals are known for being faster than even a broom once in the air." Hermione mused.

"Maybe anyway Your family is waiting downstairs for youI was coming to tell you when I heard you yell."

"Oh that was because Hermione tackled me the second I told her we were moving here." Hermione perked up and gave her friend another hug.

"Ginny, you're coming too?" She asked.

"Of course! I got accepted by the Fitchburg Finches last week so after I finish with school this year I'm coming to America, it's easier to apparate from within the country than across the pond." Both Ginny and Harry smiled as Hermione jumped up and down in excitement, listening as she listed off everything that would need to be done to get them ready for the move. Harry finally was able to lead them downstairs just as Alaric knocked on the door. Aunt Jenna had to run back upstairs for something and squeezed Hermione's shoulder as she did so. Hermione noticed Elena had her dress in her arms and smiled.

"Do you want me to charm your makeup so it lasts all night without smudging?" She asked her sister. Elena smiled at the olive branch Hermione was offering and nodded.

"Wow, that felt really warm, thank you." Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Hey." Alaric said when Harry opened the door for him.

"Hi." Elena said quietly. Hermione realized that this must have been awkward for her since he confirmed that her boyfriend had choked her sister at the school. Alaric turned towards Hermione in concern.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, indicating her neck.

"All healed, I'm fine, thank you for stepping in though." He nodded just as John came in the room

" Alaric. Hey buddy, what are you doing here?" He asked, confused.

"I'm the chauffeur." He responded.

"I thought I was driving tonight." John remarked as Aunt Jenna came jogging down the stairs.

"No need, we're going with Rick." Jenna said as she brushed past him. "Hermione, Harry and Ginny can ride with you." She grabbed Alaric's arm and led him, Jeremy and Elena, who shrugged her shoulders at her sister's face, towards Alaric's car.

"Well I guess you guys are with me. You have everything you need?" Hermione nodded and hugged him in thanks. He may be acting shifty but he was still her Uncle and she knew he meant well.

"He and Aunt Jenna had a relationship that ended very badly before his brother, my dad, married her sister, my mum." Hermione whispered to her friends who were confused by the behavior of her kind Aunt. They soon arrived and Hermione introduced her two friends to Tyler who agreed to keep them company as she got ready. She went upstairs and saw her Aunt already working on Elena's hair, Caroline was sitting at the vanity next to her and waved at Hermione when she came in. Hermione sat down to look at her reflection in the mirror. There wasn't much else she needed done other than putting her dress on so instead used the time to calm her nerves. This was something that their mom wanted to experience with them that she never had the chance to do. Hermione quickly wiped her eyes before anyone noticed, she didn't want Elena to see her cry and upset her.

"Thanks for helping me." Elena said, Hermione turned to watch as she spoke to their Aunt.

"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off." Aunt Jenna remarked as she curled a strand of Elena's hair.

"Don't do that, I don't think Elena has the facial structure to pull off a bald head." Hermione teased. Elena gave her a weak smile in return.

"You know I remember when mom and I were first applying for this, she was so excited."

"So were you if I recall."Jenna commented.

"I was. She just made it sound like so much you were missing but she sounded so sure you'd be back in time for the three of us to do this together. Lots has changed since then." Hermione faced the mirror once more and sighed sadly at what could have been.

"I hate to break it to you, but it's a little late for cold feet." .

"I don't have cold feet, Aunt Jenna. I just...I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here."

"Well I'll tell you one thing, your hair would have a better chance if she was." Their Aunt remarked before putting the curler down and twisting the last strand of hair around her finger.

"Okay, I should go put my dress on. Be careful with that thing, don't hurt anybody." Elena said before standing up and leaving the room quickly. Hermion shared a look with Caroline before standing, grabbing her dress and rushing after her sister. She opened the nearest door and saw Elena comforting Amber, one of the other contestants.

"Do "Actually I'm just- I'm gonna go get some air." Hermione stepped aside so Amber could leave. She set her dress down and walked up to her sister.

"I miss her too, I know these founder's events were more your thing to do with mom, but I wish she was here today too Elena."

"I know, and I know it's harder on you since you just found out after fighting for so long to protect us. I wish she and Dad could have seen you first." Hermione and Elena embraced, their bond that had felt strained when she first came back was starting to strengthen again. Hermione jumped in surprise when she looked in the Mirror and saw Damon behind them.

"Hey, you can't be back here." Elena shrieked in fright. Damon shrugged and leaned against the wall. He gave Hermione a heated look before speaking to Elena.

"We need to talk." He said

"Does it have to be right now?" Her sister asked.

"Normally I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you but since it could really inconvenience me, I'll squeal." Hermione crossed her arms as she watched the two of them, not wanting to interrupt unless needed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stefan's still drinking human blood."

"What?!" Elena cried out.

"Yeah, a month ago I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle." His flippant attitude was starting to irritate Hermione but she bit her tongue.

"I know he's been a little edgy but he said that was normal."

"Elena, would you say strangling your sister was normal behavior?" Hermione cut in, she realized that this probably explained his lashing out earlier when she went to check on him. Elena went to say something and bit her lip before shaking her head no.

"I'm sorry did you say my brother strangled you?" Damon asked through clenched teeth. This confused the girls but Hermione just shrugged it off.

"Yeah but if he was craving blood that would explain it, one of the basketball players was hurt and I distracted him. Alaric had to rip him off me. How'd you find out he was still drinking human blood?"

"Hmm." Damon clenched and unclenched his fists before taking a breath and speaking again. "He has a fridge full of stolen blood bank contraband in the house." Hermione led her sister to the nearest couch as she looked slightly faint..

"Oh my god." Her sister whispered.

"He has no idea what normal is, his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood but he spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning to control it and now it's controlling him instead."

"I can't believe this. I mean, it's Stefan that we're talking about here." Hermione reached over and wrapped her arm around Elena's shaking shoulders.

"Stefan on human blood Elena; he'll do anything, he'll say anything because he's not gonna want to stop. Trust me."

"This is all my fault; I'm the one who fed him the blood in the first place."

"No it bloody well isn't. Elena you are a 17 year old girl, he's at the very least triple your age. The only one who is at fault is him, he's had plenty of time to face and control his demons. That he hasn't is in no way your fault." Hermione was cut off from saying any more by the door opening and the devil they spoke of coming into the room.

" What's going on here?" he asked, confused.

"I was just filling Elena in on your extra-curricular activities." Damon replied. Stefan started to laugh.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I know about the blood, Stefan." Elena said. Hermione stood and grabbed her dress, intent on not getting caught in the middle of a lovers quarrel.

"I have to go get dressed, I'll leave you two to talk." She gave Damon a pointed look before stepping out of the room.

"I'm uh - I'll be downstairs, drinking." He followed Hermione out and closed the door. Hermione sighed and leaned against the wall, her face tipped upwards and her eye's closed. She jolted when she felt fingers brush against her neck. "Are you ok?" He asked. She sighed and slowly moved away from the wall.

"Yeah, just not sleeping right. Flashbacks are a bitch." He nodded and bid her farewell before making his way downstairs. She found another empty room and put her dress on, her gloves and jewelry covered and distracted from most of her scars but you could still see plenty of them. She smiled though, instead of being disgusted with what she saw, she was proud of what she survived and fought for. Each mark a physical reminder of all she was able to overcome. She left the room to stand at the balcony with the other contestants. Moving next to her sister and caroline.

"Miss Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore." Mayor Lockwood announced from below. Tina descended down the stairs to meet with her escort at the bottom.

"Has anyone seen Amber?" Hermione asked the two girls.

"No, not since she left the dressing room. Do you see Stefan down there?" Elena asked. Caroline looked over the balcony railing and shook her head.

"Nope, just my boring fill-in escort."

"What happened to Matt?" Elena asked her friend.

"They wouldn't let him out of work."

"That sucks, isn't it illegal to hold him for too long since he's underage?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah I guess, but he needs the job. Wait, what happened to Stefan?"

"I don't know, he just disappeared somewhere, I don't know. What am I doing? I never should have gone through with this." Elena pushed off of the balcony railing and leaned back against the wall.

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked. Hermione bit her bottom lip nervously as she watched her sister panic.

"I need to find Stefan, this isn't me, I'm not this person anymore."

"No, no, no way, no. You had your chance to drop out and believe me I was all for it because there is no way that I could beat you. Elena, you're doing this because it was important to your mom." Hermione squeezed Caroline's hand in thanks as she was called to come down,

"Miss Caroline Forbes and her escort Jeffrey Lockwood Hamilton." Announced Mayor Lockwood

"You're next Elena, I'll see you down there. Remember tonight is about mom, don't let Stefan make it about himself." Her sister nodded and began to step down.

"Miss Elena Gilbert, escorted by Mister Stefan Salvatore." Hermione smiled until she realized that Stefan wasn't standing at the bottom of the stairs for her sister. She sighed when she saw Tyler step up to Escort her instead. He looked up and nodded in her direction. She didn't know who was going to escort her but she was glad her sister wasn't left standing alone. "I apologize, her escort Tyler Lockwood." The Mayor corrected and quickly moved on to ease the Awkward switch. "Miss Hermione Gilbert, escorted by…Mister Damon Salvatore." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise before she slowly descended down the stairs. She smiled and placed her arm in his as he led her from the bottom of the stairs.

"Where is Stefan?" She whispered.

"I don't know." He replied as he led her outside where the others were.

"Your brother is making his way up my shit list." She commented as each of the couples took their positions for the dance. She curtseyed to her partner.

"Thank you for asking Tyler to step in for him, I assume that's your doing."

"Yes, I know Elena doesn't like me much and figured Tyler would make her more comfortable in this situation." She nodded as the dance began, Her and Damon sharing heated glances as they moved together. They may not have been touching but it didn't stop the shivers that ran down her spine as he stared into her eyes, taking her breath away. She was never more grateful when the dance ended than in that moment as she took a deep gulp of air, wishing for a breeze to cool her off. Their escorts led them to the stage before exiting to the left as the mayor entered on the right.

"Where is Amber?" Caroline asked. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know." Elena responded as she looked around.

"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to all of these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." The girls each curtsyed as the crowd applauded. "So, without further adieu it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls, Miss Caroline Forbes!" Hermione smiled as Elena shared a hug with her friend, the both of them congratulating her. She couldn't help but be happy for her, Caroline deserved it and honestly didn't expect to win.

"I actually won!" Caroline exclaimed before the Mayor placed the sash around her shoulders. Hermione and Elena found Damon, and Harry waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs leaving the stage.

"You both look amazing." Harry commented to them both.

"Thanks Harry. Harry, this is Damon Salvatore. Damon, this is my friend I told you about, he's visiting us with his girlfriend Ginny this weekend." Damon nodded in greeting. "They're like me, they also know everything." He nodded once more to her pointed look. She faced Harry. "Where's Ginny?"

"She's with Bonnie."

"Did you find him?" Elena asked Damon.

"There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs was blood and that Amber girl is missing." He said.

"Oh my god! He wouldn't hurt her, he won't!" Elena cried out.

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Stefan, Her boyfriend." Hermione replied. "You didn't believe he would hurt me but he did Elena."

"Let's just find him, okay? Let's get your coats, come on!" Damon said as he ushered them towards the doors. Hermione threw hers on and sped past everyone else out the door. She started to run when she heard a scream echo from the woods, she saw him biting her and waved her arm to throw him off the poor girl before rushing towards her.

"Stefan!" Elena yelled when he stood back up and started to make his way towards Amber again.

"Stefan, come on get control. It's okay, come on. Breath through it man." Damon instructed. Harry stood by Hermione and Amber, his wand raised as he guarded them while Hermione looked Amber over. She turned and saw Stefan catch Damon and throw him against a tree.

"Stefan stop it!" Her sister ordered. Before she could get up and do anything else Stefan grabbed his head in pain, she turned and noticed Bonnie had joined them, Ginny behind her, and was focusing her magic on him, after a minute she stopped.

"It's okay. Stefan." Damon said as he stepped closer to his brother, only stopping when Stefan ran deeper into the woods away from them. Amber stirring drew Hermione attention again and she crouched down, staring into her eyes.

"Legilimens." She whispered, she sorted through the girl's memories until she found the one she wanted. "Obliviate." She erased the memory of Stefan from her mind, she knew Damon could have compelled her to forget but if anything happened to him she would regain her memories. This way she would never remember being attacked and they could blame it on trauma induced memory loss. She stood and cleaned the blood off her hands magically before facing the others. "She won't remember anything about Stefan attacking her, I do suggest calling the police though, she lost a lot of blood and her screams would have caused some sort of notice from the hall. Damon nodded and called the Sheriff who was inside with her daughter. Everyone pretended to have just found her and each gave their statements to the police.

"She doesn't remember what happened." Sheriff Forbes announced to those gathered.

"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did, she lost a lot of blood." Damon said.

"You didn't see anything?" The sheriff asked.

"No, we just found her and then called Damon who came out with Harry and Ginny." Elena answered.

"Is she going to be okay?" Hermione asked.

"It looks like it, yeah. Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here."

"Okay."Bonnie said before walking towards her car, Elena following after her. Hermione, Harry and Ginny headed back towards the house. When they were close to an outdoor seating area Hermione sat down with her friends.

"Why am I starting to think that Harry wasn't the trouble magnet we all thought he was?" Ginny asked jokingly, causing the both of them to laugh. I'm just glad that he'll be moving down here in a few months, extra wands never hurt. Plus you seem hell bent on protecting everyone else, who's left to protect you?" Hermione shrugged her shoulders causing her friends to frown. She smiled when she saw Tyler come out.

"Hey where have you guys been?" He asked.

"We found Amber, she was hurt but couldn't remember what happened. Thank you by the way for stepping in for Stefan. If Damon had to dance with Elena I think she would have killed him." He laughed and hugged her.

"No problem. I have to head home but call me later to hang out when you can." She nodded and got up to give him a hug. Kissing his cheek and bidding him farewell.

"Damn Mione, every guy I've seen here is just wow. If I wasn't already spoken for I think I would be switching schools real quick." Hermione and Ginny watched Harry's expression and burst into laughter. Hermione smiled at her friend's antics and stood so they could start to head out. She was stopped by Damon who had just spoken to Elena.

"What's going on? She asked.

"Stefan's not going to be able to stop on his own so we're going to force him too. Elena's going to hit him with a shot of vervain to knock him out and we're going to help him detox, by force. I just wanted to let you know because Elena may need someone to talk to." Hermione nodded and thanked him before heading home with her friends. She waited in Elena's room and just held her sister after she came home. She held Elena as she cried herself to sleep, all the while wondering how else she could help her.