"Hope, curfew is in twenty minutes."

Hope rolled her eyes. "I know that - it's not like this was planned. The engine's completely dead; I'll have to walk back and get Jed or someone to come and look at it tomorrow."

Alaric sighed on the other end of the phone. "Alright. Call me when you're outside."

"I will," Hope said. "I'll see you soon."

In an effort to distract herself from Roman's departure, Hope had taken to volunteering for every chore Alaric needed help with.

Even when it started getting better, she kept up with some of them - including the weekly drive into town to pick up anything that had inevitably been missed in the grocery run.

The nearest town was not actually New Orleans but a small place more like Mystic Falls than the French Quarter. It was quieter and easier to park, but when the car failed to start again, it did mean that she was unable to just go home for the night.

Instead, she and her groceries faced a long walk.

She adjusted the bag over her shoulder and took a quick selfie, sending it to Roman.

Engine failure + grocery shopping = not fun.

Despite the time difference, he answered almost immediately.

Couldn't Dr S come pick you up?

It's a Bad Day.

He replied with a face-palm emoji that made her giggle. She had every sympathy for Lizzie's condition, but when it left her walking for forty minutes in the dark, that sympathy waned somewhat.

As she turned on to the main road, two noises caught her attention - a hammering noise and someone screaming.

Her eyes snapped to the sky, to the full moon high above her.

There was no way there was someone out here without the school knowing.

Was there?

Making a decision, Hope broke into a run, heading for the noise.

It led her to the church, where a boy her age was hammering on the door.

"Raf! Let him go! Raf!"

"What's going on?" Hope asked breathlessly.

The boy turned, and Hope realised that she recognised him as the server at the diner she had exploded a car for (even if he didn't know it).

"Peanut-butter milkshake girl?"

"Hope," she corrected. "What's going on?"

He hesitated. "It's my brother. Our foster home are … I don't know what they're doing. I think they're trying an exorcism."

"Was he in an accident recently?" Hope asked, setting her bag down.

His brow creased in confusion. "Yeah, a few weeks ago - his girlfriend …"

"She died," Hope finished, eyeing the door.

"How'd you …?

"I'll explain later," Hope said, tying her hair back. "What's your name again?"

"Landon."

"Okay, Landon - I get the feeling you're not going to stay out here," Hope said. "So I need you to stay behind me and do exactly what I say; I promise I'll explain afterwards. It's not just your brother that's in danger." She didn't wait for an agreement, blasting the doors open with a muttered spell.

Inside, her worst fears were realised - the boy screaming on the ground was writhing in pain, his eyes glowing yellow.

There was nothing she could do for him; nothing could reverse or undo what he was about to go through.

All she could do was protect the people around him - although it was tempting to leave them to deal with it, looking at the various 'exorcism tools' they were holding.

However, with no protection, they would be dead by morning if she did, and it was unfair to leave the poor boy to deal with the aftermath of that.

With another muttered spell, the humans were struck dumb and magically forced out of the church.

"Raf!"

"No!" Hope flung an arm across his chest, holding him back. "You can't - we need to leave him." She tried to catch Raf's eye. "I'm sorry. I'll explain in the morning but I can't help you."

She pushed Landon back out of the church and slammed the doors shut, sealing it with another spell, before turning to the humans.

"Landon, I think I'm going to need to make them forget. If I do that, I probably need to make them forget about you and your brother entirely."

"That's fine," Landon said faintly. "This isn't exactly out of character."

"Do I need to be worried about the other people in their care?" Hope asked.

Landon grimaced. "Can you do anything about it?"

Hope sighed. "No."

Compulsion would be far easier, far more subtle, and far more specific, but the spell did its job; their eyes glazed over and they wandered off into town.

"Hope?" Landon asked quietly.

Hope sighed, sitting down on the steps of the church. "Your brother's a werewolf. He's going through his first transformation. Until he turns back, he won't have any idea who you are; you're just going to look like prey."

"I don't understand," Landon said. "I've known Rafael my whole life. This has never happened."

"The werewolf curse is passed down genetically," Hope said. "It lies dormant until you cause a death."

"It was an accident," Landon said, fierce protectiveness in his voice.

Hope smiled sadly. "I'm sure it was. Magic doesn't care. It's shitty like that - no grey areas."

"Oh," Landon said quietly.

"The Laughlin Academy was specifically set up for werewolves, along with witches and vampires and anything else they come across," Hope explained.

"So you're a … witch?" Landon guessed.

Hope smiled. "Well, my grandmother was a witch. My father is a vampire-werewolf hybrid, and my mother is a vampire, which makes me …"

"A unicorn?" Landon finished.

Hope laughed. "You're probably not far off. My Aunt Davina coined the term 'tribrid' but no one really knows to be honest. I am a witch, but I'm also a werewolf; I just haven't triggered my curse." She pulled out her phone again and called Alaric again.

"Hope?"

"I'm going to be later than I thought," Hope said. "There's a werewolf in the church. I've cleared the area and sealed the doors, but I'm sitting outside with his brother."

"They had no idea?"

"None," Hope answered.

"Okay, well Lizzie's settled now," Alaric said. "I'll bring a change of clothes out. What size?"

"Hang on," Hope said. "Landon, is Rafael about your size?"

Landon frowned. "Uh … yeah?"

"About Henrik's size," Hope said into the phone. "Maybe about six inches taller."

"I can work with that. I'll see you in a few."

"Okay," Hope said, hanging up. "Dr Saltzman's going to bring a change of clothes - the transformation will rip his to shreds."

"You're still calling him my brother," Landon said.

"That's what you said he was," Hope pointed out. "Okay, so he's clearly not your biological brother. I've got two cousins - one of them is my uncle's biological son, the other one is my aunt's adopted daughter. Mariella is no less my family than Henrik is, just because we don't share any DNA. You say he's your brother, then he's your brother."

"Thanks," Landon said quietly, glancing back at the door. "What's going to happen to him?"

"He'll be okay," Hope said. "I'm told the first transformation is the hardest. He'll be exhausted tomorrow, maybe a few bumps and bruises, but he'll be alright. The church is in more danger than he is, quite frankly. I'm sure Dr Saltzman will offer him a place at the Academy."

The noise of an engine caught her attention and she got to her feet, walking down the path to meet the Academy SUV.

"He okay?" Alaric asked, nodding towards Landon, who was still sitting on the church steps.

"His foster brother's a werewolf and I just had to make his foster carers forget they both existed," Hope answered. "Mind you, they were attempting an exorcism at the time, so they're probably better off."

Alaric frowned, but didn't comment, handing her a duffle bag. "Change of clothes."

"Thanks," Hope said, raising an eyebrow when he reached back into the car and retrieving a blanket and a thermos with two mugs. "What's this for?"

"Were you planning on leaving him there?" Alaric asked.

"No," Hope admitted.

"And what are the chances of him coming with us now?"

"Slim to none," Hope said.

"So you're staying here, aren't you?" Alaric asked knowingly.

Hope pulled a face, but nodded. "Thanks."

"I'll be back in the morning," Alaric said. "Stay safe."

"I always do," Hope said, shouldering the duffle bag and handing Alaric the groceries. She returned to Landon, sitting down to lean back against the church door. "Come here, I don't bite."

Landon moved back to sit right beside her and she tucked the blanket over both of them, opening the thermos to take a sniff. "Hot cocoa?"

"Thanks," Landon said, taking one of the mugs. "You're staying here?"

"I'm not leaving you to sit here and worry all night," Hope said, "and you're not going to leave him. So, yes, I'm going to stay here."

The sun rose the next morning and Hope opened her eyes, wincing immediately in the bright light. She couldn't remember falling asleep, but at some point she and Landon had slumped into each other, her head resting on his shoulder, and his resting atop her head.

He woke up as she stretched. "That wasn't a really weird dream."

"No, I'm a witch and your brother's a werewolf," Hope answered, standing up. "He'll be human again now, if you want to take those clothes in to him, and I'll go and grab coffee. Then we can get out of the church, I can fix up any damage, and then we can figure out where we go from there. What do you want?"

"Oh, you don't have to …" Landon paused, apparently catching the glint in her eye. "Latte please. Raf will have a black Americano.

"Oh good," Hope said. "Black coffee is the best thing for post-transformation. At least I don't have to talk him into it."

The nearest coffee shop was on the next street and had only just opened.

While she waited for her order, Hope did a quick search on the church. Thankfully, there were no services scheduled - the church had been out of use for months, which was probably why they had chosen it in the first place.

Reassured that they weren't going to be surprised by the priest showing up for morning Mass, Hope took the coffees back, to find Landon back outside the church with Rafael.

"Hope, this is Raf," Landon said. "I haven't explained."

"I wish someone would," Rafael said weakly. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Long story," Hope said, handing him a coffee. "Drink - that'll make you feel better. I'll take care of this."

"How?" Rafael asked blankly.

Landon grinned. "Watch this."

Hope stepped into the church, taking a look at the damage. "Holy crap, you did a number on it. Okay, here we go." She closed her eyes and began chanting, repeating the spell over and over again until she felt the atmosphere around her settle.

"Whoa …"

Rafael's awed whisper caused her to open her eyes, to see that the church was back to the state it had been in the night before.

"Awesome," Landon said with a grin.

"Thank you." Hope pulled the church door closed behind her, and almost immediately stumbled.

Landon caught her arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just used a lot of magic," Hope said, sitting down on the steps. "Coffee please."

Landon handed her the cup and she drank half of it in one go, no longer bothered by the temperature.

"Does coffee help with witches?" Landon asked.

"Food would be better," Hope said. "Caffeine and sugar will keep me going until I can get some breakfast."

"So you're a witch," Rafael said slowly.

"I'm a witch," Hope agreed. "And you're a werewolf. It's passed genetically, stays dormant until a huge life change. From now on, unfortunately, you'll go through that every month."

"There's no way of stopping it?" Rafael asked.

"Sorry," Hope said. "I'm one too, but I haven't triggered my curse yet, and I am dreading that."

"How do you trigger it?" Rafael asked.

Hope hesitated. "Does it matter?"

"How do you trigger it?" Rafael repeated.

Hope sighed. "Magic doesn't do grey areas. You trigger the curse by being responsible for a death, even if it's an accident."

Rafael nodded. "It's okay. I knew I killed her."

Hope opened her mouth, but Landon nudged her and shook his head. She got the feeling he had been having this conversation since it happened. "Anyway … the Laughlin Academy was set up for people like us, so Dr Saltzman is on his way to offer you a place, I'd imagine."

"Not without Landon," Rafael said immediately.

Hope smiled. "I had a feeling you'd say that."

"I don't qualify though, right?" Landon asked. "I mean, I'm … What word do you use?"

"Human," Hope answered. "It's not ideal, but I prefer it to 'normal', because that implies the rest of us aren't. On saying that, I'm actually not normal, so maybe I'm just sensitive."

"How do we know Landon's human?" Rafael asked. "I mean, neither of us knew anything about our birth parents, and I had no idea I wasn't until last night."

"Okay, well, you would definitely have figured out if you were a vampire," Hope said. "I suppose you could be a witch or an un-triggered werewolf. Have you ever had anything strange happen? Anything that you've wanted to happen and it did?"

Landon was quiet for a few moments. "Not that I can think of … The only odd thing I've ever experienced was when you first came to the diner."

"Dude," Rafael said, "I am right here."

"No, I mean …" Landon sighed. "It's going to sound weird, but … I felt like I already knew you. That's why I always remembered your order."

"I just figured it was because it was weird," Hope said.

"No, peanut butter is not that weird," Landon said. "Whipped cream on the bottom is though - does it make a difference?"

"Yeah, if it's on the bottom, it mixes with the milkshake," Hope said. "If it's on the top, you're just left with whipped cream. It's odd that you say that though," she added, "because I had the same thing. That's why I asked if you'd ever been to the French Quarter."

"I hadn't even been in Louisiana that long," Landon said. "We were in Maine, and we moved down here about two days before we first met - that was my first day."

"The whole foster home moved?" Hope asked.

"I bet they were about to get caught for something," Rafael said.

Landon shrugged. "Either way, never been to the French Quarter."

Hope couldn't help noticing that his movement caused the neckline of his shirt to move, revealing a tiny scar that she had a sinking suspicion was a cigarette burn. "Okay, so if you and I had never crossed paths before, there is a possibility that there is something about you that's supernatural. I can try reading you, if you like?"

"Please," Landon said.

"Okay, give me your hand," Hope said. She closed her fingers around his and closed her eyes.

Everything felt different.

Vampire energy felt ice-cold, like touching a corpse.

Werewolf energy felt hot, like plunging her hand into a fire.

Witch energy surged up to meet her magic, like an old friend she hadn't seen in a while.

Landon was … different.

"Okay," she said, releasing his hand. "You're not a werewolf or a vampire. You could be a witch, if your magic was buried very, very deep. Other than that, I'm not picking anything up, at least not anything I can put my finger on. I'll speak to Dr Saltzman anyway and see if we can do anything."

"I'm not going anywhere without him," Rafael repeated.

"Would it even work if I'm human?" Landon asked.

Hope thought for a second. "Well, I'd say 90% of our classes are regular high school classes. There are a few classes, specific to your abilities, so you'd probably have a gap in your schedule. The issue would probably be social, to be honest - the students tend to split into cliques …"

"Yeah, but regular schools do that," Rafael said. "I mean, we've been 'the foster kids' in every school we've ever been to."

"Plus you don't fit into a group either, right?" Landon asked.

Hope laughed. "No, that's true. We have our own group that you're welcome to join. Dr Saltzman should be here … now, actually." She stood up and jogged down the path to meet the SUV again. "Morning."

"Morning," Alaric said, handing her a package. "Penelope insisted I bring you a breakfast wrap, given the amount of magic she thought you might have done."

"Oh God bless that girl," Hope said, taking a large bite. "So …"

"Not with your mouth full," Alaric said automatically.

Hope raised an eyebrow and swallowed. "Seriously?"

Alaric gave her a sheepish smile. "Force of habit."

"Yeah, alright," Hope said. "Anyway, Rafael's refusing to go anywhere without Landon. Landon's human, but …"

"Hope …" Alaric began.

"Hear me out," Hope said hastily. "He's human, but I told you about the foster carers." She lowered her voice. "He's got a cigarette burn on his shoulder."

Alaric pulled a face. "I do have a duty of care, I suppose."

"Mom said that the school was supposed to be for anyone who needed it," Hope said. "Not just the supernatural."

Alaric smiled sadly. "That was Jo's dream, yes." He sighed. "Alright. I can't just let him go back to an abusive environment or leave him to live on the streets. You'd better introduce us."