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

AN: So… I apologize for the extremely late update, but between my muse being on a vacation, my job and an exam, it wasn't coming to me. And this chapter was too important to mess up like I've done with some in the past. I'm still not happy with this one, but better late than never, right? It might make you happy after all the angst.

I don't have a beta, so I would like to apologize for my mistakes in advance. Please do not copy this story.

Salvatore Boarding House

Damon stared at the sun rising in the sky through the window while sipping the blood. He could hear Caroline talking to Stefan somewhere in the house and barely resisted the urge to strangle her. Blondie was way too chipper in the morning for his liking. How could someone talk this much even before the birds started chirping? And for some reason, she has been spending more time here ever since Stefan returned from his 'vacation' as he liked to call it. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on between his brother and the blonde, but he was absolutely positive that they would end up in the sack sooner than later. Damon thought that it was better than dating Elena because his brother seemed happier somehow, even if the girl loved to boss them around and he humored her for Stefan's sake. He heard Caroline's laugh as she flirted with Stefan and this was the point where he tuned them out. He wasn't in the mood to hear the useless tactics they were using on each-other.

Right now, though, he was ignoring them in favor of thinking about the girl who had changed everything from the moment she stepped into town. Damon knew that he wasn't a good person, maybe when he was human, but not since he was changed. He also knew he was poison and destroyed everything that he touched; so, in hindsight he should've known that his friendship with Athena would end up ruined one way or the other. He should've stayed away from her in the first place, but he had never been rational. He had been a stubborn fool, hadn't he? He actually managed to hurt and push away the one person who had loved him despite his flaws. He wanted nothing more than to take Athena's pain away. Hide her from the world and maybe even himself, so no one could hurt her, including himself. She had been suffering all her life and it pained him to think that even he had played a big part in it. He wanted to hold her to him, ask for her forgiveness, erase the past months where he had been nothing but a colossal ass to her. He wanted to go back in time and kick himself for being such an utter fool, but he couldn't do any of that.

She just couldn't catch a break, could she? If it wasn't this, then something else. He closed his eyes and gulped down the remaining blood in his glass as he remembered that even locked in a cell, Athena's first instinct was to make sure if he was alright, and he had never felt more like a scum in all his life. He had seen every part of her life and predictably, she hadn't killed anyone even through the war. Even Voldemort died because his curse rebounded, instead of being killed like he deserved. She had killed Maxfield and he was sure she killed the doctor because he was torturing him.

Unlike him, who had forgotten all about Enzo when they were getting out of the cell and burning the house on fire, Athena had made sure to get him out first. Even after realizing that she would be transforming into a wolf from now on, her first instinct was to offer help to the prisoner who had been locked and tortured for years, because it was certainly a possibility that he might not have anyone in this world. Enzo had thanked her before blurring out and hadn't even spared him a glance. Not that he deserved anything more.

It had been two days, but he hadn't been able to think about anything else, but the feeling of dread that had filled him when he had seen the cold, almost lifeless look in her eyes after whatever potion the mad doctor gave her. He knew her fight wasn't exactly over. There were still wizards out there who wanted to kill her and he vowed to himself that he was going to kill them, even if he ended up dead. He wasn't sure if she would forgive him, but this was the right thing to do. Kill the ones who were a threat to the girl he loved. But first there was something he had to do. Ask for the forgiveness he wasn't sure he deserved.

Mikaelson Mansion

Klaus rolled his eyes as he saw Athena pouting as Kol once again won the video-game. Of course, he knew that his brother was cheating, but he didn't interfere because it was the first time, he had seen his daughter happy. From what he knew about her, he was certain that she would feel guilty about killing someone, even if it was a mad-man, but he had been pleasantly surprised when she had shrugged nonchalantly about it. Saying that the man deserved it for torturing someone, even if it was a vampire. To say that her friends had been shocked would be an understatement, especially the bushy haired one and had been extremely vocal about her opinion until Athena had snapped at her. The red-head though had promised that he would be back with someone who would be making some kind of potion for her. He hadn't heard about wolfsbane potion that could help wolves and was intrigued to see how it would work on his kind. Athena had been determined to go to her house, but to his utter relief, Elijah had somehow convinced her that she should stay with family, at least for the time being.

Klaus wasn't going to say it out-loud, but he was grateful to his siblings who had been making efforts to make his daughter feel comfortable. Kol, Rebekah and even Elijah, and he had never been more grateful towards his family. But despite everything, he could see how tense she got every time the conversation went towards her transformation. Full moon wasn't for another couple of days, but he needed to find a way to make it easier for her. He wanted her to be prepared because her transformation won't be anything like the ones she had seen before. He remembered seeing the transformation of her professor in the memory and it had fast, extremely fast, dissimilar to his species. That was something he was going to search about, but for now, he needed to inform Athena all that he knew. There were symptoms that she wasn't aware of, the changes she would go through before the full moon, the abilities like increased strength and accelerated healing, and superhuman physical prowess she would possess even in her human form. He was obviously going to ask the Bennett witch to find a way to make her transformation less painful and was merely waiting for her friend to show up with the potion, so he could see for himself if something like this would work on her or not!

As if on cue, he heard the sound of a gunshot he had become familiar with recently and heard two heartbeats – one normal and the other rapid. Elijah came to the living room at the same time as the redhead and the blonde, Draco, if he remembered correctly.

Grey eyes filled with terror landed on him and he smirked. He could almost hear Elijah rolling his eyes at him before greeting their guests.

"Mr. Weasley. Mr. Malfoy." Elijah nodded towards the wizards who nodded back awkwardly.

Ron was looking around curiously and had somehow managed to stand as far away from Draco as possible; while Draco was looking around wildly as if expecting an attack any second.

"You'll be the one making the potion for my daughter?" Klaus asked pleasantly, but there was an underline threat which wasn't missed by either of the wizard.

Ron bit his lip from grinning as he watched all color draining from the already pale ferret. As if on cue, they heard bounding as Athena came running down the stairs and Kol wasn't far behind and sat on the sofa with a leisurely pace. The brothers noticed as Athena shared a silent conversation with the red-head before some of the tension melted from her shoulders and she smiled, until her eyes landed on the blonde. "Malfoy." She greeted without enthusiasm and received an equally dull, "Potter."

There was an awkward silence where everyone stared at the other until Elijah cleared his throat and said, "Why don't we move this to the living room?"

Everyone, especially Ron and Athena were left speechless when Malfoy decided to take a seat right next to her. They were aware of their history and knew that Athena and Draco didn't like each other, but Draco ignored them all and opened his bag, pulling out the things he would need and said, "I would need you blood."

Athena recovered fairy soon than Ron, who was still gaping and asked suspiciously, "Why?"

Malfoy looked back at her and said stiffly, "You're different from the werewolves that we know. The wolfsbane potion was designed according to the wolves that were bitten. From what I've read in the book your… father gave Weasley, it was easy to summarize that the potion might not work on you. I will have to test and make changed accordingly."

That seemed plausible and Athena nodded, but Ron wasn't satisfied and asked hotly, "How do we know you won't use it against her?"

"I'm not here to be insulted Wease… Weasley. I was forced to join the Lark Lord as he threatened to kill my mother. I dislike you just as much as you do me, but I helped when I could." Draco shouted before adding, "Your fiancée contacted me to make the potion. I can leave if you wish!"

Klaus, Elijah and Kol were staring the conversation with raised eyebrows, ready to intervene if needed, but Athena stepped between the two and said a single word to her friend. "Ron." A simple word, a name which spoke volumes as the red-head glared at the blonde but slumped back into his chair, grumbling about ferrets.

Athena sighed before turning towards her childhood nemesis and said, "Ron didn't mean it like that." Earning a snort from the two but ignored it and said softly, "I'm really thankful that you came here to help. Thank you for considering it." Malfoy looked at her from where he was clutching his wand and bag, ready to apparate before nodding.

Athena sighed but asked with a smile, "Now, do you have a vial for the blood."

It wasn't long before Malfoy left, unwilling to stay in a place surrounded with vampires, informing Athena that he would be back as soon as he was sure the potion would work; while Ron stayed, apologizing on Hermione's behalf after she had accused Athena for the lack of empathy because she showed no signs of remorse after killing a man. Athena waved it off, knowing that Hermione worried about every small thing.

The Next Day

Athena looked around as she landed in the woods. It was dark, but soon she was able to see the bright light that would lead her to her destination. She could've landed directly at the waterfall, but this place and the deafening roar of the water reminded her of the time when things weren't so complicated. It felt like a lifetime since Voldemort died. Had it only been months? With a jolt she realized that it was almost Christmas. She didn't even remember when Thanksgiving was? At Hogwarts they used to have a feast; even last year while on the run, she had Ron with her.

The twigs crunched under her feet as she looked at the oak-brown trees. It had been easier when she had simply followed Damon. She sighed tiredly as her thoughts went to the vampire she had fallen in love with. How had it happened so fast? She couldn't remember the exact moment, but it had been all the small things he did for her. He had been the only one who noticed a bleeding child and took her to the doctor instead of ignoring like everyone else did. Maybe it was when he showed her this place or how he had been with her until he found out about her father. She remembered how devastated he had been while telling her about Katherine and everyone who had ever betrayed him. Athena had never given it much thought, but it couldn't have been easy to find out that the woman you loved, waiting for her for about 150 years, only for her to abandon you for your brother.

She remembered the easy way he used to flirt, how his eyes shined brightly and his face lit up when he used to smile at her. She had forgotten it all until she saw him getting tortured, bleeding and his body parts scattered all over the table. She knew her family was worried about her, especially her dad, but she had just enough of the looks and hovering like she was going to fall apart any moment. Athena understood that they were understandably worried, but she just needed some time to come to terms with everything that had happened. All she remembered was the vampire that had been held prisoner for decades and Damon's screams that permeated through her brain. No mater how much she tried, she was unable to forget how Damon had offered himself in place of her despite the knowledge of torture he would be going through. She couldn't forget how she held Damon while he was being mutilated by the mad scientist.

Athena remembered Hermione's reaction, how she had gasped with horror when she had told them clearly that she didn't regret killing that man, not one bit. Hermione had looked at her as if she was seeing Athena for the first time. Somehow, she had managed to look horrified and disgusted all at once, but Athena couldn't bring herself to regret it. If anything, she was glad it was her, even if it had triggered her curse.

She shook her head as she walked closer, the noise of flowing water increased steadily and she smiled involuntarily. The place had been so beautiful last time, that it could easily be called heaven on earth. She picked up the pace until there was no sound but the deafening roar of water. The Mediterranean-blue water was drizzling onto the rocks as it cascaded down the mountains and thundering down into a beautiful serenity-pool like a gigantic water spout. It really the most beautiful view she had ever seen.

Athena didn't get much time to admire the view, because she found herself staring into the azure eyes of the vampire who was staring right back at her looking just as perplexed. Her eyes widened and she whispered, "Damon!"

"Athena." Damon's breath caught in her throat as soon as his eyes landed on her. He had heard someone walking in the forest and a heartbeat, but had ignored it in favor of focusing on his miserable existence and couldn't have imagined that it could be her.

There was nothing but the sound of water splashing on the rocks, frogs croaking nearby and the birds chirping somewhere as they stared at each other, not knowing what to say. They hadn't been in this situation ever since that fateful day in Mikaelson Mansion. Their gazes remained locked, frozen with shock until Athena blinked and looked away.

She cleared her throat unnecessarily and croaked out, "Wh-What are you doing here?"

Damon blinked before he shrugged and said, "I needed to…"

"…get away?" She muttered without realizing and he nodded.

Things went quite once again as Athena looked at the vast sky in front of her. Everything had been different the last time they were here. Even though they had been practically strangers, but things hadn't been awkward. Even then they hadn't talked much, but this time, the silence felt thunderous. How could it be? She was just about to open her mouth to tell him that she should leave, but before she could, he said quietly, "I can leave."

Her head snapped towards him and she shook her head minutely. Why should he leave when he was here first? She swallowed back her nerves and muttered with an awkward smile, "No, you can stay."

Damon was so surprised to see her smile, that he couldn't do anything but blink. Sure, it wasn't exactly a smile, just the tilt of her lips, barely there, but it had been aimed at him. He was still standing when she sat at the edge before frowning back up at him confused.

"Are you alright?" Athena asks quietly once he was seated beside her. Of course, she knew he was fine. Being a vampire gave him the advantage of being healed quickly, but she couldn't stop herself from asking. Not after seeing his internal organs lying beside him like he was nothing but a corpse.

It took him a couple of seconds to realize what she was asking about and rolled his eyes before asking, "Shouldn't I be the one asking that? Only one of us heals quickly." He meant not physically, but emotionally as well. Everyone had seen her eyes which had turned yellow and knew about her transformation. He really wanted to make sure that she was alright or at least as much as she could be in the situation.

Athena looked at him with an arched brow and snorted. She held her left hand up for him to see before waving the fingers of her right hand over it. A deep gash appeared in her palm right in front of Damon and he hissed involuntarily at seeing her hurt.

"Athena. What…?" he started, but before he could complete his sentence, her skin started knitting itself and he closed his eyes tiredly. How had he forgotten that she was a werewolf now and could heal faster now along with the other things?

He didn't say anything as she pulled her hand back as soon as it healed and stared ahead silently. He mustered the courage to talk to her, but words he had been planning for days failed as he looked at her while she stared at the water down below. Damon stared mesmerized as soft wisps of black hair swept past her ear and caressed the skin of her neck and cheeks. Those viridescent eyes rimmed with thick, long lashes that brushed her cheeks every time she blinked, seemed to bore into him every time he looked into them and loosing himself. Eyes that help all the deep-seated emotions which she never expressed, but still were so easy to read as the danced like fire through her viridescent eyes.

Knowing that he probably won't be getting a chance like this anytime in the future, he broke the silence and said, "Athena?"

She didn't look at him, busy staring at the fishes that were jumping out of the water every once in a while, and replied distractedly, "Hmm?"

"I…" He started, but stopped to gather his thoughts and she turned to look at him with a frown and asked worriedly, "What is it?"

He released a deep breath and spoke, "Athena. I want to apologize."

She stared at him alarmed and murmured his name, hoping that he wasn't going there. "Damon…" she didn't want to do this. Not now. Not when she already had so much piled on her.

Damon stopped her and pleaded, "You just need to listen to me. Just this once… Please…"

Athena stayed quiet, but swallowed convulsively before nodding.

It was now or never, so he hesitated before he spoke, "I was really pissed off. I thought you knew about Klaus all along. Katherine, Elena and then you… I snapped."

"I tried to t…" Athena spoke, but was stopped again.

He huffed with disbelief at how stupid he was and said hastily, "I know. I know that now, but I was angry. I thought you had been having fun at my expanse all along. You became important to me in such a short time… more than anyone else. Even the thought of you betraying me was too much. It was worse than anything I've ever felt before. And then there were you and Stefan…"

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion as she blinked at him. "Me and Stefan?"

"He stayed with you at the night of the ball." He told her without a pause, his frustration seeping through.

"…because he didn't want to hear his girlfriend having sex with his brother!" she snapped before her eyes widened as they met his, who was looking back with something akin to horror. "Sorry. That was uncalled for." She added with a wince and he closed his eyes miserably.

Damon continued with a tired sigh, unable to believe what his stupidity had cost him. "That's why I was with Elena. I wanted to feel something other than pain. I thought you and Stefan…"

"Stefan is like a brother I never had." She told him dumbly before he could finish.

He nodded and looked into her eyes. "I should've talked to you instead of reacting the way I did, but then I saw you both at the grill. You were both leaving town. It was all too much."

Athena looked back at him bewildered and added unnecessarily, "I was going back home. Him coming to London wasn't planned."

"I know." He muttered pitifully.

Another thing occurred to her as he said this and her brain whirled. "Wait… that day at the grill." Her gaze snapped back to him and decided to ask him now. "I need you to tell me the truth."

He steeled himself before nodded, knowing what was to come.

"Did you…" she swallowed before looking back at him. "Did you kill Lavender because you wanted to hurt me?"

"No. Stefan was lying there lifelessly; she was hurting you and after knowing what it was like… stopping her didn't occur to me." He told her truthfully before taking a deep breath as he thought about his next words, but he wanted her to know everything. It was the truth after all, even if it made her hate him more.

"I'm not sorry that I killed her." He continued and she gasped audibly. "My only regret is that I caused you pain. But I will do it all over again in a heartbeat if it means saving you… even if it is from myself."

Athena was still gaping at him by the time he finished, staring at him open-mouthed, not knowing how to react to his confession. She wanted the truth, didn't she? And here it was! Lavender was dead because of her, but before she could process it all, he looked at her seriously and added solemnly, "I cannot tell you, how sorry I am for hurting you. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, because I know that it won't be easy for you. You asked for the truth… so here it is… I'm don't regret saving you. She could've killed you, so I did what I had to do. Even if it meant killing someone and hurting you in the process. You know what I am? Selfish and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. This is who I am, Athena, and I'm not gonna change, even if it means that you would hate me for the rest of your life. At least you'll still be alive! And I would choose you every single time over anyone else."

As Athena stared at him, heart beating wildly in her chest, she realized that his eyes were filled with sorrow and unimaginable pain. She wanted nothing more than to hug him, to take away his pain like she had always wanted. She wanted to forget everything that had happened in the past months. She wanted to kiss him right now, but then Lavender's glassy eyes flashed in front of her and the guilt came crashing back because his words weren't enough for her to forget that he had killed Lavender. She remembered him telling her when they first met that he was a monster and loved killing and closed her eyes. She had known it all along, but had chose to ignore his nature. It wasn't his fault… It was hers. She had ignored what her brain had been telling her and instead forgotten that Damon was a vampire. He might be her friend, but that didn't mean he could overcome his true nature for her. Wasn't her father and her family exactly like this? She had seen first-hand Rebekah and her dad torturing Damon. She had stupidly believed that they wouldn't hurt anyone because of her. How naive! But she knew that she couldn't forgive him. At least not right now. She wasn't ready.

"Thank you for being honest with me, Damon, but…"

"I'm not finished." He stopped her and Athena's gaze snapped towards him as she frowned.

"I know that you hate me, but I have to tell you something. You wanted me to be honest." He said looking at her, but it was more to himself.

"Damon…"

He stopped her again as he stepped closer to her and said, "No. You just need to hear it. Just this once."

Her eyes widened at his proximity and her first instinct was to take a step back, but he looked at her pleadingly and his earnest expression stopped her. There was something in his face she couldn't understand and gulped, willing herself to stare into his eyes.

Damon held her shoulders with both his hands, whether to keep her close or to stop her from disappearing, he wasn't sure. He looked at her face, taking in the features and whispered firmly, "I love you, Athena."

Her eyes widened even further and she jolted with a loud gasp, unable to comprehend his words, but Damon continued, not giving her a chance to respond.

"My life is filled with mistakes and bad decisions. One after another, but falling in love with you was the easiest part of it. It is the best thing that had happened to me every since I was born. I never believed that someone as pure… as good as you could love me, but when you told me that you did… it was already too late. I ended up pushing you too. I have loved Katherine when I was human and as a vampire, and Elena before I met you, but now…" he smiled softly as he looked into her eyes. "Now I realize that what I had for them wasn't love. You see… after being so open, emotionally vulnerable with Katherine, I never allowed anyone to see this part of me… never trusted anyone… I have always been afraid, but with you… its different. Am I scared? Hell yeah. I know that you don't love me anymore and I've lost your trust, but I'm not afraid to tell you… that… you're the only one in my heart and soul, and will be the only one till the day I die… be it today or 1000 years from now. I don't know when I fell in love with you… but I know that you're the only one who made me feel loved in my long life, like I was worth it. When you used to smile at me, it made me feel as if I should pause everything and stay in that moment forever. You were the missing piece that made me feel whole in my 170 years." He told her wistfully looking at her wide eyes and couldn't stop himself from tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear as she shivered. "I lost it because I was too foolish to see the truth… and now… now, I've lost you forever."

Damon blinked and felt a tear rolling down his cheek, but did nothing to wipe it. Instead he smiled at her painfully and said softly, "I hope that someday you'll be able to forgive me enough to be my friend again."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead and took in her smell, sure that after this she wouldn't allow him anywhere near her. Damon stayed like that for a long time, unwilling to pull back, but he did and smiled at her before blurring out of there, leaving Athena shocked and stunned with disbelief, staring at the empty space where he had been standing seconds ago.

AN: So, here it is. Thank you if you're still with me on this story and I hope you liked it. Positive criticism is always welcome. Thank You for all your reviews and sorry if I haven't replied. Life got hectic!

Have a nice day everyone. 😊

May 27th, 2019