A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update guys my muse for writing has thinned down dramatically so I'm sorry if you find this a little lackluster. But on another note it's the last chapter before Season 2! Whoop whoop! So excited, please read and review!

FOUNDER'S DAY

"Thanks for coming over, Leya I seriously would have no idea how to put this on without you and my mom as always has chosen her job over me and couldn't help." Caroline said smoothing down her 19th century period dress in the mirror as she tossed a bright smile to Leya who stood behind her.

"Of course I'd help, Caroline. You're my friend. And your mum probably has a lot on her plate I'm sure it's not easy being Sheriff of Mystic Falls." Leya replied pulling tightly on the strings of Caroline's corset.

Caroline let out a sharp gasp placing her hand on her stomach as shards of pain swept up her rib cage. "Ow. This dress hurts; how did women in the 19th century survive wearing this? There are so many layers too."

"Me neither. I actually think some of them probably suffocated in their dresses." Leya said tying the strings firmly together so the corset wouldn't come undone later in the day.

"Please don't say that. At least not while I'm in this dress."

Leya chuckled making eye contact with Caroline through the mirror. "Sorry, let's get the rest of your dress on shall we?"

"Well, well, well, don't you look handsome, Mr. Salvatore." Leya greeted as she walked up to Stefan who stood in the middle of town square watching as everyone worked to get the festive started.

"Miss Potter." Stefan greeted back with a grin and a little bow. "Thank you, you know you look pretty good yourself."

Stefan held out his elbow and Leya laughed good-humoredly as she hooked her arm around his and they started to walk. "I doubt it. I look the same as I do every day."

Leya looked down at what she was wearing, usually being one for comfort with a bit of style in the mix rather than following some crazy fashion like that McQueen brand produces (although that was high fashion couture clothing as Caroline informed her) it meant that dresses never appeared that much in her closet unless it was for an event. For some odd strange reason today Leya had opted to wear a dress, which was a little out of the ordinary for her but perhaps it meant she was changing into a different person.

"Flattery gets nowhere with you does it?"

"It does." Leya replied shyly turning her head away from Stefan as she started to feel a familiar burn rise up to her cheeks. "It just has to be the right kind of flattery."

"The right kind of flattery, hmm. OK. I'll have to keep that in mind for later." Stefan teased laughing at Leya's suddenly blushing cheeks.

Leya watched amusedly as Mrs. Lockwood rushed past her trying to gather order to make sure that the parade would run smoothly and effectively. She wondered where Mayor Lockwood was at the moment, shouldn't he helping his wife?

"Ok, stop! I can't take it anymore." Leya said bringing them to a stop she turned to face Stefan. "What's wrong?"

Stefan's confused face stared back at hers. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Stefan." Leya gave him a pointed looked. "You're more broody today than usual. It's like an extra shot broodiness nobody particularly wants to be around, and on a day like this you cannot be brooding."

Stefan laughed as the invisible weight on his shoulders lifted only for a moment. "I'm sorry. It's just something happened when we were handing the device over to Isobel and it's been on my mind since."

Leya's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't noticed anything off when she had her little chat with Isobel the night she procured the device from Elena. Everything had seemed fine and in place but clearly something must've gone wrong with how Stefan was acting today.

"Oh, no, it's not anything bad." Stefan rushed seeing the look that spread across Leya's face. "Well, it is… kind of… to me it is at the moment. But overall it doesn't really include anybody else it's just that-"

"Stefan." Leya interrupted his rambling calmly. "What happened?"

"Isobel made a comment…" Stefan struggled to say, he clenched his jaw and released a breath of gloom. "She said Damon's in love with Elena."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Stefan said turning to resume their walking Leya following close behind. "I don't want this to happen, Leya it'll be like history repeating itself and Elena is not Katherine."

"I know." Leya replied gently, compassion and a little sympathy flooding her voice.

It must suck to have your brother in love with your girlfriend. To be honest Leya wasn't all the surprised and she didn't think Stefan was either, they had both seen a different change about Damon whenever he was around Elena but to hear it said out loud was something entirely different. And it was in that moment the saying 'speak of the devil and he shall appear' came true as Damon sauntered towards them his usual smirk on his face.

"Look at you all retro." Damon addressed Stefan before turning to Leya. "And witchy you look different too. Did you do something with your hair?"

Leya rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. Damon wasn't the devil, far from it, Leya's seen worse kinds of evil and Damon didn't even come close.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked agitated having just spoken of him in love with his girlfriend.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Damon countered holding out his arms looking around the lively people around them. "Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel is gone and it's Founder's Day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl."

"Don't start with me, Damon." Stefan bit through a tight jaw his posture now tense at the mention of Elena. Leya sighed and shook her head, and to think today was supposed to be a fun carefree day.

"Oh, you started this, Stefan with that whole 'I'm insecure, leave Elena alone' speech. I'm enjoying that."

"As long as you heard it."

"What? You have no sense of humor, Stefan." Damon said his lips quirking in an upwards smirk in regards to Stefan's seriousness.

"Actually I've no sense of 'Damon humor'." Stefan said hooking his arm around Leya's once more and started to walk trying to get away from the person he unfortunately at times had to call brother.

"Damon humor…." Damon muttered to himself as he followed behind the two. "Hey look, I get it, I get it. I'm the better, hotter, superior choice and you're scared, now that Katherine is out of the picture that I'm gonna turn all my attention to Elena. But don't worry, Elena is not Katherine."

Leya watched as the two brothers stopped and looked into each other's eyes, unspoken words passing through them that they only understood.

"You're right, she's not."

Leya turned wanting to leave when she caught sight of Elena. Her hair was curled beautifully and the 19th period dress she wore suited her perfectly. Leya turned her head to gauge the brothers' reactions and they were equally the same. They looked as if they had been transported back into 1864 and were staring at Katherine instead of Elena.

"I can't believe you're doing this." Leya sighed as she squinted slightly from the sun. "I can't believe you're making me do this."

"What? There's a parade, lots of people are out and about it's good for business." Daisy replied excitedly as she rearranges a large tin filled to the brim with sunflowers.

"We should be enjoying the parade, Aunt Daisy come on can't you get one of your broke college working students to stand guard at the stall for a few extra dollars." Leya pleaded slightly. Over the past hour after she left Stefan to tell Elena exactly who her biological father was a sort of pit started to settle in her stomach.

"Why so whiny all of a sudden?" Daisy asked confused as she stared at her niece. "It's not like you."

"I just - - I just feel like something's going to happen and I want to spend time with you." Leya replied honestly.

"Something good or bad?"

"I don't know." Leya confessed worriedly. "A little of both I guess."

"Ah, the perfect kind!" Daisy assumed happily. "5 minutes tops. I just need to get the tulips from the car and call Cristina in the mean time you can sell some flowers."

With a bright smile Daisy headed towards the parking lot her phone already glued to her ear. Leya moaned and turned around to look at the amount of flowers in front of her. Why did Daisy have to see this as a business opportunity?

"Hey, Jeremy." Leya greeted with a smile as she turned back around in time to catch Jeremy walking past. "Want to buy a flower?"

"Uh, I think it'll be a little weird if I carried around a flower." Jeremy replied but Leya frowned slightly in response sensing something was wrong.

"Well it doesn't haveto be for you, you know? You could give it to Anna." Leya suggested with a teasing grin hoping to lighten the tension that settled above them.

"I don't think she's into all that flowery girly stuff."

"Is everything ok, Jeremy?" Leya asked concerned. "You seem a little different."

"Do I?" Jeremy countered sarcastically. "Maybe you can help Elena convince Damon to compel me back to normal then."

Leya sighed and her heart felt heavy as Jeremy stared at her, his eyes piercing her as they held betrayal. "You know."

"Yeah. Elena's diary told me everything I needed to know and more." Jeremy bit back his stance defensive.

"I'm sorry you found out this way, Jeremy but-"

"But what? Were you really going to keep me in the dark about this?" Jeremy asked fury rising and mixing with his betrayal. "You know I actually thought you were one of the good ones. I didn't know you'd stand by and help Elena compel me to forget about Vicki."

"Ok, firstly I only found out the next morning after you were compelled and I'm sorry I wasn't there to help stop it. Secondly, I'm also not sorry I didn't stop it." Leya ranted a spark of anger igniting in her at Jeremy's accusations. Just as Jeremy opened his mouth to defend himself Leya cut him off.

"You would've hated it. You would've hated remembering Vicki that way, Jeremy. Watching someone die right before your eyes especially someone you love it will stay with you and haunt you until you're able to let them go. And some people can never let go."

Leya paused and there was a silence between them.

"Don't hate Elena for keeping this from you, Jeremy. She just wanted to protect you from something horrific. Don't let hate live in your heart."

Jeremy swallowed his throat suddenly thick and his eyes burning slightly and he knew from much experience that he was about to cry. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't cry in front of Leya, he didn't want to cry anymore.

"She still messed with my head, my memories. She broke my trust." Jeremy muttered walking away. He closed his eyes for a brief second and wiped a single tear away as he heard Leya shout his name behind him.

"What was that about?"

Leya turned around quickly at the question, relaxing as she caught the worried gaze of her aunt. "It's nothing. Just something that happened a while ago coming back to haunt Elena."

"You make it sound so creepy." Daisy said placing the tulips in a nearby tin. "You could've just said her brother was mad at her for compelling him."

Leya raised an eyebrow giving Daisy a pointed look.

"Ok, ok I'm sorry for eavesdropping. It's harder now that I have supernatural hearing."

"I'm sure it is." Leya muttered looking around to see people gathering around for the parade. "Come on I think the parade is starting."

"Oh you go ahead, love I have to wait for Cristina."

"Ok, I'll see you later." Leya responded walking towards the huddle of towns people eagerly waiting for the floats to cruise down the main street.

Leya easily found Bonnie and the two girls huddled together, bright smiles lit both their faces as the float holding Caroline, Matt, Elena and Stefan approached.

"They look amazing." Leya stated happily waving at the two couples.

"They do, don't they?" Bonnie replied before turning quickly to Leya. "Oh, get the camera ready Caroline will kill us if we didn't get a photo of her and Matt on the float."

Leya chuckled holding up the camera; she only managed to snap a few of both couples before someone stepped into her view.

"What do you want?" Bonnie snapped angrily.

For a moment Leya was shocked that Bonnie would say something so harshly to someone she didn't even know for stepping in front of her while she took a photo, that is until Leya actually took a look at who Bonnie was speaking to. And who else stood there other than Damon, now Bonnie's harsh reception seemed justified.

"Just watching the parade." Damon replied smoothly his usual infuriating smirk on his face.

Bonnie scoffed grabbing Leya's arm tightly as she started to turn to walk away. It proved to be futile as Damon easily intercepted them before Bonnie had even taken a few steps.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you." Bonnie countered trying to side step him.

"Wait, I just wanted to say something to you." Damon said his voice slightly softer than usual as he stopped Bonnie from leaving again.

"Will you just leave me alone?" Bonnie said frustrated.

"Bonnie, hear him out." Leya muttered softly sensing the change in Damon.

"Thank you." Damon said so suddenly both girls stopped in shock to see if Damon Salvatore had actually uttered those words. "The device that Emily spelled could have killed me. I don't take what you did lightly so… thank you."

"I did it for Elena." Bonnie managed to mutter forcing the slight guilt chewing at her down telling herself that this was still Damon Salvatore. The same Damon Salvatore that had killed her Grams only months ago despite how sincere he was acting now.

"I know that but I'm still very grateful… and I owe you." Damon said a small sincere smile lighting his face. "Enjoy the parade."

"So… today's been a really good day don't you think?" Daisy asked Leya as they walked side by side through the town square.

It was dark now and most parents with young children had gone home whilst the teenagers and adults had stayed for the fireworks later that night.

"Yeah." Leya replied absentmindedly.

"Are you ok? You've been a little out of it since we met up after the parade." Daisy said stuffing some cotton candy into her mouth. "Are you mad at me because I missed the parade? Sweetheart, Cristina was running late, blame it on her-"

"No, it's not that." Leya interrupted chuckling lightly. "It's just Damon thanked Bonnie earlier and… I don't know… it such a major difference to how he usually acts."

"Well, people change it's inevitable."

"I know." Leya softly whispered thinking of how radically some people could change like the Malfoys, Draco in particular. They used to be enemies all through their time together in Hogwarts but now they… tolerated each other. It was better than being enemies that's for sure.

"Do you know what I really love about being a vampire?" Daisy asked.

"What's that?"

"You're senses are heightened, which means everything you taste is amplified…."

Leya turned to her aunt confused at the subject as she waited for her to continue.

"This cotton candy is amazing!"

Both Daisy and Leya couldn't help but laugh, even though it wasn't even that funny they relished in the little bit of normalcy they had. Once they had calmed down they paused around the outskirts of the crowd gathering to listen to Mayor Lockwood as he started his speech.

"Hey, uh, I'll be back. Just wait here, ok?" Leya told her aunt as she saw someone out of the corner of her eye bent over near the alley way looking like they were in pain.

"Ok, sure." Daisy replied at a loss watching as her niece jogged slightly towards a darkened area near a building.

"Hey!" Leya called out as she got closer hearing groans of pain. "Are you ok?"

The person who now looked like to be a guy grunted before lifting his head. "Leya?"

"Austin?" Leya replied just as shocked pausing before continuing to make her way towards him she gently guided him up into a sitting position her eyes examining the blood all over his neck. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Austin grimaced. "Some crazy guy just attacked me out of nowhere. And the weirdest thing was that he didn't use a knife or anything, he used his teeth."

"Weird." Leya quietly whispered to him agreeing as she grabbed a piece of Austin's shirt and ripped it off so she could hold it against his neck.

No one would ever use their teeth to attack someone unless they were a vampire. But that didn't make much sense because the only vampires here were the Salvatore's, Daisy and Anna. And she doubted any of them did it, not even Damon, he was smarter than to do it out in the open with council members everywhere.

"Thanks for helping me." Austin murmured quietly and Leya moved her eyes from his neck to meet his eyes. "I didn't think anyone would see me here and I'd probably bleed out and die alone."

"I wouldn't let that happen to anyone." Leya replied just as quietly.

"Has anyone ever told you you're too kind for your own good?"

"No." Leya laughed softly. "But I'm pretty sure it was implied a few times."

"Leya?" A shaky voice called out from behind her.

Both Leya and Austin turned to see Daisy standing there her eyes wide and fearful. Her eyes were focused on one spot and that was Austin's bloody neck.

"Daisy?" Leya questioned standing slowly taking a defensive stance in front of Austin.

"Hey, is she ok?" Austin asked from behind her as he stood as well.

"It – It was – the smell was so strong I had to follow." Daisy stuttered her expression turning desperate as she focused her gaze onto Leya. "I hate what's happening to me, Leya. And I'm trying to fight it as best as I can but it's just so hard -"

"Then let me help. Please, Daisy just-"

"No one can help me. I'm sorry."

Leya didn't know who she was apologizing to but the next second didn't seem real until her back hit the wall of the building with a painfully sharp slap. Leya fell to the ground gasping for air as her lungs struggled to intake oxygen with the amount of pain that was shooting up and down her spine.

Slowly the world started to re-focus and she could hear the sickening slurping sounds of Austin's blood going down her aunt's throat, the slowing of his breathing and finally the end of his heartbeat. Daisy let out an anguished scream when she came to and realized what she had done.

Leya let out several short pained gasps as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She kept her eyes focused on her sobbing aunt and didn't let them stray to the dead body of someone who was alive just seconds ago, someone who she was (despite denying it several times before) fond about.

Leya could barely contained the strangled cry that forced its way through her lips as she shifted onto her knees and started to crawl to Daisy.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." Daisy repeated as Leya pulled her into a comforting hug. As her sobbing started to slow Leya closed her eyes lightly in relief.

Then the fireworks started.

And Daisy started to scream.

"What's wrong?" Leya shouted over Daisy's screaming trying to get through to the older woman.

"It hurt's!" She cried. "My – My head is exploding."

Leya looked up and saw that several people ahead had dropped as well, Mystic Falls residents surrounding them in concern. Then she saw the police quickly intercept injecting them with something. Vampires. They were all vampires.

"Come on, we have to get out of sight." Leya said trying to pull her aunt up but she was too heavy and it still felt like someone was sticking red hot knives into her back.

As she tried to stand once more someone had come up behind and hit her across her head. Leya let out a cry as pain exploded throughout her skull blinding her for a moment. She fell sideways onto the pavement and watched through bleary eyes as more policemen ran up to them injection her aunt with something that made her pass out. Vervain, Leya thought weakly as they stuck a similar needle into her neck.

Everything started to fade out and it most certainly wasn't from the vervain, but the pain her body had experienced in such a short amount of time was taking a toll on her. The last thing she hears was one of the policemen asking what to do with the boy's body. With Austin's body.

Her mouth felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton balls and they were slowly soaking up all her saliva and smothering her. Leya coughed pain erupting through her body every time she breathed let alone coughed.

"Daisy!" She weakly called out her voice hoarse. She tried to shout it but it came out as more of a soft barely heard whisper.

"I'm here." Daisy replied just as weakly next to her.

That was when Leya grasped that she was laying down on smooth pavement while her aunt sat next to her leaning against a column.

"Don't move." Daisy muttered through her lips.

Leya sensing the urgency in her aunt's voice made her body relax peeking through squinted eyes. There were bodies everywhere; she recognized them as the vampires who stood outside waiting to kill them when they did the search and rescue mission to save Stefan from that maniac vampire that kidnapped him.

Leya slowly and trying as best as she could to be subtle she turned her head to see Anna lying beside her the two of them nearly in the same position. Leya felt something wet hit her body and began to slide down soaking her skin. It was too heavy and oily to be water and smelt awful, gasoline. They were going to torch them, all of them.

Bloody fantastic, Leya though sarcastically as she heard the slosh of gasoline in the container jolt around as the policemen poured it over the other immobile vampires. I'm going to be burnt like a witch from the 1800's.

Someone walked passed her head chuckling; Leya opened her eyes to see John's smirking face staring down at her. He tried to continue walking but Anna had reached out and grasped one of his legs in her hand.

"Anna." John spoke turning to the last of his men there he addressed them. "You can head up; I'll take it from here." The men nodded in response to his command and John turned back to Anna pulling a stake from behind.

"Please, no!" Anna begged tears pouring her face twisted into a desperate expression.

John felt no guilt as he unceremoniously shoved the stake into the heart of the girl he was sure his nephew was in love with. He couldn't allow his brother's son to fall in love with someone that was never going to be right for him. Someone who wasn't really alive.

Leya turned away from the scene a few tears slipping out as she heard Anna beg. She let out a sob when she heard John's footsteps near the top of the staircase making pain shoot everywhere in her body. The sound of a match lighting and the fire slipping down the steps of the stairs caught her attention and Daisy sprang into action pulling her away from the fire as it engulfed Anna who was so close to Leya she herself would've caught on fire in a second.

"Are you ok?" Daisy asked.

"No, I hurt. Everywhere." Leya croaked as Daisy sat her into a sitting position. "And for some reason the only thing going through my mind is that I really shouldn't have worn a dress today."

"I guess your luck's running out on you then." A voice interrupted from their right.

Leya turned thinking of how familiar it sounded and faced Damon's blue eyes. "Damon."

"Hey, witchy." Damon replied solemnly. "How'd you wind up here?"

"She was with me, that's what happened." Daisy said her eyes turning sad as they looked at the floor.

"No way." Damon laughed humorlessly. "Who turned you?"

"Isobel."

Leya looked around eyeing the flames as they threatened to come closer and gasped as she tried to sit up properly. Her hand went under her dress feeling the smooth wood of her wand as her eyes roamed the burning vampires.

"Mayor?" Leya asked shocked gaining the attention of both Damon and Daisy. "Is that you?"

Mayor Lockwood was slumped against the column in front of them looking around with a confused expression. At the call of his title he looked up to see Damon Salvatore, Daisy Evans and Leya Potter staring intently at him.

"What are you doing here?" He fires back his eyes staying an extra second longer on Damon Salvatore's face who he knew for sure was on the council.

"We're vampires." Damon replied flicking his head to Leya. "That one's a witch. What's you're excuse?"

All three watched as surprise and fear entered the Mayor eyes. Realizing that one was in the council to eradicate the vampires, the other was a trusted small business owner and the last one went to school with his son. He didn't answer Damon's question because he himself couldn't explain how he ended up here, as far as he knew, he was human.

"No, really." Damon continued. "The vervain didn't affect you, you're not a vampire, what the hell are you?"

Mayor Lockwood scooted backwards trying to distance himself from the three people he would've never suspected were supernatural beings. He jolted as he bumped into another vampire.

"Mayor Lockwood." The vampire states a smile igniting his face as he snapped the Mayor's neck.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Damon comments.

"Shut up, Damon!" Leya snaps as she comforts Daisy. "If you haven't realized our time here is limited as well."

"Ok, ok come on." Damon soothes standing up but before he could take a step a beam falls down in front of them. "We're screwed."

"No, we're not." Leya said as she felt magic spark up from above them. She pointed her wand to the beam and followed the all too familiar movements of a spell she'll never forget. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The beam slowly floats upwards and starts to move back collapsing to the ground as Stefan rushes in.

"Damon!" He shouts, seeing Leya there makes his panic swell. "Leya! Come on, hurry!"

Stefan picks up Damon and goes to pick up Leya but Daisy already had her up. She passed Leya to him and looked at them with mournful eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"No, Daisy. You're coming with us." Leya said vehemently grasping her arm knowing what she was about to do.

"I thought I could do it, Leya but I can't. I can't do any of it." Daisy said making Leya let go of her arm. "I guess I'm running again but at least this time I'll be with your mother."

She smiled sadly and turned to Stefan. "Take care of her. Get them out, now!"

"Daisy don't, please!" Leya pleads one last time but all she gets it an apologetic smile as Stefan gets them out, the world becoming a blur as he uses his vampire speed.

Leya coughs violently as the fresh air mingles with the smoke in her lungs. She thinks she hears someone or maybe two people call her name in panic, she can feel hands on her, voices asking if she's ok but she doesn't care.

Leya pushes past them; she pushes past all of them and starts to run. She knows that it's not a good idea, she's hurt and her lungs can hardly take anymore strain but she doesn't care. She has to get away. Her wand is still clutched in her hand and she feels like making something explode, trees were around her suddenly or maybe they had been there all along she didn't really know but what she did know next was that she was taking out every ounce of anger on those trees.