AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know, I'm a very terrible person for not updating sooner. I'm really sorry about that. I just haven't had that much inspiration lately. I've been working on some other stories as well, but it's just been hard to get something written down for this one. My apologies people.

Here's a new chapter. I hope you like it.

"Caroline." A redhead shrieked and threw her arms around the blonde. "Hi, Elodie. It's good to see you too." Caroline had only been back at Harvard for about ten minutes. "Marissa." Caroline said as she saw the other girl walk in the room. "Hi Care. How was your summer?" "It was great. Probably one of the best I've ever had. I spent some time with my mom and then I went travelling through Europe. It had been a lot of fun. How about you?" "It was good. Home is still the same. But Europe, wow." Marissa sounded impressed. "There's a whole world out there, you know?" Caroline said with a small smile. She'd had a great summer, which had ended on a bit of a cryptic note. The moon had unveiled the first clue about the location of the grimoire, but they had no idea what it meant. She thought back on that night.

On the night of the twenty-eight of August, Katherine, Bonnie, Caroline and Kol had gathered in Mystic Falls to see the first clue. They clutched the parchment in their hands and waited for the moon. Slowly, letters appeared on the page.

'Sub pedibus vestris

Nudatum iacemus

Ad sinistram

Porta inferni'

"Underneath your feet, stripped bare we lie, on the left, the gates of hell. That sounds ominous." Katherine surprised everyone by translating the Latin. "What? I read." She said in defence. "It's supposed to be about a location. Only problem, where is it?" Bonnie said. "Gates of Hell doesn't exactly sound like a nice spot to hide a grimoire. At least we know we need to luck underground." Kol concluded. "What about crypts? Stripped bare we lie could imply bones." Caroline proposed. "Go, Blondie." Katherine said. "So, we need to start looking for burial grounds where there is a gate to Hell on the left?" Bonnie asked. "Sounds like it. Too bad it doesn't come with a map. There are a whole lot of places to look."

"Look." Bonnie said and there was something else on the parchment. It was the outline of the map of Europe. It had appeared right under the first clue. "That narrows it down to Europe, I guess?" Caroline said, while tracing the lines on the map. "It still leaves us a lot of different options. It could be burial grounds, maybe catacombs? Then we still have Paris, Rome, London Dungeon? I honestly have no idea where to start." Katherine thought out loud. "Maybe by looking at the other things in the riddle. What about the Gates of Hell and on the left? It will have a meaning." Bonnie added.

They had spent some more time discussing the matter, but in the end they had left it at burial grounds, crypts and catacombs. Caroline wasn't exactly looking forward to venturing underground, but they had decided that there won't be any more solo-adventures. With what had happened to Katherine, they weren't taking risks. "Caroline?" Marissa asked. "Sorry, did you say something?" "You sort of spaced out. I asked where you went in Europe?" Caroline recounted her summer. Katherine had dragged her along Europe, taking her from one exciting place to another. She'd even taken Caroline to her homeland, telling her more about her human life and about Nadia's father and her family. Caroline had felt bad for Katherine. She couldn't imagine what it was like to have your newborn child ripped away from you without even having a chance to get to hold her.

Caroline didn't know when it had happened, or how, but she had really grown to love Katherine. Sure, she could be infuriating and brash and selfish, but there was a sincerity in Katherine that Caroline had discovered and liked. "It seemed like you had a lot of fun. Next time, we're tagging along." Elodie concluded resolutely.

Stefan had stopped by, the day before the official beginning of term. He had only stayed for one afternoon, but Caroline had been ecstatic to see him, it had been too long. They had texted and called, but it wasn't the same. They spent the afternoon together. Stefan told her all about the places he'd visited. He'd gone travelling through South America. It was clear that Stefan still needed space, that he still needed to work through everything. And Caroline understood. She knew what it was like to have things you need to handle on your own. "You seem good, Care." Caroline smiled at her best friend. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I feel good. It's been a great summer." She almost wanted to say that for the first time since becoming a vampire she didn't need to look over her shoulder all of the time, but that would've been a lie. Someone was after them, they just didn't know who. But she and Katherine had made the best of their vacation in Europe and she had actually relaxed and enjoyed herself. They remained seated for a little while longer, making the most of being together. "So, where does the road lead to next?" "Asia. I'm going to walk on the Chinese Wall. Somehow I've never done that before. I guess now is as good a time as any." "Sounds like fun." Caroline had time to do all that. Or at least she hoped she'd have time to do all that. But, first things first. The grimoire. Caroline wanted to tell him about what she'd been doing, but she didn't want to drag him into this. He deserved some peace and quiet. He deserved to not worry about what was going to happen.

"I'm proud of you, Care." Stefan said before leaving. She looked at him in question. "You're finally putting yourself first. I know it hasn't been easy, being away from your friends, but you're making a new life for yourself." Caroline smiled at Stefan. "You're not doing so bad yourself, Stef. You and your super hero hair are travelling the world. Maybe I'll even join you in a couple of year. That is if you still want me around." Stefan chuckled. "I could never not want you around, Caroline. You're my best friend. I'm not sure I would've even made it through without you. How about I'll give you a guided world tour as a graduation gift?" "That actually sounds like a good idea. I'll hold you that promise." They hugged and said their goodbyes.

Caroline had felt a bit guilty for not telling Stefan about everything that had been going on in her life, but she reminded herself of the reasons why she hadn't. She, Marissa and Elodie went out for dinner that night. Elodie was already looking forward to her history class on Friday. She was excited to see the sexy professor again. Caroline had also opted for history as an elective. Kol had talked about the past on many occasions and she was interested to know more about it. Caroline had already looked over the classes she would be having this week and they all seemed pretty challenging but interesting. There was so much to learn and they would get a little more practical than last year.

Friday had arrived more quickly than she'd ever imagined. Her classes were even more challenging than expected. She already had a ton of work and it kept piling up. Katherine had called last night, saying that she was on her way to Harvard. Kol had been in and out, as usually. They had put the search on hold, sort of, until they figured out what the hell the clue was referring to. Bonnie had been trying to use her spirit connections, but they weren't being helpful. Katherine had made a list of all the catacombs, crypts and burial grounds in Europe. All the ones with a certain significance, anyway. Katherine would be arriving on Friday night. Her week hadn't been that eventful, except her run in with Jasper. It had been a bit awkward.

Caroline made her way to the auditorium for her history class. She spotted Elodie's red hair and sat down next to her. "Marissa's coming too. Isn't this exciting? The three of us, finally together in a class. You the science geek, Marissa the anthropologist and me, the art historian. And one ridiculously hot professor. I called dibs, just so we're clear." "Science geek? Seriously?" "Come on, Care. You know how to play Dungeons and Dragons, you watch Star Trek and you're always up to date with you assignments. Plus, you're like crazy good at play station games." Marissa said as she sat down next to Elodie. In Caroline's defence, her being good at video games was because of Jeremy and Matt. Besides, she had vampire reflexes and knew how to use them. D&D, well, Jasper and his friends had got her to try it out and she'd loved it. And Star Trek, that was actually Katherine's input. One night, she'd walked into her dorm room and she'd turned it on. Believe it or not, Katherine was a Trekkie. She could quote most of the lines from every episode. It had been a bit weird to say the least, but Katherine had given Caroline a look that said that if she mentioned this to anyone, Caroline wouldn't be alive for long after that.

"Incoming sexy manflesh." Elodie whispered to the others. Caroline looked up and her eyes widened in surprise. That was Elijah Mikaelson. "I know right, he's ridiculously hot, but you wait until you hear him speak. It's heavenly." "She's in for some tough competition when Kitty Kat's back. So, my brother the new history professor." Kol's voice sounded from the seat next to her. He leaned back, smirking. "This is going to be fun." Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. What was Elijah doing here? Had Klaus sent him? If so, he was going to get another phone call from her. This was just unacceptable. She already had one Mikaelson in her life, she did not need another. True, Kol wasn't exactly a pain in her ass, sometimes he was, but she considered him a friend. And Elijah, Caroline didn't really know him all that well. From what she'd gathered was that he was the most moral and noble of the Mikaelsons. And she also knew that Katherine had a lot of history with Elijah. "Shit." Caroline suddenly muttered. "What is it?" Marissa inquired. "I'll explain it to you later." She didn't want to get into this right now. Besides, she needed to come up with some sort of explanation of how she knew Elijah Mikaelson. And she needed to figure out what to tell Katherine. It wasn't like she could hide this from her. If there was one thing these Mikaelsons were good at it was showing up very unexpectedly.

"Good afternoon everyone. It is nice to see so many faces on a Friday afternoon in a history class. I'm professor Mikaelson and I'll be your lector for this semester." Elijah continued his introduction, explaining what he wanted to cover with them. "European history, now that's not that big a surprise. We did live through most of those times. This side of the Atlantic was awfully boring during that time. Early modern Europe, that was fun." Kol commented while he listened to his brother's outline. Elijah would be talking about late medieval Europe for about two classes before moving on to early modern times, closing with the French Revolution.

"Alright, we have many years to cover today. I'll be covering the Hundred Year's War in this class." And just like that, she was sucked into his story, furiously scribbling down everything. He was a very engaging professor. It was clear that he knew what he was talking about. Caroline knew that it may have had something to do with the fact that he had probably partaken in one of the many battles. "Easy there, Care. I'll help you fill in the gaps if you need it. I was amazing on the battlefield. So were Nik and Elijah. We sometimes found ourselves at odds, though. I fought with both the French and the English. There was so much blood, it was amazing. You should've seen me. I was a real knight." Caroline tried to tune Kol out and focused back on Elijah's lecture. Kol seemed to get the message because he did shut up. At the mention of Jeanne d'Arc, Kol jumped out of his seat, looked at Caroline as if he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and sat back down. She would ask about that later, when they were alone. She had a feeling there was a whole story about it. Caroline was grateful that Kol had kept his mouth shut, even though she really wanted to know what it was about.

"The end of the war had some important consequences for the organisation of the states in both England and France. For England it meant a serious blow for the power of the king. The parliament was able to gain a larger grip on the governing of the country. This will also continue during the early modern times. The English parliament will play an important role in the English politics. In France, we see an opposite result. Here it is the king who will be able to assert his authority. It is the start of a process that will find its culmination in Louis XIV in seventeenth century France." Elijah concluded the lecture. "Alright. This will be it for today. If you have any questions, feel free to come by at my office hours."

Caroline was packing up her stuff when she realised that Kol wasn't around anymore. That was weird. "Come on, Care." Elodie urged the blonde to hurry. Caroline repressed a sigh and followed the redhead, who was already making her way towards Elijah. She stood back and listened as Elodie asked Elijah a question. "We need to talk. Bonnie's on her way." Caroline jumped at the sound of Kol's voice. There was a certain sadness in his entire demeanour. She reached out to console him, but realised that he was incorporeal and let her hand drop back to her side. "You okay, Care?" Marissa asked as she went to stand back next to the blonde. "Yeah. Bonnie's on her way here." "How is she?" Marissa asked. "As good as you expect her to be. It comes and goes." Caroline answered, though she felt that Bonnie was getting worse. Marissa noticed that Caroline didn't really want to talk about it, so she changed subject. "I think Elo's in over her head." Caroline could only nod, if only they knew.

Elijah should've realised that this would be happening. He'd heard the girl's comments earlier. He had to hand it to her, she did know how to make a very subtle move. It hadn't taken long for him to realise that the girl in front of him was a vampire. The redhead seemed to be clueless about what he was. There was a sudden movement he caught out of the corner of his eye. Elijah turned his head slightly to look at what had caught it. If he didn't know any better, Caroline Forbes was standing there. And when he heard the name Bonnie, he knew for certain. He split his attention between the babbling red head, Elodie, and to the conversation Caroline was having. It was clear that she was upset about something. From what he gathered it appeared that Bonnie wasn't doing well. He realised that Caroline and her friend were waiting for the redhead. Elijah dismissed the girl easily and turned towards the blonde.

"Incoming." Kol muttered as Elijah walked over to Caroline. Caroline looked at Kol, confused.

Elijah made his way towards the Forbes girl. She clearly seemed distracted by something at the moment. He could hear her mutter a confused what? under her breath. If he hadn't been a vampire he would've missed it. He smiled kindly at her. "Miss Forbes, it's been some time. How are you?"

Caroline looked up as Elijah halted in front of her, realising that this was what Kol had meant. She could feel Elodie's eyes on her. "Elijah, hi. I'm okay. How are you and your family?" She wasn't fishing about Klaus, not at all. It was just small talk. "We're all good. Rebekah's travelling and Nik is still in New Orleans. I didn't know you went to Harvard." "Klaus didn't mention it?" There was a small smile playing on Elijah's face. He suddenly understood why his brother had been so interested in his trip to Harvard. "It must have slipped his mind." Elijah said, giving Caroline a knowing look. They both knew better.

"Please tell me he's not the guy from the woods, Care." Elodie said as she saw the exchange between Caroline and professor Mikaelson. Caroline felt mortified by Elodie's comment. Elijah was just confused. And Kol found it absolutely hilarious. He chuckled. "I knew this was going to be fun." Caroline glared at the younger Mikaelson. "It's not funny." She muttered under her breath. "Come on, it's hilarious, Care." Kol shot Caroline a look that said it all and then they both started laughing.

Elijah was confused. There was something weird going on. Judging by the look on her friend's faces it was clear that they were just as lost as he was. Elijah cleared his throat. Caroline looked a bit guilty before turning towards Elodie. "Wrong Mikaelson." Caroline said before she could stop herself. Kol chuckled once more. "Still doesn't explain how you two know each other." Caroline looked at Elijah, but it was Marissa who spoke up. "He's a vampire." Elijah tried to hide his surprise. So Caroline hadn't just a vampire friend, but a witch friend as well. This was interesting. Elodie glanced at Elijah. "No kidding. Jeesh, Care. How many vampires do you know?" Caroline shrugged. She was about to answer when her phone went off.

"Where are you, Blondie?" An annoyed Katherine asked. Caroline looked at Elijah, who seemed to realise that she was talking to a doppelganger. "I'm on my way. I'll see you at the usual spot. You better get some booze ready. And Bonnie's on her way as well." She didn't give Katherine a chance to respond. "Elena's here as well?" "Temporarily. She's just visiting." Caroline looked at Elodie and Marissa. "I have to go. I'll see you later?" They nodded. "Yeah, you have some explaining to do." Elodie said with a wink and guided Marissa out of there, leaving Caroline with Elijah. "It was nice seeing you Caroline. Maybe we can meet for coffee next week?" Caroline was momentarily taken aback by his offer. "I guess?" She said, sounding a bit confused. They made plans for Monday and she went on her way. Now how was she supposed to explain this to Katherine?

Klaus

Klaus had been pacing in his study for the past half hour. He hadn't heard anything from his brother since he'd arrived at Harvard last week. This meant that he hadn't seen Caroline yet. Klaus picked up his phone and decided to give his brother a call. But before he could dial the number, his phone was ringing. It was Elijah.

"Brother." Klaus said. "It appears your blonde friend is at Harvard as well. But you knew that already, didn't you, Niklaus?" He could hear Elijah's smug tone. Klaus decided to ignore his brother's comment. "How was your day, Elijah?" "It was good. Caroline is in my class. She has a witch friend and a fellow vampire friend as well. Elena and Bonnie are visiting. I'm meeting Caroline for coffee on Monday. You don't mind, do you?" Klaus didn't mind. He wanted his brother and Caroline to get along. As friends. "Not at all. Have fun." Elijah asked how things were going in the city and they talked some more before they hung up. Klaus smiled. This was going to work.

Well, Elijah's made an entrance. And for those of you wondering, Klaus will be making an appearence in Harvard in one of the following chapters. Also, there is some history between Kol and Jeanne d'Arc.

For those of you who don't like history all that much, sorry for throwing in some of that information. I'm a history student ;)

I don't know whether I'll make Elijah aware of the fact that Katherine is indeed alive. He will find out at one point, but right now, I've planned it further in the story. He'll go on believing that it is Elena for now.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked it and thanks for reading. Suggestions are always welcome

Reviews are appreciated. :)

Lovies,

Zoë