Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Athena Gilbert: Nina Dobrev.
Elena Gilbert: Alexis Bledel.
Jesse Parks: Jensen Ackles.
Chapter 2: The Night of the Comet:
Minerva grabbed the book from Albus' offered hand, "I'll read next. Hmm, this chapter has a title; 'the Night of the Comet'," she read aloud.
"Astronomy?" Ron grumbled, "I thought we're supposed to be reading not learning Hogwarts material."
"Ronald, stop being lazy. It would do you a wonder of good to appreciate freely given knowledge and take advantage of it," Molly scolded her youngest son, and most indolent child, prompting a bashful look out of said son.
"Go ahead Minerva," Albus smiled jovially; in all honesty, Albus Dumbledore was exceedingly curious about the life of James' mysterious abandoned daughter and the recently discovered Girl-Who-Lived, but also, he was interested in the new overload of information they were uncovering, what with the Bonnie girl being a 'psychic' and the Salvatore brothers turning out to be a new species of vampires that haven't been recorded or discovered by witches and wizards throughout the millenniums.
"Hey Aunt Jenna, woah, what's with the fancy ensemble?" Athena asked with a bright smile. Jenna was dressed in a smart dress, towering high heels, and was currently fidgeting with her hair while Elena prepared the coffee.
"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference, and don't think even for a second that I didn't notice Jesse escape through the window this morning," Jenna retorted, though her hazel eyes were shining with mirth.
"And she allows it!" Molly fumed quite vehemently, taken aback by what Minerva had just read, "What sort of parental guardian allows a teenage girl to have a boy alone in her room? And he slept over as well!"
"Cool ones," Fred and George intoned mischievously, garnering a scary glare from the outraged Matriarch of the Weasley family.
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Mom just because the Wizarding Community is so outdated and behind the times, doesn't mean the muggle world is."
"Ginevra Molly Weasley," Molly shrieked, scandalized.
"Enough dilly dallying around!" Alastor growled, "You two carry on squabbling on your own time, we're trying to read here! At this rate, we'll never finish this chapter by the end of the week!"
Elena choked on a sandwich and flashed her twin a smug smile, "I told you soo," she uttered in a sing-song voice.
Athena ducked her head sheepishly and gratefully grabbed the offered coffee mug, "Anywhoo, Jenna you look very … parental?" she asked unsurely, but when Jenna beamed, she let out a relieved sigh, thankful for giving the correct compliment.
Jenna put her hair up and inquisitively stared at her two nieces.
"Sexy stewardess," Elena quipped.
Jenna then let her hair fall down loosely as it was before.
Athena shook her head rapidly, "Boozy housewife."
"Boozy housewife?" Sirius chortled, garnering a sneer from Severus and a glare from Alastor.
Hermione shook her head, "How is letting your hair down make you resemble a boozy housewife?"
"Okayy. Up it is," Jenny grinned, tying her hair up with an elastic band, "You girls are feisty today. What gives?"
"I feel … good and so, I've decided to go with it," Athena beamed with a shrug. Elena nodded in agreement, "Fly free, walk on sunshine and all that stuff. Where's Jeremy?" she asked as an afterthought, and the twin's non-identical eyes began scoping the kitchen for their sullen younger brother.
"At least the poor dears are finally moving on from their parents' death," Alice smiled benignly.
"He left early," Jenna dismissively revealed, "Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse-"she suddenly paused, taking note of Athena and Elena's arched eyebrows, and she sighed in defeat, slumping into a chair by the island, "There is no wood shop, is there?"
The Marauders, the new Generation of Marauders, the Prewett twins and the Weasley twins burst out into guffaws of laughter.
"Nope," Athena and Elena chimed sympathetically.
"Yeah," Jenna grumbled forlornly, smacking a hand over her eyes.
"It must be hard, I feel for Jenna in all honesty," Marlene announced sympathetically, halting all laughter from the pranksters, "I mean, she's suddenly in charge of three teenagers, all of whom are mourning the loss of their parents, when she herself is mourning them too. It must not be an easy task."
"I completely agree. The poor dear," Molly sighed forlornly, forgetting for a moment the outrage she previously felt toward the woman for allowing Athena to have a boy over in her room.
After History class, while Elena and Stefan were trading sentimental words, Athena and Caroline were walking along the hallway with Bonnie, listening to her ranter on about being a psychic.
"Okay, I'm confused … are you psychic or clairvoyant?" Caroline asked in befuddlement.
"Oh no, she's definitely not clairvoyant," Luna dreamily interrupted, staring whimsically at the opposite wall.
A put-out Hermione grumbled, "We already established that during the previous chapter."
Bonnie bit her lips unsurely, "Technically, Grams says I'm a witch.
"A what now?" James spluttered.
"How did we move on from her being a psychic to a witch?" Remus asked Albus frantically.
Albus stroked his beard, and even Alastor stared inquisitively at the wizened Headmaster. "I believe that Bonnie Bennett is perchance a squib… but alas, I cannot tell for sure," he sighed, "Minerva, continue. Possibly our answers shall be revealed soon enough."
My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something. Grams tried to explain it all, but she was looped on the liquor so I kinda tuned out. Crazy family, yes," she nodded rapidly, "Witches? I don't think so," she concluded in disbelief.
"It is possible her ancestors attended Salem Witches' Institute in Massachusetts, but Bonnie didn't inherit enough magic," Tonks offered with a shrug.
Albus beamed at the metamorphmagus, "It is a possibility, well done, Nymphadora."
Tonks' hair turned a vibrant red in a mixture of indignant anger at the Headmaster for using her full name after being constantly told not to, and abashed at being congratulated by the Greatest Sorcerer in over a century.
Sirius sniggered into the palm of his hand at her reaction, prompting Marlene to smack him lightly on the back of his head.
"Huh, it is kinda improbable, I mean, those stuff just don't exist. This is the real world, not twilight fiction," Athena articulated.
"Honestly. Did she just compare us to the Twilight books?!" Hermione screeched, aghast.
Jasmine frowned in perplexity, "What exactly are the 'Twilight books'?"
"It's a saga of four books, written by a muggle author, Stephanie Meyer. It's all fiction about vampires that sparkle under the sunlight. A coven of vegetarian vampires move into a quiet town and one of the vampires, Edward, is telepathic, yet unable to read the Chief's daughter, Bella Swan's mind – who is a magnet for danger, and he falls in love with her. It's all supernatural romance drivel," Hermione ranted without pausing for breath.
"Interesting," Albus smiled jovially, "I think I'd like to read these saga books of twilight."
Used to the Headmaster's eccentric quirks by now, nobody bothered to utter a word in retort; Severus Snape, however, blanched and sneered at Albus in disbelief and scorn, unable to believe his own ears.
Caroline scoffed, looping arms with Athena, "Yeah, well, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night."
"What guy?" Athena asked excitedly, her chocolate brown eyes gleaming in the hopes that her blonde, bubbly best friend's fortunateness in finding a great guy had finally arrived.
"I didn't see him," Bonnie stressed each word sullenly, "Care did. Why didn't you just talk to him?"
"I don't know, I was drunk," Caroline shrugged as though that were the perfect excuse.
"I don't like reading how these teenagers are constantly inebriated. It's blasphemous," Molly yelled, before piercing her brown gaze on Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, who all squirmed in their seat, "If I find out that you four engage in underage drinking, I'll bend you over my knees and give you a hard spanking till you're raw and red!"
James took notice that Harry and Jasmine were smirking at them in amusement and said, "The same goes for you two." His threat had the instant effect of freezing their smile in place before joining the four Weasleys in their uncomfortable squirming.
The three girls were deeply absorbed in their discussion about Caroline's mystery guy, they didn't notice that their feet took them into the middle of a fight happening in the courtyard between Tyler and Jeremy. An agape Athena looked up in time to see Jeremy locked in a tight stronghold by Jesse, yelling venomously at a smug yet bewildered Tyler.
"No, this is your final warning, dick. I'm sick of watching you play Vicki. If you hurt her one more time, I swear to God, I will kill you." And with those final words, Jesse let go of him and Jeremy ran off.
"Damn, that was like a death threat," Tyler crowed, turning to face the tittering mindless fan girls of his, "Did you hear that?"
"Why would he have fan girls? He's not famous, is he?" Ginny asked bewilderly.
Hermione huffed, "No. He's a jock, and probably extremely handsome, therefore he has many girls running after him, aiming to please."
"Blimey. Muggles are weird," Ron hissed quietly so that only Harry and Neville would hear.
"What the hell is going on here? Were you threatening my brother, Lockwood?!" Athena snarled, establishing conversation with her ex-boyfriend for the first time since dumping him. Tyler whipped around and sneered at her, especially when Jesse snaked a protective arm around her waist.
"Beat it, Gilbert. Jesse you should learn how to control that bitch of yours."
"WHAT DID HE SAY?" James roared, getting up onto his feet, his hazel eyes burning with rage. Sirius, Remus and Frank were equally incensed and Albus knew that if he didn't intervene soon enough, then James Potter would apparate to Mystic Falls in search for the Lockwood boy.
"James, sit down!" Albus boomed, "Yes, you want to defend your daughter's honor, I understand. I, too, do not appreciate such uncouth words and abrasive behavior toward a lady; however, we must not be rash."
"Hotheaded Gryffindors," Severus sneered, "Let's say you apparate to this idyllic town and curse the simpleton muggle boy. What are you going to do when the American Aurors rain over you? Hmm? Will you tell them that you read a book depicting the future given by a dead spirit and the muggle boy insulted your daughter who has absolutely no memory of you?"
Remus sighed, his pupils ceased dilating in rage and he lightly shoved James down onto the couch, "Severus is correct in his assessment, Prongs. We must pick our battles, and heated words due to wounded egos are not good enough."
Alastor smirked, "You ladies done with your hissy fit? Good. Minerva, continue reading that blasted book," he ordered, not allowing the four men a retort.
There was a hush in the courtyard once Tyler released his acidic words; Bonnie and Caroline shot him lethal glares, keeping a firm hand on each of Athena's shoulder, Tyler's fan girls ceased in their vapid giggling to gape at the scene, but none were affected more than Jesse, who released Athena from his arms and stormed over to Tyler, punching him square in the face, a resounding crack eliciting from the connection.
Crouching over Tyler's fallen body, Jesse growled, "You may be my best friend, Ty, but you insult Athena, or harm her in any way, and I will help Jeremy in acting out on his threat. Never insult my girl again if you know what's good for you." Without a second glance, Jesse tugged the three girls forward, "Come on, allow me to drop you off to your classes, ladies."
"Okay, I changed my mind. Jesse's good enough for my daughter," James huffed, but his hazel eyes gleamed triumphantly; any man that would go through all lengths to defend his daughter's honor, even harming his best friend in the process, was okay in his book. Sirius and Remus grinned from ear to ear, overjoyed with that Tyler punk's punishment.
Harry and Jasmine calmed down, smirking gleefully while Severus sneered, but inwardly applauded the muggle boy. Lily fumed angrily, glaring with envy at her best friends Alice and Marlene, not liking their triumphant looks the least bit for the sake of her husband's bastard spawn.
"Sorry about Tyler, Athena. Jesse told me what happened, I honestly don't understand what's wrong with him," Matt said apologetically, sounding frustrated with his best friend's actions.
"It's not the young boy's fault. He should not be punished for the sins of his best friend," Molly said adamantly, throwing a fond look at the book.
"Although his choice in best friends must be questioned," Minerva sniffed in disdain.
Shaking her head, Athena smiled, "You don't need to apologize, you did nothing wrong, Mattie." Elena's brows furrowed in confusion, her neon blue eyes flickering from her twin to her ex-boyfriend, "What are you two talking about? What did Tyler do this time?"
"Later, Lena," Athena quickly changed the subject, "How's Vicki?" Elena gave Athena a 'We'll talk about this later' look, but acquiesced and stared questioningly at Matt, too; the twins after all searched for Matt to discover how Vicki's condition was after being attacked by some animal at the party last night.
"Some animal," Ron scoffed.
"They're keeping her overnight to make sure there's no infection, but she should be able to come home tomorrow," Matt smiled, overjoyed with the news of his sister returning home.
Elena beamed, "That's good news!"
"Did you get in touch with your mom?" Athena inquired after the flakey Kelly Donovan.
Matt grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Called and left a message. She's in Virginia Beach with her boyfriend, so … we'll see how long it takes her to come rushing home."
"What?" Molly, Minerva, Alice and Marlene squawked indignantly.
"Her daughter in in the hospital after being attacked by an 'animal' and she's off in some beach with her boyfriend?" Hermione hissed in disbelieving outrage.
"What sort of a mother is she?" Molly screamed.
Infuriated, Athena kept her mouth shut as Elena soothed Matt; the Gilberts were a tight-knit family, and were always there for each other. Caroline's mom, although she was the Sherriff and barely had time for her daughter, cared for her and was always there when push came to shove. But Kelly Donovan, was an absentee mother whose main priority wasn't her two children and paying for their education, but maintaining her many younger boyfriends and roaming around beach resorts
"That's atrocious!" Molly yelled vehemently.
Alice nodded, "I'm an auror, and I do admit, I work many late hours at the ministry, but I still make plenty of time for my Neville, and he would always come first to me!" Neville blushed profusely at his mother's words.
"What kind of a woman dumps her children for the sake of pursuing younger men? Ugh, I hate people like that!" Tonks snarled, "If you don't want to take care of your kids, then you shouldn't have children in the first place!"
Minerva sniffed in disapproval, "There will come a day when this Kelly Donovan regrets her actions, and it would be too late!"
– no wonder Vicki was the Drug-Queen of Mystic Falls, and sometimes, Athena wondered how her mother was actually best friends with Kelly during High School.
The conversation continued to flow while Athena was lost in her thoughts and was brought back to the present when Elena curiously asked, "Did she say what kind of animal it was that attacked her?"
Matt fidgeted uncomfortably and scoffed in disbelief, "She said it was a vampire."
"That's not good! Different species of vampire or not, that's a threat of exposure!" Alastor said gruffly.
Kingsley nodded, "The magical community won't intervene. Since these vampires differ from the magical kind, they'd leave the threat of exposure to them."
"I wonder how they kept themselves a secret from our community," Albus mused, "Over a millennium and none of us have heard of them … they do not look like ones who practices caution, no matter how coveted they seem to be. There must have been a way they kept themselves a secret."
"What?" Athena and Elena gaped, freezing in their footsteps to stare unblinkingly at a grimacing Matt.
"Yeah, she wakes up last night and mutters 'vampire' and then passes out," Matt looked overwhelmed. "I think she was drunk."
"Foolish muggles, they would place the blame on anything rather than believe in the anomaly," Severus sneered. Sirius scoffed, glaring at his nemesis, "Which is an advantage for us! I don't know why you're complaining, Snivellus!"
"Mangy Mutt," Severus spat.
"ENOUGH! Must I repeat myself!?" Albus shouted in exasperation, effectively silencing them.
"Definitely drunk. Vampire? Yeah right," Athena snorted while Elena bobbed her head in complete agreement. Matt smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief before turning to face Elena, "So, what's up with you and the new guy?"
Athena winced; it was obvious that Matt really wasn't over her twin, and she felt extremely awkward. Judging by Elena's stance, so did she; placing an arm hesitantly on Matt's shoulder, she softly said, "Matt, the last thing that I want to do is hurt you-"
Matt interjected with a chuckle, "You know, I'm … I'm actually gonna go back to the hospital. I want to be there when Vicki wakes up, get the real story about last night."
Unbeknownst to the three teenagers, a certain vampire overheard every single word from afar and vanished from his spot with the destination of Mystic Falls Hospital in mind.
"Stefan or Damon," Jasmine stated fearfully.
"You don't think-, they won't kill her to cover their tracks, will they?" Ginny hesitantly asked, eyes wide.
"Let us read and find out, Miss Weasley," Minerva said, continuing where she stopped.
The four best friends reconvened in their usual booth at Mystic Falls Grill sorting out pamphlets for the night of the comet; the first topic they covered was Tyler's cruel words and Jesse's defense which escalated into a heated argument where Elena grew indignant and insulted over the treatment of her twin, promising eternal torture toward the end.
"I'd be doing the same if some prat spoke of Ginny that way," Bill snapped, his fists clenching at the thought.
Bonnie, deciding to alleviate the tension, recited her Grams' previous words, "I was talking to Grams and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity."
Albus, Bill and Hermione edged forward, interested with the new information.
Lily scoffed loudly, "She's delusional! A comet has no significance to war and devastation. It's merely a story made to frighten the young."
"That you know of, Lily," Albus pointed out, staring at the angry redhead from under his half-moon spectacles, "This town seems to have a long and unique history that we cannot comprehend, and must not judge rashly."
"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about aliens," Caroline snorted sarcastically.
"She's got potential-"Fred started.
"And a sense of humor!" George concluded with a chuckle.
"She seems to be nothing like Lavender Brown, Mione," Jasmine laughed.
Athena, on the other hand, couldn't help but quip, "The poor comet was probably a bystander and coincidentally passed over Mystic Falls at the wrong time. We mustn't blame the catastrophic events on it. The comet was probably just minding its own business."
"Prongs, your daughter's a hoot," Sirius roared with laughter, and James beamed proudly at the book upon noticing all the pranksters in the room laughing uproariously at his daughter's funny jibe.
The table was engulfed in silence as the three girls gaped at Athena, trying to suppress their laughter. Elena rolled her eyes fondly, "You are so bad, Thena."
"Hey, at least Jesse is succeeding in bringing out the inner Athena back to life. It's good to have you back," Bonnie beamed.
"So… the boyfriend is doing more good than harm, huh, Jamsie boy," Marlene said slyly, winking at him.
"Shut up, Marlie," James grumbled, though a fond smile played on his lips; try as he might, it was really hard to hate Jesse Parks.
"Eh, it's good to be back," Athena smirked as Jesse entered the Grill and made a beeline towards them. "How is my girl and her ladies?" Jesse smirked.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Caroline quipped. Jesse chuckled and took a place beside Athena, "Should I be touched you girls are gossiping about me? What is it this time? My devastating looks? My charm? Or my outstanding humor?"
Severus spluttered, glaring at the book with immense malice, "So it seems the saying is true. Girls do marry their fathers. This Parks boy is as arrogant as Potter and Black," he sneered.
"And we're proud of it, Snivellus," James retorted heatedly.
"Well, I for one commend Athena for getting a great catch," Tonks smirked, putting an end to the argument and infuriating the Potions Master even more.
"Arrogant much?" Elena jibed.
Severus inwardly smirked; at least the twin of Potter's spawn agreed with him.
"Ouch! That hurts," Jesse faked a wounded expression, clutching a hand on his chest. Before Elena could retort smartly, Caroline intervened and stared pointedly at Elena, "Actually, we were about to discuss Elena's blockage when it comes to Stefan. Girl likes boy, boy likes girl, sex!"
"Oh my!" Minerva spluttered, her eyes threatening to bulge out of their sockets, "Must they continue to speak in such derogatory terms and innuendos, it is extremely unladylike!"
"Oh, it's just a bit of fun, Minerva. Its harmless teenage girl gossip," Marlene laughed, "If I had a galleon for the amount of times Alice, Lily and I discussed sex and boys in our dormitory, why, I'd be richer than I already am."
Molly blushed profusely, recalling the many conversations about Arthur she used to entertain with her dorm mates in Hogwarts and kept quiet, much to Minerva's indignation and the men's amusement. Their children however, all gaped in appallment at their respective mothers.
"Profound," Elena dryly replied before getting up, and shooting a wink at Athena, "Care is right. While you two lovebirds go… do something out of a romance novel, I'm going to see Stefan. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do. BYEE!"
"Huh, I didn't think my words would have an impact on her," Caroline laughed.
Jesse smirked fiddling with the salt-shaker, "Well, congrats Carrie, you seem to have made progress with the most stubborn Gilber twin."
"I wish you would stop calling me that," Caroline whined, "Every time you call me Carrie, I think 'pig's blood' at prom… not a good image for me." Her words prompted Jesse, Athena and Bonnie to burst out into bouts of laughter much to the indignant blonde's displeasure.
"Carrie? I do not understand. What pig's blood, are they referring to?" James asked, perplexed.
However, this time, a vibrant Tonks beat Hermione to the punch in explaining the term, "It's a movie about this teenage girl called Carrie who was raised by a religious zealot, and is constantly pranked and the target of horrible bullies. Carrie could also move things with her mind, which was not good at her time and labeled her as weird and a freak by the mass; during senior prom – a High School dance event, they doled out a cruel prank on her by dropping pig's blood over her head, pushing her over the edge and unleashing her telekinetic powers, causing a fire and killing everyone in sight. It was a bloody tragic massacre."
Silence met Tonks' morbid explanation and nearly everyone shivered, repulsed and highly disturbed by this Carrie story.
"Voldemort would use this reason to fervor his pureblood prejudiced dogma," Harry scoffed, breaking the stifling silence.
"Yes, my dear Minerva, continue reading," Albus said awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to erase such an abominable story from memory; Minerva was only too pleased to continue.
After a while, Jenna called stating that she cooked lunch, and invited Jesse over. Athena shook her head fondly as Jesse parked his car in front of the Gilberts Residence, thinking about her amazing boyfriend; for some reason, every member of her family and friends fell in love with him the second they met.
"He does grow on you," James muttered softly.
Even though Athena was dating Tyler, her parents always preferred Jesse over him, and the months after Grayson and Miranda's death, Aunt Jenna, Uncle John, Elena and Jeremy along with her friends were ecstatic when they were informed of her breaking up with Tyler and finally accepting Jesse's countless pleas for a date.
"Honey, we're home," Jesse bellowed as they walked in through the front door. Jenna's head peeked at them from the kitchen, and with a roll of her eyes, she retorted, "Oh, Jesse Parks, your humor continues to amuse me. Come on in you two, I made pasta."
Upon entering the kitchen, the couple was shocked to see a brooding Elena with her head facing the table. Athena rushed over to her twin's side, "Lena, what are you doing here?"
"I assume your hot rendezvous with Stefan, wasn't so hot?" and although Jesse stated his question with humor, it was obvious to the three females in the kitchen that his grey eyes were promising pain if Stefan harmed Elena. Jesse was extremely overprotective over the Gilbert family, Caroline and Bonnie, especially knowing that if anything befell them, it would devastate Athena.
"Quite commendable," Albus smiled benignly, "You should consider yourself lucky that your daughter is enamored with a respectable boy, James."
"I am," he sighed in response; if the Headmaster was fond of the muggle boy, then who was he to disagree, especially with all the praiseworthy actions they were reading about him.
"Nothing happened," Elena grumbled, forking her pasta violently, "Stefan apparently has an older brother, Damon. When I went to the Boarding House, Damon was the only one at home, and apparently Stefan is on the rebound and has raging family issues."
"Oh Merlin," Molly suddenly screeched, "That girl went over to the vampire's lair by herself. She is lucky that Damon vampire didn't harm her!"
"It wasn't his intent, Molly. Remember last chapter," Kingsley reminded the mother-hen, "It was all idle threats. No, the older Salvatore returned to town for a specific purpose." As an Auror and one of Moody's favorites, Kingsley Shacklebolt was known for his ability to depict enigmas and riddle out complex motives.
Jesse mulled over Elena's words, chewing slowly on his meal, "You two are still at the beginning of your relationship Elena. It's still too soon to delve into the deep abyss of exes past. Take it slow."
Athena beamed at her boyfriend and placed a grateful kiss on his cheek upon seeing Elena's demeanor brighten, cheering up at Jesse's words. Jenna smiled as well and decided to spare her niece a few words of comfort, "At least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues," she added after a moment of consideration.
"That's quite a lot of issues," Luna hummed, "Jenna must have issues of her own to attract boys with issues. It must be the nargles." Everyone gaped at the dotty blonde in confusion, all of them rendered speechless.
Jesse shook his head in amusement, "You sure know how to pick them, Jenna."
"Well, we can't all be as lucky as Thena, you know. There aren't many Jesse Parks walking around in this town," Jenna retorted humorously.
Athena laughed out loud, "Okay, okay, enough, no need to build-up my boyfriend's outstanding ego."
"I like her," Fabian grinned.
"Jesse, too. They're like two peas in a pod," Gideon smirked.
Before Jesse could retort, the front door slammed shut, depicting Jeremy's arrival; without sparing the four occupants a glance, he went straight over to the staircase, adamantly walking to his room.
"Jeremy? Jeremy, where were you?" Jenna yelled, trying to put as much authority in the question as possible.
Jeremy sighed and stilled, staring dully at Jenna, "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's … that's cool." Seeing Jeremy turn around and about to leave the room, Jenna grabbed an apple and hurled it toward his head, bouncing onto the ground. "Ow! Why? Why … why did you do that?"
"Your brother is high," Jesse whispered to Athena and Elena, both of whom sighed desolately.
"He's not dealing properly with his parents' death," Alice sighed sadly.
"He should not turn to drugs, though," Hermione huffed adamantly.
"Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion," Jenna demanded authoritatively. Unfortunately, her tone did nothing to dissuade the youngest Gilbert, who merely flashed his infuriated aunt a lazy smirk and drawled, "Parental authority. I like it. Sleep tight."
"Young man! That is no way to speak to an adult, especially one responsible of you!" Molly scolded the book, her pointer finger wagging vehemently.
"Mols, you're talking to a book," Fabian commented casually.
"Yeah, Jeremy can't hear you from here," Gideon jibed.
"Oh, hush you two!" Molly blushed a magenta color, burying her face into Arthur's chest as the occupants in the room snickered softly.
Once Jeremy ensconced himself into his room, Jesse spoke up, "Jenna, you want me to try and get into his head? Give him a pep-talk?"
"No, no, it's, it's fine. Just leave it," Jenna sighed wearily looked utterly defeated as she went to wash the dishes, "Hopefully in time he'll grow out of it. It's just a … a phase. Anyways, I'm ordering tacos tonight if you three are interested."
"Yeah, sure, Aunt Jenna," Athena nodded instantly, eliciting a nod of agreement from Elena and Jesse; they were all worried about Jenna … being the youngest from her side of the family, it wasn't easy for her to gain custody of three troubled teenagers after her older sister, who was her role model died, while still attending college, and it was starting to take its toll on their usually laidback aunt.
"I feel for her," Marlene sighed; she had lost all her siblings during the first war and if it weren't for Sirius and her friends, she would have never survived her depression, and she didn't even have her nieces or nephews to take care of since they died in the Death Eater attack.
The night of the comet arrived, and nearly every citizen of Mystic Falls joined together to watch the night sky, awaiting the comet to burst past them. Jesse, Athena, Matt, Caroline and Bonnie congregated together with their candles lit, while Elena stood at a distant, standing awkwardly beside Stefan, who had just arrived.
"You know, that comet … it's been a traveling across space for thousands of years. All alone," Stefan stated, his eyes attached on the vast sky.
"Yeah, Bonnie says it's a harbinger of evil," Elena laughed mirthlessly, shifting awkwardly.
Stefan chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement, "I think it's just a ball of … snow and ice, trapped on a path that it can't escape. And once every 145 years, it gets to come home.
"I prefer his description to Bonnie's," Hermione stated.
"Of course you would," Ron scoffed tactlessly, "It's the most sensible explanation." Hermione glared at him, but otherwise kept her mouth shut.
Suddenly, Stefan's demeanor changed and he stared solemnly at Elena, forest green beseeching neon blue, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't myself."
"You seem to spend a lot of time apologizing," Elena remarked flippantly.
"Well, I have a lot to apologize for," Stefan sighed glumly, "Yesterday, that wasn't about you, ok?"
Turning around to face Stefan for the first time since he approached her, Elena asked, "Why didn't you tell me that you had a brother?" Her curious question prompted Stefan to shift uneasily, "We're not close. It's, uh … it's complicated."
"Complicated doesn't even begin to explain," Neville nervously chuckled.
"Always," Elena joked with a small smile, taking Jesse's practical words from the other day into consideration; he was right, they were still getting to know each other and she had no right to demand explanations yet about their gritty past.
They regrouped at the four best friends regular booth after the comet, and Jesse decided to join the girls, not wanting to be near Tyler yet after his uncouth words toward Athena the other day at school, and everything was going splendidly until Jeremy nervously appeared, slightly out of breath, "Hey, has anyone seen Vicki?"
"Her again? She reminds me of you Harry," Ron snickered.
"Yeah, always having a run-in with bad luck," Neville laughed, causing Hermione to suppress her laughter while Harry grumbled good-naturedly. James, Lily, Remus, Sirius and Marlene, however, didn't appreciate the analogy and shot Harry fretful glances.
"You're her stalker. You tell us," Tyler sneered, finally diverting his eyes from Jesse and Athena to glare at the youngest Gilbert, who glared back and retorted heatedly, "I can't find her!"
Tyler scoffed in disinterest, "She probably found somebody else to party with. Sorry, pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."
Elena piped up, ignoring Athena's warning glare, "What's with the pill pusher?" But Tyler merely smirked smugly and nudged his head at Jeremy's direction, "Ask him."
"You wanna do this now?" Jeremy snarled, getting up in Tyler's face and barely allowing any personal space.
"Are you dealing?" Elena gasped; Athena slammed her hand on the table, "Elena, enough! We'll discuss this after without any peeping Toms around." Jesse placed a calming hand on Athena and stared Elena in the eyes, "Your sister is right, Elena, listen to her."
"They should limit familial confrontations from public places," Minerva harrumphed.
Tyler snarled, envy bursting out, "She's never gonna go for you."
"She already did," Jeremy retorted, "Over and over and over again."
"Now that's what we're talking about," Charlie laughed uproariously, ignoring his mother's scandalous glare.
"Just what every sister needs, their brother boasting out loud about their sexual conquests," Ginny commented dryly, eliciting the six Weasley brothers to blush in mortification.
Caroline found herself unable to keep her mouth shut any longer and burst out, "You slept with Vicki Donovan?" noticing the Gilbert twins glaring at her in offense, she backtracked quickly, "Uh, I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"
Jesse snorted, "That wasn't any better, Carrie."
"And I didn't even have to force her into it," Jeremy added, staring meaningfully at a dumbfounded and guilty looking Tyler. Jesse glared heatedly at Tyler, instantly comprehending Jeremy's subtle barb.
"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt growled threateningly.
"Did he try and rape the girl?" Remus growled.
"Try. Key word, 'try'," Tonks fumed, her hair morphing into a furious red.
Without disconnecting his furious onyx orbs from Jeremy, Tyler snarled, "Nothing, man, just ignore him, he's a punk."
"You're the punk, jackass! My brother wouldn't lie about such things," Athena intruded angrily.
Putting a stop into the heated debacle from all sides, Matt shouted at the top of his lungs, "You know what, how about all of you shut up and help me find my sister?"
While the group of teenagers were searching high and low for the rebel Drug-Queen, Vicki Donovan, none of them considered the slight possibility of her being up on a random roof, held captive by Damon Salvatore who were soon joined by Stefan who was attempting to guide her back into the safety of her brother.
Many groans echoed around the room and Minerva ceased narrating the book to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"The lass cannot catch a break," Alastor grunted, leaning forward in his seat in anticipation.
"Let her go!" Stefan snarled, eyeing Damon cautiously who had a firm grip on a blubbering Vicki, and was currently dragging her over the ledge.
Damon smirked sinisterly, "Really? Ok." He then proceeded to pull Vicki lower onto the edge of the roof, prompting Stefan to hurriedly yell out, "No! No, no, Damon!"
"He didn't mean it literally!" Hermione yelled, her eyes threatening to pop. Hermione was an avid believer in magical creature rights, but she didn't realize until now that not all vampires were good, and Damon and Stefan were a perfect example of the phenomenon.
"Ugh! Relax," Damon huffed, rolling his eyes before throwing Vicki at Stefan, who deftly caught her and slowly set her down on the ground.
"What's happening?" Vicki cried, staring at Damon in a mixture of bewilderment and fear. Ignoring Vicki's hysterical babbling, Damon concentrated on his brother, a nefarious glint appearing in his electric blue eyes, "I don't need her to be dead, but … you might." A feeling of dread consumed Stefan as he watched Damon kneel down to face Vicki and softly say, "What attacked you the other night?"
"I don't know. An animal," Vicki blubbered, red-rimmed eyes avoiding eye contact with intense blue ones.
"She changed her bloody tune," Severus gasped, "The other day, she quite clearly stated to her brother that she was attacked by a vampire."
"Do you think they have magic? Probably obliviated her?" Minerva enquired.
Albus shook his head in confusion, "I am afraid that I am as oblivious as you all. Hopefully this discombobulating predicament shall be explained."
"Are you sure about that? Think," Damon smirked, enunciating each word, "Think about it. Think really hard. What. Attacked. You?"
Suddenly, a glint of fearful recognition shone out of Vicki's eyes, and she whispered, "A vampire."
"Who did this to you?" Damon carried out, his smirk turning smug by the second with every hint of fear emanating from both, Vicki and Stefan.
"You did!" Vicki screamed, trying to create a large distance between her and the volatile Salvatore.
"Merlin's saggy balls-"
"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! LANGUAGE!" Molly bellowed.
"Molly, not now," Arthur rapidly hushed his enraged wife, staring in bewilderment at all the perplexed faces, "How in Merlin's name did Vicki Donovan forget and then suddenly remember?"
"Minerva, read!" Alastor growled, finally, the book was becoming interesting, much to the retired Auror's delight.
"Wrong!" Damon bellowed, and finally, Stefan understood what his older brother's aim was and he pleaded with him, "Don't."
Ignoring his brother's pleas, Damon announced, "It was Stefan."
"No it bloody well was NOT!" Jasmine shouted passionately, forgetting for a moment that they were reading the book; she liked Stefan, and whatever brainwashing technique Damon was doing, she didn't like it. She could never imagine her beloved older brother, Harry, ever harming her in such a crude way with malicious intents.
"Don't!" Stefan uselessly implored.
"Come here," Damon cooed, pulling Vicki into his chest. He placed his hands on both sides of her head and began whispering lowly into her ear. Stepping away from her, he said in clear tones, "StefanSalvatore did this to you."
"Stefan Salvatore did this to me," Vicki parroted immediately in a monotonous voice.
"He's brainwashing her!" Jasmine suddenly blurted out, speaking her thoughts aloud.
"No, my dear Jasmine," Albus said warily, "Brainwashing isn't the term I would use precisely."
Alastor grimaced, his face turning twisted with all the scars and battle wounds, "He's using some form of mind control, similar to the obliviate charm."
Everyone gaped in fear and wordlessly ushered Minerva to continue reading.
Damon triumphantly continued, "He's a vampire. A vicious, murderous monster."
"Please, Damon. Please don't do this," Stefan begged, forest eyes beseeching electric blues.
Damon rolled his eyes and gleefully told him, "If you couldn't fix this before, I don't know what you can do now." He tore off Vicki's bandage that covered his previous bite and hurled her toward Stefan.
"No!" Vicki yelled, terrified; Stefan willed his face not to change as her bite began pulsating with fresh blood. Taking note of Stefan's suffering; Damon gritted his teeth in disappointment, "Ugh! Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks is nothing compared to the power that you could have, that you now need. But you can change that. Human blood gives you that."
"If I were to assume correctly, Stefan was the vampire that overheard Matt informing Athena and Elena about Vicki recognizing a vampire to have attacked her and went to the hospital to mind control her into thinking it was an animal so that she wouldn't expose them. But because he feeds from animals, it was weak and Damon easily broke it," Kingsley rationalized.
"Correct," Albus beamed.
"Please, no, no!" Vicki begged, trembling in Stefan's arms.
Damon approached them, enticing Stefan with every word, "You have two choices. You can feed and make her forget. Or you can let her run, screaming 'vampire' through the town square."
"What sort of older brother is he?" Bill thundered; he could never imagine threatening his six younger siblings. As the eldest brother, he took the protection of his younger siblings quite seriously, unlike this Damon character.
Throwing Vicki onto the ground, Stefan snarled, glaring at Damon with hateful eyes, "That's what this is about? You want to expose me?"
"NO!" Damon bellowed, "I want you to remember who you are!"
"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again?" Stefan sneered; he scoffed and stared intensely at a smug Damon, "You know what, let her go. Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you," Stefan passionately concluded his speech, glaring daggers at Damon who looked taken aback.
"Stefan has an admirable trait," Alice smiled gently, "He'd rather be exposed and die than harm a human. I like him. Vampire or not, I believe he's good for Elena."
"It is preferable for her to date a person with the same mortality rate as her though," Marlene commented, "But yes, I agree with Alice."
"Huh. Huh. Wow. Come here sweetheart," Damon cooed softly after recovering from his shock; he whispered something into Vicki's ear and Stefan watched as her face morphed from indescribable fear to confused nonchalance.
Vicki bewilderly stared at her surroundings, "What happened? Where am I? Oh, I ripped my stiches open. Ugh," her nose wrinkled in disgust as her hand latched onto her open wound.
Stefan hesitantly moved forward, "You okay?"
Vicki smiled benignly, "I took some pills, man. I'm good."
"I believe, these traditional vampires are much more dangerous than magical ones, Albus," Alastor growled, "They make magical vampires look as harmless as flobberworms."
"We must not discriminate, Alastor. Compare Stefan and Damon for example, they are brothers, yet differ completely from each other," Minerva snapped.
"Fenrir Greyback is a monstrous abomination compared to most werewolves, too," Remus pointed out softly.
Alastor grunted, "I'm not saying anything. Did you hear me say we should kill these vampires? No. Merely that we should practice CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, making everyone but Albus and his aurors jump, "Especially since they resemble humans."
"Yes, I agree with Alastor on that," Albus sighed wearily, "Magical Vampires can easily be identified. Yet these traditional vampires resemble us in every possible way."
And with those parting words, she evacuated the premises, leaving the Salvatore brothers alone.
"It's good to be home," Damon laughed, rubbing his hands together in glee, "Think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"
Stefan huffed, scrutinizing his brother, "What are you up to, Damon?" But all he received in return was a secretive smirk, and a few cryptic words, "That's for me to know, and for you to … dot, dot, dot. Give Elena and Athena my best."
"Stay the hell away from my daughter and her sister!" James growled threateningly, speaking for the first time in a while.
"I don't like his obsession with my goddaughter," Sirius snarled.
Lily fumed, but otherwise, kept her mouth shut, but her anger didn't go unnoticed this time – a perplexed Severus Snape decided to share his suspicions with Albus during their break before dinner.
"Ugh, it's just so much drama," Caroline groaned loudly as she watched Matt bandage Vicki's neck, "Ever notice how the druggies are the biggest attention whores?"
"How eloquent of you, Carrie," Jesse smirked, pulling Athena closer to his side. Looking up, he grinned mischievously at Stefan, "Mate, where've you been? You missed out on all the fun."
"You mean your definition of fun, Jesse. I didn't enjoy searching for the town druggie the least bit," Athena grinned, smacking her boyfriend on the chest lightly.
Jesse's eyes glittered with mischief, "Ah, c'mon babe, you telling me our alone time in the alley wasn't the least bit pleasurab-"
"And every time I begin to like the guy, he opens his mouth and shares innuendos about my daughter, ruining it," James sighed in exasperation.
Frank laughed, "Come on, James, they're teenagers, what do you expect?"
"Great, now my dad is never going to let me out of his sight after we're done with the book," Jasmine moaned for Ginny and Luna to hear only.
"Okay! Jesse! Too much info. Stefan, what can we do for you?" Bonnie interjected, glaring at her best friend's chuckling boyfriend.
"Thank you!" James, Sirius and Remus intoned.
Stefan stifled his laughter and politely asked for Elena. "She went home, but, I'm gonna give you her cell number and her email. She's really big on texting, and you can tell her … 'I said so.'" Bonnie grinned, pleased with herself.
"Thank you," Stefan smiled. As he went to reach out and grab the offered paper slip, his finger accidentally brushed with Bonnie's hand, eliciting a loud gasp from the dark-skinned girl, her hazel eyes lost in a deep trance.
"She's having another psychic attack," Luna commented dreamily.
Albus smiled kindly, "How astute of you, Miss Lovegood."
"Yo, Bon-Bon, you good?" Jesse suddenly asked, his face turning solemn as he tried shaking her from her stupor.
Bonnie's eyes snapped over to meet Stefan's bewildered ones, and she harshly whispered, "What happened to you?" Four pairs of eyes widened at her direction, and she shook her head sheepishly, "That's so rude. I'm sorry. Excuse me."
"Because that's not odd," Fred scoffed.
George added, "Kind of makes you look insane darling."
"Fred, George, enough!" Molly chided in a huff.
Everyone gaped at her as she grabbed her purse and fled the grill without a backward glance.
"Yeah, she kind of wigs out. It's like her thing," Caroline awkwardly told Stefan.
"Yeah mate, don't take it personally. Athy babe, let's go. Carrie, you need a ride?" Jesse asked as he pulled Athena up to her feet.
Caroline beamed at him but shook her head, "Nah, I'm good, I drove my car here, you two lovebirds enjoy your night."
"I really admire Jesse's protectiveness. He's such a gentleman," Tonks grinned, bouncing excitedly on her seat; for some reason, Remus felt a stab of jealousy.
A few minutes later, a weary Caroline left the grill, staring suspiciously at her environs as she heard footsteps approaching her from behind. She quickly unlocked her car, but just as she was about to clamber in, her key dropped.
"Ugh!" Caroline groaned, bending down to pick it up; standing up, she quelled her scream of fright at seeing a stranger directly in front of her.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Damon smirked.
"NO!"
Caroline's eyes widened in recognition, "No, it's fine. Um, I was hoping I'd see you again."
"Bloody hell!" Ron gasped, his blue eyes widening in fear.
"No, no, no! I like Caroline, I don't want her to die," Jasmine cried, suppressing her tears. James was immensely worried now, he didn't want his daughter mourning the loss of her best friend, especially so soon after her adopted parents' death.
"Minerva, give me the book, I'll read next," Tonks hurriedly offered, grabbing the book and flipping it to the third chapter; every single person feared the life of the bubbly and hyper girl and they hoped that Damon wouldn't succeed in killing her.
The room hushed down immediately as Tonks cleared her throat and began to read.
A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter? XD … yay, nay?
Tell me, what's your opinion about Jesse Parks? I'm sorry to those who want me to remove him, but he's a VERY important part of my story, and he's one of the main characters, soooo, Jensen Ackles ain't going no-where!
Give me your honest opinion on what you think AND if you want anyone else to join the reading from the HARRY POTTER WORLD leave it in the reviews and I'll try and fit them in next chapter. Toodles!
R&R.