"What happened!?" Damon demanded, his voice laced with panic and anger.
Glaring at Aradia and Himiko, he tightened his arms around Maya, his precious daughter, who was resting her head on his chest. He could hear her heartbeat, slow and steady, and thanked the stars that she was alive.
He'd never in his life been as afraid as he was, the moment Aradia appeared and told him he needed to come with her to the Academy. His heart had dropped to his stomach as he followed her, fearing the worst. He had imagined all kinds of horrible scenarios, from accidents to curses to kidnappings. His mind had jumped from image to image, as Aradia had apparated him to the academy and led him through the halls to the medical room.
He was still terrified, despite the fact that they'd arrived at the medical rooms to find her nibbling on a bar of chocolate, looking tired and wan, but otherwise completely okay. That hadn't stopped him from pulling her into his arms and holding her as tightly as he could, while he sought answers from her teachers. She seemed content to be held, still nibbling on the chocolate whilst the adults talked.
"As you know, we were teaching the eighth-grade magic users how to handle Boggarts today." Professor Aradia said.
Damon nodded; he'd received the letter the school had sent to inform the parents about the content of the special lesson the students would be receiving. They'd mentioned it was a MACUSA requirement for all magically inclined students to learn once they reached a certain age, so he'd signed off on it, with a mind to talking to Maya about it if she wanted to afterwards. He'd been assured that there would be no real danger to any of the students.
"You said it wouldn't be dangerous." He reminded her, his voice hard.
"And it shouldn't have been. Unfortunately, none of us foresaw that Maya's Boggart would be a Dementor, nor that she would have such a bad reaction to it."
"What does that mean?"
"Normally Boggarts can turn into what scares the person they face the most. They feed on the fear that generates and their victims that die do so because their terror is so great that it induces a heart attack. But they can't physically touch or harm their victims in any other way. Boggarts are shape-shifters, they can take on any form, but they don't assume the abilities of the creatures they shift into, it's just the image." Professor Aradia explained, "Usually anyway."
"So, what happened in Maya's case?"
"Boggarts derive from the same Shadow Realm that birthed the Dementors. Giving it the ability to not only take the form of a Dementor when Maya faced it, but also to assume a weakened version of their abilities."
Damon's brow furrowed. He knew what Dementors could do. He'd never encountered one himself, but he'd heard the Potter's talk about them. And, given that they were currently guarding Hogwarts, they had come up in conversation several times over the past year.
"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth." Himiko explained, not realising it was unnecessary. There was a distant look of remembered horror in her eyes, as she continued speaking. "They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. Even non-magicals can feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory, will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself – soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that has happened to Maya… It's enough to make anyone pass out."
Damon felt a chill run down his spine. Maya had witnessed and been through so many awful things in her short life. Jasmine and Lukes murder and her own attempted murder. The years of abuse at the hands of the Dursleys. Everything that had happened to her in the year she'd spent at Hogwarts. The troll, more murder attempts, coming face to face with Voldemort, and Quirrell's death, the Horcrux that had been in her scar. The last twenty months had been good, she'd experienced love and kindness, had much needed therapy, and discovered what it meant to have a family. But even that wasn't enough when weighed up against everything that had come before.
He looked down at Maya, who was looking up at him with tired eyes. She gave him a weak smile, as if to reassure him that she was okay. He felt a surge of love and protectiveness for her, and kissed her forehead again. Before looking back at Aradia and Himiko.
"But she's okay now?"
"Rest and chocolate help to alleviate the symptoms caused by the presence of Dementors." Aradia replied, her voice gentle. "I suggest that you take her home for today. Lots of chocolate and a good night's sleep and Maya will be completely recovered. Tomorrow, Himiko will begin teaching her how to protect herself from both Boggarts and Dementors."
"Is that really necessary?" he asked, feeling Maya tense up in his arms.
Both witches looked empathetically at Maya as they nodded firmly. Damon wanted to rail at them, that they shouldn't force her to do that. But they were the experts when it came to magic, and if he was honest, he would rather Maya know how to defend herself and never need it, than to be left vulnerable to either creature in the future.
"Maya won't face either again until she's ready. But she needs to know." Himiko said firmly, echoing Damon's personal thoughts, as she spoke directly to Maya. "You need to know how to protect yourself, and you need to know that you can. That you're strong enough to face the darkness and win."
"You won't face them alone." Aradia told her. "And you wont face them again until Himiko believes you are ready to do so."
Maya head still tucked in against Damon's chest, nodded.
"Okay. Can I take her home now?" Damon asked.
"I'll take you." Aradia replied nodding.
Stefan sped inside the house when he finally arrived back after dropping off the others, starting with Elena. He wanted to see Maya, make sure she was all right. Aradia hadn't said much when she'd arrived and taking Damon back to the Academy with her. But she wouldn't have appeared in the first place unless something was really wrong with Maya. She hadn't even called Damon to the academy when Maya accidentally loosed a hurricane on her magic class the previous year, just sent a letter letting them know what had happened and that the only damages were to the classroom, not the people.
He found them all in the den. Maya was snuggled up against Damon, who had his arm protectively around her shoulder. Maggie and Enzo sitting together opposite, even Dobby, sitting on the little armchair they had given him, all of them sipping on mugs of hot chocolate. Maya didn't look injured, just a bit paler than usual, and her scent didn't betray any pain. He dashed forward and took the seat next to her, gently stroking her hair.
"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked softly, his voice full of concern.
She nodded squirming a little until Damon loosened his hold on her, allowing her to move closer to Stefan and embrace him. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her tremble slightly. He looked at Damon over her head, silently demanding an explanation.
"Later." Damon mouthed back his expression grim. He cleared his throat and spoke aloud.
"Maya's fine. What happened with you? Did you find Elena?"
"Yeah. Found, rescued, brought back."
Maya wriggled again, forcing him to loosen his hold so she could sit up properly.
"What happened to Elena?" she asked around a yawn.
Before Stefan could answer her question, or give Damon any more of the details the look in his eyes was demanded, the front doorbell rang several times. Stefan sent a questioning glance at the Damon, who shrugged, and at Maggie and Enzo who both shook their heads. He didn't have any idea who it could be either, Tyler and Caroline had both been given keys so that they could let themselves in, having both been keyed into the wards. Bonnie had been at Elena's when he'd dropped her off, Sheila would never come over uninvited, and he'd just left everyone else at their respective houses.
Dobby disappeared with a sharp crack and reappeared a moment later.
"It is being a vampire at the door, but Dobby is not recognising them."
Stefan pushed himself to his feet and headed out of the room and down the hallway towards the door. When he pulled it open, he was incredibly surprised to see the vampire who had been a part of kidnapping Elena. Rose he thought her name was.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Was the first thing out of her mouth when he opened the door.
Stefan raised an eyebrow at the strange greeting. It had been completely unnecessary; she wouldn't have made it all the way to the front door if she was here to hurt him in any way. Not that she knew that, so it must have seemed necessary to her, especially since his first and last encounter with her was as Elena's kidnapper.
"Why are you here?"
"Lexi once told me that you're one of the good ones."
"You know Lexi?"
A small smile crossed Rose's face as she nodded slightly in answer.
"Trevor was my best friend. For 500 years I have lived with one person, and he's gone, and I don't want to run anymore because I don't have anywhere else to run to."
Stefan could hear the underlying pain and grief in her voice, he was sympathetic to her loss, but he was still wary. He had people he needed to protect, Damon, Maya, Enzo, and Maggie. They were his family, Tyler, and Caroline too, and he wasn't going to do anything that might jeopardise their safety in any way.
"Well, I'm sorry but I can't help you."
"I don't need your help, but I think you need mine. Elijah may be dead, but this isn't over."
Stefan kept his face carefully blank; he wasn't surprised by her words. Elena had talked a little bit in the car on the way back, about the curse of the sun and the moon, and the need to sacrifice a doppelganger to break it. All things Rose and Trevor had apparently told her. Stefan hadn't mentioned that her facts were wrong, nor had the others, they knew they needed to tell Elena the truth, Jenna and Jeremy deserved to know as well. All of them had kind of been hoping to find a solution to breaking the curse that didn't involve the deaths of three people, before they said anything, but with Elena's kidnapping, time had officially run out.
"What do you mean it's not over?" Stefan asked, hoping Rose might reveal something they didn't already know.
"It isn't over." Rose repeated, "The other Originals, they'll come for her. They have to. They're doing it for him."
"When you say other Originals, do you mean Elijah was one?" Stefan asked, fixing on that part of her sentence, and hoping she would answer in the negative.
He did not want to have to tell Maya that one of the family members she'd been waiting to meet was dead before she got a chance to. Not only that but killed by Pearl in the process of saving Elena, given Maya's feelings towards Elena, he did not see it going down well.
"Yes. Did the doppelganger not tell you?"
Stefan shook his head mutely. His mind racing with the realisation that he, or more likely Damone, was going to have to have another painful discussion with Maya. To be fair to Elena, she hadn't had much time to tell them anything, most of the three-hour journey had been taken up by her reassuring Jenna that she was okay, uninjured, and would be home soon.
"I suppose it doesn't matter, since he's dead now. The one you really need to be worried about is Klaus." Rose continued, when Stefan offered no other reply.
"Are you just going to stand at the door all night?" Damon asked from behind him. "How long does it take to tell someone to go away?"
Stefan stepped to the side and let him see Rose.
"Damon. This is Rose, she was one of the vampires who kidnapped Elena. Rose, this is my brother Damon. Rose here came to warn us about Klaus." Stefan said, giving Damon a meaningful look.
Rose was looking back and forth between them, obviously looking for something on both their faces.
"You're not surprised." She said, when she didn't find what she was searching for. "Neither of you. You already knew Klaus would come for her. Yet you haven't told her anything."
"You walked straight up to the front door?" Damon asked her, ignoring her previous statement.
Rose eyed him strangely, but nodded.
"Yes –"
"You didn't feel anything blocking you? Not even the slightest little bit?" He pressed.
Rose stared at him like he had two heads. She shook her head slowly, clearly confused. Stefan sighed and intervened.
"She knows Lexi." He told Damon.
"So? That doesn't mean she's a good person." Damon retorted, trying to sound dismissive, but he couldn't quite hide his underlying curiosity.
"She walked straight up to the front door, and she knows Lexi and we need to learn what else she knows. She might have some useful information." Stefan insisted.
"I'm standing, right here." Rose interjected, both annoyance and amusement colouring her tone.
"We know." They replied simultaneously.
Damon turned his head back to Rose and stared at her for a few moments, as if he was looking for something. He seemed to make up his mind, and finally nodded.
"Okay. You call Lexi" he said pointing at Stefan, "I'll go get Maya."
Stefan nodded and pulled out his phone, dialling Lexi's number, as he did so he looked at Rose, complete seriousness in his eyes.
"Whatever you do. Do not mention Elijah being dead in front of Maya."
Before Rose could respond with any of the questions he could see in her eyes, Stefan hit dial and put the phone up to his ear. It didn't take long for Lexi to answer, he was rather amused by her greeting when she did.
"If this is Maya, say yes now… If this is Damon using Stefan's phone. No, we haven't caught the rat yet. If this is Stefan calling on Damon's behalf, break your brother's neck so he'll stop bombarding me with phone calls please."
"Hey Lexi, it's me. I am calling on Damon's behalf, but it's not about the rat."
"Hey Stef, what's up?"
"Do you know a vampire named Rose?"
"Stefan, do you have any idea how many vampires a girl can meet in 300 years?"
"She says you told her I'm one of the good ones."
"Rose-Marie?" Lexi asked.
Stefan shot Rose a look and she nodded.
"Yes. That's her. Is she…?"
"She's also one of the good ones, Stef. I was gonna set you two up at one point, but apparently bad-boy is more her type. Hey, maybe you could set her up with Damon, so he'll stop annoying me."
"Hmmm, probably wouldn't work, Damon has the same taste she does." Lexi let out a startled laugh at his reply. "Is it safe to give her an invitation inside?"
Lexi's reply was instantaneous and completely honest.
"She's one of the few vampires I've ever met, who I would ever consider introducing Maya too. She's a good one Stefan, bad taste in men, but a good one."
"Thanks Lex. Good luck with your rat-hunt."
"Call me later and catch me up on whatever I've missed, that has Rose-Marie turning up at your doorstep."
"Will do. Bye Lexi."
"Goodbye Stef."
Being staked was always an uncomfortable experience. Waking up from it even more so in Elijah's opinion. A slow process, where the mind woke first, but you had to wait for the body to catch up. Which gave you time to think about what had happened. He had been so confident, so arrogant, that he could handle the vampires who had come to save the doppelganger. He had underestimated them, not expecting them to fight back the way they had. They'd been more like humans attempting to take down a vampire, with the grenade, and the guns, and the stake, than a vampire, who in his experience, more typically went for the heart in a fight.
A learning experience then. He decided as he finally pulled the wooden pole out of his chest, grimacing at the realisation his suit was a complete write-off. Honestly, that was more annoying than being staked. After all one was permanent, and the other was not. He pulled out his phone and rang Jonas.
"Hello Elijah, how did it go?"
"Disappointingly." Elijah replied, his voice cold and clipped. "I do not have the girl; we will move to Mystic Falls as planned."
"Luka and I are ready. We will be there tomorrow."
"Thank you. I need you to find out everything you can, about any and all of the vampires currently residing in Mystic Falls."
"I'll have a report prepared for you by tomorrow as well."
"Good. Thank you, Jonas. I will meet you in Mystic Falls tomorrow."
"Until tomorrow then." Jonas replied, by way of goodbye, and hung up.
Elijah slipped his phone back into his pocket and attempted to dust himself off. It didn't help much, before he did anything else, he needed to change his suit. Then he would go to Mystic Falls and see what he could find out himself. He knew the faces of at least two of the vampires involved in saving the doppelganger. He would just have to find and surveil them, until Jonas could come through with a more detailed report. Then, he would know how to act.