I do not own Harry Potter or the Vampire Diaries

"Go ahead grovel again..." Damon said just as Stefan's phone rang again, he tuned out what Damon said when he saw who was calling, he answered it immediately and despite what had just happened, he couldn't stop the smile from coming to his face as he said, "About time you called Lyra." Damon looked at him in confusion, who the hell was Lyra?

"Uh...sorry I'm not Ly, I'm Hermione." A choked-up voice sounded on the other end causing Stefan's brows to furrow.

"Hermione? Yes, Lyra told me about you, um...is everything alright? Is the war over?" Stefan asked hopefully causing Damon to stop in his tracks from where he was about to walk away. War? What war?

"You're Stefan, right? The vampire." The voice said and Damon's curiosity was instantly piqued.

"Yeah, that's me. Uh... no offense, but... can I talk to Lyra, please?" he asked, not expecting the silence that followed, or the sob that broke it.

"That's why I called. Um...I don't know how to tell you this." Hermione said from where she was being held by Ron just after they both hugged their best friend goodbye with tears rolling down their faces. Ly had told her to call Stefan not being able to do so herself and tell him what was going to happen."Ly asked me to call you... she... she couldn't do it herself."

"Do what?" Stefan asked now confused and concerned.

"Remember what Ly told you about the Horcruxes, and how she feels every time Voldemort is near her," Hermione said and he nodded before realizing she couldn't see him and said, "Yeah I remember."

"Well we just found out there is a reason for that, why she can talk to snakes, why she can see into Voldemort's mind and why she feels every single Horcrux when it dies," Hermione said trying to control her sobs that threatened to break forth but Ron's comforting hand on her back gave her enough strength to carry on.

"What is it?" Stefan asked curiously whilst Damon was standing there completely confused. Talk to snakes? Voldemort? Seeing into someone's mind? Horcruxes? What the hell was he hearing?

"She's a Horcrux herself," Hermione said sniffling slightly as she wiped her teary eyes.

The words hit Stefan like a hammer. He staggered, hand gripping the stair banister tightly as his mind whirled in horror. "What? No, no - that can't be. There has to be something we can do. Can't you find a spell or... maybe those goblins Ly talks about? They know all kinds of ancient magic! There has to be a way to get it out of her, right? Hermione, we have to..." He was about to carry on with his panicked rambling as he paced across the hallway not even noticing Damon still by the door before he was cut off.

"Stop it Stefan! We can't do anything! We're in the middle of the war, if we don't finish him now, Hogwarts is lost as is everyone within her walls." Hermione said tears flowing out of her eyes as she breathed in shakily.

Stefan's mouth went dry as the realization settled in. He looked down, his grip tightening as Damon stood silently nearby, watching his brother's reaction with an intensity that almost bordered on concern.

"Hermione... what are you saying?" Stefan's voice was barely a whisper.

"Sh-She's gone, Stefan." Hermione's tears flowed freely now, her voice shattering. "Lyra went to him already. She... she's not coming back." She dissolved into a fit of sobs as Ron gently took the phone from her. They were the brightest witches of their age, both Hermione and Lysandra so putting their minds together, they had managed to make magic work with muggle tech, which is why they were able to call him. It had taken a few years worth of delving into old spellbooks full of rituals, runes and more neutral-based spells for them to find a way to channel wifi through the magic in the air around them.

Stefan's heart seized in his chest just as the banister snapped in his hand. The phone slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. For a moment, he stood there, frozen then he threw the stick in his hand across the house with such force that the entire thing embedded itself within the opposite wall as Damon watched wide-eyed. He stumbled slightly on the spot breathing heavily as he registered her words in his head, playing the words around in his head again and again.

He shouted out in grief punching the wall next to him, creating a hole in it before holding his head in his hands. He breathed in shakily before vamping away to his room and slamming the door behind him. He didn't notice Damon following behind who opened the door only to find Stefan trashing the entire room, throwing everything all over the place with the most agonized look on his face.

A few minutes later, Stefan stopped as he leant against the wall with his head in his hands the room around him looking like a literal warzone. Stefan opened the first draw of his cabinet and pulled out the album he kept there, it was full of pictures of him and Lyra. He held it close to him as he collapsed sliding down the wall before opening it.

In retrospect, it wasn't the brightest thing to do because as soon as he saw her face, he realized he would never see her again, never see her smile, never hear her laugh, never see her pout when he won their silly board games, the ones he used to whine about and now would give anything to play with her just one more time, he'd never get to see that sly little smirk after he fell for one of her pranks yet again,or hear her call him "Steffie" just to get under his skin.

There'd be no more taste tests of her latest cooking experiments, no more sparring matches, her laughter ringing out every time she bested him. No more scary movies where she'd cling to his arm, pretending not to be scared. She was his family, his best friend, his sister in all but blood, and now he'd never see her again. She was dead and she was never coming back.