Chapter 6
Comet Tails
Bonnie had talked to her grams about Leilani Evans being her new history teacher. Sheila listened to her granddaughter describe Leilani in detail, as well as how the class went. " When I first entered the classroom, I felt overwhelmed by her magic but safe at the same time. Then the way she taught the class was...different, but fun. The homework is going to be easy, and any tests will be open notes," Bonnie explained. A sad expression came onto Bonnie's face, "Elena told me and Caroline that Miss Evans held Jeremy after class. Elena overheard what was said, she didn't tell us what though. She said it was between Jeremy and Miss Evans, but Elena seems to like her." The second half of their talk was Sheila warning Bonnie not to abuse her magic, and about the presence of vampires being real and are in Mystic Falls. Bonnie was silent for the rest of the night when she thought about Stefan Salvatore, and how she felt uncomfortable around him.
On the night of the comet, the three people from an alternate dimension were a little on edge. First, Lei had a strange encounter with Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie had brushed against Leilani as they passed each other in the halls during lunchtime, Bonnie had frozen where she stood. Lei turned to apologize and noticed Bonnie had a far-away look in her eyes. Then Bonnie snapped out of it and looked frightened. She asked Bonnie, "Are you alright?" Lei went to touch Bonnie, but the young girl flinched away from her.
Leilani raised an eyebrow, even more curious about what just happened. She was going to ask again, but Elena and Caroline walked up to Bonnie, pulling her with them to sit down at their usual picnic table. Lei couldn't hear what was being said, just Bonnie shaking her head and looking down. Bonnie didn't want to talk about how Death is represented by the color green or the two words that were screamed by a male voice.
Hermione was outside in the backyard, burying warding stones along the property line surrounding their home. The full moon was soon, the wards would keep Fenrir from getting loose. She could feel the magic radiating from the Earth, amplifying the wards. She walked the line between their property and the Lockwoods', she observed the landscape and how unkempt part of it was. She had buried the last of the warding stones she had charmed with several spells she used during their time on the run plus a few others.
Hermione stood over the overturned dirt and went through the spells in her head, making sure she didn't miss any. "Protego Totalum, Salvio Hexia, Repello Muggletum, Muffliato, Cave Inimicum. Then Fianto Duri and Protego Maxima will be cast on the night of the full moon. May not cast Repello Inimicum, don't want to accidentally kill anyone." Hermione ticked off each spell and when she was satisfied with them, she activated the wards. Their entire property was protected, and Fenrir will have a safe place to shift on the full moon.
Hermione researched the comet, she wanted to know what was so special about a floating rock of ice. It wasn't the comet itself, but the tail that was so special. She found out it passes over Mystic Falls every one hundred and forty-five years, and the last time it passed over a lot of townsfolk were killed. She's hoping history won't repeat itself.
Fenrir wasn't as affected as the other two. He spent most of the day in Hermione's Sanctuary taking care of the creatures. Especially the four dragons that Hermione rescued from an illegal breeder. Each a different breed, one Chinese Fireball, an Antipodean Opaleye, Hebridean Black, and lastly a Common Welsh Green, all are female and carrying eggs. She tried to get in contact with Charlie, however, Molly told him she was lying about having dragons. So, a portion of the sanctuary has been designated for the four dragons away from the other creatures, as well as separated from each other.
The toughest creatures he cares for, surprisingly, are the unicorns. A small herd of five was left behind in the Forbidden Forest after the war. These unicorns run from everyone except Leilani and Hermione, plus they don't really like men. Fenrir is tolerated because he is a werewolf and he feeds them treats. Buckbeak wasn't even as difficult as the unicorns, he just lounges in his nest that has been made to look like the attic at Grimmauld Place.
That night Fenrir and Hermione stayed home while Leilani went to the town center. She was curious about the comet. Lei had her hands stuffed in her leather jacket pockets while walking through the crowd. Occasionally someone would greet her, so she'd smile and wave. Lei smiled to herself as she thought about the peace they found in this dimension. Not knowing that peace is about to be interrupted and then destroyed. Lei had heard what happened to Vicky Donovan and was concerned for this town. Her time as an Auror taught her that there's more to the story. She was told Vicky was attacked by an animal during a party out in the woods not too far from her home. Having already explored part of the woods, she found there were no wild animals that would come that close to humans.
Leilani stood in the crowd watching everybody gather with candles and wait for the comet to pass. The comet was nothing special, the tail, however, had left a trail of residual magic that could be felt on Earth. Lei would guess the townsfolk will be affected by it for a bit. She got bored and decided to go into the Mystic Grill for some fries and something to drink. When she entered the Grill there was hardly anyone there. Lei went and sat down at the bar a few stools away from a man around her age with black hair, icy blue eyes, leather jacket over a black tee-shirt. She didn't pay attention to him, she was more interested in her fries.
If she did pay attention, she would've seen him look at her in curiosity, wondering who exactly she is. The man was Damon Salvatore, Stefan's older brother. He had come back to his hometown to annoy his little brother, and hopefully, find the woman who turned him. He and his brother were turned into vampires in 1864 by Katherin Pierce. Shortly after that, the founding families had captured and trapped all of the vampires in town inside a tomb under the church. Since the brothers were still in transition they were not imprisoned. So, after 146 years, Damon is back with the intention of opening the tomb and getting Katherin back. Although, a small part of him doubts she was ever in that tomb.
Lei was almost done eating her fries when one of her students, Caroline, came into the Grill and sat down at a table. Leilani paid her bill and went to say hi to Caroline. As she was walking up she noticed the guy from the bar was talking to her. But something didn't seem right. Lei noticed the guy wasn't breaking eye contact and Caroline's voice was monotone. Hearing the last thing Caroline said before she stood up to leave, Lei stepped in their path. "Caroline? Are you alright?" Leilani asked with a concerned expression. Caroline had a smile on her face but her eyes looked blank, almost like she was under the Imperius Curse. "I'm fine Miss Evans," Caroline answered robotically. Lei narrowed her eyes, "No you're not. Come on, sit down." Damon gripped Caroline's arm roughly, keeping her still, "She said she's fine."
He looked Lei directly in the eyes, she watched his pupils dilate as he spoke, "You will let us leave and not remember seeing us." Damon tries to push past Lei but she wouldn't budge, "I don't think so. She will not go with you." Lei wasn't going to let this man walk out with Caroline. Damon was shocked and confused that Leilani wasn't compelled before he schooled his features. Lei could see he was getting irritated with her but she wasn't going to stand down.
A new voice spoke up behind Lei, "Is everything alright?" Damon looked up and saw Matt Donovan standing behind the woman in his way. Not wanting to cause a scene, Damon let go of Caroline, "Everything's fine." He stepped around Lei and Matt and left the Grill but not before giving Lei a devious smirk promising nothing but bad things.
"Caroline?" Matt's voice pulled Caroline out of the trance she was in. She blinked her eyes several times before saying anything, "Matt?" Caroline looked around confused, "What happened? How did I get here?" Leilani quietly asked her, "What was the last thing you remember?" Caroline looked back to her table then to Lei, "I sat down at that table and was throwing myself a pity-party, a really hot guy came up to me, and then I was standing here." Matt clenched his jaw and pulled out his phone, "I'm calling your mom." He told Caroline. "No, it's fine," Caroline tried to stop him but he turned away from the two girls. Lei sighed, "Let's sit down." Both of them sat and waited for Caroline's mother, who happened to be the sheriff.
After recounting what happened, Leilani was headed home. She hasn't really used any magic outside of her home since they arrived in this dimension. She could have apparated to her doorstep but decided against it for now. Lei had walked several blocks before feeling like she was being watched. Lei pulled her wand from its holster, keeping it close to her side as she continued to walk. "Mad-Eye would be so disappointed right now," Leilani says to herself. She should never let her guard down and have "Constant Vigilance!" Lei may not have heard any footsteps but she felt a presence behind her. She caught the person off guard when she quickly spun around, jabbing her wand into their throat. She saw it was the guy from the Grill that tried to take Caroline, "Why are you following me?"
"A stick, really? What are you going to do, poke me with it?" Damon smirked. Lei dug her wand deeper into his throat, "I asked you a question. Why are you following me?" The smirk dropped from Damon's face, "You ruined my fun." Leilani's eyes widen as she watches Damon's face change. His eyes become dark red, almost black, veins around his eyes protrude, and his canine teeth elongate and become sharp. Lei gasps, "Vampire." She steeled her nerves, never lowering her wand, "I have come across a vampire or two, didn't end well for them. So, if you're smart, you'd turn around and walk away. Go play with the neighborhood, crazy-cat lady, and leave everyone else alone or I'll set you on fire." The tip of Lei's wand became exceedingly hot and left a scorch mark on Damon's throat. The sudden heat and pain caused Damon to step backward and clutch his throat.
Lei took this moment to apparate to her front porch. She quickly went inside and warded the door. Also checking the wards around the property for any breaches. Hermione and Fenrir heard Lei come home and were curious about her behavior. "Lei, you alright?" Hermione asked her sister. Lei was shaking in both fear and anger, "I pissed off a vampire." "WHAT?!" Hermione's volume of her voice had Lei flinching. Fenrir growled from his place next to his wife. "Yeah, he compelled one of my students and was going to walk away with her when I stopped him. Then I think he tried to compel me, but it didn't work. When I was about halfway home, he snuck up on me. Told me I ruined his fun and revealed his vampire face. I pushed him away from me and apparated home. Now I'm checking the wards," Lei tried to calm down. Both Fenrir and Hermione shook their heads, thinking they now have vampires to worry about along with the witches and werewolves.
A confused Damon sat in the den of his family home with a glass of Bourbon. He was trying to figure out who Leilani Evans was and how did she just disappear right in front of him? Or the fact he couldn’t compel her. He didn’t look away from the fire when his brother came into the room, “What can you tell me about your history teacher?” Stefan was losing his patience with his brother after hearing what happened to Elena’s friend, and now Damon is going to make matters worse. “There’s not much I can tell you. She had the class take a poll on which era of history to teach, and there was barely any homework. Miss Evans hasn’t been a problem for us.” Stefan purposely left out the feeling of power he got from Leilani.
Damon scoffed, "For you maybe, but she's a problem for me." Damon got up to refill his glass, passing by Stefan, "Woah, what the hell happened?" Stefan grabbed Damon's arm and turned him to look at his throat. A portion of his neck was blackened, with yellow and purple bruising surrounding the outside. Damon pulls his arm free to point at his throat, "That's what happened when I encountered your history teacher after she took Caroline from me." Damon had drained a few blood bags from their fridge when he got home, but the wound was slow healing, really slow.
Stefan's concern turned to irritation again, "You shouldn't have compelled Caroline. You're only going to use her as a blood bag. Damon, you can't do that. It will draw attention to us, more than what already has. I was able to compel the sheriff, Caroline, and Matt to forget what happened. You need to be careful." Stefan walked away from his brother, going to his room for a shower and sleep. Compelling three people left him exhausted and needing to hunt sooner than normal. He was lucky it worked since he wasn't able to compel Vicky Donovan, but he had fed since then.
AN: I had decided to reveal their magic to the Salvatore brothers in the next chapter. This may change the involvement with the Scooby Gang to much sooner rather than later. I'm literally writing this as I go.