Chapter 11
Playing With Fire!
A few months later, the sun had barely started to rise as Lei floated amongst the clouds on her Firebolt. She had spent the early morning hours flying on her broom. She had woken up from another nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep so she thought flying would clear her head. Flying always felt freeing to Leilani. Nothing but her broom and herself, joined occasionally by a Golden Snitch. If she could, Lei would never come down.
Before the residents of the small town could start to rise, Leilani flew her Firebolt back to her home to get ready for the day. She walks into the kitchen to see Winky has prepared breakfast for the household. Lei shook her head while smiling at Hermione’s breakfast consisting of a small serving of scrambled eggs, a lot of bacon, sausages, and a couple slices of toast. A small pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice for the table, alongside some tea and a pot of coffee for Fenrir and Lei. Fenrir and Lei both were served a large stack of pancakes with several different syrups to choose from.
Leilani was grateful for the house elves. The two of them have helped so much and ask for so little. With the help of the house elves, normal housework was easy and they all pitched in for the Sanctuary. Pip could be found tending to the dragons with Fenrir most mornings. Feedings for the creatures took time. Hermione was thankful for the gift of the Sanctuary from Luna and her husband since it is mostly self-sustaining when it comes to the food supply for most of the creatures. The dragons and Buckbeak were a bit more difficult to feed since they are carnivores, but they managed.
Lei was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a chair scraping across the floor and a pregnant Hermione sat down, “Good morning, Lei. What do you have planned for the day?” “Morning. I think I’m going to walk around town for a bit. After that, I have no idea. We’ll see how it goes.” “I think I’ll go with you. We can’t keep ourselves cooped up all the time,” Hermione says, rubbing her noticeable baby bump.
Both women got ready to walk around town for a bit, leaving Fenrir in his workshop down in the basement. He had started crafting wands, and it felt good to work with his hands again. Wandmaking is such a delicate craft that takes time and patience. Especially since the wands had to be crafted without the use of magic. His workshop was a space for him to go to relax while accomplishing something he loved to do as a hobby during his bounty hunter days.
Hermione and Lei had visited the smaller shops in the town center. Hermione had bought a few cute outfits for the twins while Leilani got a few tops for herself. They spent most of the morning browsing most of the shops before deciding to have lunch at the Grill. Entering the Grill, Leilani and Hermione sat at a table near the bar. Of course, neither paid attention to the patrons or they would have seen Damon nursing a bourbon for his lunch. He had recently returned from a road trip with Elena to Georgia. The trip was a bust and nearly got him set on fire by the grieving boyfriend of his brother’s best friend that he killed. Not one of his finer moments, but it’s not like he cares.
When Damon saw the two enter the bar it was like a light bulb went off. He could just ask them to open the tomb. If not, he could just threaten to kill them. Damon smirked as he slammed the rest of his drink and sauntered over to their table, “Afternoon, ladies.” Lei rolled her eyes at the cocky vampire while Hermione plastered a fake smile, “Afternoon, Damon. How are you?” Hermione was trying to be polite but not really caring for the arrogant man. She felt he reminded her too much of the Malfoys’.
“Could be better,” Damon took a seat at their table. Both women just looked at him in annoyance. “Why is that?” Lei asked. She wanted to get whatever he wanted to say out of the way so he’d leave them alone. They have learned the only time Damon speaks to them is when he wants something. “Well, I have a bit of a situation that you ladies may be able to help me with,” Still has that smirk on his face. Leilani sighs, “Like what?”
Damon looks down at the floor trying to look pitiful so as to gain their sympathy but they’re not falling for it. So he continues to explain, “There’s this place I’m trying to get into but it’s sealed with magic. Bonnie and her grams refuse to help me. So I thought maybe you two could.” Lei shares a look with Hermione before turning back to Damon, “If we are going to help, we need details. The location, the spells used, the dangers of opening it, and why you want it open,” Hermione told Damon leaving no room to argue.
“I can show you the location, but I have no clue about the spells,” Damon didn’t want to tell them what was inside the tomb. He knew they probably wouldn’t help if they knew it was filled with starving vampires. The two women continued to stare at Damon, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat. “You can show us the location after lunch,” Lei told him. The vampire gave the two a bigger smirk, “Great. I’ll meet at yours in two hours.” He soon got up and left.
Hermione smacked Lei on the shoulder, “What are you thinking?” Lei rubbed her shoulder where Hermione hit her, “I’m bored.” Hermione shook her head, “You’re going to get yourself hurt.” Lei just shrugged her shoulders, “Eh, it’s the Potter luck.” The two ordered lunch then went home.
Damon knocked on the witches' door later. When it opened he was met by Leilani. “Where’s Hermione?” Damon questioned. Lei stepped outside and closed the door, “She’s tired and wanted to lay down.” Damon lead Lei to his car and they drove to the area or as close as they could get before walking the rest of the way. Lei looked around, “I recognize this place. You drew it in complete detail. Now I know why.”
They approached the Fell Church ruins. Leilani looked around to make sure nobody else was around before digging into her satchel for parchment and her quill and ink. Exhaling then turning to Damon, “Okay. Where exactly is this place?” Damon led her down some steps to the entrance of the tomb. Leilani set the parchment, quill, and ink down to examine the area. She pulled her wand out of her holster and started waving it. She was casting spells used to detect charms, jinxes, or hexes, as well as magical signatures that she had used regularly as an Auror.
Damon watched in amazement and curiosity. But the sound of scratching turned his attention to the parchment. He watched the quill write by itself. He stepped closer to the parchment to see what was being written, “What am I looking at?” Lei didn’t turn towards him to answer as she continued to scan the tomb, “The results of what I’m doing.”
A few moments later she was done and was going over the results. “Hmm. From what I got, it looks like Hermione or I can’t open it. It has to be a Bennett witch, but we can still help,” Lei looked over everything. Damon was not sure how he felt about that. “However, the 26 vampires inside may be a problem,” Lei said. Her reading was disturbed by Damon, “26?” “Yes, there are 26 vampires sealed inside,” Lei looked up at him. She could see he seems upset, “Damon?” Lei’s voice held a little sympathy. Damon was looking at the ground, his voice quiet, softer than normal, “There should be 27.”
Before Damon could take off, Lei remembers what she planned on doing the next day, “You know, the map is finished. We were going to do a test run tomorrow.” Damon nodded his head, his thoughts about what he has been feeling and what Stefan has been telling him running through his head. That there is a big possibility that Katherine isn’t in the tomb, probably never was. “Yeah, okay. I’ll…Umm…Meet you here tomorrow,” Barely containing his anguish, Damon didn’t wait for Lei to answer before he sped back to his car and took off.
The next day Leilani was met with the whole Scooby Gang. Lei pulled the folded map from her satchel. The group noticed how small it looked, Bonnie was the first one to question, “Why does it look so small? Shouldn’t the map be bigger?” Lei smiled, “It’s folded for now. It’s charmed to show the area we are in on the first fold. The more I unfold it, there more area it covers.” Unfolding the map, Lei says the passphrase, “I solemnly swear I’m up to no good.”
They all watched as ink phased onto the map showing the area where they were standing in great detail. Each of their names appears in a cluster. They noticed the different colors of the names but Caroline voiced the question in their minds, “Why are the names different colors?” Lei nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, “Species identification.” None of the group asked for clarification even though they were confused as Lei stepped closer to the tomb. Damon and Stefan follow close behind Lei. They look over the names of the vampires inside the tomb. Again, there are only 26.
Stefan didn’t see Katherine’s name on the map anywhere. He looked up to see his brother’s reaction, only Damon had already taken off. Stefan turns to Elena, “I’m going to go find Damon. Do you need a ride home?” She shook her head, “I’ll ride with Caroline.” Stefan nodded, kissed Elena, and then took off to find his brother before Damon could do too much damage.
Leilani tried to lighten up the mood, “Well, it works.” The group just shook their heads and started leaving. Bonnie stayed behind for a moment, “Damon really wanted to open the tomb. He still might just to make sure.” “When you do, I want to be there. We can’t let these vampires out. They’ve been locked in there for almost 150 years and they’re starving,” Lei says. Turning back to the map, Lei cancels the spell, “Mischief managed.”
Another week goes by and nothing exciting happened besides the dragons laying their eggs and waiting for them to hatch. Well, nothing exciting for the Evans’ household since they didn’t know what was going on outside of their home. The Evan’s household is worried about the Hebridean Black. She had laid eight eggs but only five were viable. They’re worried that she may become depressed if none of them hatch. And a depressed dragon is even more dangerous.
Their worried thoughts were cut short by the wards being disturbed followed by a frantic knock at the front door. Fenrir opens it, “Damon?” Damon is still not sure how to act around Fenrir, “Uh, hey Fenrir. Is Lei available?” “Yeah, hold on,” Fenrir turns to call for his sister-in-law. Lei comes to the door, “Hey, Damon.” He scratches the back of his neck from nerves, “Hey…Umm…They’re opening the tomb tonight. I was hoping you still want to help?” “Oh, sure. Let me grab my Mokeskin then we’ll go,” Lei went to her room and grabbed her Mokeskin that was still packed from when they came here. She never knew when she would need something from it.
Arriving at the torch-lit tomb entrance, Sheila, Bonnie, Elena, and Stefan looked up to the steps to see Leilani and Damon arriving together. Sheila stared at Leilani, wondering if she was a threat or not. This is the first time she has seen any of them. Lei introduces herself to Sheila, holding her hand out to shake, “Hi, I’m Leilani Evans.” Sheila looks at Lei then her outstretched hand then back to Lei before continuing what she was doing. Sheila didn’t like the feeling she got from Lei now that she was up close. The feeling of death and very strong magic.
Lei stood off to the side and watched the Bennett witches as they opened the tomb. When the entrance was opened, Damon had taken Elena inside with him after Stefan went to get gas cans to burn the rest of the tomb vampires. She tuned in to what Bonnie was discussing with Sheila. They had opened the tomb but had not lifted the spell keeping the vampires inside. Another girl had come to the tomb, Bonnie stopping her, and before they could go in but the woman just pushed Bonnie out of the way and entered anyway.
A scream was heard from inside the tomb, causing Stefan to run inside knowing it was Elena that screamed. Bonnie argued with her grams about lifting the seal to let them out. Sheila reluctantly gave in, not wanting her only granddaughter to overexert herself. The two Bennetts started chanting to lift the seal. Stefan and Elena came out, followed by the other vampire carrying two vampires with her then took off. Damon was still inside searching for Katherine.
Bonnie and Sheila were becoming exhausted, and Lei noticed. She dug through her Mokeskin for a pep-up potion, “Here.” She gave some to Bonnie first, waiting for it to take effect so she could start chanting again before giving some to Sheila. The Bennetts felt like they had a full night's rest and were able to continue. Elena was standing at the entrance yelling for them to hurry up before running back in.
Lei knew the Bennetts couldn’t keep the chanting up for much longer even with the Pep-up. So she knelt beside them and clasped her hands over theirs and concentrated on feeding them some of her magic. Bonnie opened her eyes when she felt the power boost, “What are you doing?!” “Keep going, Bonnie,” Sheila kept her eyes on the entrance. The older witch could feel her frail body giving out. A few moments later, Damon, Stefan, and Elena ran out of the tomb. Sheila stopped chanting and let go of Bonnie’s hands.
Sheila stood up but was swaying. She had known for months that she was dying from her years of alcoholism. Sheila thought she had more time to tell her granddaughter but exerting herself caused irreversible damage. And sped up the inevitable. Bonnie could see her Grams was exhausted and opted to take her home. Elena offered to go with Bonnie and her Grams. Elena gave Stefan an apologetic smile as she helped Bonnie lead Grams to her car.
Stefan and Lei could see the devastation on Damon’s face. Lei shared a look with Stefan before turning back to Damon, “Walk me home. We can break open the Firewhiskey.” Damon numbly nodded his head and followed the wand-wielder to her home in silence. He felt betrayed by the woman that he loved, that he thought loved him just as much. Knowing she has been free and ‘alive’ this whole time was gut-wrenching. With everything that happened, they forgot to burn the rest of the vampires.
Sitting on a couch in her study with the bottle of Firewhiskey between them, Damon told Leilani about Katherine. “My father agreed to house her and her handmaiden, Emily Bennett. She was the most stunning woman I had ever met. She was full of life, witty, fun, and just knew how to have a good time. And I fell in love with her. But in the end, she chose Stefan.” He mumbled that last part but Leilani heard him anyway.
He took a swig from the bottle and coughed. He then scared himself when he burped and a flame shot out of his mouth. His voice sounded hoarse, “Strong stuff. Was that normal?” Lei was trying not to laugh, “It’s called Firewhiskey for a reason. Just make sure you’re not standing too close to someone next time you burp. I once burnt a friend’s eyebrows off.” Damon couldn’t help but burst out laughing, “Imagine Stefan with no eyebrows.” Leilani joined in the laughter, “Won’t be able to tell if he’s brooding or confused.” Damon laughed even harder to the point of tears. The two continued to finish off the bottle or two before passing out.
Damon had woken up with the worst hangover ever. He didn’t know he could get hungover since he was a vampire. He thought to himself, “I don’t remember the last time I was this hungover”. He opened his eyes to see a light purple vial sitting on the side table near his head with a note, “For the hangover.” His head hurt too much to question it. Damon sat up, uncorked the vial, and smelt it. He recoiled at the strong scent. Once recovered he quickly downed the contents. The effects were immediate. What seemed to be steam came out of his ears, and his face turned red. When the effects wore off the hangover was gone.
Lei walked into the study and noticed Damon awake. “Are you hungry?” She asked. He shook his head, “No. I should get going.” Damon put his jacket on while walking to the door. “Okay. Here. I found a box of these. It might help curb the cravings a bit,” Lei held up a red, square lollipop. Damon took it, pulled the wrapper off, and cautiously smelt it. A scent of cherries and a hint of blood hit his nose. Shrugging his shoulders, he popped it into his mouth, and was pleasantly surprised, “Oh, that’s nice.” Lei smiled and handed him the box containing five more, “There’s more but don’t want them to disappear all at once.” Damon moved to the porch to see the sun was already setting, “Thanks for last night.”
Lei stood on the front porch for a moment after Damon left. She turned to go inside when her animagus, Shadow, bristled at the sound of yelling coming from the Lockwoods’. Lei patted her thigh to make sure she had her wand before shifting into Shadow, running through the properties, and stopping near the front door. She could clearly hear the Mayor yelling at his son Tyler. Then the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh followed by Tyler groaning in pain. Lei heard enough. She was not going to stand by and ignore a child being abused.
Inside the Lockwood home, an intoxicated Richard was beating his disobedient son for the second time that day. Tyler had back talked to his father for one thing or another. He raised his fist to punch Tyler again when his front door blew away from the frame. A very angry Leilani Evans stood on his porch. “How dare you…” Richard started to yell at Lei. She sent a stunning spell his way, throwing him off Tyler and hitting the wall behind him. Lei walked over to Tyler and looked over his injuries. She looked him in the eyes after scanning his body, “Can you stand?”
Tyler slowly stood up, one arm clutching his side, and looked to where his father landed, “What did you do?” “He’s just stunned. He’ll be fine, a little sore but fine,” Lei reassured the boy. “Come on. You can stay with me until he cools down,” Lei nudged her head toward the door. Tyler limped his way to the door but stopped when he noticed Lei wasn’t following him. Lei had made sure Richard wouldn’t remember her using magic, as well as repaired the door and any other damage. She will deal with the consequences later.
The whole time this was going on Carol was having a drink in another room. She was too intoxicated to care, she always stood by as her husband dealt with their son. Carol didn’t even notice her son left the house with the neighbor. Carol later found her husband passed out on the floor in the living room with no sign of her son. She just shrugged her shoulders thinking Tyler had gone to Matt’s house while leaving her husband on the floor.
The rest of the night was spent calming Tyler down and explaining everything. He was skeptical at first then he saw there was no reason for him to freak out. Lei healed his injuries and showed him to a guest room. This was the first night in a long time Tyler slept without nightmares of his abusive father. It was because Lei had given him some Dreamless Sleep potion. She figured he needed it. When Tyler went home the next day, his father wasn’t home and he was thankful. From then on, Richard avoided Tyler but he was unsure why. Tyler was just thankful to not get hit anymore.
A few days later, Leilani checked on Bonnie only to learn her Grams had died the night they opened the tomb. “She was just too weak from all the years of drinking. Her body couldn’t handle the stress and gave out,” Bonnie tearfully told her old history teacher. Leilani didn’t ask if Bonnie was okay or how she was doing, those were stupid questions. She did ask, “What are you going to do now?” Bonnie wiped away her tears, “I’m going to stay with my dad for a while after the funeral tomorrow.”
Bonnie left shortly after the funeral. She didn’t say goodbye to anyone but Caroline when she did. Bonnie feels guilty for her Grams’ death but also blames Elena and the Salvatore brothers. She feels that if the Salvatores wouldn’t have come to town Elena would still be her best friend and her Grams would be alive.
Hermione felt like a whale, she could barely see her feet at this point. Today was another doctor’s appointment. She and Fenrir had found the doctor to be a lovely woman who knew of the supernatural. Meredith had found out that Hermione was a witch when she went to try and give an ultrasound and the machine fried itself. Hermione had to explain that technology and their magic don’t mix well. So Meredith noted in Hermione’s chart that her religion goes against the use of most technology as an excuse as to why there are no scans in her chart. Plus Meredith was the only doctor they will see for the duration of the pregnancy. This appointment was to tackle any concerns they had about the delivery. They came to the decision to do a home birth unless there was an emergency.
Leaving the tomb vampires able to roam free caused a lot of problems for Mystic Falls. The Founders’ Council had been meeting more often concerning several bodies drained of blood, and blood banks in surrounding counties being robbed. The Council members had developed a plan to track down and eliminate the vampire threat in their town. With John Gilbert leading them to search for a device that could hurt vampires enough to be able to round them up and kill them.
Damon had gained the Council’s trust enough to join so he could keep an eye on them a while back. John was the only one not fooled because he was working with his ex-girlfriend, Isobel. John and Isobel are, in fact, Elena’s biological parents which she finds out later. Isobel, who is a vampire, was working with John while conspiring with Katherine, another detail revealed later on.
The tomb vampires posed to be a problem when they vampnapped Stefan to take revenge on the Salvatores. Damon had tried to recover his brother on his own but couldn’t get into the house, so he convinced Alaric Saltzman to help him. Elena tagged along even though she was told to wait in the car. After killing several vampires they were able to rescue Stefan. Unfortunately, Elena triggered Stefan’s bloodlust when she fed him some of her blood to heal him from the torture he suffered. She unknowingly woke The Ripper, his alternate persona.
Leilani knew it was Damon knocking before she even opened the door, “Yes, Damon?” He looked like he had fought a bull in a China Shop. “What happened to you?” Lei asked as she let him inside. Damon ran his hand through his hair, “Um, do you have any more of those suckers?” “Yeah, why?” Lei is a little concerned by how nervous Damon seemed. “It’s Stefan. He is drinking human blood again, and it makes him…He’s different when he drinks human blood. Unstable and violent.” Lei looked over Damon, seeing his torn shirt and what appears to be glass in his hair. “I’ll go get some,” Lei went to the basement into the potions lab and grabbed a box of six.
“Here. We’re working on a new batch so there will be plenty more soon,” Lei handed him the box. “Thanks. By the way, what blood do you use? I know it’s not human,” Damon held the box as if it was a lifeline. Lei smiled, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Damon raised an eyebrow, “Try me.” “Dragon,” Lei snickered at his shocked expression. “You’re just messing with me, right?” Damon saw the seriousness on her face, “You’re not kidding. Holy…Dragons are real?!” Lei nodded her head, “Yep. Now go give one of those to Stefan and I’ll see you at the Founder’s thing later.”
Hermione, Fenrir, and Leilani entered the first Founder’s event that they have been invited to, which is weird since they are not a Founding Family. The Kick-Off Party is what was stated on the invitation. Fenrir was dressed in an all-black suit with a red tie. The moment he walked through the door, all eyes turn to him. Fenrir could practically feel all the leering from the women, making him uncomfortable. His wife, Hermione, was dressed in a lovely Acromantula Silk dress the same color as Fenrir’s tie, as well as her red ballet flats. The dress fit snug around her bust then flowed freely down to her knees, her baby bump prominently on display. Then there’s Leilani. She decided to be bold and wear a black pantsuit with a green bralette and three-inch open-toed heels.
The three of them walked around the party introducing themselves and making small talk with the other guests. When they were introduced to John Gilbert, it was clear the man did not like the three of them. Hermione had led Fenrir away in search of a bathroom, leaving Lei with John. He had done a little investigation of these newer residents and his findings were troubling. “You know, this party is normally reserved for the Founding Families and friends. I’m curious how someone who has lived in this town less than a year got an invite?” John was trying to find out anything he can. “We were curious too. Not sure why we were invited,” Lei was not going to indulge his curiosity. Lei went looking for Hermione and Fenrir so they could leave.
Lei found Fenrir standing outside a bathroom door waiting for Hermione, “Are we ready to go?” The door opened and Hermione waddled out, “I know I am. The twins have been very active and my bladder is taking the brunt of it.” Fenrir chuckles lightly, “Let’s get you home, and I’ll rub your feet.” The women within hearing range swooned at the loving care Fenrir was showing his very pregnant wife. Hermione smiled, “That would be lovely. Thank you.” Lei sneers at one of the women, who she could clearly see is drunk. The drunken woman diverts her attention back to her son, the mayor, and Tyler.
As the three of them were walking through the property to head home, they overhear a conversation between Damon, John, and the English teacher Alaric. “If your plan is to kill me again after snatching my ring, just know that I have a fail-safe,” John stated. Shocking the three to hear that Damon had killed John but he’s not dead. “If I was to die, everything I know would be sent to the council, including the interesting story about the original Salvatore brothers and their return to Mystic Falls.” John leaves a shocked and speechless Damon and Alaric, walking away from the party to his car. Lei sneers at John’s back, “I really don’t like that guy.”
There were a few other celebrations over the next couple of weeks but Lei, Hermione, or Fenrir couldn’t be bothered to go. On the day of the final events, Lei decided she wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Hermione was feeling good enough to go with her, which was rare since she is due in a couple of weeks. Fenrir happily trailed behind the two of them as they watched the parade. The trio was approached by Bonnie as the Miss Mystic Falls parade float passed them. The small group waving at a crowned Miss Mystic Falls, Caroline, and the runner-up Elena.
Bonnie turned to the trio with a look of pure guilt, “Look, I know we don’t know each other that well and I haven’t been around much but I wanted to warn you. It would be best if you guys left before the fireworks display.” She didn’t elaborate any further before disappearing into the crowd. “That was odd. Should we go home, just to be safe?” Hermione asked. The trio agreed to head home after greeting Caroline and Elena. Plus Lei had a feeling they shouldn’t leave just yet.
Fenrir made Hermione sit down on a bench for a bit before they continued searching for Caroline. In that time, Anna had warned the Salvatores that the tomb vampires were planning on attacking the Founding Families during the fireworks. Damon and Stefan split up to warn their friends to get as far away as possible while keeping Elena safe. Stefan and Elena spotted Hermione and Fenrir. “Hey, have you guys seen Jeremy?” Elena asked the couple. Hermione shook her head, “No. I had to sit down but Lei wanted to find Caroline before we left.”
Stefan nodded and was going to say something when his head started hurting. He clasped his hands over his ears and almost crumpled to the ground. Fenrir had felt like his head was going to explode from the pain. He looked to his wife and saw her writhing in pain holding her very pregnant belly. Greyback pushed to the front of his mind and took over, seeing his mate in pain enraged the Lycan. He stood up, ignoring the pain, picked up his wife, and run towards the hospital. Alaric had the two run off as he stopped a deputy from injecting Stefan with Vervain, “I got him.” He pointed behind him, in the opposite direction Fenrir ran, “There’s two more that way.”
Lei had found Caroline in the Grill with Tyler and Matt. She was talking to them when the Mayor came up and told everyone to go home. The Mayor sneered at Leilani then left the Grill. Caroline suggested they take Lei home, but she politely refused, “I need to get back to Hermione.” Tyler, Matt, and Caroline left the Grill shortly after Leilani. They were going to Tyler’s home when Tyler lost control of his car when he felt the pain in his head. Tyler and Matt were hurt but Caroline was unconscious with a bleeding forehead.
After searching for some time for her sister, Lei went to look for anyone that she knew to see if they saw them. She ran into Stefan and Elena, “Have you guys seen Hermione?” Elena stopped running for a moment, “Fenrir took her to the hospital.” “What happened?!” Lei was worried and scared for her sister. Elena started running again instead of answering, so Lei ran with her. They caught up with Stefan, who was arguing with John, “I’m doing what should have been done 150 years ago!”
“Stefan! Come on, there’s a utility door around the side,” Elena yelled to her boyfriend. Lei wanted to hex the man but not until she knew if Hermione or Fenrir was inside the burning building. She followed Elena to the utility door and pulled her wand, “BOMBARDA!” The door and a portion of the wall exploded into splinters. “Augamenti!” A stream of water sprouted from the end of Lei’s wand, dousing the flames enough so Stefan could run in and find his brother. Lei cut the stream and ran after him. She quickly searched the still burning building for Fenrir and her sister. She felt relieved to not find them but saw the Mayor’s body at her feet with a snapped neck. She debated about grabbing his body but the flames renewed and filled the room with smoke. Coughing as she ran out, Lei finally leaves the burning building.
Bonnie saw Leilani use her magic to help Stefan, and she felt a bit of guilt but also a bit of jealousy. She stood next to Elena. When Elena noticed Bonnie next to her, “You lied to me. You said you despelled the device, but you lied to me.” “They’re vampires, Elena. They kill people!” Bonnie defended herself. Then she was shocked at what Elena said next, “What about Hermione? She has never done anything wrong. She has not hurt us in any way. The device caused her pain too. What her babies, huh?! What about them?!” Elena had tears in her eyes thinking about the innocent twins. Bonnie also had tears in her eyes, she straightened her posture, “I did what I had to do.”
Bonnie turns to leave but Lei is standing right there, her eyes practically glowing with rage, sparks of energy flowing from her body, and an overwhelming feeling of Death surrounding her. Elena, Stefan, and Damon take a step back in fear. John did not come any closer, he too could feel the rage and the presence of death. Lei’s voice was cold and obviously filled with rage, “You better hope Hermione and the twins survive.” Then she was gone. It was almost as if she vanished into thin air, the grass surrounding where she was standing had turned yellow and crunchy from the presence of Death. The group stood frozen in fear until Elena’s cell phone rang.
Leilani appears in the hospital. The staff was so busy they didn’t see her magically appear. She asked the nurse at the front desk where she could find Hermione Greyback and was directed to the maternity ward. She found Fenrir pacing in the waiting area. Lei stopped him in his tracks, “They didn’t let you in the room with her?” The worried werewolf was anxious to hear about his wife and babies, “I was at first. They made me leave when the babies’ heart rates started to drop. Said they needed to get them out now, and threw me out here.” Fenrir was shifting on his feet and hugging himself, scared he may lose all three of them.
Almost an hour later, an OB Nurse came out, “Mister Greyback?” Both Lei and Fenrir jumped from their seats and asked simultaneously, “How are they?” The tired nurse gave a small smile, “You have a beautiful baby boy and girl, and your wife is recovering.” The two let out a breath of relief. Lei asked the nurse, “Can we see them?” The nurse informed them to wait a little longer while Hermione and the twins were being transferred to a recovery room for the rest of their stay. “While we wait, I’m going to the Salvatores. I don’t want something like this happening again.” Fenrir didn’t say anything, he just nodded and took a seat, and waited.
When Leilani entered the Salvatore boarding house, she found the living room filled with the whole Scooby Gang besides Caroline. “Well, the gang is all here, mostly.” Damon, Stefan, Elena, Alaric, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Tyler all faced the wand wielder. A few of them went pale in fear. Lei knew she had their attention, “From now on, I will not be kept out of the loop. Something happens in this town, I want to know about it. If only to make sure no one else gets hurt. Things could have gone differently today if I knew about Bonnie’s plan to betray everyone.” Lei glared and the guilty-looking witch. The rest of the group seemed to be mad at her but not as much.
Damon moved closer to Leilani, “Thanks for saving my life.” Lei shook her head, “I just helped. You’re welcome though. Now, I’m going to go back to the hospital and check on my sister and the babies. Let me make this clear before I go. If any member of my family is put in danger like they were today, I will not hesitate to remove the threat permanently.” She let the essence of Death flow through her and into the room, hopefully getting her point across.
Fenrir and Hermione sat side-by-side in her hospital bed admiring their twins. The boy was the firstborn. He had Fenrir’s light green eyes and Hermione’s light brown curly hair. The couple could tell the baby boy is going to have his mother’s bushy locks. Now, their little girl was the opposite. She had Hermione’s whiskey brown eyes, and Fenrir’s sleek, dark brown, wavy hair. Both were absolutely adorable and had their parents wrapped around their pinkies. Leilani watched the small family from the doorway of the room. She quietly made her way over, “Have you decided on their names?”
Fenrir and Hermione looked at each other then Lei. Hermione’s tired voice was quiet but absolute, “Their names will be…”
AN: The twins’ names, dealing with John, Katherine’s entrance, and Caroline’s transition will be next. Mason will be kept alive. Elena is going to show her selfish side soon. And Death will do something unexpected soon. Please let me know how I’m doing.