Chapter 2
Ianthe awoke to the sunlight streaming onto her face, the sounds of childish laughter echoes as the scent of freshly cooked bacon hits her. Not for the first time did she find herself thankful that Matt had agreed to live with her in exchange for being Teddy’s part-time carer, Kreacher could only do so much and Winky was too busy with the magical creatures they were rehabilitating in the backyard. Her last shift had been long as she picked up the slack for the late Dr. Gilbert. Her residency was almost up and from there she would have to choose whether or not she would stay in Mystic Falls, after all, she still had a few more years before Teddy attended Hogwarts.
The buzzing of the phone interrupted her thoughts. “Hello?” She asked, not even bothering to see who was calling.
“Hey, I’m going to have to cancel lunch today. Carol’s making me show around some author…” Jenna’s voice drifted through the phone, her voice apologetic. “Unless you don’t mind coming with us?”
Ianthe smiled at her American best friend though it remained unseen. “If you don’t mind having Teddy with us?”
“I don’t mind. You’ve been living here for years now but you don’t really know the stories of the town, it might be a good a time as any for the two of you to learn.” Jenna said happily.
“I’ll meet you at the rose park then?” She asked as she rose from her bed, plucking her robe on, she went down to see her two boys.
“Sure. See you!” Jenna chirped back before the line cut off.
She watched as Teddy greedily shoveled his breakfast as Matt sighed. “Teddy, slow down and chew otherwise you’ll choke.” He said.
Teddy nodded and Ianthe chose to reveal herself. “Good morning, boys.”
“Morning mum!” Teddy greeted.
“Morning, Ia.” Matt said as he handed her a plate filled with food and her morning tea.
Ianthe reached into her work bag and pulled out a manila envelope and slid it to Matt. She watched calmly as he opened the envelope and gasped. “Ia… this is…”
“Your health insurance, guardianship papers, and papers for an education fund.” She said as she smiled.
Matt shook his head. “This is too much, I can’t accept this.”
Ianthe smiled and shook her head, hand reaching across the table to hold his. “In my world guardianship is something to be taken seriously. Our wards become our children, they might not be able to inherit the things our children do but they have the protection of our name, a home, and everything they need to create a good life. The moment I took you in here under the guise of Teddy’s caretaker, you became my ward.” She told him gently before taking a sip of her drink.
Matt smiled at her and nodded and she looked at her boys fondly. There were only two people in the town who knew that she and Teddy had magic, Matt and Jenna. Matt had been told when she took him in, having witnessed Vicki’s vampiric death, he had been shaken and alone so she had told him of her world and took him on as her ward. Jenna had been one of her best friends from University. The older woman had been her tour guide around Cambridge and she had walked in on her doing magic. She became an integral part of it afterward when she had told them the stories of her childhood, the council, how she had a different mother from her sister (who as it turned out was the descendant of Iola Black later known as Isla Hitchins).
Jenna had been frothing at the mouth once she realized that the Salvatore brothers were vampires and her niece and nephew was caught up in all sorts of danger, still, she strove to be the bigger person and wait on them to tell her the truth. Her patience was running thin though. Matt, on the other hand, stepped away from Caroline and Tyler, completely content to avoid all of the drama, no matter how much he cared about them both. Matt took to the magic though, he enjoyed seeing the magical creatures, being able to help out with caring for the injured hippogriffs and pegasi.
“Have a good day at school!” She yelled out as Matt headed for the front door, she didn’t bother telling him to be good, she never was. And just as the door shut, the fireplace came alive and Neville landed in a heap.
“I hate the floo!” He grumbled before turning to them, a smile on her face.
Ianthe ran to her ‘brother’ and hugged him. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see my little sister, what do you think?”
“Little sister! I was just a few hours later than you!” She scoffed as she ushered him in, brushing the soot from his clothes.
[9:45 AM
To: Jenna S.
Heading to the park, Neville came for a surprise visit btw. Alright if he joins us?]
[10:02 AM
From: Jenna S.
The more the merrier! Besides, he’s good to look at.]
[10:10 AM
To: Jenna S.
I don’t need the mental image.]
[11:07 AM
From: Jenna S.
Just got to the park.]
Elijah followed the overly preppy blonde woman leading him through the town that had once been his home over a millennia ago. He could still picture it as it had been then, the spot where Niklaus proposed, the place where Henrik had died, they passed all of these places and he listened with half an ear at the history that had happened long after they had left. He was only mildly interested in the stories, more keen to get a handle on the woman raising the current Petrova doppelganger and was apathetic towards the friends that they were bringing along.
“They’re right over here.” Jenna Sommers said as she led them to the playground. A flash of red hair caught his attention and he shook the feeling of familiarity that washed over him. Her hair alone would have been enough to entice Niklaus who seemed to be filling the void left by Astrid’s death with women and other excessive pleasures. Though there were more red-haired or green-eyed women (or women who had both) on his list than any other, Aurora de Martel was just the first (though he suspected that Klaus had convinced himself that he was in love with her because she bore a passing resemblance to his lost love).
The woman turned as though sensing them and Elijah’s blood froze. ‘Astrid’ his mind whispered as he stared at the once beloved face. A doppelganger? Perhaps. Though to be so close to the Petrova doppelganger seemed like fate’s way of screwing up with Niklaus’ plan then. A child’s laughter interrupted them as a dark-haired man approached with a little boy on his shoulders. ‘Asbjorn’ his mind interrupted him again and he was suddenly pulled back into the past on the day that his family had fled America.
“Elijah these are my friends from England, Ianthe Potter-Black, and her cousin Neville Longbottom. The little boy is Ianthe’s son Teddy.” Jenna said and Elijah tore his eyes away from the faces of his long dead friends to stare at the laughing child. His face had the same aristocratic features that Ianthe and Neville bore but with his sandy blonde hair and silver-blue eyes he could easily have been passed off as Niklaus’ child and he froze again, how was his brother going to react to the news that there was a doppelganger of Astrid’s running around with a child.
The sheer destruction his brother would cause to get to the woman he coveted and loved was already a given, even if she held not the same memories or love for him, how he would react to the child would be another matter entirely, a wild card, that. And he pushed those thoughts aside because his brother would be dead by his hand before he could get anywhere near these doppelgangers, Miss Gilbert’s life may have already been forfeited but theirs haven’t. Would his brother still want to continue on with the ceremony if it was Astrid’s death that was required? For a doppelganger, perhaps, but if it were the true Astrid then he might never agree to it.
He knew that Niklaus had nothing more than a passing fondness for Tatja or Tatia as she would be called, even when they were humans. The fondness was due to his, Elijah’s, own feelings for the woman and the friendship that she had shared with Astrid. It was why he was more than ready to sacrifice Katerina all those years ago. He forced himself to return to the conversation.
“Ia, Neville, Teddy, this is Elijah Smith, he’s the writer who’s interested in small towns in Virginia.” Jenna said happily as they shook hands.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Elijah said as he tried not to stare at them. The only difference he could see with Ianthe’s face was the lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, the Sowilo rune. As he grasped her hand he tried not to frown at the feel of an odd scar and a surreptitious glance had him internally raging. I must not tell lies was carved into her hand in elegant scripts, practically blended into the skin but to a vampire, it was all too visible.
“And you.” She said with a smile before tilting her head, brows furrowed in confusion as he took him in. “I’m sorry, have we met? It’s just that you seem so… familiar.” She said in the cultured tones of the Queen’s English.
“I thought the same thing when I saw him.” Neville said from beside her, accent the same as Ianthe’s.
Elijah held in his shock. Doppelgangers had no recognition of the people that the previous doppelgangers had met or known, he knew this. So perhaps they weren’t doppelgangers. Reincarnation then? It was far-fetched but it would do for now. “I might just have that face.”
The two agreed but they seemed unconvinced. Teddy took that time to demand his release and Elijah watched as Neville kneeled to the ground and allowed Ianthe to take the child into her arms. She was young, perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four years of age and the boy couldn’t have been older than seven or eight. A young and single mother then, from the lack of an engagement or wedding ring on her finger.
Throughout lunch and the tour he paid attention to the two cousins and grew more convinced of his reincarnation theory. While the doppelgangers shared some similar personality traits, their mannerisms were usually different. But the cousins had all of the same mannerisms, dislikes (“Nev! Stop banging on the table you’re giving me a headache!”; “It’s not banging, Ia! I’m just tapping my fingers.” Or “Ia, please stop humming while we’re eating!”), and even the same likes. It was uncannily accurate to what he remembered of the twins and he blinked at them. It was like they’d been grabbed from the past, dressed in the clothes of the 21st century, aged up, and told to speak in English.
Even the child could have been accurate. It was common knowledge amongst the siblings (after Rebekah had blurted it out) that the 18-year-old Astrid had been pregnant with Niklaus’ child. It could have just as easily have been this boy. By the time the small British family parted ways with them Elijah had gotten a headache. Should he include them with the deal he was proposing to Miss Gilbert? Or would that bring them into Niklaus’ attention?
Perhaps it would be better not to. Even if they did somehow draw his little brother’s attention, his brother wouldn’t move against those three. Not when Ianthe held the face of his lost love and she didn’t even have any significance to the ritual. No, the better to keep them away from the suspicions of even the populace of Mystic Falls.
Elijah nodded to himself, mind already made up. That was when a familiar flash of hair caught his attention as Jenna waved a girl over. It seemed it was time to meet the current Petrova Doppelganger and strike a deal.
Ianthe pursed her lips as soon as Teddy had disappeared up the stairs. She turned to Neville who looked grimly contemplative. “He’s lying. He knew us.” She said in the silence of the sitting room.
“Yes, but he’s a vampire. Perhaps he knew us in a past life?” Her ‘brother’ offered.
She ‘hmmed’ as she heard that, she didn’t know what the truth was but she did know that she was more than passingly acquainted with this Elijah ‘Smith’. The last name didn’t seem to fit so she was left with the assumption that he wanted to go unnoticed in the meantime. A part of her was seriously considering just moving away at this point. She’d kept her head down and her nose out of the trouble that Elena and her friends had gotten into, even though she regretted it at times.
“I thought you said this was a quiet town?” Neville demanded as they took the tea that Winky served them with a grateful nod.
She sighed. “It is or was. Look, when I moved to Mystic Falls after graduating from Cambridge I had four reasons that convinced me it was for the best. 1. I wanted to help out one of my best friends during what is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in her life; 2. I was offered a residency an hour away from here; 3. Because it’s an easy floo to MACUSA where I teach; and 4. This is supposed to be a safe and quiet town that is ‘absolutely perfect to raise Teddy in’.” She said.
“And how many of those are still true?”
“Just the third. Since the Gilbert teens aren’t really cooperating and keep getting into trouble without confiding in their aunt, I’ve been asked to pick up some slack until a replacement could be found for Dr. Gilbert on top of my surgical residency and finally, the towns death rate has skyrocketed in the past few months ever since those vampires started arriving. But hey, at least it’s still an easy floo to the MACUSA!” She ranted in frustration.
Neville waited for her to calm down before pointing out the one thing that had made it worth it. “But at least you got to meet Matt, I know you’ve practically adopted him.”
Ianthe felt herself soften at the thought of the teen and she nodded. Her mind turned towards Tyler and Caroline, those two didn’t know that she was a witch but they did know that she knew about werewolves since they had approached her about it after Caroline heard her talking to Mason about it.
“Hey, you’re Mason right?” Ianthe asked the man.
He smiled flirtatiously at her but thankfully there was none of the leering that she had come to associate with those smiles. “And you’re Ianthe.”
“I know you’re a werewolf.” She said, choosing to be blunt. Mason’s smile slid from his face and he stared at her in alarm but she merely raised her hand to stop him. “Look, Teddy’s father was a werewolf. While I don’t have first-hand experience in the change itself, I know that it can be quite painful, I still have a few things that have helped to ease the pain a bit. If you’re interested you can just come by my house and pick it up.” And with that, she walked away from the gobsmacked man.
Damon Salvatore killed the man that very night so she didn’t know if he would have taken the offer but Caroline seemed to believe her words and she had dragged Tyler to her house. Ianthe had feigned ignorance that Caroline was a vampire and focused on Tyler instead. A part of her was righteously furious by the actions of Elena and her friends, that they were so willing to kill someone who was led on and that they had thought that they would be able to pull off their half-assed plan without anyone dying but she chose to stay away from it for Teddy’s sake.
A chime interrupted her thoughts and she brought out her communication mirror, hand swiping in front of it as a woman’s face appeared. She smiled at the sight of the red-head in the mirror. The sounds of small explosions flitted through the mirror.
“Hello, Sage!” She called out cheerily to her former minder.
Sage’s face broke into a smile when their eyes connected. “Hey, kiddo. Sorry for the noise, your father is just busy making some more prank items for his latest prank war.” Her voice was tinged with a bit of frustration and Ianthe smiled at her adoptive father’s antics. Sirius Black was and always will be a prankster.
“It’s fine.” She said waving it off. “Did you need anything?”
“Not really, I just wanted to check up on you and see if my favorite student had done anything idiotic in the past week.”
“Hmm… define idiotic.”
“That kid is very impulsive. I think I might have indulged him a bit too much when I was teaching him.” Sage said with a shrug.
“That’s obvious, given the fact that he clearly lacks the proper manner and restraints to play in polite society.” Ianthe said with a snort.
“Anything else? You seem kinda troubled.” Sage asked looking worried.
She and Neville shared a glance and he nodded towards the mirror. “A new vamp strolled into town. I feel like I know him, Neville does too. And it isn’t just the ‘oh I’ve met you once or twice’ it’s a feeling of ‘I’m pretty sure we were friends’.”
Sage blinked at them before instantly becoming alert. “Did you get this vampire’s name?” She asked sharply.
“Yeah, Elijah Smith, though we’re pretty sure Smith isn’t his real name.”
“Handsome, brown hair and brown eyes, looks good in a suit, kinda stiff?”
“Got it in one. So you know him?”
Sage hissed but stopped herself. “He’s one of Finn’s brothers.”
“So I’m taking it as he’s Finn’s Elijah. That just leaves this mysterious Niklaus as the only person I haven’t met either in person or in my dreams.”
Sage nodded but whatever she would have said was lost when a larger explosion rocked the house that Sage was in. “Look, I have to make sure your father’s okay but talk to Finn. And if you can…” Ianthe nodded kindly, she knew that Sage missed Finn so much and she vowed to get them some time alone in their dreams more until she could reunite them. Ianthe was worried that none of the vampires would remember what happened in the dreams when they wake up but pushed it aside for now.
Finn was sitting away from his siblings as he watched them contemplatively. It had been around twenty years since he had been pulled into Astrid’s dreams for the first time and he had never been closer to them. A part of him felt guilty for pulling away from them, for turning a blind eye at the injustices their parents dealt to Niklaus, perhaps had he been there he would have been able to stop his little brother’s descent into the man that he had turned out to be. He had left the care of his younger siblings in the hands of Elijah who in turn relied on Niklaus to protect them.
He wasn’t blinded to the fact that he hadn’t been a good brother. As much as he loved them, he had been apathetic, the trauma of losing Freya had destroyed him. While he hated what he had become his continuing depression had led Niklaus to fear that he would take his own life and that had resulted in this prolonged stay in a coffin. Some questioning amongst his siblings had shown that they were only daggered whenever they became too rowdy and had caught their father’s attention. Niklaus for all of his faults and extreme ways was still trying to protect them, ever the defender. It should have never fallen to him or Elijah to care for them but it seemed that they were now stuck in the role of protector.
A part of Finn never confessed that a part of his self-loathing came from the fact that he was supposed to have been watching Henrik that night but hadn’t bothered to check on his baby brother. His brother’s death was tied to Astrid’s because he knew that when Astrid had come across Henrik she would have dragged him home. They were after all, on the path to their house. All the events that had led to their turning had stemmed from his apathy.
Freya had been horrified to learn about the monster their father had become. So far from the loving and gentle father that had doted on her. It had stoked more fire in her hatred against their mother, had she never been sold to their aunt then their father would never become the abusive man that took his anger out on an innocent child. But then Niklaus would have never been born, or would he have?
Had Niklaus been their brother in full then he wouldn’t have been a werewolf and their mother wouldn’t have bound him, Niklaus wouldn’t have lashed out and killed their mother and they wouldn’t have been forced to choose a side. Their father wouldn’t have even begun to hunt them and perhaps their father, who may have sensed that Niklaus was not biologically his, wouldn’t have taken his anger out on Niklaus. But that was too many what-ifs that would never be truths.
“So… guess what happened today!” Astrid said as she took a seat beside him.
Finn turned to her with a brow raised. “Let me guess… Sage’s protégé and his little gang pulled off another idiotic plan that got someone killed while they were able to escape relatively unscathed?”
His friend laughed. “No, I met one of your brothers.”
Finn sat up straight his head turning to her, eyes sharp. Could it be Niklaus? Could he finally be free? He tamped down his excitement. “Oh? Which one?”
“Elijah ‘Smith’. He’s a bit formal and stiff.” She said and he exhaled slowly as she stared at him. Well, wherever Elijah is, Niklaus will always be close by. It was one of those universal facts, they had their own orbit, one not unlike what he shared with Freya or what Kol and Rebekah had. Henrik was often with their mother, his youth leaving him with their mother or to follow along with whatever siblings would allow him to that day. Though in his last few days it hadn’t been with either Elijah or Niklaus. The two had been busy with their lady loves, Elijah with his courtship with Tatia and Niklaus with his engagement to Astrid.
“That sounds a lot like him.” Finn said with a smile as he thought of his brother.
“That’s actually how Sage described him when we spoke earlier.”
Finn waited for her to continue, eager to know more about his beloved. He knew that Rebekah and Sage would never be close or true friends but they had come to some sort of détente. She was now part of their ‘inner circle’, Rebekah had grudgingly accepted her as his one. So now anyone who wasn’t them was the enemy.
“She wants to see you. I can arrange something for you tomorrow. The moment she falls asleep she’ll be here.”
Finn gave her a warm smile. It had been too long since his beloved. “And Elijah?”
“Harder. I don’t have a true tie to him. I don’t know if I would be able to bring him here. Unless, of course, he gets daggered.” She told him.
“Then Sage will be more than enough.” He told her before she disappeared from his view.
Niklaus grinned as he knocked at the door of the Gilbert residence. This body was proving to be more useful than he’d originally thought. Jenna Sommers allowed him in, though with reluctance and quite a bit of a frosty reception as she led him to the kitchen.
It was the scrapbook on the counter that had him freezing. The woman in the picture was someone he knew quite well. Was it possible that his Astrid had a doppelganger? No, not just Astrid. Asbjorn had one as well. They were in the pictures with Jenna Sommers, one of the pictures had a birthday cake in front of Astrid and Asbjorn. Happy Birthday, Ianthe and Neville! It read.
A few flips showed the pictures changing from the British scenery to some of the more familiar surroundings of Mystic Falls. Perhaps it would be best not to use Jenna Sommers in his plans then. He didn’t know if he could bear the thought of Astrid hating him, even if it was just a doppelganger. Still, it would be okay to scare them though. He smiled through the awkward lunch, a few prompting questions had him learning more about this doppelganger named Ianthe.
“What is this about, Rick?” Jenna demanded and he launched into a mocking spiel about his vampiric obsession before being slammed into the wall by Stefan.
The moment they were gone he straightened his clothes and grabbed the scrapbook, eyes hungrily pursuing the image of this doppelganger. Her face was much the same though the scar on her forehead gave a marked difference. His eyes narrowed as he took in the image of the child often with Ianthe and he hissed at the thought of another man having her. She might not have been the original Astrid but she was still his. Though perhaps it would be best if he learned to accept the child. He could forgive her this indiscretion since she knew him not and to be lenient and allow the boy to live would show that he was merciful and might endear him to her all the quicker.
Well, it was time to return to his minions. He tucked the scrapbook into his arms and closed the door behind him. He smiled as he saw the pieces fall into place. Soon, his curse would be broken, he would have his army, his siblings would be reunited with him, and he would have his girl. A millennia later and his life was finally coming together. Just a bit more.