12 years later
"Good morning, Stefan," Harriet entered the kitchen, greeting the vampire who was drinking a cup of coffee. "I have a question. What should I call you? Uncle or cousin? Since you're going to my school, I need to know."
"Let's say I'm your cousin, but I prefer you to just call me Stefan" The Salvatore replied with a shrug
"Okay. We have to go now. Will you take me?"
"Let 's go."
"Bye, Dad!" Harriet shouted so her father could hear.
"Goodbye, sweetie. Take care!"
Harriet and Stefan left, and thanks to Stefan's vampire speed, they arrived at the school in a couple of minutes, where they separated. Stefan went to enroll and Harriet went to her locker.
"Harriet" she heard someone call her and turned to see who it was.
"Caroline" she greeted her blonde friend.
"I just talked to Elena. I hope she feels better. What if you talk to her? I think you understand her better, your mother also died."
"She died when I was 2 years old. Elena and I are just classmates we are not very close. And I already talked to her on the day of the funeral."
"You're right. Okay, bye."
⚜️
"Will you accompany me to the cemetery? I want to visit my mother" Harriet asked her uncle and he nodded.
This time, they didn't use Stefan's vampire speed so they walked to the cemetery while chatting a bit and the girl teased the vampire since he hadn't taken his eyes off Elena Gilbert all day.
Finally, when they arrived at the cemetery, Harriet approached her mother's grave.
"Hi, Mom"
The girl changed the old flowers for some fresh ones she had bought on the way.
Harriet spoke a little to her mother while Stefan waited seated nearby until a mist began to come out, leaving the Salvatores confused.
"Are you almost done?" the vampire asked the girl.
"Just give me a moment to say goodbye."
"Okay, I think I heard someone. I'll go check if everything's okay" Harriet nodded and Stefan left with vampire speed.
Shortly after, Harriet walked away from her mother's grave to look for Stefan until she saw him in the distance talking to the eldest of the Gilbert siblings, so she approached them.
"We can go now" she reported to Stefan when she arrived next to him "Oh, Elena, I see you've already met my cousin."
"Are you cousins?" The Gilbert asked, pointing to them.
"Yes, he moved in with my father and me recently."
They fell silent until Stefan put on a confused face and asked Elena something.
"Did you hurt yourself?"
"I don't know" Elena approached a stone and lifted her leg, pulling up her pants to reveal a small cut with a bit of blood coming out. "Oh, look at this. Is it very bad? Hey, are you okay?" She asked when she saw Stefan turn around with his back to her.
A few seconds later when the Gilbert wasn't paying attention, Stefan left leaving a confused Elena.
"He's fine, he just doesn't like blood. It makes him nauseous and sometimes he faints. He didn't want to give you a bad impression."
"Oh, yes, of course, I understand."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Harriet left the cemetery and walked alone to her house. Upon arriving, she greeted her father with a kiss on the cheek and went to Stefan's room where he was drinking animal blood.
"You left me alone in the cemetery" she scolded him upon arriving.
"I'm sorry. If I stayed, I could have hurt Elena or you."
"It's okay" she sighed. "But you owe me one"
"I know" He smiled and she left the room to go to hers, which was quite close unlike her father's.
⚜️
Harriet was finishing removing her makeup when she heard a sound like glass breaking. She went to Stefan's room and saw that his window was broken, allowing her to hear something outside, so she went downstairs and out.
There she found Stefan fighting with a guy named Damon. A man slightly taller than Stefan with black hair and a black leather jacket.
"Oh, someone came out to see the show, Stefan" Damon said upon hearing Harriet leave the house.
"Leave her alone, Damon" Stefan ordered, but the dark-haired man didn't listen.
"I don't recognize you...wait, of course! You're Zach's daughter, right?" he asked and the girl nodded. "You probably don't remember me. The last time I saw you, you were 2 years old. You're... Harriet?" The girl nodded again. "Well, Harriet, I'm Damon, Stefan's older brother."
"I don't care, Damon. If you're Stefan's older brother, I imagine you're also a vampire, and if Stefan didn't talk about you, it was for a reason. I guess you're the one behind the attacks" she said referring to the last "animal" attacks in the town she had heard on the news all week
"You assume correctly, girl" Damon was going to approach Harriet, but Stefan stopped him.
"Tell me, after all these years, can't we just leave it in the past?" Stefan asked his brother
"I promised you an eternity of misery. I'm just keeping my word," Damon replied cynically
"I want you to stay away from Elena and Harriet" Stefan ordered
"And your ring?" Damon asked, changing the subject. "The sun will be up in a couple of hours, and poof, you'll be ashes. Don't worry, here it is" he returned Stefan's daylight ring to him, distracting him to throw it away and go for Harriet to lift her by the neck and strangle her, while she scratched his hands in an attempt to free herself. "You should know I'm stronger than you. You lost the fight when you stopped eating people. I wouldn't try it again," Damon said to his brother
"Just let her go" Stefan begged, and his older brother smiled.
"I think we woke up Zach" Damon let go of Harriet, letting her fall to the ground. "Goodbye, Zach!" he said when he saw the man come out.
Zach took his daughter, prepared tea for her, and then took her to sleep. When Harriet fell deeply asleep, her father went to talk to Stefan.
"He could have killed my daughter" the angry Salvatore spoke.
"I know, Zach. I'm so sorry" the vampire apologized.
"Do you feel sorry? Harriet is all I have. Promise me you'll take care of her, please" Zach asked worried
"I promise. I'll protect her with my life if it's necessary" Stefan replied.
"Thank you."
⚜️
Harriet was in the kitchen eating an apple. She was about to go to her room when she passed by the living room and saw Elena with someone.
"Elena. What a surprise...What are you doing here?" Harriet asked, the last part angry upon seeing who Elena's companion was.
"Don't be rude to our guest, Harriet" Damon said with a smile
"I'm not talking to her. I'm talking to you, idiot."
"Please be polite, we have guests. Come, join us" said the vampire
Harriet was about to decline Damon's invitation to stay but didn't want to leave Elena alone with him. She didn't trust him, so she decided to stay just to be sure he wasn't going to hurt the Gilbert.
"I understand my brother being in love" Damon commented while taking a glass of Bourbon "It's about time. I thought he wouldn't recover from the last one. It nearly destroyed him."
"The last one?" Elena questioned, interested
"Yes, Katherine, his girlfriend" the vampire replied, leaving Harriet deep in thought, remembering when Stefan had told her about her. "You guys haven't talked about exes yet, right?"
"No."
"Oops. Well, you probably will now, or maybe he didn't tell you so you wouldn't think you were just another fling. Those always end badly."
"You say that as if every relationship is doomed to fail."
"I'm a fatalist" he shrugged "Hello, Stefan," he greeted his brother as he entered the house
"Elena. I didn't know you were coming" Stefan said, not taking his eyes off his brother
"I know, I should have called, but..." Elena began, but Damon interrupted her
"Oh, don't be silly. Come by whenever you want, right, Stefan? I'm going to grab some family albums or home movies. But let me tell you, he wasn't always this good-looking."
"Don't believe him. Stefan's always been like that" the younger Salvatore said, trying to end the tension in the room, and Elena smiled.
"Thanks for coming to visit me, Elena. It was nice to see you" Stefan thanked her
"Yeah, I think I'll be going now. It was a real pleasure, Damon."
"I feel the same way, Elena," Damon kissed the girl's hand just to bother his brother a little more
"I'll walk you out" Harriet informed and followed the girl to the door
"They don't get along well, do they?" Elena questioned when they were outside the house
"Not really. Let's just say Damon doesn't get along very well with the family. He's the black sheep of the family" Harriet replied, and the brunette nodded before saying goodbye.
"Do you fear me so much that you called Stefan to come running?" the raven-haired man asked when the girl re-entered the house.
"I don't fear you, Damon. On the contrary, I pity you. Trying to repeat history with Stefan? You know, that thing where both of you like the same girl? A bit cliché, don't you think?"
"Look, kid, I didn't kill you when you were little, don't make me regret it" he threatened angrily as he approached the girl dangerously.
"Don't threaten me, Damon. Like I said, I'm not afraid of you" The girl responded facing the vampire.
⚜️
"Thanks for accompanying me" Stefan thanked Harriet, and she nodded.
Seconds later, the door of the Gilbert house was opened by a happy Elena, who invited them in. The Salvatores entered the house, greeted Bonnie, and soon the four of them sat down to eat in an uncomfortable silence.
"Did Tanner go overboard with you today?" Elena asked Stefan, referring to the coach, as Stefan had joined the football team.
"Well, I made the team, so I guess I did something right."
"Girls, you should've seen Stefan. Tyler sent him a ball, and..." Elena was saying when Bonnie interrupted her.
"Yeah, I heard."
"Why don't you tell Stefan and Harriet about your family?" proposed Gilbert to her friend
"Divorced, no mom, live with dad" the brunette shrugged.
"No. About witches" Stefan and Harriet looked at each other when they heard that. "She comes from a lineage of witches. It's so interesting."
"I wouldn't put it that way" Bonnie denied.
"Sounds interesting. Stefan and I are into history, especially if it's related to something supernatural or unexplainable" Harriet mentioned and Stefan followed
"I'm no expert, but I know there are stories of Celtic Druids who migrated here two centuries ago," the vampire remarked, observing Bennet.
"My family comes from Salem," Bonnie informed, piquing the Salvatores' interest.
"Really?" the vampire asked. "Salem witches?"
"Yes," Bonnie replied, causing Stefan and Harriet to become even more fascinated.
"Really? Why?" Bennet questioned them.
"The Salem witches are great examples of individualism and nonconformity" Stefan replied, making Bonnie smile.
"It's true" The girl agreed
"Who could it be?" Elena asked, confused when the doorbell rang.
Gilbert got up from the table and went to open the door, soon after Stefan also got up and quickly went to Elena, leaving Harriet and Bonnie alone at the table talking about Salem and the witches.
Shortly after they knew that the person who had knocked on the door was Damon with Caroline. Stefan tried to stop Damon from entering the Gilbert house but it was useless since Elena invited him in.
"I never thought they'd let you come in to play" Caroline commented to Stefan when they were all gathered in the living room. "Tyler will be furious. Good for you, keep moving forward."
"I always tell him. You have to live. You can't wait for life to come to you, you have to go after it" Damon remarked.
"Elena wasn't so lucky. It was because you didn't go to camp. How are you going to learn the routines?" Caroline asked talking about the cheerleader's group.
"I'll teach her" Bonnie offered
"Maybe I could put her in the back" the blonde thought aloud.
"Yes. You don't seem like a real cheerleader, Elena," Damon remarked, looking the teenager up and down.
"Because her parents died" Forbes replied. "She's going through an emo phase, but she used to be fun, and I say that with a lot of affection" she added, seeing Harriet and Bonnie looking at her warningly to stop her comments.
"Sorry, Elena. I know what it's like to lose both parents. I think Stefan and I have seen everyone we've loved die" the dark-haired Salvatore said.
"We shouldn't talk about that now, Damon" Stefan interrupted trying to stop Damon and his comments
"Right, Stef, you're right. The last thing I want to do is mention her" Damon remarked, but Harriet ordered him to be quiet and Damon only gave her a cynical smile.
After that uncomfortable conversation, Elena and Damon picked up the plates to take them to the sink, Bonnie went to the bathroom, Stefan and Caroline talked in the living room, and Harriet went to a corner to talk to her dad, who had called her to know how she was doing.
After the call, Harriet went back to the living room and saw how Damon tried to get rid of the blonde.
"What are you doing with Caroline?" Harriet asked Damon when he hypnotized her friend to go to the kitchen "If she is part of your stupid plan to hurt Stedan you better leave her alone or I swear I'll kill you, and I know how to do it, believe me."
"Remember that I am much faster and stronger than you, so don't make threats because I'll be the one to end up killing you."
"Harriet is right, Damon. They are people, not your puppets. They don't exist for your amusement or to feed on whenever you want" Stefan supported the girl.
"Of course they do. They'll do whatever I want."
"You've had your fun, used Caroline, got to me and Elena, congratulations. Now get out of here."
"It's not a problem because I was invited in, and I can come back tomorrow and the day after that. And I'll do whatever I want with your cheerleader."
"Leave them alone. Look, you can do whatever you want with Stefan or me but leave them alone. They don't have anything to do with the supernatural world. Let them have a normal life" Harriet intervened.
"They're not even your friends. Why do you care so much?"
"Caroline is my friend, and even though Bonnie and Elena are not, I've known them since I was a child, and I know how dangerous it can be to know about this world"