Warning: AU. Fem!Harry (which means Harry is a female in this story, so if you feel bothered by it; I suggest you leave now), MOD!Harry, OOC (it happens in this story). This chapter is the beta-ed version. Beta-ed by conquerorofheaven1, thank you so much for your help.

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Romance, Fantasy

Summary: AU. Some people call it fate, others call it destiny. But she is never one who believes in either fate or destiny. Having almost her entire life dictated by the prophecy, she wants to be the one who decide how her life will be this time around. At least, that was what she had decided when she chose to stay away from Great Britain. Everything had been going well for her until that night he stumbled on her. And now she finds herself entangled in a whole other mess. It all started when Hydrangea Peverell, who supposed to stay low in the muggle world, befriended the Original Hybrid named Niklaus Mikaelson. Klaus/Fem!Harry

Pairings: Klaus/Fem!Harry Potter

"..." for memories in Italic

'...' thought and dream in Italic

*...* for Parseltongue

And "..." present time

Dreams and Disasters

― The Girl Next Door ―

"Each meeting occurs at the precise moment for which it was meant. Usually, when it will have the greatest impact on our lives."
― Nadia Scrieva, Fathoms of Forgiveness

Emerald green eyes blinked slowly in the dark, a small sigh escaped her lips. She had tossed and turned to find a comfortable position so she could sleep. Yet, it seems like no matter what she did, it continued to elude her. Even when she closed her eyes, she couldn't get any sleep at all. She sighed heavily as her mind went back to the conversation she had with one Tom Marvolo Riddle.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat it again?"

Tom stared at the petite raven haired witch in front of him calmly and repeated himself. "I decided to take it. That chance of redemption that Death mentioned back then."

Emerald green eyes blinked as the raven haired witch nodded her head slowly, "I see. May I know when? I mean... how long do I have left until you..." She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. In the end, no matter how many times she told herself that he would leave her eventually; it was still difficult for her to completely accept it. No matter how she had thought that she was already completely over him, she still couldn't get used to the idea of being unable to see him ever again, even just in her dreams and in her mindscape.

"Hmm... it hasn't been decided yet. But when the time comes, you will know for sure." He hummed lightly, dark grey eyes locked with emerald green eyes.

"Oh. Alright," She replied quietly as she averted her eyes away from him. Somehow she couldn't see it, the understanding look in his eyes as he stared at her. He must know exactly what it was that she was feeling and she couldn't stand it. She didn't want him to see how he still had a tight hold over her even after all this time.

In the end, he said nothing to her as he left her with her own turmoil. As if knowing perfectly well, that she needed time to process all the things that he had just told her. She closed her eyes tiredly. It seemed like even in his death Tom Marvolo Riddle continued to remain someone who understood her perfectly. She turned her gaze towards the window.

It seemed like she had wasted her entire night tossing and turning on the bed without even catching any sleep. It was morning already. The sun was streaming through the window. In the end, she didn't get any sleep at all last night. Emerald green eyes blinked blearily at the sun, a soft yawn escaped her lips as she got up from the bed.

Stretching, Rhea looked down at herself and shook her head tiredly when she realized that in her daze from talking with Tom, she had forgotten to change into her pajamas and slept in yesterday's clothing. Which meant the clothes were all crumpled now. Sighing softly, she immediately walked toward the bathroom. Once she was inside the bathroom, she stripped down and discarded her clothes toward the basket in the corner before turning the shower on.

Once she was done with her morning routine, she walked out of her room and went to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast. She decided to make some pancakes for herself and a glass of orange juice. She was thinking of drinking a cup of tea but changed her mind in the last minute.

'Better drink it at Gloria's. I could use a cup of tea while hanging there anyway.'

She put both her used plate and glass into the sink and wandlessly spelled it clean before she grabbed her bag and Gloria's grimoire off from the table. She made sure to feed Bilbo and lock the door behind her before she walked toward Gloria's. She took her time to walk toward the bar leisurely, emerald green eyes looked around the bustling city quietly. She had been feeling on edge lately and it starting to drive her crazy.

She doesn't even know the reason for it. She had discussed it with Death and even with Gloria, but the former had been surprisingly tight-lipped, merely telling her that there were certain things that he couldn't disclose to her as to not change the flow of life, while the latter had tried to help her by scrying yet there was no definite outcome to explain Rhea's sudden unease.

All in all, she wasn't feeling quite good at the moment as she walked her way towards Gloria's. She raised an eyebrow in confusion at the sight of the usually locked front door of the bar being unlocked even though it was not business time yet. It was unlike her flamboyant soothsayer friend to leave it unlocked like that. Immediately the raven haired woman became fully alert as she walked inside the bar.

She called out for the white blonde haired witch while preparing herself in case she had to defend herself, only to find her voice trail off at the sight which greeted her. "Gloria, did you forgot to lock the front door? You aren't usually this forget―"

A familiar dark blond haired vampire with a familiar smirk greeted her blithely, "Look who is here... Never thought I would see you again so soon, love."

"Niklaus," emerald green eyes widened slightly at the familiar sight of the vampire. The raven haired woman rubbed her eyes lightly to make sure that she hadn't started hallucinating seeing her vampire friend. She had expected many things, from burglars to annoying vampires or werewolves. What she didn't expect was to see him there, but the familiar dark blond haired vampire was still there. In fact, his smirk seemed to get wider if possible as his blue green eyes gleamed with amusement at the look of disbelief on her face.

"You―... You're real," She added after a minute passed by and Klaus was still as tangible as ever.

The dark blond haired vampire chuckled at her words as he approached her and touched her cheek gently. "Well? Does it still feel as if I'm just a figment of your imagination, love?"

The petite raven haired woman moved her hand and pinched the vampire's hand which was still on her cheek causing Klaus to raise his eyebrow at her in amusement. "And why are you pinching myself instead of yourself, hm?"

"Because I'm not a masochist unlike what you think of me, Niklaus. Besides, it probably doesn't hurt you at all. The fact that you are as annoying as ever only proves to me that you are indeed real. Only the real you is as vexing as this." She answered calmly before she finally stopped pinching his hand.

"Charming as ever, aren't you?"

Shaking her head in fond exasperation, Rhea turned her attention away from the dark blond haired vampire to look for her white blonde haired friend. "Where's Gloria? Please tell me you didn't do anything to her because we are going to have problem if you did." Emerald green eyes glanced briefly at her vampire friend as she took notice of another man who was with Klaus. He was handsome, in a classical way, and athletic, with a brooding, mysterious and intense aura. He had a pale complexion, a broad forehead, strong bone structure (angular jawline), deep-set, forest green eyes, and a straight nose.

'No. Not a man but another vampire.' She could feel the difference between him and Klaus though. Somehow even though both of them were vampires, Klaus's aura and soul felt a lot different than the dark brown haired vampire beside him. 'How curious. I wonder why that is.'

"Oh? I didn't know that you were quite close as well with Gloria. When did this friendship between you two start?" He asked, smirking playfully and leaning far too close than what was appropriate toward Rhea, startling her from her own thoughts. The sound of a familiar voice stopped her from giving any replies to Klaus.

"Is that jealousy I heard? How rare," Gloria commented, tilting her head to the side lightly as she walked out from the back room.

Immediately, the three of them turned their attention toward the white blonde haired witch who was leaning against the railing slightly while staring at them in amusement. The dark blond haired vampire grinned at the familiar sight of the witch as he said, "So a hybrid walks into a bar, says to the bartender―..."

Gloria remarked as she stopped Klaus from telling his joke any further. "Stop. You may be invincible, but that doesn't make you funny." She turned her attention toward the dark brown haired vampire, "I remember you."

Forest green eyes gleamed with recognition at the sight of the white blonde haired witch, "Yeah. You're Gloria. Shouldn't you be..."

Gloria hummed in acknowledgement. Brown eyes gleamed with amusement at the clear confusion on the dark brown haired vampire's face on seeing her. "Old and dead? Now, if I die who's going to run this place, huh?"

"Me?" Rhea piped up, a playful grin on her face. Emerald green eyes gleamed with mirth as she stared at her friend teasingly.

Gloria asked, raising an eyebrow as she stared blankly at the petite raven haired woman, "You? Darling, I'd rather close this place than leave it in your hands. You'd probably burn this place down if I left it to you."

Rhea's lips curved into a slight pout as she replied. "How rude. I'm not going to burn down this place. You should have more faith in me."

"Oh, I have so much faith in you, and that's why I'm not going to leave this place in your hands if I can stop it." Gloria drawled.

"Gloria is a very powerful witch," Klaus commented lightly, a smirk crossed his face as blue green eyes stared at the witch.

"I can slow the aging down some. Herbs and spells. But don't worry, it'll catch up to me one day." Gloria explained, noticing the confused look on the dark brown haired vampire's face.

"You know, I don't know about all of you but I'm parched, I can do with some drinks. How about we have this conversation while drinking something?" Rhea suggested nonchalantly, grinning at the three of them.

Brown eyes turned to glance at the dark brown haired vampire beside Klaus nonchalantly as the dark blond haired vampire said lightly, "Stefan, why don't you go and fix us up a little something from behind the bar."

"Yeah, sure thing." The vampire called "Stefan" replied reluctantly as he walked toward the bar, leaving the three of them.

Klaus smiled playfully as he pulled out one of the empty chairs on his right. Rhea stared at the smiling vampire in exasperation as she shook her head at him before sitting on the offered chair. Gloria turned her brown eyes to stare at them as she observed. "Aren't you a gentleman? How rare."

"Indeed. It's such a rare occurrence for him to do something like this." Rhea commented with a shrug, "He probably wants something when he does something like this."

Klaus mocked gasped, blue green eyes stared at the petite raven haired woman in faux pain as he replied. "How cold of you, love. I thought you knew me better than to think of me like that."

"It's exactly because I know you better that I know that you have something that you want when you do little things like these." The petite raven haired woman corrected in a bored tone while the dark blond haired vampire took a seat on the chair beside her.

Klaus tilted his head to the side slightly, blue green eyes stared mischievously at the white blonde haired witch and commented, "You look ravishing, by the way."

Emerald green eyes stared at the flamboyant soothsayer blankly as if saying 'see, what I meant' before she rolled her eyes in exasperation at the vampire sitting beside her. Rhea immediately took the letter she had received yesterday out from her bag as she slowly unsealed the envelope, deciding that it was too early for her to handle Klaus's brand of flattery.

"Don't. I know why you're here. A hybrid out to make more hybrids? That kind of news travels," Gloria rebuffed him briskly.

"I need a cup of tea for this," Rhea sighed softly as she put down the unsealed envelope on the table before she stood up from her seat. "Anything that you want?" She looked at both of her friends inquisitively. Klaus shook his head lightly while Gloria merely waved her hand off at her in dismissal. Rhea shrugged her shoulder casually as she turned and walk towards the bar to make herself a cup of tea.

She smiled at the dark brown haired vampire behind the counter as she took one of the cups from the top of the shelves along with some tea bags before starting to make her own tea. A slightly larger hand than hers touched the pot as she started to boil the water. "Let me do it."

Rhea turned to stare at the dark brown haired vampire, a small smile crossed her face as she shook her head. "Nah, I can handle it. Speaking of it, I don't know your name yet."

"Stefan Salvatore," the dark brown haired vampire chuckled and offered his hand to her.

"Ah, I'm Hydrangea Peverell, pleased to meet you, Mr. Salvatore." She took his hand and shook it lightly while giving him a friendly smile. "So, may I ask you how come you ended up with Niklaus over there? As far as I remember, no one could stand being around him far too long aside from me. But I digress, even I have my moments of wanting to shut him up for good so many times."

"You wound me, love. I thought you liked my charming personality," Klaus commented as he heard the snippets of their conversation.

"Right. You are only charming when you are being your psychotic self, Niklaus. Also, heaven knows why I even stayed friends with you up until this long," Rhea drawled as she rolled her eyes at the dark blond haired vampire's comment.

"Because you secretly adore me and like to be around me?"

"Hardly. Keep dreaming about that. It's not working like that with me, Niklaus." She snorted in amusement as she turned her gaze back towards the dark brown haired vampire in the room. "So? How did you end up with that jerk over there?"

"He saved the life of my brother and I owe him for that," Stefan summarized his reason lightly as he took a bottle of whiskey and some glass from the shelves.

Rhea raised an eyebrow at Stefan's answer as she commented. "Oh? How nice of you Niklaus. I didn't know you would do something like that, how unlike you. You've surprised me."

"There are still many things you don't know about me, love. Isn't that why we've stayed friends up until now?" Klaus drawled, an amused smirk on his face as he stared at the petite raven haired woman behind the counter.

"Heh, you are right. Oh well, we have a lot of time to get know each other better. I'd rather take my time with it, don't want to get bored of you easily." She chuckled and shook her head at the dark blond haired vampire as she poured the hot water into her cup of tea before taking the cup of tea with her as she walked back towards where both Klaus and Gloria were. "Let's talk again later, Mr. Salvatore."

She put her cup of tea on the table lightly while sitting back on her chair beside Klaus. She took back the unsealed envelope that she had put on the table previously and took out the letter inside it. Rhea sipped her tea calmly, her eyes locked on the letter in her hand. Blue green eyes glanced at the letter in her hand curiously as Klaus leaned closer toward the petite woman from beside her. "Another letter from your godson?"

The petite raven haired woman hummed lightly as a reply before sipping her tea. Once she was done reading Teddy's letter, Rhea finally turned to face Klaus, observing the dark blond haired vampire beside her for a few seconds. Klaus kept his eyes on her face, waiting for her to say something. Finally a small grin crossed Rhea's lips as she commented, "It's unlike you to not say anything, Niklaus. I know you are itching to ask me things."

The raven haired woman placed the letter aside before asking, "So, what is it?"

"What makes you think that I have things that I want to ask to you?" Klaus replied with a grin, blue green eyes gleamed with amusement.

"You are being uncharacteristically quiet for someone who hasn't seen me for a while. Usually you will be all over me in a way. Whether it to annoy me or to tease me." Rhea listed casually before asking, "Now, what is it?"

"You are looking good, love. I take it that things have been going well for you?" He commented, sounding genuinely happy as he smiled at her. "Anyway, what brings you to Chicago? Last time I thought you were going to Norway after Italy."

"Eh, change of plans. I got interested in seeing the Windy City myself so, here I am." She shrugged casually, smiling cordially at him." And what about you? What brings you to Chicago, Niklaus? I thought you were busy trying to get back the life which had been stolen from you."

"Haven't you heard, love? I managed to break the curse now," he said proudly.

She gave him a soft smile at the news, her eyes gleamed with a gentleness as she stared at him. "Congratulations then. You must be really ecstatic now to finally be able to be who you are completely. But honestly, what brings you here?"

Forest green eyes watched the interaction between the two of them silently. To say that Stefan was baffled by the familiarity and easy banter between Klaus and the raven haired woman was an understatement. Especially after he had grown used to the other's callous way of interacting with people. He honestly didn't expect something like this when he agreed to come with the Original Hybrid.

To think that there was someone who could get all friendly with the dark blond haired Original without being threatened or maimed, it all felt surreal to him. Stefan honestly didn't know what to think regarding that. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes he probably would laughed at whoever it was that said someone like Klaus Mikaelson could be on friendly terms with someone without any hidden agendas.

"He is looking for me, sweetheart." Gloria, who had been silent and watching the two of them talk with each other, commented lightly.

"Oh?" Rhea raised her eyebrows as she asked.

"Remember what I told you back then? He and I know each other from way back and he is here to ask for my help or at least, that's what I guess he is doing now." The white blonde haired soothsayer explained.

"It must have slipped my mind. Though, I feel a bit betrayed. I thought we shared everything with each other." The emerald eyed beauty replied as she mocked gasped while staring at the other witch in the room.

"It's not my fault that you forgot about it. Besides, the topic of him never came into our conversations except for that one time." Gloria waved the petite raven haired woman's behavior off dismissively.

"I think I have mentioned him once in our conversations," Rhea grumbled good-naturedly.

"You mean when you asked me about the memorabilia that I kept?" The dark skinned witch asked.

Rhea hummed absentmindedly as she took a notebook out of her bag and started to write a reply for Teddy's letter in it. She was determined to send the reply for her godson's letter today since he needed her answer regarding whether or not she would be available to spend the summer with him. She had thought that it would be prudent for them to spend time together during summer after all, she really miss seeing Teddy in person. Once she was done writing her reply, she took an envelope out of her bag and put the letter inside it then sealed it before she turned to face the silent Klaus who had been watching her.

"So what business do you have with my very pleasant friend here, Niklaus? After all, you aren't the type of person who would just drop by to catch up with an old friend. I don't know about Mr. Salvatore though, so I really couldn't say."

Klaus raised an eyebrow at the sudden question and asked back, "And what about you, darling? What business you have in here?"

Rhea grinned and replied, "I'm asking first and nope, not going to answer that until you answer me."

Blue green eyes stared at the woman beside him in amusement before he relented and answered her. "Stubborn as always, eh? Well, to answer your question, I'm looking for information."

Rhea raised an eyebrow as she commented. "Information, huh? And this information has something to do with your so called problem like Gloria mentioned before?"

"Indeed. I tried to make another hybrid but so far it has been nothing but failure. That's why, I've come here to see my favorite witch." Klaus drawled, smirking at Gloria.

"So now, I'm your favorite witch, huh?" Gloria piped up after watching both Rhea and Klaus talk with each other.

"Now that's interesting. Tell me more about it?" Rhea said, an interested gleam in her eyes.

"Speaking of it, how was it?" Brown eyes looked inquiringly at the so called Mistress of Death.

Emerald green eyes lit up in realization as the petite woman immediately took the grimoire out of her bag. She handed the grimoire to the older woman across the table, smiling gratefully at her. "Thank you for lending it to me, Gloria. It was quite enlightening. Though just for your information, some of the things that were written in there are completely wrong. I have checked it with a source myself to make sure of it."

The older woman raised an eyebrow as she commented, "I will make sure to rewrite it then. I take it that you have marked down all the things that are completely different from your source in there?"

Rhea nodded her head in confirmation before taking another sip of her tea. Klaus stared at the petite raven haired woman before he turned his gaze at Gloria inquiringly. "You lent her your grimoire? How unusual."

"I asked it of her because it seems interesting. Besides, you know me, Niklaus. I'm always interested in those kind of things," Rhea smiled, emerald green eyes gleamed mischievously at the vampire.

"So, I take it that you understand the things that are written in there then?"

Rhea's lips curved into an amused smile as she replied, "I do. Some of it was written in Latin and I'm proficient in that."

"Right. How could I forget that? Your school indeed taught you to learn Latin despite how bizarre it is." He smiled teasingly at her which prompted her to roll her eyes at him in exasperation.

"You keep bringing that up even though I have told you that it all happened in the past. Anyway, gotta go now. I have to send this letter and I also have things to do." She huffed in annoyance at him before drinking the rest of her tea down and got up from her seat. "I will see you again later, Gloria."

The dark skinned woman nodded her head lightly as she waved her hand at the raven haired woman dismissively. "Sure."

"Not going to stay and catch up with me, love? I'm hurt, I thought you would at least miss me." Klaus drawled as he watched Rhea walked toward the door.

"I will see you again later, Niklaus. I have things to do now. Don't make any trouble for Gloria." She grinned at him before waving her hand off at him and walking out of the door.

"I don't know you two know each other." Blue green eyes turned to stare at the witch in front of him once Rhea was gone.

"Hmm, she is a lovely person, isn't she? Anyway, she came here not long after she moved into Chicago and has been coming here frequently since then. She is helpful as well, helping me with things around the bar for free. Says it takes her mind off of things," the dark skinned witch commented, a fond smile crossed her face at the thought of the petite raven haired woman.

"That sounds like her. So what am I doing wrong? I broke the curse." Klaus nodded his head before he looked seriously at the witch across him.

Stefan who had been staying silent while standing behind the counter immediately tried to eavesdrop on their conversation while trying to appear busy. After all, even though he didn't show it, he was concerned over the possibility of Klaus discovering the fact that Elena was still alive. It would be better if the hybrid remained oblivious over it. To think that Klaus went as far as to ask for a witch's help regarding his trouble with making more hybrids, it would be dangerous if he found out that Stefan had been lying to him all this time.

"Obviously, you did something wrong. Look, every spell has a loophole but a curse that old, we have to contact the witch who created it." Gloria explained patiently, brown eyes locked with the Original Hybrid.

"Well that would be the Original Witch and she is very dead," the dark blond haired vampire remarked calmly as he smirked at the dark skinned witch.

"I know. And for me to contact her, I need help. Bring me Rebekah,"

"Rebekah." He sighed as he looked around before blue green eyes looked back at the soothsayer, "Rebekah is a bit preoccupied."

"She has what I need. Bring her to me," the dark skinned witch replied back.

Stefan who had been looking at the shelves full with many kinds of alcohol bottle suddenly stopped at the sight of photos pinned up on the board beside the shelves. Forest green eyes stared at one particular photo as he took it off from the board. He couldn't believe it. There was no way. And yet no matter how much he blinked, the two men in the photo remained the same. It was him and Klaus Mikaelson. And from the look of it, it seemed like the two of them were close with each other.

Not knowing what to think regarding the photo, he glanced at the dark blond haired hybrid who was still sitting and talking with Gloria. "What is this?"

Both vampire and witch turned to look at him as Klaus smiled mockingly at him. "Well, I told you, Stefan." He stood up from his seat and walked toward the railings, "Chicago is a magical place."

"But this is me." Forest green eyes glanced back at the photo in his hands in disbelief before he turned his gaze back at the hybrid while showing the photo to him. "With you."

Emerald green eyes looked around the room quietly before she stared back at the female spirit in front of her. The female spirit in front of her was quite pretty with her short curly blonde hair and lime green eyes. She had seen the woman wandering around this particular neighborhood on one evening after she returned back from Gloria's. At first, she thought nothing much of it but then she realized that no one but her could see the woman. Eventually, she decided to approach the female spirit after seeing her staying around the same neighborhood again and again.

"Is this your room?" Rhea asked quietly, looking around the now empty room.

The female spirit who was called Blanchefleur nodded her head lightly before she moved her hand toward the window. Rhea walked toward the window and looked outside into the nearby park. She could see a man sitting on one of the benches in the park which directly showed the room she was in. The petite raven haired woman tilted her head slightly to the side before she turned her gaze back to the blonde haired woman beside her.

"Is he the fiancé that you told me about?"

The woman nodded in confirmation before she said softly, "Every day even after my death, he always comes to that park. But lately, I've noticed that he has been neglecting his health. Also, I'm afraid he has been quite suicidal lately. I wish I could at least talk to him so he doesn't feel so much pain like now."

The petite raven haired witch smiled in understanding at the female spirit though her emerald green eyes filled with a tinge of sadness in it. Rhea looked around the room one more time as she asked the woman lightly, "Is there anything in this room that you want me to give to him? You mentioned a gift when we talked yesterday."

The blonde haired woman turned her gaze toward the mahogany dresser in the corner of the room as she answered. "In the third drawer. There is a wrapped box in there, it should be in there since they haven't moved the dresser yet."

Rhea walked toward the dresser in the corner of the room and pulled open the third drawer as the blonde haired woman said, finding the wrapped box in there. "Is this it?"

"That was supposed to be my gift for him to celebrate our second anniversary but in the end, I couldn't even give it to him because of that accident. That's why, if possible, I want to be able to give that gift and talk with him for one last time.

"Shall we then?" The so called Mistress of Death closed the drawer gently as she took the box from it before smiling gently at the female spirit.

The two of them walked together toward the park where the man who was Blanchefleur's fiancé was. The petite raven haired woman glanced at the spirit beside her silently. The blonde haired woman was the first spirit that she had decided to help after she accepted her title as the Mistress of Death. And although she knew exactly what she had to do, that didn't stop her from feeling a bit nervous. Even so, she knew that this was the right thing to do.

'Because in the end, it's better to have no regrets at all when you die.'

When they got closer to the park, Rhea walked towards the short black haired man before she stopped right in front of him. The man was just sitting there, staring at the room which used to belong to his now deceased fiancée. It wasn't until Rhea blocked his view of the room did he finally looked up at her. The petite raven haired witch smiled faintly at him.

"Are you, Mr. Morgan?"

"Who are you?" The man asked as amber eyes looked confusedly at her.

"My name is Rhea. Your fiancée asked me to help her," she answered, a sad smile crossed her face before she took a seat beside him.

The man looked at her in suspicion, which was an understatement. After all, anyone would be suspicious if a stranger suddenly said things about knowing your recently deceased fiancée. Nonetheless, Rhea had promised the female spirit that she would help her. Therefore, the least she could do was to grant the blonde haired woman's last wish.

"I understand that you probably don't believe me or even feel upset at my audacity to bring up your fiancée but your fiancée has indeed asked for my help. Therefore, I'm here to help her." Rhea continued calmly as she stared solemnly at him before she focused a bit of her magic on the Resurrection Stone thus allowed the female spirit to be corporeal for a moment which allowed the man the man to see his fiancée. "So, please for one last time, listen to her."

Amber eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of his deceased fiancée before the black haired man moved his hand shakily to touch her. A bittersweet smile crossed the blonde haired woman's face as she greeted her fiancé softly. "You silly man. You have become thinner."

Rhea sighed softly as she leaned back against the bench. She was relieved that it was over at last. Even though she was quite confident with her skill and all, it was still pretty nerve-wrecking for her. After all, it was in a way her first time making a corporeal form for a spirit and then sending said spirit to cross over toward the so called crossroads or the train station so Death could decide what their next destination would be. And no matter how many times she had practiced doing it, practicing and doing so to help people are entirely different hence her nervousness regarding the entire matter.

The spirits that she usually practiced on were those who had moved on which Gloria had kindly summoned for her. And the vengeful spirits she had practiced on also were those who Death had deemed wouldn't be too dangerous for her. All in all, it was a whole new experience for her to handle a spirit without any intervention from either Death or Gloria. The petite raven haired woman closed her eyes as she enjoyed the gentle breeze against her body. She always enjoyed days like these, a peaceful slow day without any troubles occupying her mind. Though perhaps, she thought of that too soon as she felt the slight drop in temperature which told her of Death's appearance.

"You were doing it properly for your first time after your practice, Mistress." Somehow for unfathomable reasons to her, Death had decided to take an appearance of a tall, dark and good-looking gentleman today in contrary to the old man appearance that he had taken since Rhea's stay in Chicago.

"I guess. It felt different to do it while knowing it wasn't practice," she replied softly, emerald green eyes opened as she stared at the now empty park.

"Something is occupying your mind," Death remarked calmly.

"You know about it, don't you? I'm sure he had talked about it with you." The so called Mistress of Death turned her emerald green eyes toward her companion silently, knowing the other couldn't lie to her now that she had asked him directly.

"I do. But it's not my place to tell you. Every living being has their own will even in death, and although all of them are under my domain, the fact remains that they still have their own free will. What they do and things they have decided to do after their death, it is all entirely their own choices."

"I thought there was some kind of rules for them?"

"Indeed. There are certain rules that the dead are forbidden to break but aside from those rules, they are free to do what they want. In this case, Tom Marvolo Riddle's decision for redemption wasn't something that I could tell you unless you asked it from me. It's not my place to tell you things because I shouldn't intervene with the flow of life. And Tom Marvolo Riddle's fate was always entwined tightly with yours even after his death, therefore it affects your flow of life in a way," Death explained.

"I see. Then I think, it's better if I don't know what kind of decision he took or what kind of redemption he will receive." Rhea sighed, a small bittersweet smile crossed her face at the thought of the defeated Dark Lord.

Death said nothing to his Mistress' statement, knowing that it was indeed the right decision to choose. As much as he disliked how much Tom Marvolo Riddle had hurt his Mistress even in his death, there was nothing he could do about it. Because in the end, Tom Marvolo Riddle had also been the one that his Mistress cherished so much. If only the former Dark Lord hadn't lost his way in his obsession of being powerful and changing the stagnant Magical Britain, things would be a lot different now.

In a way, Niklaus Mikaelson reminded Death of Tom Marvolo Riddle if somehow the former Dark Lord hadn't lost his sanity. Although whether or not the vampire would be good for Death's Mistress, he wasn't sure of it yet. For now, the dark blond haired vampire had proven himself by putting Death's Mistress' safety and happiness in a quite high regard. Nonetheless, it could change anytime. That's why, for now, he would quietly watch over the friendship between his Mistress and the hybrid.

She smiled at the lively bar as she walked inside and made her way to the bar where her friend was. Rhea slid into one of the stools in front of the bar, emerald green eyes locked with the exasperated brown eyes as the white blonde haired witch slid a glass of orange juice in front of her. "I thought you wouldn't return until tomorrow at least."

"Why do I feel like you were trying to dismiss me? Nah, I just don't feel like being alone at my place now." The petite raven haired woman answered, a faint smile crossed her face at the thought of being alone in her apartment with only Bilbo as her companion.

Brown eyes observed Rhea quietly before the older witch hummed nonchalantly as if she had found out whatever it was that she was looking for when she gazed at the Mistress of Death. The flamboyant soothsayer took a rag and started to wipe down the bar while Rhea sipped her juice slowly. For a moment, the two of them continued to do their own business in a comfortable atmosphere. Gloria was busy taking care of the customer's order while Rhea was lost in her own thoughts.

"May I ask you something?" Rhea asked when no customer approached her friend, startling the older witch a bit at the sudden question.

Gloria stopped wiping the glass and placed both the glass and the rag down as she gave her full attention to the petite woman in front of her. "What is it?"

"Have you ever wondered if things would be different for you if somehow you made a different decision? Like for example, if you decided that you'd rather close this bar and move out of Chicago?" The raven haired woman continued wistfully.

"I have. But at the end of the day, I think I would still choose the same option all over again if given the chance to do so. After all, it was what made me who I am now."

Rhea smiled sadly at that as she nodded her head in agreement at Gloria's answer. "Yeah, you are right. Speaking of it, you never told me how you met with Tom?"

"Ah, indeed. That was something unforgettable for sure. It was in 1964 if I'm not wrong; it was raining as well. That particular night, he came to the bar. I admit that he could be unbelievably charming if he wanted to, I probably would be charmed by him as well if I ever saw someone as charming as him for sure. Anyway, he came and asked for me. And the rest, well... you know how the rest went from there." A humorless smile graced Gloria's lips as she recounted her first meeting with Tom Marvolo Riddle.

The petite raven haired witch chuckled good-naturedly at the story she was given as she commented quietly, "You're right, he was really charming, wasn't he? I wish he took a different choice though back then."

Gloria stared at the emerald eyed woman across her silently. Even though Rhea never said it out loud to her, Gloria was aware that there was some history between her and Tom Marvolo Riddle. And whatever it was that the two of them shared with each other, it had affected the petite raven haired witch deeply. And something that left deep marks usually was something that has to do with feelings. Be it negative or positive feelings or even a bit of both.

Her musings regarding the relationship between the petite raven haired witch and Tom Marvolo Riddle had to be put into a halt though as both Klaus and Stefan walked back into the bar. Klaus immediately took a seat on the empty stool beside Rhea as Stefan took another beside Klaus. Gloria immediately took two bottles off of the shelves and served it to both vampires as she asked, "Where's Rebekah?"

"She'll be here. I can't just conjure her on demand," Klaus answered, blue green eyes looked pointedly at the witch. Gloria rolled her eyes in exasperation at the dark blond haired vampire before she moved to serve another customer while Klaus turned his attention toward the dark brown haired vampire beside him. "What's with you? I thought Chicago was your playground."

"So, this is why you asked me to be your wingman? Because you liked the way that I tortured innocent people?" Stefan turned, forest green eyes looked inquiringly at the hybrid.

"Well, that's certainly half of it." Klaus replied easily as he took a bottle of bourbon and two glasses.

"What's the other half?"

Klaus poured the bourbon into two glasses before offering one to Stefan. "The other half, Stefan, is that you used to want to be my wingman."

Stefan stared at the hybrid beside him silently, forest green eyes looked lost at the answer he was given. Blue green eyes looked solemnly at him as Klaus raised his glass to Stefan. "To friendship."

The dark brown haired vampire raised his own glass hesitantly before he clinked his glass with Klaus'. The two of them drank the bourbon quickly. Rhea who had been playing with the straw on her glass of orange juice glanced at the two of them when Stefan commented lightly while Klaus poured another bottle of bourbon into his own glass. "So, I'm confused. If we were such great friends, why do I only know you as the hybrid dick who sacrificed my girlfriend on an altar of fire? Huh?"

Rhea snorted at that while Klaus just grinned in amusement at the question. "Because he was Niklaus. What's more do you expect?" She piped up lightly, emerald green eyes stared at the dark brown haired vampire playfully.

Klaus turned and stared at her exasperatedly while Rhea just shrugged her shoulders casually at the look she was given. "What? That's true in a way."

"All good things must come to an end." He replied somberly as he recounted what had happened and how he ended up compelling Stefan to forget about him.

Forest green eyes stared at the hybrid beside him in disbelief after hearing Klaus' story. "You compelled me to forget."

"It was time for Rebekah and me to move on. Better to have a clean slate," Klaus said bitterly, a solemn look on his face as he remembered what had happened.

"But why? You shouldn't have had to cover your tracks..." Stefan insisted before his eyes lit up in realization as he continued, "Unless you were running from someone."

"Story time is over." Blue green eyes narrowed at Stefan as he said calmly though there was a hint of warning in his tone before he looked away from the dark brown haired vampire.

Stefan kept staring at the closed-off look on the hybrid's face when he felt someone's gaze on his back. Forest green eyes glanced behind his back casually to see Damon standing near the back door as his so called brother gestured for him to come outside. Glancing back at Klaus slowly, Stefan realized that Klaus hadn't noticed Damon yet. Not wanting the hybrid to notice Damon and for things to go downwards, Stefan quickly commented lightly. "I need another drink. A real one."

Klaus merely waved his hand dismissively at the dark brown haired vampire as Stefan immediately stood up from his stool and walked out of the bar. While the dark blond haired hybrid simply took the bottle of bourbon on Stefan's side and poured another drink into his glass. Rhea who had been watching him silently from beside him, sighed softly before she commented. "You don't like talking about it."

Blue green eyes turned to stare at her humorlessly as he drawled, "And whatever gives you that idea, sweetheart?"

"I know. Because I have seen that look on your face before when we talked about things better left unsaid." Rhea shrugged her shoulders casually as she took another sip of her orange juice before she continued, "Also, you only did what you had to do. You did it because you had to protect the safety of yourself and your sister. That was the only logical thing to do."

Klaus smirked at her remarks as he commented. "You are quite naive in your way of seeing things, darling. I don't think anyone sees it in the way you do. You are probably the only one who sees it in that way."

Rhea smiled faintly at his backhanded compliment before turning her gaze away from him. He thought that was the end of their conversation regarding that topic, then he heard her. It was very faint, but he heard her murmur quietly under her breath. "Then that just means they don't look closely enough. You are more than what you appeared to be, Niklaus. Despite what people like to think of you."

Blue green eyes stared at the petite woman beside him silently. An unreadable look crossed his face though it was gone quickly before Rhea could even contemplate it any further. What she had said had caught him off guard. Of all things for her to say, he honestly didn't expect her to say something like that. It was quite surprising how insightful the emerald green eyed woman could be regardless of how indifferent she appeared to be. Klaus shook his head slightly as he smirked at Rhea. It seemed like she just kept surprising him more and more with her words and behavior. 'An enigma indeed.'

"So, you haven't told me how your stay at Chicago has been so far, my little starry flowers?" Klaus asked after some moments, smiling pleasantly at her.

Emerald green eyes glanced at the hybrid briefly before she smiled wryly. "It has been enlightening, I think."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it has been quite comfortable as well, Niklaus. No need to worry about me." She added at the concerned look which filled his blue green eyes.

It warmed her heart to know that he cared enough about her to even bother asking something like that to her. After all, she knew that Klaus wasn't someone who liked to make small talk unless he liked that person. His way of being all thoughtful reminded her of Tom in a way, though the former Dark Lord was more awkward about it than Klaus. Or perhaps the two of them were the same in that regard. A small smile crossed her face at that thought though it was gone quickly as Rhea remembered the fact that she wouldn't be able to see Tom's awkward kindness anymore soon. The former Dark Lord had said he would leave anyway albeit the unspecified time of it.

Klaus hummed lightly at the answer he was given as he drank another glass of bourbon. The two of them continued to drink their own beverages as Rhea lost in her own turmoil when the hybrid suddenly commented. "For someone who told me not to worry, it seems to me that there is something that bothering you tonight, love."

"It's just your feelings." She replied calmly as she tried her hardest to avoid looking at his face lest her eyes betray her and show her emotions plainly.

Blue green eyes narrowed immediately as Klaus placed both his hands on her shoulder and turned her towards him. He placed his right hand on her chin gently and lifted her face so he could look at her. But before he could say anything to her, a good-looking man with a well built, toned physique took a seat on the stool which Stefan had just left. Rhea turned to stare at the man with dark brown hair, which looked almost black, which hung just over his ears and was styled in a casual disarray. He had a pair of striking, intense, light blue eyes with high cheek bones and a solid jaw line. He had a light complexion with olive undertones. The man seemed to be twenty four or twenty five years old. Nonetheless, Rhea immediately realized that he was also another vampire just like Stefan. In fact, he looked like someone who had a family relation with Stefan though unlike Stefan, who was more brooding; this vampire gave off a "bad boy" vibe.

He smiled seductively at her when he noticed her eyes on him. "Sorry, am I somehow disrupting something?"

"I see they've opened the doors to the riff-raff now," Klaus commented, his hand still holding Rhea's shoulder though he took his right hand off of her chin.

"Oh, honey, I've been called worse." The vampire replied calmly.

"You two know each other?" Rhea tilted her head to the side slightly, emerald green eyes stared at both vampires inquisitively.

"Just an acquaintance," the dark blond haired hybrid smiled at her though his blue green eyes looked at her warningly.

The petite raven haired woman huffed at the look she was given from Klaus as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You two seem like you know each other well. Though, how do you know each other then?"

"I don't think you would like to know about that in here, darling." Blue green eyes gleamed in warning once again at her.

"And why not?" Rhea asked back defiantly.

"Yeah, why don't you tell her how we know each other? Afraid that she will find out who you really are?" The dark brown haired vampire smirked playfully, his light blue eyes stared at Klaus mischievously.

Rhea turned her gaze toward the dark brown haired vampire as she drawled. "Trust me, I'm not someone who will get afraid over Niklaus' bad side that easily." Emerald green eyes turned back to her dark blond haired friend as she sighed softly, "Anyway, I think I'm going back now. It's quite late and I'm tired. I will go back first."

"Sure. Do be careful on your way back, love. I will see you again later," Klaus smiled teasingly at the petite woman.

Rhea scoffed lightly at the hybrid as she stood up from her stool and approached Gloria to bid her goodbye, leaving both Klaus and the dark brown haired vampire alone. Blue green eyes stared at Rhea until the raven haired woman walked out of the bar before he turned and poured another glass of bourbon.

Damon whistled lightly, light blue eyes stared at the petite raven haired woman's retreating back before he turned his gaze back at Klaus. "What a formidable woman. How did you two meet?"

"You don't give up, do you?" Klaus asked, ignoring Damon's question completely while his hand played with the small umbrella from one of the glasses.

"Give me my brother back. You'll never have to see me again," light blue eyes stared at the hybrid seriously, a mischievous smile crossed his face.

"Well, I am torn. You see, I promised Stefan I wouldn't let you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for? And clearly you want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so..." Klaus replied, a troubled look on his face though his blue green eyes looked anything but troubled.

"What can I say? I'm a thrill seeker." Damon smiled playfully. Klaus smiled at that before he turned quickly and grabbed Damon's neck in his grasp, startling the dark brown haired vampire. The dark blond haired hybrid had grabbed Damon by his throat and he was lifted from his feet.

Blue green eyes looked up at the struggling vampire in his grasp, before he pointed the sharp edge of the wooden umbrella toward Damon's throat. "Oh, dear, what was that? I'm a little boozy, so you'll forgive me if I miss your heart the first few tries."

"Hrngh.." Damon grunted in pain as Klaus stabbed him.

"No, that's not it. Hmm..." He took the decorative umbrella off before stabbed it again in another spot of Damon's body, smirking up at the dark brown haired vampire. "Ooh... almost."

"You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I'm so much more fun," Damon grunted, light blue eyes stared down at the hybrid who still grabbing his throat.

Klaus clicked his tongue in annoyance as he threw Damon toward one of the tables, breaking it in the process. "You won't be any fun after you're dead." He broke one of the table legs and aimed it toward Damon to stab him when suddenly the wooden stake in his hand got burned. Klaus quickly threw it away from his hand.

"Really?" The hybrid grumbled in annoyance as he glanced back at Gloria who had burned the wooden stake in his hand.

"Not in my bar. You take it outside," Gloria shook her head, brown eyes stared at both vampire firmly.

Klaus sighed softly before he pushed Damon down on the floor once again, blue green eyes locked with light blue eyes as the hybrid said calmly. "You don't have to negotiate for your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to go back."

When Rhea woke up this morning and decided to go to Gloria's to check up on her soothsayer friend she didn't expect to find her so called friend to be in this kind of situation at all. The raven haired woman walked to the bar, only to find said bar being all closed and empty of anyone aside from the white blonde haired witch with a strapped Stefan Salvatore on the table which was surrounded by dozens of lit candles. Just when Rhea was about to call out for Gloria, she noticed the curly brown haired vampire who was standing behind her white blonde haired friend while holding a dagger.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She smiled charmingly at the curly dark brown haired vampire who stood there with a dagger aimed towards Gloria's neck while she wandlessly and non-verbally stunned the vampire in her place though she purposely left the vampire the ability to speak. The sound of her voice startled all of them as Gloria turned around to stare at the curly dark brown haired vampire briefly before she moved her gaze towards Rhea.

"Rhea," Gloria greeted the petite raven haired witch in surprise.

Rhea raised an eyebrow and stared amusedly at the predicament she found the white blonde haired witch in. "I was just going to check on you to see what you are doing and look what I found when I came here. Seems like you need a little help there, Gloria."

"A human?" Brown eyes widened in surprise as the curly dark brown haired vampire stared at Rhea.

Rhea leaned against the wall behind her casually, her arms crossed as she drawled and smirked at the curly dark brown haired vampire. "Oh... I'm not going to be so sure about that quickly, Miss Petrova."

"You know of me," the curly dark brown haired vampire commented.

"Of course, I do. Niklaus likes to talk about you in his free time not to mention his obsession with torturing you and such. Honestly, you would think after living so long, he would stop holding grudges but what do I know? I can hold a grudge as well as him." She shrugged her shoulders casually before turning her gaze toward Gloria. "So, I take it that you have found out the reason for Niklaus' so called problem?"

"I do. I know where the necklace which I looked for is now. It seems the human doppelgänger has had it with her all this time and what do you know, she is still alive. That's why, Klaus' hybrids failed." Gloria answered calmly, brown eyes glanced back at the dark brown haired vampire still strapped on the table. "And apparently, our mutual friend here also knew about it all along."

The petite raven haired witch hummed lightly as she moved to approach them, "Hmm... and I take it Mr. Salvatore is trying to hide that fact from Niklaus in order to protect this doppelganger?"

"He loves her, so yes, he is protecting her from Klaus." Gloria drawled.

Rhea smiled bitterly at that, emerald green eyes gazing at the strapped vampire on the table. "Love. Such a powerful emotion, isn't it? And quite bothersome as well at times. You could do anything in the name of love and would probably judged as the right thing to do all in the name of love. But you see, Mr. Salvatore, as much as I respect you for being loyal to the one that you love, if there is one thing that I detest it is a liar and a traitor." Emerald green eyes hardened as she kept staring at Stefan Salvatore. "If you never intended to help Niklaus in the first place, you should have refused instead of going behind his back like this."

"You don't understand. I have to do what I have to do for my family," Stefan said weakly.

"And I respect you for that loyalty of yours. It still doesn't mean I can commend you for your choice in betraying Niklaus. Besides, you should know how he takes betrayal even from his own siblings." The petite raven haired woman smiled charmingly at him as she tilted her head to the side, "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help you in appeasing him regarding your betrayal, Mr. Salvatore. Not to mention, the fact that you and Miss Petrova here were just trying to hurt Gloria which is a big definite no in my book."

"You don't know what you are doing by doing this," Stefan hissed, forest green eyes stared as threateningly as he could while being strapped on the table at the petite woman.

"Oh? Am I?" She leaned down towards him, emerald green eyes narrowed threateningly at forest green eyes. "I do know what I'm doing here, Mr. Salvatore. Also, as much as a creep Niklaus is, he is still a friend of mine and I always protect my friends."

"Friends? With Klaus?" Katerina snorted at the petite raven haired woman's words.

"You can laugh it up, Miss Petrova. I know it sounds absurd. Trust me, even I still ask myself sometimes why I am even friends with such a jerk like him. But that's not the point here, you need to stay still while Gloria calls up Niklaus." Rhea turned to the flamboyant witch as she handed the other witch her smartphone.

The soothsayer wasted no time and immediately called the Original Hybrid and his sister over before she returned Rhea's phone back to her. "They will be here soon."

"Now that everything is already solved, how about you and me have a little chat, Miss Petrova?" Rhea smiled warmly at the still stunned curly brown haired vampire, though her emerald green eyes looked anything but warm.

The petite raven haired witch smiled and placed a hand on her chin, emerald green eyes gazing at the curly dark brown haired vampire who was sitting across of her while being tied to the chair. Brown eyes glared back at her defiantly before Rhea shook her head lightly as she commented. "You know, for someone who is intent on running away from Niklaus for five centuries, you sure are quite suicidal to stay around trailing after him like this. Shouldn't you, you know... be trying to just stay the hell away from him instead?"

"You don't know anything," Katerina sneered at the petite woman.

"You are right, I don't. But I do have my own share of always being on the run just like you, Miss Petrova. So now I will ask you, are you trailing after Niklaus in hopes of keeping tabs on him and finding out about his weakness?" Rhea asked casually as she leaned her body forward, emerald green eyes locked with brown eyes.

"I'm not going to answer that."

Rhea smiled kindly at Katerina's refusal to cooperate before her smile turned predatory. "You won't but I will find out regardless of whether you want to answer it or not." Brown eyes stared at the petite woman across her warily as the emerald green eyed witch said softly, "Legilimens."

Emerald green eyes watched each memory that belonged to one Katerina Petrova calmly. The petite raven haired woman saw flashes of Katerina's childhood memories and the emotions which accompanied most of them. Eventually, she stopped and focused on the curly dark brown haired vampire's thoughts and memories which have connections with Klaus. It lasted for some minutes before the Mistress of Death stopped going through Katerina's memories.

The curly dark brown haired vampire was breathing heavily, perspiration falling from her brows as she looked at Rhea in fear. The petite raven haired witch merely smiled at the tied vampire as she grasped her chin roughly, forcing Katerina to keep locking her eyes with Rhea's. "You sure are the vengeful type, aren't you? You know, for your own good, it's better if you stop trying to antagonize Niklaus. Who knows when he will finally snap and get rid of you. Nonetheless, now that I know what your reason for trailing after Niklaus is, let's keep this thing between the two of us only."

Rhea's lips curved to a small smile as she said, "Confundo."

Katerina shuddered, her brown eyes got a glazed look as Rhea said calmly to her while using the power of the Cloak on the curly dark brown haired vampire. "You won't remember about our conversation at all. You will think that Gloria realized you were trying to harm her and stunned you. She then tied you to the chair and asked for me to watch over you. But you won't remember anything about my magic and our conversation at all."

When the curly dark brown haired vampire finally got her senses back, brown eyes stared at the petite raven haired woman who was sitting across from her in suspicion. The first thing that she noticed was the fact that she was tied to the chair, something that was probably the work of the flamboyant witch. Katerina tried to struggle to get herself free to no avail before she turned her eyes back on the petite woman.

"You. Release me." Brown eyes locked with emerald green eyes as Katerina tried to compel the human to do what she wanted.

"I'm sorry, unfortunately, I can't do something like that." Rhea smiled calmly at the vampire across her before she stood up from her seat. "Now that you have regained your consciousness, I will tell Gloria about it."

The raven haired woman walked towards the white blonde haired witch who still kept her attention on the strapped Stefan Salvatore, leaving an upset Katerina alone. Gloria glanced at the raven haired witch briefly as she inquired, "So, I take it you are done with her?"

Rhea nodded her head as she answered, "I am. She is all yours. Now what's left is for me to handle Mr. Salvatore."

Gloria raised an eyebrow as she drawled. "He is all yours, darling. Take your time with him."

The petite raven haired woman's lips curved into a sadistic smirk as she replied, "Oh, I will. I'm going to enjoy it."

Right after Rhea was done making sure that Stefan Salvatore would be unable to say anything about her magic and her status as witch to anyone even to Klaus, both the hybrid and his sister walked briskly into the bar. Blue green eyes glared in anger at the sight which greeted him. Gloria who was putting Katerina in pain immediately stopped and stood up from her seat. Brown eyes stared at both Originals calmly while Rhea walked towards them.

"Rhea," Klaus greeted the raven haired woman, blue green eyes gleamed with confusion for a few seconds before it's gone.

"Niklaus. And Rebekah, I presume? A pleasure to know you." A smile made its way to Rhea's face at seeing the blonde haired woman beside her dark blond haired friend. The blonde haired vampire raised an eyebrow at that, though she said nothing to reply Rhea's greeting.

"You sure like to get involved in things like this don't you, love?" Klaus asked, staring at the petite woman.

"What can I say? Everything is always interesting around you. Besides, I'm not here for you. I found myself getting fond of my chats with Gloria which means it would be a shame if something happened to her." Rhea shrugged her shoulders casually. Emerald green eyes staring back at the hybrid, as she added, "So, I decided to check on her to make sure you didn't harm her or anything. There wouldn't be anyone who could save me from boredom if something happened to her."

"I feel so loved knowing how much you care for me, Rhea." Gloria deadpanned.

"You will get used to it, Gloria." The raven haired witch smiled mischievously at the flamboyant witch before she turned her gaze back to Klaus. "Anyway, it seems like Gloria has something to tell you if the fact that Mr. Salvatore is currently being strapped on the table is any indication to that."

"I have found where the necklace is and the person who is holding it," the flamboyant witch started calmly.

"Where is it?" Light blue eyes stared at the white blonde haired witch.

Gloria's lips curved into an amused smile as she explained. "The necklace that we are looking for is in the hands of the doppelgänger who is supposed to be dead. But trust me, she is very much alive. And apparently, it was Stefan who had given that necklace to her."

Blue green eyes lit up with unrestrained rage as the hybrid immediately stared at the strapped vampire on the table. "You lied to me. You have known all along and you lied to me about it."

"No. She is lying," Stefan denied weakly, trying to struggle against the binds which tied him to the table.

The dark blond haired hybrid approached him. Klaus grabbed Stefan's neck, leaning down at the dark brown haired vampire as he hissed, "I can see how much you want to protect Elena from me. Then let me tell you that you won't be able to protect her at all from me."

"You gave my necklace away to that bitch?!" Rebekah yelled in anger as she immediately approached Stefan and glared down at him harshly. Klaus immediately let go of his hold over the dark brown haired vampire, letting his sister rage on the strapped vampire. Rebekah gave Stefan no chance to reply as she quickly broke Stefan's neck.

"That went well," Rhea who had been silently watching the entire thing commented lightly before she turned her gaze to Klaus when she realized the hybrid's gaze on her. "I take it that this means you will return to Virginia again?"

"Of course. Now that I know what has been hindering my plan to make more hybrids, I have to go to the source and solve it." Blue green eyes turned towards the white blonde haired soothsayer as he asked, "Have you found out the solution for it anyway?"

Gloria stared blankly at him as she stated, "I haven't gotten that necklace in my grasp therefore, I couldn't tell you yet what has gone wrong aside from the fact that the doppelgänger is still alive."

Rhea took a seat on one of the chairs as she looked up at Klaus. "How's the process of making more hybrids anyway?"

"I need a werewolf to drink my blood then kill them. Afterwards, they will go into transition where they have to drink a human's blood to complete the process. But they kept dying even after the process is complete." Klaus answered.

"Hmm... if that is so, then why don't you try to make the werewolf drink the doppelgänger's blood? You did say that they need to drink human's blood to complete the transition, right? Well... the doppelgänger is human anyway so how about doing an experiment and make the werewolf drink her blood? From what you have told me about your mother back then, I feel like it's something that she would do to hinder you from making more hybrids." The petite raven haired woman hummed gently as she propped her chin on the palm of her right hand.

Her words startled all of them as they turned to stare at her in disbelief. Before Gloria commented slowly, "That might work somehow. It does sound like something that the Original Witch would do. You could try doing it. Though if it fails as well, then you can return back here with the necklace so I could ask the Original Witch about it directly."

Blue green eyes stared at Rhea who was smiling amicably at them. "You kept surprising me over and over again, love."

"What can I say? I'm full of surprises." She replied back playfully before she stood up and walked briskly towards the door. "Anyway, I have to go now. Do meet me in here tonight before you go back to Virginia, Niklaus. You should give me a proper goodbye at least."

Emerald green eyes stared at her cup of tea blankly while waiting for Klaus to come. She had been brooding over the imminent parting between her and Tom Marvolo Riddle since she found out about it. She sighed softly as she took another sip of her tea. Just when she thought that she had completely moved on from Tom Riddle, the git had to make her realize that she still cared about him in a way.

"Stupid Tom," grumbling quietly under her breath, she wasn't aware of the dark blond hybrid who had just slid into the stool beside her.

Blue green eyes turned at her in amusement as he asked, "And whatever did he do to you?"

Rhea glanced at him briefly as she commented. "You are here."

"So, mind telling me who this Tom is? You seem to be entirely annoyed at him for whatever reason." Klaus smirked, blue green eyes lit up in amusement.

"Just someone. Anyway, your sister didn't come along with you?" The petite raven haired witch answered quickly as she changed the subject subtlety.

"Rebekah is a bit preoccupied now. It seems like she has taken a liking on ensuring that Stefan gets as much pain as he can from her hands." The dark blond haired vampire drawled, realizing the sudden change of subject but allowing it.

He had known the petite woman enough to notice her uneasiness on discussing the current topic further. And he had learnt not to push her far too much as she had given him the same courtesy. If it was something that she wanted him to know, she would tell it to him by herself someday. No need to push her for it now.

"Huh... that must be a lot of pain then," Rhea's lips had curved into a slight grimace at that.

"Indeed." Klaus smirked.

"I take it that you will leave for Virginia tonight, then?" She asked nonchalantly.

Klaus raised an eyebrow at the question before answering. "Yes. The sooner I solve this the better."

"I guess that means it will be a while before we see each other again then." Rhea smiled wryly.

"Now, don't say that, love. Who knows, we might see each other again soon." Klaus chuckled before leaning towards Rhea, eyes shining with mischief.

She smiled at him softly, emerald green eyes gleamed with fondness at the dark blond haired hybrid beside her. "Perhaps, you are right. Nonetheless, do take care of yourself, Niklaus."

Klaus reached out to touch her cheek, his fingers tracing her jawline languidly as he replied to her softly. "Of course. No need to worry about me, love. I should say the same to you. Do try to stay out from troubles. You seem to always get involved in things that could endanger you. Try to be more cautious, will you? As much as I understand your interest in supernatural things, it's better if you don't get involved too much."

"Don't worry. I have been looking out for myself for a long time now. I will be fine, Niklaus." She reminded him with a wry smile.

"Well, no harm in reminding you about it."

Rhea shook her head fondly at him before she suddenly pulled him towards her and embraced him. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his chest as she whispered quietly, "Thank you. I guess I will miss having your arrogant self around for sure."

Klaus's lips curved into a small fond smile as he hugged her back. "Now, don't be shy, love. I know you will miss me the moment I walk out of the door."

Rhea scoffed and pulled away from him as she said in annoyed clip tone. "Don't get all arrogant about it now, Niklaus. It will probably take a while before I truly miss having you around."

Klaus chuckled and shook his head as he conceded. "Fine, if you say so. Though, do call me whenever you miss hearing my voice."

The petite raven haired woman rolled her eyes and drawled, "As if. Keep hoping for that and perhaps it will come true someday."

"I know you love me, darling. You just like to deny it." Klaus continued playfully before he caressed Rhea's cheeks and smiled softly as he whispered. "I'm sure we will meet again soon. After all, we seem to keep finding each other in unexpected places."

Rhea simply smiled and shook her head at his words. She knew it wouldn't be the last time she would meet with Klaus. After all, she had a really long time to live. Besides, tonight, she didn't want to think any further regarding Tom Marvolo Riddle's imminent parting with her. Tonight, she wanted to be able to just spend the time she had left with Klaus comfortably before he left again.

Authoress' Notes: First of all, I want to give my gratitude to my beta reader. Yes, you read it correctly. I have finally found the right beta reader to help me with my stories. Special thanks to conquerorofheaven1 for her help on proof reading this story for me. I really appreciate your work on making my story more readable than before.

So, here it is, the newest chapter. In the end, it took a while for me to finish it. It also ended up being longer than what I planned. Nonetheless, do tell me about what you think of this chapter. Anyway, someone told me in their review that the progress of this story is quite slow and that they found this story to be bland and boring. Now, I don't know if many of you think the same as well or not but the reason why the storyline of this story is kinda slow is because I don't want to rush things up. I just feel the story flow will be a bit unnatural if I do something like that hence why this story is progressing a bit slow in a way.

Nevertheless, if somehow the slow progress of this story bothers any of you, I suggest it's better if you stop reading it. The pace for this story will probably goes up in some latter chapters but for a while it will be slow like this. And I would also like to remind you that if somehow you find my story far too bland and boring then you are free to stop reading it. No one is forcing you to read my story if somehow you don't like it. Honestly, I do appreciate every reviews that I got since it means you care enough to write something to help me improving my writing. But I'd rather get a constructive criticism than reviews which only vilify my story.

To be honest, the reason why I even write this story is because I like this pairing and feel that it needs more love. Therefore, I write it entirely for myself because I enjoyed it. I'm not going to force any of you readers to stay and read it if somehow you don't like it or feel uncomfortable with it. So if somehow you don't like it, feel free to stop reading it. Anyway, I will start to reply your review through PM now though it probably will take a while before I could reply all your reviews. Since I have to send it one by one instead of replying all of it at once when I posted a new chapter like what I have done in previous chapters. It also means that I won't be able to reply to any guests' reviews, so please understand if somehow I don't give your review any response. I also decided that I'm not going to reply any reviews which only vilify my story without giving any constructive suggestions to help me on improving it at all.

I'm going to work on the update for Kaleidoscope now before I update another chapter for this story again. It will probably take a while as well since I'm currently addicted on watching Korean dramas and playing Mystic Messenger. Anyway, would you tell me what you think of this chapter? Do you like it? Hate it? Please tell me what do you think of it through your review. I would really love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

Thank you again for reading this story. Your review will make me really happy and help to motivate me to update faster. Lastly, I'm sorry for all the mistakes I have made but do remember that I'm still an amateur, so I need a long way to go. Have a nice day~

Next Chapter: Fragments of Memories

The dark haired man stared at the blonde haired witch who was sitting across from him calmly. He had noticed many people stared at them due to the blonde haired woman's eccentric choice of clothes but he wouldn't let such thing distract him. After all, there was only one reason for him to meet with the eccentric Ravenclaw like this. That's why, regardless how uncomfortable Luna Lovegood made him feel at times, he would endure it for the sake of attaining his goal.

"You must know where she is right now, don't you?" He started after some moments, blue eyes locked with protuberant grey eyes. "You know where Rhea is. Lovegood, I need to talk to her. Please tell me where she is."