Chapter Forty-Seven

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Alaric is lying on the couch, still dead. Daphne stands close by watching over him. The hybrid Tony is still tied up and unconscious on the floor behind her. She's both waiting for Alaric and plucking up the courage to do what is needed. She loves her family, truly, really loves them, but the concept of using an unforgivable curse, the thought of doing it. Jeremy stands at the back of the couch, looking down on Alaric. Worried about him. The front door then opens as Damon and Elena enter the house. Damon moves towards Daphne before he realises that they're kind of fighting. He stops himself and she glances at him. The two of them share a look. She understands. She's pushed him away, she can't blame him for keeping his distance. It's what she wanted anyway. Space. Distance. She just didn't expect to hate it. This is what she needs. For people to stay away from her. Yet she doesn't like being alone. She doesn't like being away from him.

"How is he?"

"He's dead, but he had his ring. Klaus's hybrid hit him" Daphne motions behind her at the hybrid on the floor. Damon moves to deal with him but Daphne shakes her head. "No" She stops Damon who gives her a look. "I have other plans for him..." He raises an eyebrow at her.

"Jeremy, why aren't you wearing vervain?" Elena asks their brother. "Where is your bracelet?" Jeremy looks down at his wrist, at his now bare wrist. He frowns.

"I don't know" He whispers. Daphne cocks her head.

"It was Tyler" She offers and narrows her eyes a little. "Least your mind is free of compulsion now"

"Klaus is trying to send us a message" Damon points out. "He wants us to find Stefan who stole his coffins full of his dead family members"

"Coffins?" Daphne asks as she turns to him.

"Yep. So all we have to do is find four coffins and voilà. No one else on your family's Christmas list needs to die"

"Wait- that's your big plan?" Jeremy asks. "To steal back four dead originals so this evil hybrid doesn't kill me and everyone else we know?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, we could leave," Jeremy tells his sisters. "Let's just get the hell outta here! Pack our bags and go!"

"We're not going anywhere" Daphne argues. "This is our home" Jeremy looks down. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you" She then looks at Elena. "To either of you" Damon clears his throat. Daphne turns to him. "You are old enough and strong enough to look after yourself"

"I'm just saying, would have been nice to be included there, Red" He teases, she fights a smirk because it's really hard for her not to be drawn in by the way he is with her. Damon sees it though. That twitch of her lips and cheek. Whatever is going on, he doesn't think it's actually about them sleeping together. He thinks it's about something else.

"Jeremy, get me a chair," Daphne asks of him, Jeremy nods and disappears into the kitchen.

"What are you going to do?" Elena inquires.

"Cast a spell on the hybrid" Daphne answers. "To send a message right back at Klaus" Elena frowns at Daphne who worries with her wand.

"Daph, why do you look so nervous?" Elena asks softly. "It's just a spell, right?"

"A spell I have only ever done in practise, at school, for my Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, a spell that is....really illegal" She clutches to her wand. "Like...locked up in wizard prison for the rest of my life illegal"

"What?" Elena asks and moves to her. "Daph..." Jeremy returns and sets the chair down near Daphne. Daphne holds out her hand, concentrating. She lifts up Tony the Hybrid and drops him into the chair with her telekinesis. "If this is going to get you into so much trouble"

"Only if I get caught" Daphne argues and moves towards the hybrid, Elena shoots Damon with a pleading look. Daphne might listen to him but he doesn't know about that. Not with what's going on with them. But Elena needs him to try. She's already lost so much family and she can't lose anymore. He sighs and then moves to Daphne's side.

"Maybe Elena is right," He tells her, she gives him a weird look. "Getting rid of Klaus is not worth you going to wizard prison" He points out.

"Yes," Daphne argues. "Yes, it is" The two of them share a look. "Saving my family is more important than my freedom" She turns to the hybrid and Elena shakes her head. Wanting to argue here. Daphne takes a deep breath. "Rennervate" She casts and the hybrid gasps as he wakes up and then glares at her, snarling slightly. Damon moves to pull her away but her bindings on the hybrid hold. "You're not getting out of those ropes unless I want you to," Daphne tells Tony. "You're going to deliver a message to Klaus"

"No, I'm not" The hybrid counters, looking at her without a worry in the world. She crouches in front of him.

"You don't have a choice" She counters and holds her wand out towards his head, she takes a deep breath. "Imperio" The hybrid's eyes milk over and all the muscles in his face just relax. "Recite the alphabet backwards" She needs to check that the spell is working. 

"Zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba" Tony recites, perfectly. Daphne lets out a relieved breath. 

"Mind control?" Jeremy asks. Daphne hums and nods.

"Now I can see why this spell is illegal" Elena comments. "Daph, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah" Daphne whispers. "Klaus needs to know that he can't fuck with us anymore..."

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