Black Magic ▹ The Vampire Diaries [1]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE BEGINNING OF THE END

"How you choose to feel today should not be dependent on others."

(   note i changed the mikaelsons' faceclaims, and since it was a whole entire race change, a new backstory was needed — hence the language discussion during this chapter. fair warning. if you missed it, see chapter titled "extended cast" and you'll understand.   )

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     A few days later, Henrik found himself walking through the Grill with an old and heavy grimoire clutched in his arms. He'd been doing magic nonstop since he had gotten it back, spending more time alone in the woods than he did with real people, but that was besides the point. It was because of that excitement that he had found a spell tucked away in Esther's old grimoire, the page folded down three or four times and stuck between the earliest pages. Henrik had always assumed it was a bookmark before, but when he came across it the night before, something in him had told him to pick it up. He was glad that he did.

"I think I found a solution to your little wolf problem," Henrik announced as soon as he had found Ethan. They were supposed to be enjoying breakfast together—Ethan had wanted a very normal and very human date after processing and accepting the fact that he was now a triggered werewolf—but Henrik couldn't wait until later. The full moon was only in a week and a half. They didn't have time to pretend to be human, and it wasn't like Henrik could act like he was human anymore anyway. He had his magic back. He was never going to act human again.

"Henrik..." Ethan looked startled when Henrik put the grimoire on top of the table, glancing around to see if anyone was looking. Henrik was sure the patrons of the restaurant had seen far worse before. Ethan himself looked sick to his stomach, deep circles under his eyes and his face pale. Henrik doubted he had gotten any sleep the past few days. Ethan heaved a heavy sigh when Henrik flipped the grimoire open. "Henrik, I know you're happy about your magic being back—and I'm happy for you, don't get me wrong—but I kind of wanted a day without anything supernatural." Henrik glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow even as he plucked the folded-up spell from the pages and closed the grimoire again. He hid the book itself beside him on the booth cushion, then proceeded to unfold the spell itself.

The ink was faded and the page was brittle, but Henrik could still understand the basic concept. He would have to fill in a few blanks, put his own spin on the spell, but it would do. It was perfect, actually.

"The next full moon is in a week and a half," Henrik announced, watching as Ethan blanched at the news. He must not have looked up when the next full moon was, which was honestly pretty foolish of him. Henrik could understand why he hadn't, though. It was a lot to process, and there was no possible way for him to avoid it save for dying. Even hybrids had to go through their very first turn. It was a curse for a reason. "I'm sorry, Ethan, but pretending like either of us is human isn't an option anymore. I can give you breakfast, but I can't give you the entire day. I need to work on this." Ethan studied him for a moment, then sighed and propped his elbows on the table.

"Okay, I'll bite. What is that?" he asked, nodding to the paper. Henrik grinned and put it flat on the table, smoothing it out gently. It was in an ancient script—though the chant for the spell itself was in Latin—so Henrik understood why Ethan just frowned down at it in confusion. Both of the languages on the paper were dead by that point. The only thing Ethan could even properly understand was the drawing of a ring on the righthand corner of the paper. That was what Henrik tapped his finger against now.