CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
❝︎Croatoan❞︎

REGRET. She felt nothing but regret. Even though it's been a few days since the night of the decade dance, that guilt and regret was still bubbling in her stomach. Harper made her way through the halls of the school, arms crossed tightly over her chest. She had to talk to Charlie―︎ something that she's been avoiding. Making her way into the lobby, she came to a stop when someone came flying through the front doors, landing at her feet. Harper looked up, watching MG rush in, pushing the creature back causing Harper to spin out of the way. Lizzie came through the door, throwing her hand up and slamming the door behind her.

     She moved to where Lizzie was, turning her head when the girl placed a hand on her shoulder. Lizzie held up her free hand before yelling out a spell that would catch the creature on fire. MG turned to look at the blonde. "Lizzie, we have to trap it so that Malivore can't send another monster. Incinerating it kind of defeats the purpose?"

     "Okay, fine." Lizzie groaned, rolling her eyes. "Glacies corporis." Lizzie turned to look at Harper. "Thanks for letting me syphon you." Harper only nodded her head.

Her eyes moved around the room before she caught sight of Charlie hanging out with her friends. The blonde turned her head, meeting Harper's eyes. Charlie offered her a small smile, turning to her friends, saying a few words and then walking away. Harper met her half way, nerves all over the place. Charlie watched her with a amused smile, chuckling as she shook her head.

     "I already know what this is about." Charlie told her. Harper went to open her mouth but the girl stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It meant nothing to me as long as it meant nothing to you." Instantly Harper's shoulders relaxed. "But hey, you ever want to do that again, just say the word." She gave Harper a wink before turning and walking away. Harper stood there, eyes wide and cheeks blood red. Out of everything she had been expecting, that wasn't it.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

     "OKAY, SQUAD." Lizzie spoke, causing the group to all turn to look at her. Lizzie had quickly called a super squad meeting so now Harper was sitting on one of the bleachers inside of the gym, watching the blonde with a bored expression on her face. "We have a problem, and we're down a witch because Josie's in Richmond for Commonwealth Day. Which is bad for us, because―︎"

     "A croatoan came through the portal." Hope finished. "And it killed a councilman."

     "What the hell is a croatoan?" Kaleb frowned.

     "Hold up." Kym, Kaleb's sister, snapped her fingers, causing the group to turn and look at her. "The lost colony of Roanoke." The group all exchanged confused looks. "Seriously? None of you?"

     "I'll play." Landon shrugged. "Roanoke. It's one of the first English settlements in North America until it just vanished without a trace."

     "And the only thing left behind was a word craved on a tree: croatoan." Kym turned her head to see Kaleb looking at her with disbelief. "What? I'm a history nerd. Why else would I be here for Commonwealth Day?" 

     "Uh. . . Ignore her. Her visitation privileges are about to be provoked."

     "The monster is here, and it's after Landon, so we need to get him somewhere safe."

     Harper sighed. "What else is new."

     They all turned to look at her, and for a moment Kaleb seemed startled. He opened his mouth, pointing at her. "If I'm being completely honest, I forgot you were there." He turned back towards the matter. "Anyways, no offense, but why is some girl from Mystic Falls giving us orders?"

     "Oh, because she's a wolf."

     At the same time as Rafael, Lizzie said, "Because she's a witch."

     "Most importantly, she knows how to kill monsters." Landon added.

     "That's so cool." Kym shook her head.

     "Wait, guys." They turned to look at Rafael. "What about the zombie? I thought Malivore could only release one monster at a time."

     "Yeah. That's what we all thought." Hope sighed.

     Kaleb walked towards her. "How the hell do you know about Malivore?"

     Hope turned to look at Lizzie who quickly said, "Oh, I filled her in. Yeah, she. . . she took down the Oni, and she killed the Minotaur. Although that was actually really more me. Harper was there, she can vouch." They looked at Harper who shrugged.

     "Wait, wait, there was a Minotaur?" Landon said excitedly.

     Lizzie narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. Not everything's about you." Landon's face fell.

     Kaleb put a hand on Landon's shoulder. "All right. So, then, what's the plan Miss Were-Witch?"

     "The plan is that I will take Landon, put a barrier spell around him―︎"

     Lizzie quickly cut her off. "What she means is that I will babysit Landon while everyone else is at Commonwealth Day while Hope does her whole monster hunting deal."

     Landon stood up. "That is a great idea. And you know who should go with her? Rafael." Landon shoved the wolf forwards.

     "I can help with research." Kym tried.

     "Yeah, from the safety of your hotel room." Kaleb shot down.

     "Okay, super squad disassemble, or whatever." Hope interrupted.

     "Super squad." Kaleb put his hand in the middle but only Landon joined him. The vampire walked away in disappointment.

Harper didn't participate in this one, but she was told to be kept alert just in case they needed her for back up. Harper stood there for a moment, her worry eating at her. She opted not to participate but even so she was still worried about her friends who had put themselves in danger. After a moment, she decided to go search for Lizzie. on her way, a black wave of magic seemed to wash over her and suddenly she stopped, falling to her knees before passing out.

Memories of Hope suddenly started to flood her mind. She remembered becoming best friends with the girl, being rescued by her and Alaric, laughing together, crying together. Hope Mikaelson was Harper's best friend, the closest thing that she had had to a sister. And now she finally remembered her. She woke up with a gasp, eyes wide as she looked around herself. She forced herself to stand before quickly continuing her search for Lizzie and Hope.

When she couldn't find them, she gave up. Making her way into her room, Harper softly sighed before turning her head. On her dresser was the picture frame that she had put face down because it had hurt her to look at once upon a time. She had been looking at a stranger and was upset with herself that she couldn't remember who it was. Now, she reached over and set the frame back up, smiling gently when she saw the familiar photo of herself and Hope laughing.

     A knock came on her door. Harper turned her head before softly saying, "Come in."

     The door pushed open and there Hope stood. Harper quickly sat up. She pulled herself from the bed and the two stared at one another for a moment before running towards each other. Harper grabbed onto Hope and pulled her in for a hug. Hope held onto her tightly before she started to softly sob. "Everyone hates me."

     Harper shook her head. "I don't hate you." That was enough for Hope to sob even harder. Harper held onto her and closed her eyes, her shoulders relaxing at the thought of having her best friend in her life once again.