(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daphne lays on her stomach on the floor of her bedroom, her legs swinging behind and above her. Headphones covering her ears as she listens to music. Pad leans against her thigh as Daphne read through a few magical books. She's trying to find a spell or a potion that will help with Stefan. There has to be something in some book she has. She can't just wait on getting word back from Hermione. She's really hoping she's going to get permission to look at those books. She feels that if there is a spell or whatever to help, it's going to be one of the naughty, evil books. Of course, it is. Elena stands in the doorway, pulling her jacket on. She watches Daphne who doesn't appear to have noticed her. So engrossed in her book.

"Daph?" Elena asks, Daphne hums and lifts her eyes from her book.

"Oh....going somewhere nice?" Daphne asks, noting Elena's state of dress.

"First day back at school," Elena tells Daphne who nods a little before she then smirks. Amused. Now she doesn't have to worry about it, she can mock them for still having to go.

"I am so glad that's over for me" She teases and turns back to her book. Elena smiles and shakes her head. She knows how happy Daphne is to no longer have to go all the way across the ocean for school. Whilst she loved being there, she hates leaving her home and her family.

"What about you?" Elena asks. "What are you going to do today?" Daphne shrugs.

"Oooo nothing" She answers. "I have nothing to do and nowhere to go" She really doesn't. She has no plans. No job. No school. No friends. Not really. She was never here enough to make them and keep them. She had a couple of really close ones at Hogwarts, but not in the same way that Elena has Caroline and Bonnie. And yes, Daphne thinks of them as her friends but she's not as close as them. She shrugs and lets out a breath. "So that's just what I am going to do today" She closes her book. "Absolutely nothing" She sets the book down and picks up Pad.

"We can meet for dinner later if you want" Elena offers. "It's been a while since it's just been me and you"

"Sure" Daphne assures her. They've both had a tough time of it. With Klaus. And Katherine. And Stefan. They could do with some sister time together. Some food. A laugh. Normal stuff. A break from the supernatural crap in their lives.

.........

Later, Damon leans in the doorway, watching Daphne. She and Pad are laying on the floor still, only they're playing cards together. It's one of the most amusing things Damon has ever seen. This human witch girl is playing cards with whatever the hell a niffler is.

"This looks like fun" Damon teases, Daphne smirks and nods.

"It is" She comments without looking up. He raises an eyebrow and she sighs. "Fine...I'm bored" She sets down the cards and looks at Damon. "I thought it would be great, having the house to myself, no school, no nothing....and I am going out of my mind" She turns to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "Everything at school was laid out" She explains. "Get up. Breakfast. Classes. Lunch. Classes. Dinner. Homework. Bed.....now I don't know what to do with myself...."

"Thought you were looking into a way to help Stefan" He points out, she hums.

"Ran out of books" She mumbles and sets her arm over her eyes. "Which is a big deal...I have a shit ton of books" He smirks and sits on the floor with her.

"Well, we could do something" He offers, she lowers her arm to look at him with a questioning look.

"What?" She asks. "Why would you want to?"

"Let's see" He leans back against her bed. "Hang out with you or go home and deal with blonde Klaus" She frowns at him. "Klaus' sister moved in" He grumbles.

"And you let her?" She asks, he snorts and gives her a look.

"She's an original" He points out. "Not that keen on dying today" He nudges her leg with his shoe. She hums a little. "She's stranded" He adds. "Apparently Klaus left her in the dust after I name-dropped Mikael"

"Where are we on that?" She asks. "Anything from Katherine?"

"Nope" He pops the p and lets out a breath. To be honest, he expected nothing less. He'll be surprised if she comes through. They are going to have to come up with something else. That's a guaranteed. "You're kind of fun you know..." He offers, she gives him a look. "Hexing aside" He teases, she smirks. "Though watching you do it to someone else is a hell of a lot more fun than experiencing it first hand" She chuckles and nods. She can understand that. It's always more fun watching it happen to other people. "So question" He starts, laying on the floor next to her. "Why a dog?" She looks at him.

"We don't get to choose" She admits, he raises an eyebrow. "It's supposed to be like our spirit animal or something...."

"And yours is a German Shepard?"

"Belgian" She corrects. "It's a Belgian Shepard..." He shrugs a little. He doesn't know what the difference is. Dog is a dog at the end of the day. Damon frowns. There is something happening next to him, something rummaging in his pocket. He looks down to see Pad's back legs wiggling away as he tries to dive into Damon's pocket.

"Hey!" Damon scolds pulling Pad away from his pocket. "Control your beast, Red" He teases, holding out Pad who has Damon's phone in his grasp. "Give me that" Damon reaches for the phone as Daphne takes Pad from him with a stern chuckle. She's trying to be mad at him but she always finds it difficult.

"You wanna wear the hat of shame?" Daphne asks, Pad shakes his head as she puts him into his cage, locking the little gate as he settles on his bed with his faux gold coins. Damon shifts closer to Daphne.

"Do tell" Damon comments with a smirk. "What is the hat of shame?" Daphne pulls open a drawer and takes out a tiny wizard's hat, just big enough to fit on Pad's head. "Oh, look at that" Damon mumbles with a snort. She really does have a dunce hat for her niffler. He takes it from her, she goes to argue but honestly, it's not that big of a deal. It's tiny but he manages to balance it on his head. She pulls her wand out of her sleeve and he narrows his eyes a little when she goes to point it at him. "Whoa" He warns, holding out a finger to stop her. She lowers her arm and rolls her eyes.

"Jeez, don't be a baby" She counters. "Trust me" She holds out her wand again, this time touching it to the hat. Damon closes his eyes and then lets out a breath as he waits. Choosing to trust her. "Engorgio" She casts and the hat swells to fit Damon's head. He raises an eyebrow at turns to her mirror to find that the words 'I'm a fucking idiot' are written across the hat. He snorts and nods.

"Fair enough" He comments and looks at Daphne who smirks. "I take it Pad earns this a lot?"

"Oh yeah," She answers and holds out her hand for the hat. Damon gives her a pout back and then shakes his head.

"I might keep it" He shrugs a little. "When will I get the chance to wear a wizard hat again?" He teases. She steps closer to him, reaches up for it and he smirks, leaning back from her grasp.

"Seriously, Vampire-Boy?!" She scolds a little, but she's not truly angry or upset. It's just a dumb hat after all. It's light-hearted as she tries to nab the hat back, but she tumbles into him, tripping over one of the many books on the floor. Damon grabs her waist to stop them from going over. They're practically pressed up against one another now. She lets out a breath as she slowly takes the hat from his head. She is very much aware of how close the two of them are standing. His breath fans over her cheek and she closes her eyes. It's not that she doesn't find him attractive. It is very clear that she does. Anyone would find him attractive. He's ridiculously hot. And she does feel things. Tingly things around him. Her stomach gets all knotty and she gets all flustered inside her head. And it's not like she's a blushing virgin. She went to boarding school in the middle of nowhere with other horny teenagers. What else were they supposed to get up to? But this is different. This is adult stuff. This isn't some school flirtation in the dark, hiding from professors. This is different. It feels different. He looks down at her. His hand burning away at her back. She clears her throat and pulls back, turning her wand around in her hand as she looks down at the hat, tapping the end of the wand to it. "Reducio" She casts and the hat shrinks back to its normal smaller size. She returns it to the drawer, keeps her eyes away from Damon who watches her, something in his gaze too.