Family Visit

[21/01/2030, Salvatore Boarding School's Gates]

Outside the school, the sound of a motor could be heard as a metal silver colored car approached the school's gate, stopping a few centimeters before it.

Slowly, the car's window rolled down as a womanly hand stretched out from inside the car and pressed the gate's intercom button.

"Salvatore Boarding School, good morning. How can I help you?"

"Good morning. I am here to meet my niece to deliver a few items to her." The woman inside the car answered.

"May you inform me your niece's name and yours as well?"

"Hope Mikaelson. I am her aunt Freya Mikaelson." The woman answered.

[Scene Break]

Knock! Knock!

"You can come in, Hope." John replied as he finished tying his shoes' knots. Already knowing who was beyond the door.

With a turn of the door's handle, the door opened, revealing the gracious figure of Hope on the other side before entering the room.

"The books I asked for you have arrived. My aunt Freya brought them." She replied, a certain look on her face.

"I thought you said she would ask someone to deliver."

"I thought the same, but she decided to come herself." Hope replied. "She wants to meet you."

Coincidentally, the boy finished preparing for the school day right when he listened to that information. "I didn't even take you on a date and I am already meeting your family. Are you sure we are not skipping a few steps?"

"Be serious, okay?" She said, putting up a serious expression. "She probably decided to come the moment I said to her I wanted books about nature for a friend. She is just…"

"Concerned?" He cut her off.

"Yes." She nodded.

"She thinks I am using you?" John asked.

Hope shook her head. "It's not that. She trusts me to not make the same mistake" She replied, approaching him with a distressed expression, revealing her inner emotions. "She probably thinks I am putting you in the conversation and using you. She is worried that I may try something that would go against my father's wish, as what she probably thought I would do was probably something against nature." Her words were basically whispered, not said with the clarity her words are normally spoken.

Realization hit John when he listened to the girl, knowing what she meant by that.

And although John's curiosity seemed to ignite and wished to ask her if she had ever thought of the possibility, he decided to put it aside and just do what he needed.

"Well, if your family wants to meet, it would be rude of me to say no." John replied, putting away the topic of resurrecting Klaus. "Let's go? I am also quite curious to see the other firstborn Mikaelson witch." He said, walking by her side as they left the room.

"Let me guess, you want to compare the amount of magic in each of us?" Hope said.

"You know me well." John nodded. "But not only that. Just curious to meet a thousand-year-old witch."

"Considering she slept for one century before having the opportunity to live one year, she is closer to us than my other uncles." Hope reminded him of the fact she was almost a sleeping beauty for all her life.

"Don't take away the fact she lived at least one year in each different century of the last millennium. She has knowledge of past costumes and daily lives. That's something normal people can't buy nowadays." John explained his interest in Freya besides her magical prowess.

Besides his desire for answers about the supernatural, his thirst for knowledge also expanded in many directions. And for John, the knowledge of someone who personally lived at ancient times was equal to gold.

"Any advice before I meet her?" John asked as they went down the stairs.

"Just be yourself. Among my family, she is probably the most easy-going." She replied.

"Okay." He nodded.

As the pair went down the stairs, passing through the students who were preparing for the day, they finally arrived at the school's main hall.

On a corner of the hall, sitting down by a table with a few books stacked up over it, looking at the teenagers going around, was one of the most beautiful women John had ever seen.

Serene gray green eyes and high cheekbones, features that seemed to come from a noble bloodline. Dirty blond hair and thin lips, long legs crossed over one another clad in a black leather jeans and her slim figure covered by a black coat to survive the winter.

"She is even prettier than in the photograph." John commented. "It seems extreme beauty is really a trait of the Mikaelsons."

"Stop it." Hope said, grabbing his hand lightly and dragging him with her.

Freya, from the seat, noticed the movement and smiled when seeing her niece. "Hello, beautiful. How are you?"

"I am good, aunt Freya." Hope answered, letting go of John's hand and approaching the woman who rose from her seat to hug her niece. "I thought you would send someone." She asked after breaking the hug.

"I decided to come by myself after thinking a little more. It was a good opportunity to see you."

Listening to her heartbeats, John knew she meant what she said, but it seemed there was something more in there.

"And you must be the boy, I presume." Freya looked up at John, her eyes narrowed when looking at him. "You certainly are… different." She said, noticing the flow of magic around the boy behaving differently than how it is around other beings.

Straightening up his posture, John introduced himself. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Mikaelson. My name is John Neo." He stretched out his hand, which the witch took hold of as she watched him bend down a little to kiss the back of her hand.

And sincerely, John did it with a little bit of nervousness as he didn't know if this was the best action to do. He certainly couldn't go and give her a hug as a greeting, since this is the first time he is meeting her, but he certainly couldn't just shake her hand. So, he decided to put a little bit of his shyness away and do what the Mikaelsons are known for, noble greetings.

After retreating her hand, Freya looked at the boy and then at her niece, her lips curving just a little bit upwards. "I like him." She said.

To that, Hope just stayed silent as John smiled a little.

"My niece here told me you were after books about nature. Care to tell me why?" She asked as she retreated to the chair, crossing her legs.

"Curiosity." John replied. "Ever since I learned of the supernatural world and its inhabitants, some things caught my interest as they apparently didn't have an answer. And, well, from one question to another, it seems the answers I look for lead to nature."

"And what are these questions?"

"It started with a conversation I had with Hope about how Magic seemed too easy. Almost as if it could understand us. And Magic is part of Nature, so from there my curiosity started to increase. Then, I had another question. Why it's not common for witches to absorb magic, having basically to rely on their own power. According to Mr. Williams, the school's librarian, many witch communities believe that this is a limit Nature put onto them for already giving them the blessing of magic. This conversation with him led to another topic I talked with Hope previously." John looked at the girl by his side before turning his eyes back to Freya. "The possibility of Nature being alive, conscious."

John's words brought a reaction out of Freya, adjusting herself on the chair as her curiosity was picked.

"Continue." She said.

"When I brought this topic up, your niece said that such a possibility is non-existent, and gave me a good reason as to why: Loopholes." John said. "If Nature was truly alive and conscious, it wouldn't permit beings and things who defy its laws to exist. It would use all its power to destroy them."

Listening to John's explanation, Freya looked away for a moment, focusing on her niece, noticing a small change in her expression.

"You are not wrong. But you seem to have thought of something to continue pursuing this answer. Tell me, what is it?" Freya asked.

"Nature, as basically every living being, has an instinct or a natural programming of it, something that notices the changes in the world who defied its laws and from there try to return balance, through adding weakness to new species or other ways. However, to ultimately restore balance, wouldn't it be better to close these loopholes, not leaving the opportunity to exploit them again, or even completely destroying those who went against it?" John let his words sink in, letting Freya and Hope understand what he was saying.

"What did you come up with?" Freya asked.

"Two possible paths." John said. "First, Nature is restricted. In this case, it doesn't matter if it's just an instinct of the world or real conscious, it is restricted and can't do what it wishes. After all, we know just how powerful it is, and if it was free as well, vampires, hybrids, siphoners, Hope and probably even me wouldn't exist in this world. It also opens the possibility that it can't go against us directly, probably because of its own rules. So, it tries to restore balance through other ways." He briefly explained his first theory, proceeding to the next. "The second is that Nature is free and almighty as we think, thus the existence of loopholes are purposeful, not accidental, left there for Nature for reasons that only it knows." John finished his explanation. "And before you ask why it's left there, I don't know. All of this is just a theory, an idea of mine. Something that I wish to see if I am right or wrong." He added.

After listening to the boy's words, Freya stayed in silence for some time, going through his words as they caught her interest.

Nature is conscious and loopholes are not accidental, but have some meaning? She thought, looking at her niece when thinking over it.

Freya noticed one more change in her niece, but this time, one more contemplative and meaningful. Result of the words from the boy saying that loopholes are not accidental. Something that Hope oftenly thought about herself. A cosmic mistake that shouldn't exist.

However, his words changed her perspective on it. It seemed to ease her a little, thinking that maybe, somewhere out there, she has a purpose besides being the hope of her family.

"Very well, you got my interest." After the silence, Freya replied. "I will lend you our family's books. I hope you don't make bad use of it."

Easier than I imagined. John thought, nodding his head. "You don't need to worry, Mrs. Mikaelson."

"Call me Freya. If Hope sees you as a friend, then you are a friend of the Mikaelson's. Not to mention, 'Mrs. Mikaelson' is also my sister and also my wife and my brother Kol's wife." She said, although it sounded more like an order.

Thinking over it, John nodded. "Okay, Freya."

She was satisfied with that. "Perfect. Now, accompany me to the gate. I need to go back home. Keelin is alone with Nik." She got up from her seat, walking away.

"How about Vincent?" Hope asked.

"He has been dealing with a few things for the last few days." She said, not explaining much.

John didn't pry as it wasn't his place, he just walked behind them as he held the books in his hands.

Outside the school's building, Freya approached her car in the park. When just beside it, she turned around and looked at John.

"John, could you give me a few moments with Hope? I want to talk about a few things with my niece." She asked.

"No problem." John nodded, walking away to the school's door and shutting down most of his hearing and looking down so as not to unconsciously read their lips.

[Freya's Pov]

"Do you trust him?" I asked my niece as I kept my eyes on the boy who sat down on the stairs in the school's entrance, his head down as he stared at the floor.

Hope looked over her shoulder, taking a look at the boy before focusing on me again. "He is a good friend." She said, "He is looking down so he can't even guess what we are talking about." Unconsciously, my niece was smiling when she turned at me after looking at him.

"You like him, don't you?" I asked straightforwardly. Fortunately, my niece wasn't a prude who got shy about something like that.

"I don't know." She basically whispered. "I… am attracted to him. He is calm, passionate about what he likes, friendly and kind. But… I don't know if I like him." She said between pauses with a low gaze.

It's obvious she still blames herself for what happened to Hayley and her father. It's already impressive she had developed a friendship with this boy considering what her principal told me about her staying away from everyone.

However, her apprehension must be also what I think.

"You are actually thinking if you should like him or not, instead of if you like him, correct?" I asked, receiving only silence as an answer.

"Did you tell him about our family?" I asked again. Normally, for those who know who the Mikaelsons are and learn we are them, they normally try to stay away from us. It's not strange considering our history.

And my niece answered me this time. "He read the book describing all the history of vampires."

"Then he knows about our family's bad history." I said. "And as much as I hate to say it, I know our family's history normally scares people away."

My niece just nodded and sarcastically chuckled.

"But, if he is still with you after knowing it, that just means two things." I said, pausing. "One, he already knew beforehand about us and will try to use you to harm our family." Even though I hate to say it to her, I have to make it clear for Hope that she is possibly being used.

But to my surprise, my niece came to his defense. "Dr. Saltzman already ran a Q&A with him. If he came to the school for me, then he would already know about me, and Dr. Saltzman said the truth crystal glowed blue when he said he meant no harm for anyone in the school, so he means no harm to me." She said, telling me something I didn't know, but which comforted me.

I know how hard it is to bypass the crystal's lie detection. After all, I myself inspected that object on a visit I have paid to the school.

"And if he meant to harm us, I don't think he would need to be subtle when he is so powerful." She said, which made my eyes look back at him. "He must be quite talented at magic indeed to be able to draw power from nature at such a rate all this time, but that's not enough to threaten our family." I said.

"Then you will be surprised when I tell you he has enhanced strength, speed, senses and much more to him than the eye can see." Hope said, drawing a surprised look from me.

"Doesn't that mean he heard all of our conversation?" I looked at him.

"Nah, I am sure he lowered down his hearing capability so he can't hear us. He has this great sense of respecting others' privacy due to the nature of his other abilities." She explained, bringing out more of my curiosity about the boy.

"What other abilities?" I asked.

"Well, one of them is the ability to manipulate all energies. And this enables him to manipulate one of the four fundamental forces of the universe." She said some concepts I was not too familiar with. Which she noticed as she proceeded to explain what the forces are and what he can do thanks to his ability to manipulate energy.

And frankly, this revelation was the biggest surprise I ever had in months.

This ability didn't even enter under the scope of magic, but of having the ability to manipulate nature directly without the need of magic.

If magic suddenly stopped existing in the world, with vampires dying and werewolves and witches losing their advantages, he would be the ultimate being in the world.

"Did you confirm if he was really able to do that?"

"I saw with my own eyes as electricity surged from his hand, but no magic was used." She said.

And if Hope didn't feel a drop of magic in a spell, there isn't much I can say as her ability to sense magic is greater than mine and anyone I know.

"Well, if he really is all of that, I also think he doesn't need to be subtle about harming us." I said, lying my arms on the car's ceiling. "Then, his approach to you can only mean one thing in my opinion, he likes you."

"As a friend?" She said, a little insecure about it. Which honestly made me smile as it was rare to see my niece like that nowadays.

"Maybe, or something more. In the end, it's your choice to permit him to enter your heart or not." I said, opening my car's door as my niece seemed to get a little cringed by my words. I prefer her that way than the gloomy version of her after Nik's death. "John!" I shouted at the boy, which didn't seem to faze him. It seemed he really was not listening to our conversation.

To bring his attention, I cast a spell to blow his hair, which brought his attention to me.

Pointing at my ears, he understood what I meant. "Yes?" He asked.

"Take care of my niece, okay? I am counting on you." I said.

"Just get in the car." Hope rushed me, pushing me inside, but not fast enough before I could hear the boy's reply.

"I promise to make her happy!" He shouted.

"You both are insufferable." She scowled, closing my door as I started the car's engine.

Lowering the window, I talk to her. "I am going home now. If you need anything, you can just call. You know we are here for you."

"Okay." She nodded. "How about uncle Kol and Rebekah? How are they?" She asked, and it pained me to see her expression not the happiest when mentioning her other uncles. Ever since Nik's death, they hadn't met much personally.

"They are good. Kol is still traveling with Davina around the world. They should be in Europe right now. As for Rebeak and Marcel, well, I try not to get too much information about their honeymoon." I said, doing my best to ensure she didn't notice I wasn't telling her the entire truth.

It pained me even more when I just saw her nodding and taking a deep breath, the thought of her uncles not coming to see her probably going through her mind and more probably making her a little resentful.

"Come here." I said, hugging her through the door's window open space before giving a kiss to her cheek. "We love you. Always remember that." I said. "I am going now, keep me up."

After getting a nod from her, I started to drive away from the school's park. "See you soon." I waved at her, which she waved back. Even the boy was waving me goodbye from the stairs as he held the books close to him. I like him.

When I was a good distance away from the school, I grabbed my phone and connected it to the car before a group call was connected.

"How was it?" A female voice was asked.

"As far as I can tell, he means no harm to her and it seems our niece is also not trying to resurrect our dead brother." I explained briefly what I learned today. "Actually, our good niece is behaving as a normal girl should. Trying to figure out her feelings for a boy who also seems to like her."

"Is he good enough for her?" A male voice asked.

"Really, Kol?" Rebekah asked.

"Without Nik and Elijah here, it's my responsibility to ensure our dear niece doesn't fall for a weak boy who can't stand to her side when things happen." Kol explained.

"He is… different. Better to sit down for what I am about to say." I said, a little expectation about my siblings' reaction to what I just learned.

At the same time as I remembered the boy, it reminded me of the words he said to me about loopholes and how they are not without purpose.

Thanks, John. For not letting my niece think less of her. I thought, smiling as I explained everything I learned today to both of my brothers.

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I am back! After a busy week, I could finally finish editing everything and deliver this chapter. If you already read the story before and noticed a few different things regarding the plot, I recommend you to re-read the other chapters as I edited them and adjusted a few things according to things I presented in the prologue. Well, that's it for today. Thanks everyone who was patient and please, if possible, support the history with power stones and comment if you find any grammatical mistake or a plothole I missed. Well, that's it for now. Thanks for your support! - Author