Henrik Niklaus Mikaelson: Reborn as Hope mikaelson's twin

by Acelaria

Summary:

What do you do when you're reborn as Hope Mikaelsons twin?
Change the story of course!
But what if the story isn't the same as you know? What if it's different from what you know?
Will Henrik succeed in keeping his family whole and alive, or will the promise of 'Always and forever' be shattered into pieces?

Chapter 1

CHARACTERS

Hope Andrea Mikaelson

"Don't you dare say I don't love my brother, for him I am willing to become a worse monster than my father" 

 

Henrik Niklaus Mikaelson

"I've been looking for my father since I was 7 years old, you can't expect me to give up now"

 

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jenna Saltzman

"Not all girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. I'm made of  sarcasm, wine, and everything fine"

 

Josette "Josie" Saltzman

"Even if I wake up tomorrow and find out everything I know has changed, I know I will still know Lizzie inside out. Do you know why? because she's my twin, my other half, and that's never going to change"

 

THE ORIGINALS CAST AS THEMSELVES 

 

TVD CAST AS THEMSELVES

 

Chapter 2: 1)"From a Cradle to a Grave"

1)"From a Cradle to a Grave" 

Death is supposed to be the end of the story, but for me, it was the beginning 

------------------------

Screaming

That's the first thing I hear as soon as I'm born for the second time. How do I know it's the second time? Easy, because I remember my first life. I also remember my death and the infinite darkness that followed, which I now know was my new mother's womb

The first thing I hear is a soft voice asking to hold her children. I was confused for a moment, wondering what "children" she was talking about, but confusion soon gave way to understanding when I and another child were placed in the woman's arms

Oh

It seems I have a twin

Then I looked at the woman holding us(my new mother) as much as I can with my baby sight. And came face to face with Phoebe Tonkin.                                                                                                        

She then tilted us to show us to someone. Someone who seemed to be stuck on the wall.Someone who seemed to look a lot like Joseph Morgan

All my doubts regarding the fact I was reborn in the TO universe as Hope Mikaelson's twin fled when a woman slit my new mother's throat and ordered the other women-no other witches to grab the children and follow her

I think I went into shock after that since everything after that was a bit blurry, but I do remember my new family rescuing me and hope, and my new mother pricking my finger with tears in her eyes 

When I come to, my new father is saying goodbye to us with tears in his eyes and handing us over to his sister, Rebekah, and getting in the car and driving away

"Well, my lovelies"Aunt Rebekah grins down at us, "ready to have fun with your Aunt Rebekah?"

 

Chapter 3: 2)"What's my name?"

2)"What's my name?"

It's been a month since we started staying with aunt Rebekah, and a month since the "incident"

The "incident", as I like to call it, was when I broke down crying during the drive to the safe house and didn't stop until I fell asleep due to exhaustion.

Being hit with memories of your past and death does induce hysterical crying in a person

Halfway through the drive, I came out of my shock, only for the realization that I was reborn in a fictional universe as a non-existent character to hit me like a ton of bricks

So yeah, I cried.

I cried for my past life. My past family, friends, and everything I lost

I cried for my new life. My new, broken family, for the fact that I will never have more friends than enemies, and, most importantly, I cried for everything I was in danger of losing. I and my sister would be orphaned and short an uncle in less than two decades if everything went according to the storyline.

I cried and I cried and I cried

After crying my heart out, I went straight to planning mode

At this point, it was a foregone conclusion that I would change the storyline. There was no other option, I had to change it, if not for me then for my sister. I had seen what became of her in the show, wracked with so much guilt and pain that she willingly threw herself into malivore

And I cannot allow that to happen. Hope was my twin, my other half, and my sister. I had spent 9 months in the womb with her. I would do anything to make her happy.

I was taken aback by my  fervor to protect my twin but chalked it up to being a werewolf

My aunt, bless her soul, tried her best to comfort me during my crying fest, even stopping the car and rocking me in her arms, to no avail.

I guess she chalked my crying to the fact we were diving away from my parents and assumed it upset me and I was showing my displeasure in the only way I was able to; through crying

It was also how I learned my new name when my aunt was trying to comfort me by babbling

Henrik Niklaus Mikaelson

My name is Henrik Niklaus MIkaelson

After the "incident", my aunt hovered over me, trying her best to keep me entertained, or to be precise, keep me distracted so I would not notice the absence of my parents. Sometimes she succeeded, sometimes she didn't. Most often she didn't though, since I wasn't actually a baby and, therefore did not find baby rhymes and games fun

Nonetheless, the fact she was trying so hard helped me see her as family and not as "the woman who takes care of me"

She played a big part in helping me accept my new reality and embracing the mikaelsons as family, and for that I loved her

 

 

Chapter 4: 3)"The Brothers That Care Forgot"

3)"The Brothers That Care Forgot"

"Good morning Hope, Henrik"Aunt Rebekah beamed down at us, "how about, after breakfast, we go to the park? Fresh air would do us a world of good"

we gurgled at her, which she took as yes, and changed our clothes as soon as she was done feeding us. With that, we were ready for our first outing

I remembered how this outing went though, from the show, so I knew we would be seeing our uncle Elijah very soon

I hadn't been idling these past few months either. I was practicing my magic, or at the least, trying to practice magic, since the most I could do right now was set things on fire. I figured that out when I set the blasted wooden knight on fire. Aunt Rebekah freaked, but was thankfully more concerned with our safety and let the knight burn.

No more wooden bullets capable of killing the originals, thank god.

I was also trying to "show" Aunt Rebekah the future events through magic, but that was proving to be incredibly hard. But I couldn't stop trying, not if I wanted my sister and my family happy, healthy and alive

The outing went exactly as it did in the TV show, and in just a few hours we were face-to-face with our uncle

I squealed when I looked at him, making him grin. Aunt Rebekah's stories made me feel like I knew them all, despite not spending more than a few hours with them, making me miss them madly

"Look at you, so big, so perfect," he cooed, "I can't imagine the joy of spending every day with them."

"I can"Aunt Rebekah replied cheekily, causing Uncle Elijah to laugh."It's quite lovely. It feels so human"

I tuned out the conversation, knowing how it went since I had watched it on TV, and only tuned back when I felt cool metal around my wrist. I looked for Aunt Rebekah, confused, and saw her tying a bracelet around hope's wrist. A very familiar bracelet. When I looked at my bracelet, which was tied by Uncle Elijah, I remembered why it seemed so familiar. It was the same bracelet that they had used in the show to bind hope's magic.

"Thank you, Elijah, for procuring the bracelets on such short notice," said my aunt, "I haven't had a good night's sleep since Henrik set that knight on fire, worried he might accidentally do it again and hurt himself or his sister"

"Of course," smiled Uncle Elijah, "anything for my niece and nephew"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation, realizing what just happened. I desperately reached out for my magic, but I felt........nothing

No, I thought desperately, nononononoo, this can't be happening. Without magic, I can't show them visions of the future! And without the visions, they will follow the storyline, straight to their destruction!

It was with a sinking feeling in my stomach that  I realized that there is nothing  I can do to change the future, at least not until the beginning of season 4, when I'm 7 years old and capable of actually doing something

 

 

Chapter 5: 4)"What's wrong with you?"

4)"What's wrong with you?"

It seems while I was panicking, Aunt Rebekah had already noticed the blood stains on Uncle Elijah's cuffed sleeves.

"Well, it looks like the little ones need their nappies changed," she said with forced cheerfulness.

She carried us somewhere, but before I could see where we were, Aunt Bekah covered our faces with our blanket.

"Oh, dear," she muttered under her breath. Louder, she said, "Well, the little ones are all sorted and ready for an adventure!"

She approaches our Uncle with a forced smile, who says, "Look at them, so innocent, so pure." He smiles down at us and says, "We must protect them at all costs."

"You're right," Aunt Rebekah sighed, and put us down at the table, facing away from the siblings.

"We must protect them at all costs." She went behind his back as if to hug him, "even from ourselves," and with that, she snapped his neck.

With that, she reappeared in front of us and said, "Ready to go on another road trip, little loves?"

I don't know what happened after that since I fell asleep, but by the time I woke up, we had already reached the safe house.

"Ah, look who's awake!" Aunt Rebekah grinned down at me, with Uncle Elijah smiling over her shoulder.

I blinked, having forgotten that we met Uncle Elijah just a few hours ago.Then, I grinned up at them, making them coo at me.

I twist to look around as much as I can with my baby body, unsurprised to see hope sleeping next to me. I and Hope have never been separated, not even when sleeping. The one-time Aunt Rebekah did separate us........

Well, let's just say no one got any sleep that night.

By the time Hope had woken up, Aunt Rebekah had already changed and fed me, all the while babbling about how we were going to meet our parents in the morning.

"Elijah, can you hold Henrik while I feed Hope?" Aunt Rebekah asked Uncle Elijah

"Of course." He nodded and held out his hands.

"Well, you have to put your hand-" Aunt Bekah was cut off by Uncle Elijah.

"I know how to hold a baby, Rebekah." He gave her an unimpressed look and said, "I did take care of you and Kol as babies."

"Oh, well, I just......."Aunt Rebekah trailed off, obviously embarrassed.

"I would appreciate not being handled with kid gloves, Rebekah." He glared at her.

"Well, how else am I supposed to handle you?" Aunt Rebekah asked in obvious frustration, "You killed everyone in that diner, whose only sin was their terrible taste in food, and acted as if it was normal when normally you would stick to compulsion!"

"Rebekah-," began Uncle Elijah, but was cut off by Aunt Bekah.

"No, Elijah!" shouted Aunt Rebekah, "there was-is something wrong with you, so I did what I had to do, and the only reason I'm allowing you to be around the little ones is because I know you would rather stake yourself before hurting them."

There was a tense silence for a moment, broken by Hope's whines. Uncle Elijah spoke while Aunt Bekah fed Hope.

"I can't tell you what happened at the diner, as I myself don't know," he began, "but what I do know is that Niklaus sent me to protect Hope and Henrik. It is my job to keep them safe, no matter what. "

Aunt Rebekah stared at Uncle Elijah for a minute before sighing.

"Let me put the little ones in the playpen, then we can continue this conversation," Aunt Rebekah said, her tone leaving no doubt that they were going to continue this conversation.

The last thing I saw before Aunt Bekah shut the door of the playroom was Uncle Elijah's reluctant expression.

 

Chapter 6: 5)"I know you"

5)"I know you"

Playing with babies is boring. There's no getting around that fact.

And Hope, despite being the legendary tribrid, was still a baby. And so our play consisted of making faces at each other, passing toys back and forth, and giggling for no apparent reason.

I was in the middle of passing her stuffed horse back to her (replacement for the burnt wooden knight) when Aunt Rebekah came into the room, her expression a mixture of disappointment and fury.

So the talk didn't go well, huh? I thought, not surprised. Uncle Elijah didn't seem like the 'let's talk about my feelings' type of guy, not in the show and, looking at Aunt Rebekah's face, not in real life either.

"Well, little ones?" Aunt Rebekah asked with a tight smile, "Ready to go to bed? We have a long day tomorrow, what with your first bonfire and meeting your parents... "

I was asleep before she finished talking.

-----------

-Why is our family always at war?" I hear Uncle Elijah's voice close to my ear as I wake up.

"I don't know, but being away with them made me see things differently." I twisted around to see where her voice was coming from. She was holding Hope in her arms and standing next to a pile of logs, which I assumed were for the bonfire.

"We're not that bad." She grins at me when I coo at her in greeting, "We're not the monsters that our parents think we are."

Just then, a car comes down the road, making both of them turn their heads.

Ahhhh, I remember this scene. The scene in which Canon Hope first meets her parents

Hayley came running over to us, tears in her eyes. I observed her openly. She was......beautiful. There was no getting around that fact. I could also spot the similarities between me and her. It was easy to see that I had her hazel eyes and nose.

But that's where our similarities end. I looked much more like the man who had come up behind her. You could go as far as to say I was his miniature version, with a few deliberate mistakes. It was one thing to know we're related, and another to see visual proof.

Without a word, Aunt Rebekah handed over Hope to Hayley, and Uncle Elijah handed me over to Klaus.

Klaus held me very carefully as if I was glass and would shatter the moment too much strength was exerted.

"Henrik," he whispered my name almost reverently, "Henrik, my son."

He looked at me, and I looked back at him.

At that moment, something inside me clicked into place. His familiar voice, adoring eyes, smiling face.....all of it wove together naturally and, suddenly, he wasn't a fictional character anymore. He was real and, of course, I knew him.

He is my father.

To me, it was the most natural thing in the world to reach out and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Dada" I whispered into his neck.

He tensed, "Was that his......?"

The fragile hope in his voice made me tighten my arms around him as much as I could.

"His first word? Yes, " Aunt Rebekah sounded shocked.

"Congratulations, brother"Uncle Elijah said smilingly, the first one to recover from the shock, "You are your son's first word"

Dad blinked and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Aunt Rebekah cut him off

"How is he Henrik's first word?!" She shouted, though there was no real heat in her voice "I took care of him for months, I should be his first word!"

I twisted in dad's arms as much as I could, and as soon I was sure Aunt Bekah could see me, I stuck my tongue out at her

She gasped"Did you all see that?! That little brat just stuck out his tongue at me!"

Dad laughed, "Clearly, my son has a favorite, "His lips curled into a victorious smirk," and it isn't you, Rebekah"

Aunt Rebekah looked ready to scream, and she probably would have, if Uncle Elijah hadn't interfered

"Children, enough"Uncle Elijah reprimanded them

Aunt Rebekah huffed and went inside, leaving dad smirking

"Dada" I called out to him to get his attention

Immediately, his eyes snapped back to me

"Hello, Henrik" He grinned down at me, "can you say that word again?"

I didn't think it was possible for him to grin more brightly, but he proved me wrong when I repeatedly chanted "Dada"

At some point, Aunt Rebekah would come out with a camera, and the storyline would continue. But for now, I buried my face in my dad's shoulder, feeling more content than I had in a long time.

 

Chapter 7: 6)"Why don't I recognize you?"

6)"Why don't I recognize you?"

"Can I hold my son now?" a voice says from somewhere behind me. I tilt my head to see my new mom, looking eager and just a bit sad.

sad? That's confusing. Why would she be--oh! I just said my first word, and it wasn't mom. Of course, she would be sad. What parent wouldn't be? While I was mentally smacking myself for missing something so obvious, dad was already passing me over.

I braced myself to feel the same tidal wave of safehomefamilymineminemINE that I felt when I touched dad, but.........nothing.I felt nothing. Mom smiled down at me, her face radiating her love for me. She talked to me, fed me, changed me, and played with me; she did nothing wrong, but.........something was missing. I didn't see her as my mom, not as I knew instinctively with my dad that he was my father. I felt nothing for her, even after the whole hour I had spent with her.

Something's wrong.

I didn't like this, the feeling of being in a stranger's arms and feeling like something was wrong. I blame my stupid baby body that bursts into tears at the slightest discomfort for starting to wail when she tried rocking me to sleep in her arms.

"Dada!" I yelled the only word I could say at the time, wanting to get out of this uncomfortable situation as soon as possible, "Dada! dada! dada!"

Dad zoomed into the nursery, looking around for the threat, but only found Mom trying her best to shush both me and Hope, who had burst into tears a second after I had.

"What's going on?" He asked, still looking around as if waiting for an enemy to pop up any second, "Why are they crying?"

"I don't know," Mom said, looking flustered, "Henrik's been squirming for a whole hour now and suddenly he just burst into tears! And then Hope started crying too! "

She looked close to tears when I and Hope cried louder.

"Here, hand Henrik over to me," Dad said, "go look after hope or call Rebekah. She will help. "

Mom nodded and handed me over to Dad, and then zoomed out of the nursery with hope, probably to look for Aunt Rebekah.

"Hey, hey now, everything's alright. No need to cry," Dad said, trying to soothe me.

The moment I was in his arms, the feeling of safehomefamilymineminemINE hit me again, helping me to calm down. I leaned against his shoulder, exhausted from all the crying.

"There now, that's better." Dad smiled down at me, though I could see the worry in his eyes.

"Now, then, why did you start crying, hmm?"

I sniffed and wrapped my arms around his neck as much as I could

"Were you bored, perhaps? Well, I don't blame you; your mother can be a bit of a Debbie-downer. "

His words caused me to giggle, making him grin down at me.

"Niklaus," a disapproving tone that could only belong to Uncle Elijah, sounded in the nursery, "What did you do now? I saw Hayley looking for Rebekah with tears in her eyes"

His tone made me frown. He said it as if it was obviously Dad who was the cause of all the tears and crying and couldn't imagine it not being his fault.

Obviously, Dad didn't like his tone either.

He sneered and said, "Well, if you must know, Elijah, Hayley was the cause of the children's tears. She obviously did something wrong. Why else would Henrik yell for me? "

He walked past Uncle Elijah, who was obviously shocked, and said, "Perhaps, instead of trying to find fault with me, you could try to help Haley so this incident is not repeated, hmmm?"

He then walked towards a room I hadn't seen yet. There was a canvas in the middle of the room, and a few paintbrushes and paper towels were strewn around. Obviously, this was dad's temporary painting room.

Dad sat down on the stool. He adjusted me so I was laying on his shoulder and he was holding me with one arm, while holding a paintbrush with his other hand.

"Take a nap, Henrik," dad advised. "Your Aunt is in a festive mood and will undoubtedly drag us all into it. It's better to conserve energy. "

Dad's voice softened before he continued.

"Sleep peacefully, little wolf, for no harm will befall you as long as I am here, and I assure you, I'm not going anywhere"

It was only after I heard those words that the suffocating feeling in my chest disappeared, and I drifted off to sleep.

 

Chapter 8: 7)"The Map of Moments"

7)"The Map of Moments"

I had just woken up from my nap when my new mom entered the room.

"Where's Hope?" asked Dad, when he saw her empty-handed.

"With Elijah," Mom said, her lips curling into a smile, "Rebekah was busy preparing the bonfire."

Dad smiled too, and then he handed me over to mom. She looked surprised at Dad willingly handing me over.

"He must be hungry after waking up. You can feed him." After saying that, he walked out of the room.

Mom still looked surprised, but she got over it quickly and headed straight to the kitchen, holding me carefully.

My cheeks burned as I remembered what had happened just a few hours ago. It was humiliating. I'm a grown adult mentally! I shouldn't just burst into tears. The subsequent nap gave me enough time to analyze my feelings. It's not that I didn't love Hayley. It's just... how do I put it? I would say I love Klaus more, but... that wouldn't be right either.

It feels like the love I feel for Mikaelson is heightened. Earlier, I had just brushed off my intense love and overprotectiveness of Hope as a wolf thing, but......I felt this way towards all the Mikaelsons I had met so far, not just Hope.

This realization sent a chill down my spine. I understand my love for Hayley, I loved my former mother just as much, but I never loved my former father as much as I love Klaus. I didn't love him so....so intensely

This isn't normal, not for me.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when a bottle of milk was put in front of me. Before I could think, I had already instinctively latched on. I was halfway through when Dad walked in and sat down on the chair nearby.

"Can I have my son back now?" He asked as soon as the bottle was empty

"Don't you have wishes to write?" She said, refusing to give me back. I think she was happy I hadn't immediately started crying and wanted to keep me longer just to make sure I wouldn't burst into tears around her again.

"That silly game can wait", Dad grumbled"And you do realize it is not I the husband you can boss around?"

"You do realize I had to endure horrendous labor and actual death to birth the child I am holding?" My mom snarked back.

"Fine," Dad grumbled, picking up the pen and paper and reading aloud what he had written.

"I wish you would tell Elijah you're marrying your werewolf suitor, at which point I will pour him a scotch and congratulate him on the bullet he dodged."

He hands it out to Hayley, who just glares at him, clearly not amused by his jokes. She snatches the paper from his hands and crumples it up into a ball before she tosses it on the ground and leaves the room. When I look back, I see Dad smirking, pleased with himself.

Oh! Hayley's getting married! That means I will soon be heading to New Orleans. I haven't felt this kind of anticipation since I was in Vancouver and watched the man finally drink the poisoned wine after playing around with it for hours, about to drink it, and then putting it down at the last moment. The anticipation and subsequent dismay were beyond annoying.

Sigh, it was hard being a hitman.

Well, that was a different life, now no longer my problem, thank god. I had only gotten involved with the underworld because my adoptive mom was a hacker; otherwise, I would have probably lived as an ordinary orphan and probably lived beyond the age of 36, or not, who knows?

Mom walks out with me, where Elijah has just lit a match to light the bonfire. Rebekah rushes out to join us.

"Hey! Look what I found!"Aunt Rebekah shouts as she holds up a Polaroid camera, and the boys groan. She pays no mind to them and continues, "I wonder if it'll work?"

Dad sighs, "Oh, bloody hell."

Aunt Rebekah tries to persuade him, "Come on, let's try it! Hey, Nik, do you think you can cram us all into a selfie? "

Uncle Elijah looks amused when he says, "Oh, Niklaus is a virtuoso at cramming his siblings into confined spaces."

"Well, I'm just glad I traveled hundreds of miles to visit my mentally ill brother, only to have him insult me to my face!" Dad quips sarcastically.

Aunt Rebekah huffs, clearly annoyed. "Oh, come on, just take the picture!"

Dad sighs and holds up the camera to take a picture of the six of us together. Everyone is smiling, Hope and I included, except for Klaus, who remains blank-faced. They all watch as the photo develops.

"Aw, see?" Aunt Rebekah grins happily when she sees the picture. "I wish that it could always be like this."

Uncle Elijah begins by saying, "If wishes were horses..."

"...Beggars would ride." Dad finishes Uncle Elijah's sentence with a sigh.

They all look happily at the photograph, but Klaus suddenly sighs.

"You realize we'll have to burn it. You want me to make a wish for the family, Rebekah? I wish it didn't have to be like this. But, it does. "

He hands the photo to Hayley.

"We can't risk it falling into the wrong hands."

Hayley takes a good, long look at the photo before reluctantly throwing it into the bonfire. Before I could think, I was already reaching out for the photo. But mom's grip is firm and all I can do is squirm.

"I know, baby," Hayley murmurs into my ear, "I know."

"No! This isn't right. We deserve this. We've earned this. " Aunt Rebekah practically shouts

Suddenly, a determined look flashes through her eyes.

"I won't let it slip away. I know what to do to stop Esther. "

Uncle Elijah starts to protest, "Rebekah, no--"

But Aunt Rebekah isn't going to be deterred, "I'm going to take her deal. And, when I do, I'm taking her down with me. "

_______

It's night now, and I'm in Aunt Rebekah's arms, reluctant to part with her. Though I know she'll be alright, I'm still reluctant to see her go.

"Don't worry, Henrik." Aunt Rebekah smiles at me as if she can see all my worries and is trying to reassure me. "I'll be back before you know it."

Soon, Dad and Aunt Rebekah are driving away, and all I can do is watch.

Mom holds me in her arms as she rocks me to sleep, humming all the while. I don't resist the pull of sleep, eager to escape reality. As soon as I close my eyes, the world turns black.

Soon, I realize I'm aware but I can't move since I have no body. Before I can panic, a voice echoes

"Hello Dean"

A chill crawls down my spine as I hear a disembodied voice call my name from my past life.

"Who are you?" My voice is barely a whisper, "How do you know my past name?"

I would realize later that I was speaking with the voice of my past life, but now I was too busy panicking

"Me? I'm the one who brought you to this world, who allowed you to be reborn as a mikaelson. "

The voice pauses and then continues

"And we have a lot to talk about, don't you think?"

 

Chapter 9: 8)"A Lottery? Really?"

8)"A Lottery? Really?"

"Who are you?"

My voice was barely a whisper. It was a miracle I was even able to speak at this moment. It was one thing to know I had died and been reborn, and another to know I was brought here on purpose by someone who was probably a God.

And that God was right in front of me.

"Oh, me?" The feminine voice echoed again, sounding amused, "Why don't you try to guess?"

"Is this a joke to you?" At this point, I didn't care that I was mouthing off to a god. My fear was overtaken by sheer rage.

I was dead, and she found this funny? I lost everything I had and was reborn into a family of villains, doomed to a life of blood and slaughter because of my new identity, and she thought it was funny?

"Of course, it's not a joke to me! Do you think I go around abducting mortals from the reincarnation cycle as a joke? " Her furious voice echoed in the dark.

Her thundering voice reminded me exactly why I was so afraid of her. If I still had a physical body, I'm sure my eardrums would have ruptured by now.

"Why me?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"What?" She sounded confused. Good, confused was better than pissed off.

"I mean, why did you choose me, a hitman of all people, to be reborn, to have another chance at life?"

This was a question whose answer I was most curious about. Of all the people to choose to be reborn, why choose a hitman?

"Oh, that," her voice was now bored, "I didn't."

"What?" It was now my turn to be confused, "You just said-"

"I know what I said," the voice said with obvious annoyance and a hint of anger, "and I didn't lie; I was the one who allowed you to be reborn."

Okay, don't imply or call her a liar. It was a sore point. Got it

She suddenly sighed, "Look at it like an a-a lottery. You need to buy tickets to participate in the lottery, right? Well, it's kind of similar. You need certain personality traits to be qualified for reincarnation. The 'personality traits' in this case, are the 'tickets'.Since the person won't be getting reborn as some random riffraff but as a Mikaelson, the personality traits required were similarly, how do I put it? Ah, yes, unique. After that, all that was left was to spin the wheel, and whoever gets the same number as the one that is randomly drawn will be the lucky winner who gets to reincarnate! "

"And I won this lottery?" I asked slowly, still coming to terms with the fact that I won the lottery to be reborn.

"Yup, that's how you were able to be reborn, even though you're a hitman!" She said it cheerfully, as if it was all fun and games

"Because I had a 'ticket'. Because I got lucky, "I stated.

I got reincarnated because I won a lottery.

I didn't have the time to be shocked, as I didn't know how long the goddess would be in a talking mood and how much patience she had. Somehow, I don't think this goddess will have any patience for panic attacks and shocked silences. I needed to ask my questions now.

"Why?" I continued before she could say anything, "Why did you want someone reincarnated as Niklaus Mikaelson's child? As Hope Mikaelson's twin? As a tribrid? "

"Why? Because I wanted to change their fate, of course! Was that not obvious? " She said this with obvious sarcasm lacing her voice.

"No, I mean, why do you want to change their fate?"

This was something I was dying to know. What God would want to save the Mikaelsons? And why? No matter how hard I thought, I just couldn't figure out why God would want to change their doomed fate.

I couldn't see her, but I could swear she was smiling when she said, "You didn't answer my question. Who do you think I am? Perhaps after you figure out who I am, then it will be obvious why I want to save your new family. "

Something about her words struck me as odd, specifically the last part.

"Wait, are you the reason why my love for the Mikaelsons is heightened?", On second thought, it was obviously her doing.

"Yes, I needed you to be determined to change their fate, and what better reason for that determination than love? I must admit that love is capable of miracles, even though I find it overrated and way too energy-consuming"

"Now, this is the second time you have answered my question with a question." Her voice was suddenly next to my ear, "I don't have the patience for the fourth time, so I ask you for the third and last time."

"Who do you think I am?"

Her voice sent shivers down my spine. Still, I straightened up and guessed as best as I could, "Death? Life? War?"

"Wrong, wrong, and wrong!" Her voice resounded cheerfully, "You are horrible at this guessing game, you know?"

"Well, since I'm so horrible at it, why don't you tell me your name, since I'm apparently never going to guess it?"

My desperation to know who she was must have shown through my tone because she laughed.

"Come now, where's the fun in simply telling? Isn't it much more satisfying to find out for yourself? "

Just as I was about to tell her exactly where she could stuff her satisfaction and probably piss her off again, she spoke again.

"Oh, it seems you're waking up! Ah, well, we'll meet again. Bye for now! "

As soon as she said that, cracks started to appear everywhere, as if the entire place was going to collapse.

"What, wait, no!", I still had more questions to ask, dammit.

But before I could say anything more, I was already awake in my crib, staring at the hanging mobile, with Hope also waking up next to me.

 

Chapter 10: 9)"And now we're 5 years old"

9)"And now we're 5 years old"

After that day, nothing interesting happened. And what I mean by saying nothing "interesting" happened is that nothing deviated from the plot. Season 2 goes off without a hitch.

Eva Sinclair regains control over her own body from Aunt Rebekah and prepares to do a dark ritual that grants her tremendous power, but she is soon stopped by the Originals and her former husband Vincent. Dahlia comes to New Orleans with the intent of getting what she was promised over a millennium ago: Hope, a firstborn child-like Freya. I am not ignored, no sir! She wants us both! Our family then faces off against her as she tries to take us for our power, wanting to become an immortal witch by channeling our unique powers. And after a lot of drama, they win the war by killing Dahlia.

Season 3 also goes off without a hitch.

The Trinity, the first three vampires sired by the Originals, come to New Orleans with news of a prophecy foretelling the deaths of the three remaining Originals, along with their sirelines. The entire drama with Strix, Aurora, Lucien, werewolves, and ancestors takes place.

Apparently, when dad found out he was having twins, he made two wooden horses! And the one I burned was made of ordinary wood. This made me feel like slapping myself.

Anyway, season 3 went the same. Dad ended up with Papa Tunde's knife in his chest, and I know that because I and Hope are currently sitting in a truck, which is holding four coffins and driving to who knows where.

And just like that, the years flew by, and I and Hope were 5 years old.

"Henrik! We're not supposed to eat ice cream before bed!" Hope said if I had done something scandalous, like dancing naked in the street rather than eating ice cream before bed.

From watching the show, I knew the Mikaelsons were drama queens and that Hope inherited that, but damn, I didn't think Hope would be so dramatic at the age of five.

"It's just ice cream, Hope, relax." I rolled my eyes, and like a good little brother, I handed her a spoon and offered her the ice cream bucket so she could have some too.

"What if mom finds out?" Though Hope looked tempted, she did not relent.

"She won't find out, not unless you tell her." I grinned at her, and she finally relented, taking the spoon and the bucket with a huff

"If she finds out, I'm sooooo blaming it all on you," she said while grinning at me.

"Yes, yes, I'll take all the blame, now let me eat my ice cream in peace." I huffed and dug in, knowing she'd soon ask me what she wanted to ask when she came looking for me.

I am horrible at doing what I'm told and constantly pull pranks on Mom, Hope, and Grandma Mary, probably because I don't like being told what to do by someone who is mentally younger than me, though she's my mom. And I only pull pranks when I'm bored, okay? Honestly, you can't blame me for being bored all the time since we are being homeschooled in the middle of nowhere. And I understand why we're holed up in the middle of nowhere, but that doesn't make my boredom go away. Hope, on the other hand, is a perfect angel. She follows the rules and stays out of trouble, unlike me.

In conclusion, I'm the troublemaker who pulls pranks all the time, while Hope is the sweet angel who draws and plays in the forest with Grandma Mary.

Sometimes, Hope covers for me when I break a rule, like no sweets before bed. She does that so she can talk to me and be sure I won't tell mom because Hope doesn't want mom to worry. It's pretty obvious that mom is anxious. I haven't seen her relax for a moment since we left New Orleans. So, Hope wants to talk about her worries, but not to mom, in case she gets more worried than she already is. Naturally, the only person left is me, since Grandma Mary isn't always around and always tells Mom whatever we say to her. To be sure I won't tattle on her, she catches me in the act of breaking a rule and then promises she won't tattle on me if I don't tell mom what she says.

Now, you might ask, what does a 5-year-old have to be worried about?

Mom and Grandma Mary aren't quiet or subtle about their plans to get the cure for our family. Mom's constant disappearances to get the cure aren't helping either. The broken bits of information that Hope listens to make her think her family is deathly ill and will die soon if they don't get the cure, and I can't exactly tell her they won't, since I have the same info she does and the conclusion she has drawn is the one that makes the most sense.

It's kind of sad, I think, that she can't talk freely to Mom. She's a kid; she's supposed to be a brat and cause mayhem, not drive herself mad with anxiety. I also wish she would trust me that I won't tattle on her.

"Do you think Mom will really be home with our family tomorrow?" Hope asks anxiously. Mom had just left a few hours ago, saying she'll be back tomorrow with our family.

Ah, there's the question. No wonder Hope's worried. This is the episode where Mom goes after Keelin, though it's a bit early, like 2 years early.

"Hope, mom promised she'd be back with the rest of our family, didn't she?" I asked her, and only continued when she nodded, "And when has she ever broken a promise?"

"Never," Hope said, though I could still feel her anxiety.

"Well, we'll know whether she succeeded or not in the morning, so why don't we go to bed? She'll probably be back before noon" I say while putting the ice cream tub back in the freezer and dumping our spoons in the sink.

"Ok, "Hope says, as she follows me back to our room. Soon, we're in bed with the lights off.

"Goodnight, Henrik," Hope whispers while closing her eyes.

"Goodnight, Hope," I whisper back as I close my eyes and try to fall asleep.

 

Chapter 11: 10)"Hey One Question: What the hell?"

10)"Hey One Question: What the hell?"

Grandma Mary had breakfast ready by the time we got downstairs. The first thing I looked for was any signs of tension in her body language. It had become a habit at this point. If she was tensed, then Mom was injured and/or in trouble. If she was relaxed, then Mom was perfectly fine and will be home soon.

Grandma Mary was humming along with the song playing on the radio, completely relaxed.

So, Mom was fine, then. Thank God.

Hope, who knew my habit, looked at me anxiously. She only relaxed when I grinned at her, and then she went to help Grandma Mary set the table. As I said before, she was a pretty nice kid.

I, on the other hand, headed straight for the laptop sitting on the table. I remember whining for a laptop for months before Mom caved and bought me a laptop for my 3rd birthday. While I am now a 5-year-old, I have not forgotten that I used to be an adult. An independent adult with enough money, skills, and street smarts to not need anyone's help. And while I adored my family, it still rubbed me the wrong way to depend on them for, well, anything.

So, as soon as I got a laptop, I started doing freelancing jobs and making investments. One advantage of being reborn in the past is knowing which companies to invest in. In my past life, my mother had also taught me all about computers and economics, so earning money this way was easy.

I have already earned $300,000 and linked it to an offshore bank account so it couldn't be traced back to me. Although it can be considered a large sum, it couldn't compare to a speck of what I had in the past. After all, being a hitman, while risky, was a high-earning job. Only those who were wealthy and spiteful enough would hire a hitman, and they were willing to pay handsomely for a job well done.

I was startled out of my thoughts by Grandma Mary, who was calling me for breakfast. I quickly checked my account and then shut down my laptop, hurrying to where Hope and Grandma Mary were sitting.

"Henrik! Mom will be back by noon, Grandma Mary just told me!" Hope squealed as soon as I was seated.

"Really?" I looked toward Grandma Mary, who said, "And she won't be alone."

I could literally see the stars in my sister's eyes, "Dad and the others will be coming home, too?"

"Mhmm" Grandma Mary smiled, though it was too stiff, too......fake. If I wasn't a hitman in my past life, I would have never noticed it. Her smile turned fake at the mention of Dad, so either she doesn't like him (most likely) or something went wrong with his rescue (highly unlikely). Thinking it was a simple dislike, I put it out of my head and dug into my breakfast.

I would regret ignoring the second scenario in the afternoon when everyone but Dad was present and the Mikaelsons simply pretended as if he never existed.

Soon enough, it was 12:30, and we were waiting for our family. I think we freaked out Grandma Mary with how patiently we were waiting. She probably expected us to throw a tantrum or something when they didn't arrive at noon sharp. Honestly, you'd think she'd know us better after being around us for so many years.

I could hear the engine of a car and knew that they were here. Before Grandma Mary could say anything, we were already out the door. I saw Mom standing next to Uncle Elijah, smiling at something he said. I could see Aunt Freya, Uncle Kol, and Aunt Rebekah talking quietly.

But I could not see Dad anywhere. I stayed rooted to the spot, stretching my pitiful wolf senses as much as I could, but........still nothing.

"Mom? Where's Dad?"

Surprisingly, this question was not asked by me, but by Hope. On second thought, I don't know why I was surprised. In both canon and reality, Hope had idolized Klaus, so of course, she was going to ask about him.

The Mikaelsons' faces went through different emotions before Uncle Elijah stepped forward and said, "I am your father."

What? What nonsense is he spouting? Surely the others would call him out on his lie.

I glanced over at the others, and their faces showed no surprise. This was planned, then. I suppressed my rageangermadness and asked

"You are a vampire," My voice was completely devoid of emotions. "How were you able to procreate?"

"It was a spell, cast by a witch who was......displeased with us", Uncle Elijah answered after a brief pause," She rendered me human for a few hours using the power of the full moon. It was during that period that you were conceived. I only came to know your mother was pregnant with you when the witches lured me to New Orleans using you and your mother as bait."

What an elaborate lie. Doesn't sound like something they came up with on the spot. It has been planned for a while, maybe years. The only question currently going through my mind is, Why?

"I see", My voice sounded cold, even to my ears, "I'll be in my room then, taking a nap."

"Henrik-" Mom started to say something, but I cut her off, saying, "Wake me when it's time for lunch."

I wasn't just using taking a nap as an excuse. The last time I met the goddess-whose name I still don't know-I was asleep. From my short interaction with her, I know she is fond of the Mikaelson family and wants them to live, and she is using me to change their fate and save them. So, if she really wants them to live, she'll contact me again. If she doesn't care, well, then........I was a former hitman; I'm sure I can work something out.

I wasn't disappointed, though, because as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was back in the dark room I met the Goddess in for the first time.

"Hello, Dean"

There was no amusement or curiosity in her voice this time. This time, she sounded grave. That is how I knew that my Dad's absence wasn't expected or welcomed.

"I didn't think we would need to meet again so soon, but urgent problems require utmost haste."

She paused for a moment, before continuing.

"So, tell me, Dean, are you prepared for what is coming next? I must warn you though-solving this problem would not be easy. On the contrary, it will be quite painful."

What an idiotic question. I would do anything for my father. Of course, my answer would be,

"Yes"

 

Chapter 12: 11)"Lies, Truth and Denial"

11)"Lies, Truth, and Denial"

Hope P.O.V

"Wake me up when it's time for lunch." After saying that, Henrik turned and walked away. Mom tried to call after him, but he was already gone. I wanted to chase him down and ask him why he looked so......enraged. Did he not like Dad? Or did he not like our uncle and aunts? But before I could run after him, Mom pulled me back.

"Hope, why don't you spend some time with your... father? You can talk to Henrik at lunch." Mom's voice faltered at the word 'father'. I don't think Mom noticed how she tensed when she called him my father. It was almost like she was waiting for me to react like Henrik did. Expecting it, even.

I wanted to chase Henrik down and demand answers for his and Mom's behaviour because, while it stung to admit it, I knew he was better than me at reading people. If he was here, he would understand the situation and explain it to me.

Or maybe he did understand the situation, I thought with a chill down my spine, and that's why he was so angry. But why would he be angry? We finally got to meet Dad! Shouldn't he be happy?

I thought back to the previous hour, trying to find out exactly what pissed him off. Everything was going well until Dad introduced himself as our father. After which, Henrik questioned him and then stalked off.

So, what irritated him was... our father introducing himself? No, that doesn't sound right, even in my head. Let's rewind, Dad introduced himself as our father, Henrik questioned him about how he came to be our father, and then he stalked away.

Why would Henrik question him? He never questioned Mom about it when she was home before, almost as if...

Almost as if he knew exactly how our existence was possible.

But if he already knew, then why ask? Unless... Henrik didn't believe he was our biological father.

Before I could continue this particular line of thought, Dad's voice jolted me back to reality.

"Hello, Hope," Dad said with a smile on his face (Hope didn't know why she expected a dimpled grin instead), "why don't we spend some time together and get to know each other? You can get me caught up on everything I missed." Saying that, he held out his hand for me to take.

I knew there was a possibility that this man was not my father. A small part of me (which I would later know was my untriggered werewolf part) rebelled at the mere idea of calling this man Dad. But a larger part of me, the part desperate for a father, desperate for the king in Mom's stories to be true, suppressed the smaller part. After all, Mom didn't say anything about him not being our father, right? And it's Mom, she would never lie to me, not about something like this.

I pushed away the thoughts of him not being my father, of Mom's strained voice and Henrik's anger. I buried the part of me that screamed that he was an imposter, a liar, and took his hand with a smile.

"Come on, I'll show you where we play!"

I tugged him towards my favourite spot to play, and I didn't look back.

With Kol, Rebekah, and Freya

"Well, that went well," The sarcasm in Kol Mikaelson's voice was crystal clear," Henrik clearly believed our well-crafted lie."

"Enough, Kol," Freya stopped him before he could continue, "Henrik is simply... surprised."

"Are you really that daft? Obviously, the boy didn't believe a word coming out of Elijah's mouth, and the only reason Hope bought the lie was that she trusted her mother not to lie." Kol retorted, "Obviously, she hasn't learned not to trust a Mikaelson yet, even if they are only a Mikaelson in name" Here, his voice turned resentful.

"Why would she not trust us? We only have her-their best interests at heart," Freya replied sharply.

"And it's in their best interest to not even know who their real father is?" Kol scoffed in disbelief at his own words, "If you truly believe that, you are more delusional than I thought."

Freya clenched her jaw. "Niklaus would have ruined them. Perhaps, if there was only one child, we wouldn't need to take such......drastic measures, but there are two children. We have two innocent lives to protect instead of one, and Klaus is a variable we cannot afford."

Kol looked furious and five seconds from lunging at her,before he forcibly calmed himself.

"Anything to add, little sister?" sneered Kol as he turned to face Rebekah.

"He didn't even look at us," Rebekah mumbled.

"What?" Kol sounded confused.

"Henrik. He just looked at us when Elijah said he was their father, but after that, he didn't look at us again," Rebekah elaborated, "Do you think he despises us now, because we didn't contradict Elijah when he claimed to be their father?" Rebekah glared at Freya, who was about to speak up, and said, "He clearly knows Elijah is not their father. He might not know Nik is their father, but what he does know is that Elijah is not their father."

There was silence for a while, broken by Kol.

"Well, we'll know if he despises us or not at lunch, won't we?"

 

Chapter 13: 12)"You're On Your Own, Kid"

12)"You're On Your Own, Kid"

"I assure you, Dean, your father is not dead, merely..... incapacitated."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, relieved he wasn't dead. Even though I knew his siblings wouldn't go as far as to murder him, I was still doubtful. After all, I can't predict anything at this point, now, can I? The absence of my dad was proof of that.

I knew my existence would change some things, but this much? Trying to pass off Elijah as my father, and then pretending Dad doesn't even exist? What the hell is going on?

I shook off my thoughts and said, "Please, call me Henrik. I don't intend to cling to my past life in any way, even through a name."

I then gathered my courage and asked the questions I had been dying to ask, "Where is my father? What did they do to him? Why did they do that to him?"

Instead of laughing or getting angry at my impromptu rapid-fire questions, she sighed and closed her eyes with a pained look on her face.

"I cannot answer any of your questions, since I myself do not know the answers."

......What?

"What?" I expressed my confusion out loud, "How can you not know? Aren't you a goddess who is strong enough to steal a soul from the reincarnation cycle? How hard can it be to find a single man?"

She looked irritated now. Right, she's an all-powerful goddess, and I'm a very fragile mortal—well, compared to her, anyways. I really needed to remember that.

"Do you know how much power it takes to steal a soul from the reincarnation cycle?" She sneered, "Well, let me dumb it down for you, then. I had to use all of my power to drag you out of the reincarnation cycle and cloak you from the other gods, who won't be too happy to know a soul escaped from the cycle. I have used all the power I regained in the past few years to contact you today."

She sighed again and continued, "I simply do not have enough power to search for him or to find out exactly what went wrong. I'm sorry to say this, but I cannot help you. What I can tell you, however, is that Kol Mikaelson will be your greatest ally in finding your father."

I blinked, my head still reeling from the goddesses' mood swings and the information unloading. I then thought over the goddesses' words, and everything made sense except...

"Kol Mikaelson? My greatest ally? Are you sure? Isn't he the sibling who hates Dad the most?"

She laughed, "Oh, he most definitely is. He will still help, though. He does not believe that Klaus should be kept away from you, no matter how awful he may be, because he is your father and deserves a chance to at least try to be a good father to you both. I suppose there is also a sense of arrogance. He believes he, Elijah, Rebekah, Freya, and Hayley will be able to, ah, take care of Klaus should something go wrong."

I hummed, taking in her words, "So you believe he will be my greatest ally because of his twisted sense of brotherly love and arrogance?"

"Well, that's one way to put it, but, yes," she grinned, "of course, you must still be careful. Kol Mikaelson, despite his opinion, did not take your father's side. He knew he would be daggered by Elijah and the others if Klaus lost, and, well, the victor of their conflict was obviously not going to be Klaus. He knew which side would win, and he chose it. In the end, Kol Mikaelson will do what's best for him, and I'm unsure if the fact that you're his nephew will stop him."

The goddess stared at me as if trying to engrave her warning in my mind. Just as I was about to reply, the walls started shaking.

The goddess hummed, "Well, it seems our time has come to an end. I must warn you, we will not be able to talk again for quite a while. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, Henrik."

And just like that, I woke up and came face-to-face with Hope, who was hovering above me. It was obvious that my abrupt awakening had taken her by surprise because she stuttered when she said, "U-umm, lunch is ready."

"Okay, I'll be down in a minute," I told her, wanting her out of the room we shared so I could think over, well, everything. As soon as she was out the door, I slumped onto the bed.

And to think I'd been on cloud nine just a few hours ago, I thought with a sigh, God, what a bloody mess

"Well, let's get this over with," I said out loud and headed to lunch, dreading how it would go.

 

Chapter 14: 13)"Error:Trust Not Found"

  13)"Error: Trust Not Found"  

Aunt Rebekah jerked, almost dropping the plates in her hand when I came downstairs. She was setting the table along with Aunt Freya and probably noticed me first because of her vampire senses.

"Henrik! You're here!"

She sounded so surprised that I showed up for lunch. Which, fair. I did just storm off to my room without giving any of them a second glance. But I wasn't going to admit that, not after the stunt they just pulled. So, I arched my eyebrow, put on my best resting bitch face, and said in the most sarcastic voice I could muster, "Last time I checked, I lived here"

She flushed, "No! I didn't mean it like that! I just thought you wouldn't come down for lunch and eat in your room or skip it. Anything to avoid us." She mumbled the last part.

Okay, so they know that I know that Elijah's not my father, and I am pissed off about it. Good. I wouldn't have to call that man father or even pretend to like him.

"Well, I'm here, so..."

"Oh, right" Aunt Rebakah blinked, "Lunch will be ready in a minute, so why don't you sit down and we'll... talk?" She trailed off uncertainly. I didn't want to talk to her, not after trying to pass off Elijah as my father, but... I remember how she took care of me as a baby and helped me (unknowingly) in accepting my new reality. She did love me, in her own way. So I sighed and decided to humor them.

"You want to talk? Okay, what about?" Both of them looked surprised at my mellow answer. Aunt Freya beat Aunt Rebekah by opening her mouth first, "So, what are your hobbies?"

I spied Uncle Kol coming into the dining room out of the corner of my eye, looking vaguely interested in the conversation.

"Well, I like to play pranks, paint, and watch shows about magic."

"You like to paint?" "Shows about magic?" "Play pranks?"

Aunt Rebekah, Uncle Kol, and Aunt Freya spoke at the same time. They looked at each other, fighting with their eyes over who would get the answer to their question first. I didn't let them conclude their fight and cut in, "Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, there isn't much to do around here. So pranking and watching shows are my only ways to pass the time. And painting just comes naturally."

Not a single word of that was a lie. There was absolutely nothing to do around here. I'm surprised cannon!Hope didn't go mad from utter boredom. Painting really did come easily now and while I wasn't exactly a prankster in my past life, I was an extremely petty man who didn't hesitate to make a person's life hell at the slightest offense. I never claimed to be a nice person. I couldn't afford to be a nice person. Not in my past life as a hitman, and certainly not in this life as a Mikaelson.

"What shows are there about magic?" Uncle Kol's questions shook me out of my thoughts. Oh right, he hasn't spent much time awake in the modern era, has he? He was either dead, daggered, or desiccated. And when he was awake, he was too busy ensuring his survival to watch TV shows.

"There are many shows about magic, but my favorite is 'Just Add Magic.' It has a magic cookbook." I grinned at him.

"Magic cookbook? As in, a grimoire?" Uncle Kol sounded and looked confused.

"No, when I say magic cookbook, I mean magic cookbook. I'll show you the trailer after lunch." I needed to talk to him anyway, and this was as good an excuse as any. I stood up and went to sit at the table where Mom and Grandma Mary were serving the food, ignoring the surprise on Uncle Kol's face.

"What's your favorite food?"Aunt Rebekah continued asking questions.

"Chicken Biryani"

"Favourite color?"

"Yellow"

"Okay, you can play 20 questions later, time to eat now." Mom cut in before Aunt Rebekah could ask any more questions. Aunt Rebekah glared at Mom but didn't argue. Just as I was about to speak up, I was distracted by the sound of a chair scraping the floor.

Ah, I was wondering where Elijah was. Hope was sitting next to him, with leaves in her hair that he was removing carefully. They probably visited the small clearing where Mom had installed a swing set for us and the place that Hope has dubbed her ' favorite place'.

My heart clenched. That was their place. Only Henrik and Hope are allowed, no one else. They didn't even allow Mom in there! Mom found it adorable, how attached we were to it. He knew it was childish, but... it was supposed to be theirs! Shouldn't she have at least asked him, before showing it to him? It seems he was the only one who thought of it as theirs only. Clearly, it didn't mean much to her. Or maybe he was overreacting? Maybe they were playing in the woods, and not in the clearing with the swing set? That would explain the leaves.

The only way to know was to ask, but he didn't want to. What if the answer was yes, they did go to the clearing with the swing set? He really didn't want to know, but he wasn't the kind of person who denied reality, so he gathered his courage and asked, "Where were you?"

The table quietened, and all of them focused on our conversation. Hope looked hesitant, and then answered in a small voice, "The clearing with the swing set."

Mom gasped, the only one getting the meaning. The others, while not understanding the meaning, understood that it was serious and kept their mouths shut. Smart; no wonder they were able to survive for so long.

I tried not to let any hurt show on my face, only my anger. If the way she shrank back was any indication, it worked. Elijah frowned and wrapped an arm around Hope as if to protect her. As if she needed to be protected from her own twin, from me of all people.

"Why? It was supposed to be our place. Why would you show it to him?"Under the anger and the hurt, I was genuinely curious.

"He's our father."She says that as if that's a good enough reason.

"He's not our father. Can't you tell? Doesn't your wolf protest at the mere thought of calling that man father?" That was another reason I knew he wasn't our father. Even without memories from my past life, I would have still known he wasn't my father. My wolf side, though unactivated, still recoiled at the mere thought of even considering this man's father. Wolves were pack animals and didn't take too kindly to an imposter trying to muscle their way in.

That's why I was surprised that the Mikaelsons tried to actually go through with the 'pretend Elijah's their dad' plan. I couldn't understand their reasoning, but now that I looked at Hope, the desperation and denial in her eyes, I understood. They weren't counting on us not remembering Klaus for their plan to work, they were counting on our desperation. They were counting on our desperation for the hero in Mom's story, our desperation for the king of the supernaturals, desperation for a father.

A small part of me applauded their plan. If it weren't for my memories of being an adult, it would have worked on me, just like it worked on Hope. The larger part of me, however, was furious. How dare they try to pull something like this? How dare they attempt to emotionally manipulate their 5-year-old niece and nephew?

Before I could do anything stupid, I got up and said, "I can't eat anymore. I feel nauseous." I wasn't even lying, I did feel nauseous. In his past life, many people tried to manipulate him. He had scars to show what happened when you trusted the wrong people. He wasn't going to make that mistake anymore. He needed to find his dad as soon as possible. In both canon and reality, Klaus tried his best to do right by Hope. At this point, the only one he can trust is his dad.

Keeping that in mind, I turned around and looked at Uncle Kol. "Come to my room after lunch, we can watch the show together." Not looking at Uncle Kol's surprised face, I turned and walked back to my room. If I wanted to find Dad fast, I needed Uncle Kol as an ally. Even without him, I could've found my dad, I have no doubt about that (Perks of remembering your past life) But Uncle Kol's knowledge about witchcraft could help speed up the process if he was willing to teach me. While Aunt Freya was the firstborn, it was Uncle Kol who had a thousand years' worth of knowledge about witchcraft in his head. I needed to get him to teach me if I wanted to find my dad fast.

I was pretty sure the Hollow would come for Hope when we were 7, so I have until then to come up with a plan on how to deal with the Hollow and how to find Dad. There are too many things to do and not enough time. I sighed and flopped face-first on my bed. What a headache.

 

Chapter 15: 14)"Best Plan I Got"

14)"Best Plan I Got"

A knock on the door startled me out of the sleep-like haze that had settled over me. I got out of bed and opened the door, revealing Uncle Kol and a plate of biscuits. I looked at him in confusion. He just grinned at me and entered the room as if he owned it. I gave myself a second to admire his confidence before asking him about the plate.

"Oh, this? I thought you might be hungry." He shoved the plate at me and plopped down on the bed. "After all, you didn't finish lunch."

I blinked at him, bewildered. Was Kol Mikaelson originally such a considerate person? I snorted internally. Yeah, right, as if. Henrik highly doubted any of the Mikaelsons even knew the meaning of consideration.

A finger poked my head, trying to smooth out my furrowed brows. He grinned when I again looked at him in confusion (I didn't like how his actions confused me twice in just 5 minutes). His grin widened, and he said, "You look a lot like your father when you make that expression. That's how I know you're overthinking a matter that doesn't require as much attention as you're giving it. So stop overthinking before you get wrinkles, okay?"

I didn't miss that opening, "Tell me more about my father." That came out as a demand, didn't it? And Kol Mikaelson never reacted well to demands. And, just as I thought...

"I thought we were going to watch a TV show?"

"We will." I tried not to let my exasperation show. "Can you at least tell me the basics? All I know about him is that he's not Elijah Mikaelson."

That was a lie, but I can't exactly tell him that I remember everything since my birth, now can I? That'd be suspicious, even if I'm a tribrid.

At his silence, I continued, "My wolf recoils at the thought of calling him father, and while it acknowledges Aunt Rebekah and Aunt Freya as family, my wolf's still wary of them. Don't even get me started on my mother and sister; it howls in anger whenever I think of them. But" And here I looked at him hesitantly, as if I wasn't sure whether to continue, "But it is somewhat fond of you. It's telling me to take a chance on you."

I looked at him and asked quietly, "Tell me, Uncle Kol, can I take a chance on you?"

In the end, he did tell me about Klaus and we did watch 'just add magic'. Just before he was about to leave, he turned around and asked, "Tell me, nephew, would you like to learn magic from me?"

And as much as he tried to hide it, I could tell he was nervous. So I did the only thing I could. I grinned at him and said, "Only if we are going to recreate the cookbook from the show."

It got a laugh out of him, "Of course, we're going to recreate it, nephew. It will be mighty helpful to you for learning about the basics of magic and herbs, too. We'll start after breakfast tomorrow. See you at dinner?"

The last part came out as a question, which was fair, considering what happened at lunch. I sighed and answered, "I think I'll eat dinner in my room tonight."

Uncle Kol just nodded and left. I think he knew I was lying. I had no intention of leaving the room before breakfast tomorrow. After laying on my bed for a few minutes, I got up and grabbed my laptop. I checked the jobs I had to complete and started doing them. By the time I was done, it was midnight. I got up and stretched, going over the tentative plans in my head.

What did I know about The Hollow? She wanted Hope because she was a tribrid and had poisoned her when Hope took her in herself. The first problem was easy to solve. Now that there were two tribrids, Henrik was sure he could keep The Hollow's attention away from Hope and on him, despite the fact that she was the firstborn.

The problem was what to do with her. She was too strong for Hope to take on alone. But what if Hope wasn't alone? What if, instead of Hope taking the entire Hollow into her, she only took half and he took the other half? What if half of the Hollow was sealed in Hope and the other half was sealed in him?

Then another problem would arise. They wouldn't be able to be around each other without bringing the apocalypse down on their heads. But what if.....?

Henrik glanced at his bank account. It had enough money to live comfortably for years. For the plan he had, he would need money, magic, and Uncle Kol's help. He had the first, and he was pretty sure he could also have the rest if he tried hard enough. Even Henrik has to admit his plan is insane, but he can't think of a better one.

He has to run away from home.

As soon as The Hollow was split and sealed into them, he would have Uncle Kol distract everyone for the day, cloak himself from magic using a spell, change his appearance, and then skip town to search for his father. It would solve the problem of being near Hope, and he would be able to look for his father without any of his family getting in the way. (Henrik was glad he was mentally an adult, or else he would be freaking out about scouring the earth for his father alone at the age of 7.)

Henrik wasn't naive enough to believe he would be able to find his father in a week, a month, or even a year. He knew it would take time and effort. He was hoping the time it took for him to find Klaus would be enough time for Uncle Kol and Aunt Freya to come up with a solution to the Hollow problem.

Henrik shut his laptop and slid into his bed, exhausted mentally from the events of the day. He kept refining the plan in his head and fell asleep to the memory of his father's dimpled grin.

 

Chapter 16: 15)"Forgive And Forget? Yeah, Not Happening"

15)"Forgive And Forget? Yeah, Not Happening"

Breakfast was a tense affair. They tried to talk to me, and draw me into their conversation, but that stopped quickly after I refused to even acknowledge their existence. I hadn't forgotten their attempted emotional manipulation and will not forget or forgive them until Dad does. Considering they desiccated Dad, hid him god knows where and lied to his children about who their father is......

Yeah, I don't see a happy family reunion happening anytime soon.

Anyway, back to the present. If breakfast was a complete disaster, magic training was worse. All Uncle Kol did was try to piss me off with his innocent little comments.

"Hmm, is that really the best you can do?"

"Are you even trying? Magic isn't as hard as you're making it look, you know?"

"Maybe you didn't inherit the magic gene? No shame in that, nephew. None at all.

"I wonder if Hope-"

He didn't get far before I exploded at him, "Would you just shut up?!" I could see his lips moving, still talking, but all I could hear was my blood roaring in my ears, and oh my god, why can't he just stop talking-

Fire

There was fire everywhere, and I was so so exhausted. Before I could slump to the ground, there were arms around me and before I blacked out, I heard Uncle Kol say, "Congratulations on accessing your magic, Henrik."

When I woke up, I felt... weird. There was a buzz under my skin, and while it wasn't painful, it was... distracting. I hadn't felt like this since I was a baby, since my magic was sealed.

I looked around and realised I was in my room. According to the clock on the wall, an hour was left until lunch.

"Ah, awake already?"

I looked toward the door, where the voice came from. Uncle Kol was leaning there with a plate of cookies.

"Well, that was quite an impressive feat of magic." He paused and handed me the plate, gesturing for me to eat it. "For a beginner, that is."

I didn't realise how hungry I was until there was food right in front of me. I polished off the plate while Uncle Kol explained what happened.

"The first thing you need to know about magic is that it's connected to the emotions of it's holder. If a witch or warlock feels a strong emotion, negative or positive, their magic reacts accordingly. The more control you have over your emotions, the more control you have over your magic. For a beginner, the only way they can tap into their magic is by experiencing extreme negative emotions, like anger, hate, jealousy, etc. Of course, it's possible to do so through positive emotions too, but that's rare since positive emotions are simply not as intense as negative emotions."

"Any questions?"

"Yeah," I put the plate on the bedside table and turned around to look at him, "When can we begin the magic lessons?"

The grin on Uncle Kol's face was nothing short of maniacal, "And here I thought you'll never ask"

The rest of the day was spent in a bookstore looking for a journal to use as my grimoire. I didn't care which one we chose, but Uncle Kol was picky, saying a grimoire is the reflection of a warlock and whatnot. In the end, we chose a completely blank one, after I promised Uncle Kol I'd personally paint over it so that it would be a completely true reflection of me.

The next few days were spent going over the basics. Learning about different branches of magic, different herbs and their properties, different magical creatures and their weaknesses, etc. All of this was recorded in my grimoire. I didn't get to any real magic until a month later when Uncle Kol was satisfied with my knowledge of all things magic.

He started me on basic spells like cleaning spells to hone my control and focus. Next, he taught me a spell to make sure my grimoire never runs out of pages. It was fun, of course, because, duh, magic, but the real fun started when he started to teach me how to fight with magic. How to set someone on fire, drown them with water, create a shield, etc.

He also didn't neglect my physical training. We started our day with me trying to beat him at a race and then trying to beat him in a spar without using magic. All in all, an impossible goal. But still, the goal of all this wasn't to beat him but to hone my reflexes and instincts. After a year of this hellish routine, I could predict his moves even though I wasn't fast enough to dodge them yet and my pain tolerance had shot through the roof.

In the past year, the relationship between Hope and me has deteriorated. We don't even talk anymore, not since she started her own magic training with Aunt Freya. She seems to have got it in her head that I need to be 'protected' since I'm the 'second-born' and therefore weaker than her. Mom seems to watch this trainwreck with a resigned sort of air around her, and that, more than anything, made me dislike her more. She's our mother, shouldn't she try to help us or something? I just can't understand her thought process, no matter how hard I try.

The relationship between the other Mikaelsons and me... well, as I said, that's Dad's decision for when he returns, and I don't want anything to do with them, so our relationship is cold.

Speaking of Dad and Hope...

"Hey, Uncle Kol?" I looked at him from where I was sitting, hoping this conversation would go smoothly since I can't push it back anymore," Can you teach me how to trap and seal stuff?"

He arched an eyebrow at me and asked, "Why?"

"Convenience and....." I let a grin spread over my face, and prayed it looked natural, "To hide my prank stuff. Don't want them to know it was me who dyed Elijah's hair pink when I do it, you know?"

Uncle Kol looked at me for a long time, and just as I was about to open my mouth and probably say something stupid, he replied, "Alright, we'll start tomorrow."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and cheered in my mind. After learning how to seal, I can try to create a seal for Inadu. No, not try. I have to create a seal to deal with Inadu. Anything else is unacceptable.

Step 1-Complete

 

Chapter 17: 16)"Birthday And Temper"

16)"Birthday And Temper"

Learning how to seal turned out to be harder than Henrik thought. It took him three months just to get the basics down. No wonder Uncle Kol had looked at him weirdly. What kid would want to learn something as boring and complicated as sealing? Honestly, if it wasn't for the whole Inadu fiasco, Henrik wouldn't have touched the art of sealing with a 6-foot pole. It was just so mind-numbingly boring and finicky. One mistake, and it would blow up in your face. Literally.

Henrik would have continued his pity party, but suddenly the door burst open, and in came Aunt Rebekah.

"Come on, up, up, up! The birthday boy shouldn't laze around in bed all day! Up you get!" She said it so quickly that it took a moment for me to compute what she was saying. Even so, the best he could manage was a strangled, "What?"

Aunt Rebekah beamed, "Oh, yes, we're going to Disneyland for your and Hope's birthday and then we're going to get your favourites for dinner! Come on, hurry up and get dressed; we need to leave in an hour."

Henrik knew she was just happy for him-for them, that she was just trying to celebrate their birthday and make it memorable, but... it rankled how she didn't even bother asking what Henrik wanted to do for his birthday, just made plans and informed him of them literally an hour earlier.

"Who told you I wanted to go to Disneyland?"

Aunt Rebekah blinked, poking her head out of my closet, where she was trying to find the 'perfect clothes' for me to wear. "What kid doesn't like Disneyland? Oh, by the way, Henrik, there's nothing good enough in your closet to-"

"Get out." When she started to rummage through his closet without care or permission, something in him snapped. It might have been the stress of trying to learn how to seal, or it might have been seeing his opinions so easily discarded, but he was so so angry and had every intention of letting it be known.

"What made you think you had any right to dictate how I celebrate my birthday? To make plans for me without asking me? Are you trying to make me despise you? Because if you are, congratulations! You succeeded!"

Henrik was breathing heavily at the end of his rant, and Aunt Rebekah was staring at him wide-eyed, frozen on the spot.

"Just-just get out, and don't bother me for the rest of the day."

Aunt Rebekah was gone before he could finish his sentence. Henrik felt guilty; he hadn't meant to explode on her, but....he was just so angry that he couldn't help himself.

Maybe it was the werewolf's temper? Ah, who knows. He doesn't have time for that either; he needs to learn to seal, or all his efforts will be in vain.

Henrik put the incident out of his mind and pulled out his books on sealing, determined to get started on intermediate-level sealing.

IN THE DINING ROOM

Hayley smiled when she saw Rebekah come into the room. With her cheerful personality, Rebekah would have probably been able to drag Henrik out of his room and convince him to go to Disneyland with them. Her smile faded when she saw the tears in Rebekah's eyes.

Elijah noticed it too and was at Rebekah's side before anyone else could move.

"Rebekah? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Ah, Elijah was such a caring brother. Unlike Klaus, who would have gotten angry and hunted whoever he thought hurt Rebekah, Elijah actually listened to her, comforted her, and tried to solve the problem in the way Rebekah wanted to solve it.

The more Hayley saw the heartwarming scene between the two Mikaelson siblings, the more she was convinced it was the right decision to pretend Elijah was the father of her children, rather than Klaus.

"Where's Henrik?"

Freya's question cut through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter. It was only then that Hayley noticed Henrik wasn't present.

"He said he de-despises us! That he-he doesn't want-" That was all Rebekah managed to get out before she burst into tears again.

"Rebekah, sister, calm down and tell us what happened. What did Henrik say?" Freya's cool voice managed to calm down Rebekah, who said, "He told me to get out, and then he told me that he didn't like how we were trying to dictate how he celebrated his birthday, and..." Here, Rebekah's breath hitched, and it almost looked like she was about to burst into tears again, but she continued, "He said that if we were trying to make him despise us, we succeeded!" That was all Rebekah got out before she was crying into Elijah's shoulder again.

"Wait, are you telling me you didn't ask him whether he wanted to go to Disneyland or not?!" Kol's incredulous voice made Rebekah stop crying and glare at him. "Hope said he would like it! She's his twin! So, what was there to ask? Besides, it was supposed to be a surprise anyway!"

"What was there to-are you listening to yourself?! You speak as if siblings having different interests is a completely foreign concept to you! And I distinctly remember telling you Henrik abhors surprises! Bloody hell, were you even listening when I told you what Henrik liked?!"

Rebekah shrank back, sobbing quietly into Elijah's shoulder. Elijah threw a reprimanding look at Kol and started to say, "Kol-

"No! Enough! What is wrong with you all?! I told you everything you needed to know to make his birthday memorable, but you still managed to botch it up this badly! Gods, are you even trying?!" Kol stormed off after he finished speaking, leaving behind a deafening silence.

"Kol's right." Freya broke the silence: "We had all the information we needed to make his birthday special, and we still managed to screw this up. No wonder Henrik dislikes us." Freya sighed, followed Kol's example, and left the room.

"So...what now?" Hayley asked. It was Elijah who responded.

"Well, we already ruined Henrik's birthday, let's not ruin Hope's too. From what I remember, she was pretty excited to go to Disneyland. Come on, let's not keep her waiting."

"What about Henrik?" Hayley asked

"He said he didn't want to be bothered for the rest of the day," Rebekah mumbled with teary eyes.

"Ok," Hayley sighed, "Ok." She repeated, "We'll do what the birthday boy wants. Come on, get up and get ready, both of you. We're taking Hope to Disneyland."

Both Rebekah and Elijah nodded and left to get ready. When Hayley was the only one left in the kitchen, she sank to the floor and sobbed. Hayley wondered where she had gone wrong with her son, who was now like a stranger to her. She'll pull herself together for Hope in a minute, but for now, she stayed on the floor, quietly sobbing.

 

Chapter 18: 17)"Unexpected"

Henrik had thought that Hayley (not Mom, not anymore) would knock on his door and try to convince him to go, maybe try to cajole or bribe him. He wouldn't agree, of course (if there's one thing he's good at, it's holding grudges), but still, it would prove that despite their lies, they loved him in their own way.

So imagine his surprise at seeing them get into a car and drive off to, presumably, Disneyland. Henrik... wasn't sure what to feel. He had said he wanted to be left alone, but...had they really just abandoned him on his birthday? Is he really going to spend his 6th birthday alone?

Henrik huffed and slammed his notebook shut, knowing he wasn't going to get anything done with his emotions in such disarray. He opened up his laptop and looked through his account, satisfied with the amount for the moment.

He was toying with the idea of watching Netflix when he heard a knock on the door. Curious, Henrik asked the person to come in. Of all the people he expected, Freya was not one of them.

"Do you mind?" She asked quietly.

"No, come on in," Henrik replied, wondering what brought her here. Maybe to wish him a happy birthday? But, no, he can't think like that. He can't get his hopes up, not when there's a possibility that the Mikaelsons can let him down just like Hayley did.

"I know you want to be alone, and I respect that." She began, still speaking in a quiet voice, "So, I'll just give you your gift and leave."

Henrik took the wrapped package and opened it. As soon as he understood what he was looking at, he looked up at Aunt Freya, unable to hide his shock. "Is this...?"

She smiled at him, "A teleportation spell? Yes. Dahlia and I worked on it for years. It is a very difficult spell that took us years to create and even longer to master. I realise the difficulty level might be too high for you right now, but I could not think of a better gift." Aunt Freya paused, and then grinned at Henrik, "Happy Birthday, Henrik."

Henrik swallowed, and then looked up at Freya, saying, "Thank you, Aunt Freya." Truly, Henrik was thankful. This spell, despite its limitations, can be incredibly useful. While he couldn't travel somewhere he hadn't already been to or travel beyond a certain distance, it was still an extremely handy spell to have in a dangerous situation. It wasn't hard to see how much effort had gone into making this spell. "Truly, Aunt Freya, thank you."

Next, it was Aunt Rebekah who came to wish him a happy birthday. It's obvious how out of her depth she feels with the way she trips over her words. She starts with apologies, saying that while she doesn't have gifts, she is a thousand years old, and would he like to hear about her experiences?

Henrik then spends all his time before lunch with Aunt Rebekah, listening as she tells stories about eras gone by. She also tells him stories about their family, about the mother who loved them so much she turned them into monsters and then didn't love them enough. About the father who was always angry, whose love for family died with his first child.

About the oldest brother, who was always on the outside because of his own choice, never deeming them good enough for his attention. About the second brother who simply wanted to keep his family safe, not knowing that he would fail in every way that mattered. About her favourite brother, who used to be so kind and sweet. Who painted their name red, made them feared monsters of the night because he didn't know any other way to keep them safe. About her mischievous brother, who used to be so quick to laugh and make others laugh, who has forgotten what genuine laughter feels like anymore.

About the first child, the oldest child, the big sister, who came too late to save their family. Who was broken and desperate to fit in, to be a part of the family she has only heard horror stories about but never given up on. About the youngest sister who searched for love in every face she could find, desperate for someone to see her, flaws and all, and love her still. About the youngest child, the youngest brother who was the best of them all, who died too young, whose death started their tragic story.

By the time lunch rolls around, both of them are emotionally and mentally exhausted. It was one thing to see the Mikaelson's story unfold on the screen, and entirely another to hear a firsthand account of their experiences.

It reminded him of the vow he made when he was a baby, when he was still getting over the fact that he had been reincarnated. Despite their flaws, they were his family, and he was going to save them no matter what.

Lunch was a quiet affair, with all his favourite dishes laid out. (It didn't cover up the fact that neither his parents nor his twin were present.) After lunch, Uncle Kol handed him a thick book as his birthday present.

"This is a rune book." Uncle Kol began, "Rune art is a very finicky and demanding art, not unlike the sealing arts. One wrong move, and it will blow up in your face. Each rune is unique and has a specific purpose. Basically, it's a spell in symbol form. For example, if you draw the rune for 'light', the rune will glow; if you draw the rune for 'clean', whatever you have drawn it on will be cleaned until it shines. Of course, different 'clean' runes have different definitions of 'clean', so choose which variation you want very carefully. Since runes are a passive art form, they can be used by any supernatural creature. As long as they have even a drop of magic, they will be able to use runes."

Uncle Kol paused, and then a bitter smile spread across his face. "After turning into a vampire, the runes were my only solace. It proved I still had magic, even though I couldn't use it anymore. Then again, the fact that vampires could use runes was probably the reason the witches chose to destroy every written text and decided to pass it down orally."

Henrik interrupted him, "Wait, then how do you have a book?"

Uncle Kol smiled. It couldn't be described as kind, or even nice. It was a predator's smile full of dark satisfaction and dangerous intentions, "I asked them very nicely, of course. I can be very persuasive when I want to be."

Henrik knew what he was implying. He was a hitman in his past life, he knew the thrill of the hunt, of the adrenalin pumping through his veins. He had no right to judge. So he did the only thing he could do, he thanked him.

Later, when he's in bed, he turns the events of the day over in his head and thinks, the day went better than I thought it would. Henrik had expected the day would be a disaster after his temper tantrum, and Hayley, Hope, and Elijah driving off had further cemented the idea, but the day had actually...turned out okay? Better than okay, even. He got to know more about his family, an awesome new spell, and a rune book. The day wasn't a disaster at all.

That night, Henrik fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Chapter 19: 18)"New Orleans"

18)"New Orleans"

Watching Hope draw the same symbol, again and again, was much creepier in real life than watching through a screen. Hope looked like she was possessed. Henrik didn't stick around to see a scene he knew by heart but instead went to look for Uncle Kol.

"Hey, Uncle Kol?" Henrik knocked on his door, and when it opened, he continued, "Hope is drawing weird symbols, and it's freaking me out. Make her stop."

"I'll see what I can do." Uncle Kol chuckled and headed to the playroom, probably thinking it was just some petty sibling squabble.

Henrik was actually surprised he wasn't hearing voices either. Maybe it's because he's not the firstborn? Or maybe because-

Ah, he was wrong.

He could hear the voices, promising him everything he wanted if he just gave in. He knew what to look for, which is probably why he could sense the foreign magic before it entered him. He probably would have mistaken it for his inner monologue or something if he didn't know what to look for.

No wonder so many people fell for it. They thought they were following their own plans and ambitions, and by the time they realised something was wrong, they were already in too deep. The crescent wolf-Lana? Lara?-was the perfect example.

Henrik stumbled into the playroom with a pained groan. Resisting Inadu took some serious effort. It felt like someone was blasting music right next to his ear, and he was hungover!

"Henrik!" Hayley screamed and caught him before he could hit the floor. "What's wrong?" Aunt Freya cursed and came over to check on the younger twin. "He's showing the same symptoms as Hope, just not as....extreme. Henrik." Freya turned to address him, saying, "You need to tell me what's going on since Hope is unconscious."

"My head," Henrik choked out. The pain was somehow increasing, as if someone was trying to crack it open with a sledgehammer. "She's trying to get in my head." He almost lost consciousness just getting those words out.

"No! Henrik, you must stay awake!" Uncle Kol's words jarred him back to reality, and he continued what he was saying, "Sacrifice. She wants the power that comes from sacrificing children."

Henrik cursed internally when he again felt his consciousness fading fast. No wonder Hope was passed out; he himself was enduring the pain through sheer willpower and spite.

"Oh, baby," he felt Hayley's arms wrap around him, "Just-Just concentrate on staying awake, okay? Mom will take care of everything."

If Henrik wasn't in excruciating pain, he wouldn't have given away so much information that he shouldn't know.

"You don't understand, "Henrik choked out. "The only way for us to get better is for us to be unlinked from-from her! But we can't be unliked until the sacrifice is complete! The only way out is sacrifice!"

"Henrik, who's she?" He couldn't tell who was speaking to him anymore; he was already too drained. "Henrik, who's she?" Before he lost consciousness, he choked out her name, "Inadu."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Henrik opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Uncle Kol's face hovering over his. The minute he saw Henrik awake, he called for the others.

"Oh, Henrik, how are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Do you need something? Food? Water?" Hayley was the first one through the door, with Aunt Rebekah following behind her.

"Where's Hope? Is she awake yet?" Henrik's main concern was his sister, before anything else. His worry shot through the roof when they exchanged glances, but didn't say anything. It didn't help that he felt like he had walked through hell. Twice.

"She's awake, but she has a very high fever, just like you do. So you've been given different rooms, so as to not make your conditions worse." It was Aunt Rebekah who answered, sitting at the edge of the bed, "She's in the room to your right, sound asleep."

Henrik could see Uncle Kol and Aunt Rebekah wanted to ask him questions,probably related to what he said before passing out, but a glare from Hayley shut them. Which was good for him, since he wasn't sure what to say.

Henrik let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when neither of them said anything. After that, he was quickly given medicine and dinner, then told to go to sleep. Henrik, being Henrik, ignored their words and snuck into Hope's room. Despite the rocky past two years, she was still his twin sister, his other half, and her pain gave him no joy.

"Hey," Henrik whispered, and he slid in next to her when she patted the bed. For a while, neither of them said anything, just twirling their magic around each other like they have every night since they were babies. A reminder that the other was there, that they weren't alone, weren't the only ones of their kind.

"I'm scared." Hope confessed in a hushed whisper, as if saying it out loud was painful, "I don't want to die." Her voice broke on the last word, and before he knew it, he had an armful of sobbing Hope.

"You won't" Henrik tried to instill as much confidence as he could in his words, hoping to give her some comfort. It was at times like these that he remembered that she was just a child. She didn't have memories of her past life to help her. "No one is going to die. Just wait and see; everything will be back to normal in no time."

"I hope you're right." Hope said when she got her tears under control. "I hope to God you're right, because I don't know what I'll do if you aren't." Henrik's heart ached for her. In that moment, he wanted to tell her everything-about his past life, about their real father, about their future-but the only thing he was able to get out was, "Goodnight, Hope."

She sniffed and replied, "Goodnight, Henrik." Soon she was asleep, tired from crying so much. Henrik wished sleep came as easily to him as it did to her, but when has his wish ever been answered?

Henrik thought about his current situation, about Inadu. He only had a plan to contain Inadu, not destroy her. How did they defeat her in the show? Oh right, she could only be locked away in someone who shared blood with Hope; that's why Klaus and Elijah split the hollow between them and then staked themselves.

It all came down to blood, didn't it? She needed to be contained in someone powerful who shared blood with Hope, and to kill Inadu, the container must be killed too. Henrik frowned. The answer was right there, he could taste it at the tip of his tongue-

Henrik jerked upward, his mind spinning, trying to make sense of the idea that just came to him.

Blood. Bloodlines. Sirelines

Henrik could not believe how stupid he had been. Every vampire in existence, technically, shared blood with the Mikaelsons. The older the vampire and the less diluted the sireline, the greater the chances of it working.

He just needed a powerful vampire, who was preferably turned directly by one of the Mikaelsons, to stuff The Hollow in and then kill them! There, problem solved!

Henrik grinned at the ceiling, pleased with the solution he had come up with. Splitting the Hollow between Hope and him will give Henrik the time he needs to track down such a vampire and do the ritual. Preferably before Legacies started, so as to avoid extra drama.

Yes, Henrik thought as he drifted off to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face, this is the perfect solution.

 

Chapter 20: 19)"Hello, Vincent"

Henrik knew the moment the fever went away that he was in the 5th episode of season 4. He slips out of bed before Hope wakes up and goes back to his room. He slips under the covers and tries to hash out a proper plan. But then he realizes it won't matter what plans he comes up with unless he has people he can trust not to screw them up. As much as he hates it, Henrik knows he can't get rid of the Hollow alone.

Henrik doesn't think he can trust anyone but Aunt Freya in his family. Uncle Kol will turn on them the moment Davina Claire is resurrected, and Aunt Rebekah trusts Marcel too much. She would tell him all their plans in a heartbeat, and he can't take that risk. Henrik highly doubts Hayley and Elijah will be willing to let him get involved, let alone listen to his plans.

So, Aunt Freya, it is.

He finds her studying her grimoires in her room, trying to come up with a solution to their Hollow problem. Now that he looks at her closely, he can tell just how exhausted she is. God, just looking at her makes Henrik feel tired.

"Hey, Aunt Freya?" Henrik continues when she looks at him, "Can you come with me to Vincent's place? I need to talk to you both about something."

Aunt Freya's eyes sharpen when she hears my request. "Does this have something to do with you knowing things you shouldn't?"

Henrik nods. "Yes, and I'll tell you everything, as long as you take me to him." Aunt Freya considers it, then tells him to get ready.

20 minutes later, they're sitting on a sofa in Vincent's living room with steaming cups of coffee.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your lovely company?" Vincent asked with a bland smile on his face. Like Aunt Freya, he too looked exhausted.

"It was a smart plan," Henrik said before Aunt Freya made a jab at him in retaliation, "linking the ritual to Uncle Elijah and then staking him."

Henrik knew he couldn't just say that he could see the past, present, and future; he needed to provide proof, and Henrik couldn't think of anything better to say.

Both Vincent and Aunt Freya were visibly startled, and then they were shouting at each other.

"You told him!? He's a child; he shouldn't be involved! What the hell is wrong with you, Freya?!"

"I didn't tell him anything, Vincent! He's my nephew; why would I do that to him?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I saw it in my dreams?" Henrik cut in when it looked like they were about to get into a fistfight. As much as Henrik would have liked to see them get into a fight, he didn't have time for it. He had a bitch to kill.

"In your...dreams?" Henrik could taste the confusion emanating from them. "I've seen my family's past, present, and future. In the beginning, I wasn't sure what it was, but now I am."

Henrik turned to Vincent first, "You turned to the Hollow for power to get rid of Marcel when you found out you were going to be a father, didn't you? It caused your wife's and your unborn child's deaths, and you never got over it. That's why you're trying so hard to kill her, right?"

Henrik didn't wait for a response before turning to Aunt Freya and saying, "You first made contact with our family during a party in 1914 as Uncle Kol's date, where you saw him get daggered. You also lost your unborn child when you ingested poison to commit suicide."

Henrik sipped his coffee and let them process the information he had just given them. He could see they believed him but were still coming to terms with it. It was Aunt Freya who spoke first, "What did you see? What did you see that led you to tell us about your abilities?"

"I saw Dad, Uncle Elijah, and Hayley die," Henrik replied in a bland voice. He can't be emotional and have a breakdown—not here, not now.

Aunt Freya swallowed, and Vincent shifted uncomfortably. "Even the Mikaelsons couldn't defeat her?" Vincent sounded horrified and resigned.

"Oh, they did defeat her, but the cost was too high. Tell me, Vincent, do plants turning to snakes, bloody rains....any of it sound familiar?" Henrik knew that if he told Vincent how the Hollow was really defeated, he would see it as an acceptable loss, a good thing, even. Technically, he didn't lie. He just asked if indications of the apocalypse sounded familiar, so he really can't be blamed for this...little misunderstanding, can he?

From the way Vincent turned as white as a sheet, he knew exactly what those phenomena indicated, "Surely you aren't here just to tell us we're doomed? You do have a plan, right?" His voice was harsh and angry, but his eyes showed nothing but fear.

"Wait, what do plants turning into snakes and bloody rains mean?" Aunt Freya cut in before Henrik could retort. Henrik stifled his irritation at being cut and gave a summary, "They're the indicators of the apocalypse—the destruction of everything. You know how apocalypses work, don't you, Aunt Freya?"

"Now, to more important things." Henrik set the coffee cup on the table. He might as well have slammed it on the table for how much impact it had, "like how to destroy the Hollow without causing the apocalypse. So, are you going to help me?"

Vincent and Unt Freya didn't even hesitate, "We'll help, now tell us everything."

"Let's start with a history lesson." Henrik said cheerfully, like they were discussing what to have for dinner instead of a power-hungry witch, "She was born to a tribe of Native American witches, whose elders bestowed her great power throughout her mother's pregnancy, in hopes of Inadu becoming a symbol of prosperity. However, when she was born, she only craved more power and killed members of her tribe. Her tribe, fearful of her actions, sought to kill her."

"It's actually how the werewolves came to be. Four of the tribe's strongest elders, each, imbued a part of their magic into a mighty axe before having Inadu's mother kill her with the weapon. In her last moments, she cast a final spell, empowered by her death, created the werewolf curse, and bound all those present to the full moon. This curse forced them to change into the very beasts that were used to hunt her down. This ultimately began the seven original bloodlines of werewolves, with her mother being the first Crescent."

"After she was killed, she became more powerful as a spirit and haunted her fellow tribesmen. They eventually burned her remains, though not all the pieces could be destroyed. As long as the pieces were together, her power continued to grow. The indestructible bones were distributed among four families, each charged with keeping them apart, so they would never come together again."

"So to kill her, we just need to destroy her bones?" Vincent asked with a frown. Henrik rolled his eyes, "What part of 'indestructible bones' do you not get? Also, do you think my family didn't try that? Now, shut up and listen."

"In the near future, Inadu will try to possess Hope. The only way to get her out of Hope is to lock her away in someone old, powerful, and related to Hope by blood. That's where we will interfere. Instead of locking her away in the Mikaelsons, we'll put her in Aurora, Aunt Rebekah's first sired, and then stake her. She's old, powerful, and related to Hope through Aunt Rebekah."

"Sirelines, of course, that makes sense," Vincent muttered under his breath, and he shared a look with Aunt Freya. She sighed and leaned forward, "It will take time to prepare her, Henrik. Her blood relation will need to be magnified and her soul strengthened enough to house the Hollow temporarily. The time that we simply do not...

She trailed off when I slid the notebook I was carrying towards her. Both she and Vincent flipped through it, their expressions showing their disbelief, "You cannot be serious!" Aunt Freya snapped, throwing the book on the table.

"On the contrary, I have never been more serious. When the Hollow comes for Hope, you both will trap her using the book Vincent has, split the Hollow into two, and seal her in me and Hope. That should buy you enough time, no?"

When it looked like they were still going to argue, Henrik leaned forward and looked them in the eye, saying, "There is no other way that doesn't end in bloodshed. You both know this, since you've spent the last week trying to find ways to get rid of the Hollow. Only this way, can the destruction of the Mikaelsons and the apocalypse be prevented."

Henrik leaned back. "So I ask again, will you help me?"

Chapter 21: 20)"Time Is Running Out"

It took them three hours to hash out a plan of action. Aunt Freya will still make the dagger that is capable of killing Marcel and keep a close eye on Uncle Kol, who was exposed to the blue light instead of Dad. Vincent will collect the bones and the book, after which both of them will prepare for the sealing ritual. When the ritual is complete, they will focus on Aurora, and when the time is right, they will extract the Hollow from us, transfer it to her, and then kill her.

There was just one problem with that plan. Honestly, Henrik was surprised there was only one problem. He was expecting so many more, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"While the two of you may be tribids, you aren't completely activated. Only 1/3 of your potential is active, the witch side. You both will need to activate at least 2/3 of your potential to be able to harbor the Hollow for the time it will take us to prepare Aurora."

Vincent motioned for Freya to take over while he went to the kitchen to call one of his contacts to get the bones from Mystic Falls and put out feelers for other bones, already working on the plan.

"Obviously, we're going to activate your werewolf side." Aunt Freya hesitated after that. It was understandable, really. She is asking her seven-year-old nephew and niece to kill a human in cold blood. But between the choice of killing or being killed, is it really a choice?

"You'll do it since you know, in graphic detail, what's at stake, but what about Hope? How do we convince her to kill a human?" Vincent asked, putting cups of coffee on the table. He then informed them that two of the bones were on the way, and he knew where to get the others, thanks to Henrik.

Aunt Freya and Vincent looked displeased and uncomfortable, but neither said anything against them activating their wolf side on purpose, simply asking how they would get Hope to activate her wolf side. Henrik's belief that he chose the right people for the task was reinforced.

"Well, we can do it two ways. Plan A: we tell her everything and hope she cooperates, or Plan B: we fake an ambush that forces her to kill a human and traumatise her for life." Henrik finished cheerfully, as if he wasn't discussing his sister committing murder.

"You're her twin, you tell us the best way to do this." Vincent retorted, which, fair.

"We tell her that to save our family, Aunt Freya needs to perform a spell that requires us to become hybrids, and we need to keep it a secret from others because they will try to stop, stating we're 'too young' to help them. She will definitely agree." Henrik finished whatever was left of his coffee in one go, letting them process what he just said.

"Not the complete truth, but not a lie either. Smart." Aunt Freya mumbled. Beside her, Vincent stood up, grabbed his wallet and keys, and headed to the door. When he saw us looking at him in confusion, he rolled his eyes and said, "Well, let's go collect Hope and activate their werewolf side."

"What—now?!" Aunt Freya spluttered, "It's 1 a.m!"

"Yes, now " Vincent practically growled, "We don't have the luxury of time, Freya! Who knows when Inadu will strike? It will take until the end of the week to get the bones and the book, and we also need to study the ritual and the seal needed to capture and trap Inadu. If we don't activate their werewolf side now, we won't have time for it later!" By the end of his mini-rant, Vincent was breathing heavily.

Aunt Freya didn't say anything; she just turned to look at him. Henrik understood what she was asking. After all, they were going to kill a person, not her. They didn't have a choice in whether they wanted to murder someone or not, so they should at least have a choice in when to murder someone, even if there is a time limit of a week.

"You should go ahead and get the humans ready. Send us your location when you have everything ready. I and Aunt Freya will collect Hope and be there as soon as possible." Henrik said with a calm he wasn't feeling Murder wasn't a big deal for Henrik, as he used to be a hitman in his past life, but Hope...

Hope was an actual child. He's going to ask a seven-year-old, his twin sister, to kill a man on purpose. He felt sick at the thought. And no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that this was the correct way, the only way for their entire family to survive....he couldn't.

Shaking his head to clear away his thoughts, he turned to Aunt Freya. (He ignored the pity and worry in her eyes.) "Let's go, Aunt Freya, we need to be quick."

Aunt Freya grabbed his shoulder before he could take a step, the hold not restricting, but also not light. "You don't have to do this right now, Henrik. Despite what Vincent says, I'm sure we would be able to find time to....to activate your werewolf side in the following week."

"There's no need to delay this, Aunt Freya. Today or tomorrow, what does it matter? The end result is the same. And Vincent's right. The two of you need to concentrate on the spell, after all, a single mistake can cause all of our deaths."

"Henrik..." Aunt Freya started but trailed off, not knowing what to say. Henrik took advantage of it and put on his shoes, running to the door. He looked back and saw Aunt Freya following him with a resigned look on her face.

Henrik walked towards the manor, trying to ignore the dull ache in his heart, hoping he had made the right decision.

Hoping he won't regret it.

 

 

Chapter 22: 21)"For Family"

Hope was looking at Henrik like she wanted to push him out the window and forget this ever happened. Which was fair, he supposed. If anyone woke him up at 1:30 a.m., he wouldn't hesitate to push them out the window, either.

"I swear I have a good reason to wake you up." Henrik held up his hands in a placating gesture, grinning up at her.

Hope narrowed her eyes. "There better be a good reason, or I won't hesitate to snap your neck." She smiled sweetly, as if she hadn't just threatened to kill her twin.

Henrik chuckled nervously, scared of how much Hope looked like their father when threatening someone.

"Aunt Freya and Vincent found a way to get rid of Inadu." Henrik began, and before Hope could ask any questions, he continued, "But we need to become hybrids for that. To be specific, we need to kill a human, like, right now."

"What" Hope deadpanned, "Henrik, what the hell? You can't just-start from the beginning!"

"Well, like I said, Aunt Freya and Vincent found a foolproof way to get rid of the Hollow permanently, but..."

"Of course there's a but," Hope sighed. "Nothing ever goes our way, does it?" Henrik grinned at her 'I'm so done' attitude. Guess he wasn't the only one told about the various ways things have gone wrong for this family.

"But the spell will take time. Like, 10 years, and obviously the Hollow isn't going to wait for us to complete the spell. So, until the spell is done, Aunt Freya and Vincent will split the Hollow and seal them within us."

"And they can seal her within us because we're tribrids, and our souls can safely harbour an ancient bloodthirsty witch." Hope picked up on what he was trying to say: "That's why we need to become hybrids, right? To activate 2/3 of our potential. Otherwise, we can't harbour the Hollow safely."

There's... another catch." Henrik didn't want to say this, but Hope needed to know everything before deciding to kill a random human.

Hope sighed again but didn't say anything, so Henrik continued, "We won't be able to see each other until the spell is complete. We'll have to make sure we're not in the same country at the same time or else... well, nothing good will happen, that's for sure."

Hope just looked at him. No noise, no movement. For a moment, Henrik was sure she would say no. She would scream, cry, or throw a tantrum. You know, do anything a normal 7-year-old would do when told to kill a random man and stay away from her twin for 10 years. What he didn't expect was for her to say...

"Okay," Hope said," I'll do it. Give me a minute to get dressed."

"Wait-What?" Henrik blurted it out, "Just like that? No tantrum?"

Hope shot him a dirty look at the word tantrum and said, "Look, if doing this means all of us come out of this shitshow alive, then I'm in. I just don't want anyone I care about to die. It's as simple as that."

Henrik was still dazed when Hope slammed the bathroom door. He would have still been staring at the door if Aunt Freya hadn't physically shaken him out of it.

"You okay?" Aunt Freya asked quietly, as if trying not to spook him.

"Yeah, just surprised" Henrik replied. "I thought she would react more...violently, I guess? I mean, I don't want her to be mad, but...

Aunt Freya chuckled, "You're viewing her as a normal 7-year-old, Henrik. I'm sorry to inform you, but neither of you are normal." Aunt Freya paused, as if realising what she said might be offensive. "I meant that in a positive way. The both of you are different, yes, but whether you're good different, or bad different depends on you."

" 'Different' " Henrik scoffed out the word, "That's one way of putting it."

Aunt Freya sighed, "You need to understand, Henrik. After today, you'll have to deal with both a wolf's temper and a witch's arrogance, which is going to be hard. And that is without mentioning a vampire's hunger, which is...a future problem."

Seeing Aunt Freya so exhausted, Henrik tried to lighten the mood: "A witch being arrogant?" Henrik fake gasped, "Perish the thought."

Aunt Freya smacked his head, but she was laughing, so he counted it as a win. "If you had the power to set things on fire with your mind, wouldn't you be arrogant?" Then she sighed as if remembering the original topic of their conversation. "Anyway, Hope is acting exactly as I thought she would. She has always been very family-oriented. I mean, she still believes Elijah is her father, even though you told her straight to her face that he wasn't."

Henrik winced at the reminder of that particular conversation. Henrik had lasted 6 months before exploding at Hope, demanding she explain why she calls Elijah father when they both know he isn't. Henrik had truly thought that argument would make her see reality, but he'd underestimated how desperate Hope was for a father. She still held steadfast to the belief that Elijah was their father.

Aunt Freya continued, "After activating her werewolf side, her temper will be worse, but she will also be more loyal. So either she will explode at her family or she will remain loyal to them, to the idea of family."

Before Henrik could say anything, the bathroom door opened, and Hope walked out, dressed in all black.

"Well?" Hope questioned when neither of them moved, "When are we leaving?"

Aunt Freya cleared her throat and responded, "Right now, actually. Vincent already has two humans tied up at an abandoned farmhouse." Aunt Freya paused. "If it helps, both the humans have committed heinous crimes and deserve to die."

Hope didn't give any indication that she'd heard the last part, and after getting the location and directions, she jumped straight out the window. After sharing a quick glance, they jumped out the window too. Aunt Freya using magic, and Henrik using his dormant werewolf abilities.

By the time they got there, Hope was standing next to Vincent, and he was gesturing to the humans, saying something to her.

"....he killed his own brother because he was jealous of him. I assure you, Hope, they deserve to die."

Vincent looked up when he heard them approach but didn't stop talking. "Now, the full moon is next week, so we need to seal Inadu in you before that. The full moon is the only day when you will be vulnerable due to pain and therefore will be unable to resist Inadu if she tries to possess you. All you two need to do is kill a human and wait for the ritual; leave the rest to us."

With that, Vincent stepped away and gestured to the humans. Henrik went first; since he used to be a hitman and was used to killing, he knew how much force to apply to snap a human neck. He got it done quick and easy and closed his eyes, feeling the effects. He could feel his senses being heightened-not by much, but enough that he could tell. His emotions were heightened too. Every little thing seemed to annoy him. The noise, the lights, the smells. It took him a while to regain control of his emotions, but he did.

Henrik opened his eyes, just in time to see Hope snap the neck of the second human.