Chapter 4: A Real Home

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT MY OWN IDEAS

Their plane landed at 3:02 am Eastern USA time at Richmond International Airport. Ryson was fast asleep in Alaric's arms so it was an uneventful, and quick departure. It didn't take them long to get all their bags and head home. Ryson was placed in Lizzie's car seat for the trip but he would need one of his own soon.

When they were on the road Alaric called Damon to let them know they would be back within four or five hours and to make sure the Burbon was ready to go, After the two days he had he needed a drink. Luckily Damon, Elena, and Jeremy had agreed to stay at the school in their absence and help keep watch on all the students.

They made good time and were pulling into the gates of the school by 8:00 am. Ryson had woken up a little before then but was too occupied by staring out the window to ask any questions. He still couldn't believe that he was free. Not only that but he was even more special than Jamie now. Jamie was only a Wand User, while he was a Tribrid Heretic, with two kinds of magic. Everyone always called him dark, evil, or a freak, but Alaric had said he was just different and special.

Ryson had been so sure that his Uncle was going to end up killing him and dumping his body in the woods somewhere. The only ones he had known he could trust before now were the house-elves. Still, they were bound to the Potter Line so they could only help so much.

Ryson then remembered his godfather Remus, who he hadn't seen in years. He didn't understand why Remus never came over anymore. All he knew was that Remus got real angry on his third birthday when he told Remus that he didn't get any presents. He thought that Remus was angry at him for complaining but now looking back, Remus acted more like Alaric and Caroline did. Maybe Remus wasn't angry at him, maybe he was angry at his mom and James. If that was the case he wanted to find his godfather.

Jamie's godfather on the other hand always preferred Jamie over him so he didn't care that much about him. Although he didn't come around nearly as much since Remus never came back. Maybe he could reach out to both of them, but what if they told the Potter's about him doing so. What if they tracked him down and took him away. He didn't want to go back to being Harrison Potter, the dark Potter child. He liked being Ryson Mikaelson, a child of The Original Hyrbrid, Niklaus Mikaelson. The first Mikaelson Tribrid Heretic. He hadn't been Ryson for long but to him, it just seemed right somehow.

Finally, they arrived at the front of the school and everyone got out of the car, where they were greeted by two small missiles. One had blonde hair that ran straight for Caroline and the other had brown hair and ran straight for Alaric.

"Mommy, Daddy, you're finally home." The two twin girls yelled together as each parent picked them up.

"Yes, sweethearts we are home," Alaric said.

"And guess what," Caroline said

"What?" They both said together again.

"We brought you two a new friend to play with," Caroline said.

She and Alaric put the girls down and led them over to Ryson who was hiding behind Emma's legs. Emma had a gentle smile on her face as she brought him out in front of her. She knelt down to the children's level and introduced them.

"Ryson, this is Lizzie and Josie Saltzman. Josie, Lizzie, this is Ryson Mikaelson." Emma said.

"Mikaelson, I've heard that name before but I don't know remember where," Josie said before stepping closer to Ryson and holding out her hand. "Hi my name is Josie we are siphon witches, do you want to be my friend?"

Ryson looked at her hand and then at her smiling face. The only kids he had ever been around were Jamie, Dudley, their friends, and the kids at his school. All those kids were mean but these girls had smiles on their faces and they were siphon witches. That meant that they were like him. Different and special. Ryson took a deep breath before stepping up and shaking her hand.

"Hi, my name is Ryson I'm a Tribrid Heretic, and I would like to be your friend. I have never had one before." Ryson said.

Lizzie gasped at that before launching herself at him and pulling him into a hug.

"Well since your Josie's friend that means you're my friend now too," Lizzie said, releasing him from her hug before taking his and Josie's hand and heading into the school. "We are going to have breakfast with Aunt Elena and Uncle Damon, do you want to come with us? They are nice. Uncle Jeremy already left after mommy and daddy called and said they were on their way home. We have been waiting by the door since we got up." Lizzie said.

"Okay," Ryson answered.

From then on those three would become inseparable.

They all went inside and made their way to the cafeteria where only a few older students who didn't have class were just hanging out or getting some extra studying done. Sitting at the table closest to the windows were two adults, a man and a woman who Ryson guessed were Damon and Elena. Damon stood up when he saw them enter and pulled Alaric into a hug.

"Ric, old buddy. Glad to see you made it home. How was England?"

"Interesting, to say the least, but how about we talk about this later," Alaric said.

"Agreed" Elena said helping the kids into their seats while Caroline and Emma had gone to get their plates.

Finally, everyone had a plate and Ryson got to enjoy his first meal at the Salvatore School.

"So," Damon said, looking towards Ryson "You must be the new student my name is Damon Salvatore and this is my lovely wife Elena Gilbert-Salvatore. What are you witch or werewolf?"

"Yes sir. Nice to meet both of you my name is Ryson Mikaelson and I'm a Tribrid Heretic." Ryson said.

Damon choked on the food he had just swallowed, Elena froze with her fork halfway to her mouth, and all the other students suddenly got real quiet and looked toward their table not even bothering to try and hide that they had been eavesdropping. Ryson noticed this and looked around at everyone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ryson asked the adults about to cry. He didn't mean to do whatever it was that he did.

"No," Caroline said very loudly to make sure everyone heard her. "You did nothing wrong Ryson."

"Then why did everyone react like this?" Ryson asked her.

Caroline sighed. She didn't want to have this discussion right now but knew it had to happen. The good thing about the older students being here was they would spread this around and hopefully, the whole school would understand that while Ryson was a Mikaelson and different. That didn't mean he was evil, he was just a little boy who needed a home.

Caroline turned toward him and began explaining.

"Ryson the name Mikaelson is very well known here and not all the things about it are good. However this school was funded by your father, he wanted to change the way people saw his name. Klaus wanted a school for his child to be able to attend and not have to hide. Even though he doesn't know about you yet, I know he would want you to be here if you couldn't be with him. This school is about new beginnings and starting over, and I hope every child and adult here will remember that. Also, you being a Tribrid Heretic makes you one of a kind." Caroline said.

"He did bad things, didn't he?" Ryson asked her.

Ryson might have been young but he had to learn how to read things not being said around him from an even younger age.

"Yes Ryson, your father has done some bad things in the past." Elena said finally getting over her shock "But I know he has changed and the one thing he cares about more than anything in the world, is his family."

"Ya buddy," Damon said joining in the conversation "I don't know the whole story, only bits, and pieces, but I know he would never have put you in the situation you were in. No child deserves to suffer like that. He knows what it's like to be treated as a monster and he would move heaven and earth to protect his kids from that. I promise you"

With that last statement, the kids that were still eavesdropping felt ashamed for the thoughts that had been running through their heads just minutes earlier. A lot of them came from bad homes and understood what Damon was saying and every supernatural knew what being treated like a monster was like.

Just because the kid was a Mikaelson didn't mean anything to them now, Ryson was one of them. It was very apparent to them that the Mikaelson's probably had no idea that he existed, how can they blame a child who has never even met his father yet. Boy, it was not going to be pretty for whoever hurt Ryson when the Mikaelson's finally learned of his existence. Ryson was a survivor and more importantly, he was a student under the protection of the school. The one thing that every student agreed on was that they had to stick together. Before the day was over every student would know of Ryson and his heritage but they all would stand with him. No child deserved to be abused and if the headmaster and the headmistress accepted him, then they would too.

There might also be a secret bet going around on what the Mikaelson's would do to the people who hurt Ryson.

After the emotional talk, they all finished their breakfast and went separate ways. Alaric went with Damon and Elena to his office to explain everything while drinking some much-needed bourbon. Caroline took Ryson to find him a room and get his stuff unpacked. They would go out this weekend and get anything else he needed. The twins went to the playroom with the other small children and would tell all the other kids, about their new friend. Emma went to get the tests ready to see how much Ryson knew so they could get him started with classes as soon as possible.

They would bring out the books later tonight when all the students were asleep and Caroline would speed read through them. They would then be placed in the attic until the summertime when they would be added to the Library. Emma would go through them slowly over the next year cataloging them while Caroline and Alaric would go through the ones about Lordships, Laws, and schools. Preparing for when Ryson would need to start mastering his Wand Magic.

Alaric's Office

Alaric was leaning back in his chair behind the desk while Elena and Damon took up the seats in front of it. He had just got done telling them everything.

"So let me get this straight" Damon says while sitting putting his head in his hands. "Ryson is Klaus's kid that is from an affair or one night stand with a Wand Using witch. The Wand Using witches husband Blood Adopted Klaus's kid, neglected him, and then they sent him to live with abusive non-magical people. All the while permitting them to do what they wanted to the boy as long as he was alive at age 11."

"Yes," Alaric said

Damon took a deep breath before leaning back in his seat and chuckled.

"Man Klaus is going to skin them alive," Damon said.

"Most likely," Alaric said

"You okay Elena?" Damon asked

Elena had a copy of Ryson's inheritance test in her hands and she had a frown on her face.

"What does conquest mean here?" Elena asked

"What?" Both men asked her.

"Under the titles, it says he inherits the Slytherin and Pervell by right of conquest. Wouldn't that mean he had to defeat someone to gain that?" Elena states.

"Huh. I can't believe we missed that." Alaric says reaching for the copy and looking it over himself. "Axetooth didn't mention anything about that but we also didn't ask."

"When are you going back?" Damon asked.

"This summer" Alaric answered, "We were planning on getting more things to start a new class next year about Wand Users and their society."

"Then it's simple just stop in and ask him about it then. I will even go with you. Elena, you were saying how you and Caroline were going to take the girls to have a girls-only vacation. When yall are gone, Alaric and I will take Ryson with us and we can have a boys-only vacation. It would also work out for Ryson because he can pass as my kid if anyone recognizes him." Damon says

"That sounds good," Alaric says

"What do you think Ryson would look like without the Blood Adoption." Elena then asks after they settled the summer vacation plans.

"I don't know but from the picture we saw in the file at the bank, James Potter had black hair and hazel eyes and Lillian had red hair and green eyes. Klaus has dirty blond hair and blue eyes." Alaric said, "So I guess that he would have reddish blonde hair with blue eyes."

"Do you think there is a spell that can turn him to his true appearance before he renounces the blood adoption? That way it would be even harder for anyone to recognize him." Elena ask.

"I don't know." Alaric answers "I will have to ask Emma about it later."

Meanwhile with Caroline and Ryson

Caroline led Ryson to an empty bedroom. The room was set up for two people. There was a window to the right side of the room with a window seat. Across from the window, there were two doors, one led to a bathroom and the other was a closet. The bathroom had a private bath, a separate shower, a double sink, and a toilet. It was done in a white and brown color scheme. The closet was a walk-in closet with shoe storage space in the back, rods on both sides for hanging clothes, and shelves above the rods to put things. On the inside of the closet door were hooks to hang up jackets, bags, or other things.

There was a set of bunk beds against the wall straight across from the door. There were two three-drawer dressers, one on either side of the door. A toy box rested in the corner by the window along the wall with the beds. The other corner by the window had a circle kid table with five chairs placed around it. In between the closet and bathroom door sat a tall bookcase. All the furniture was white wood that went perfect with the dark oak floor and original walls and ceiling of the room.

She told him that since Klaus had been very kind to fund the school, they had the room set up for Hope if she ever came to the school. Since he was also Klaus's son he would get the room and when or if his sister came they could share it. When they got older they could change it as they liked. Ryson couldn't believe this. When he read that kids could live at the school he was expecting cold dorms and strict teachers This was much better. They got to work emptying his backpack of all his new clothes.

Underwear and socks went into the first drawer, shorts in the second, and pants in the third. All the shirts, jackets, cloaks, and shoes went into the closet.

"Where is my sister?" Ryson asked her as they hung up his last shirt.

"All we know was that there was a war, and now your family is in hiding. Nobody can find them right now but if I know your family the way I believe I do, then I know that they are okay and won't stay hidden for much longer." Caroline said. "In the meantime, you get to stay here with us and go to school. When they come back you can show your family all that you have learned."

That put a blinding smile on Ryson's face. He would do that. He would do his best to prove to his family that he was worthy of carrying their name, and when he met his sister he would protect her as a real brother would. He wouldn't be like Jamie or Dudley, he would do his best, and he made it his life's mission to change how people saw his last name.

Alaric had talked to Emma about changing Ryson's appearance to what it would be without the blood adoption later that day.

"I'm sorry Alaric but until the blood adoption is renounced, no potion or spell will affect his appearance to that extent without a constant flow of magic." Emma had told him but with a thoughtful look added "However I could look into a permanent glamour spelled onto a piece of jewelry he could wear. I would have to pour a lot of magic into it but that could work. Let me do some more research and I will get back to you this weekend."

Alaric and Caroline had talked to Ryson about this and he was excited about not looking like James Potter any longer. He was so happy that he did some accidental magic and began flying around the room. It took them 3 hours to calm him down enough for the magic to stop.

The next day when the girls were in the playroom again Emma took Ryson to a quiet room and gave him the placement test. Ryson had never had formal schooling before but the houselves did their best to teach him. In the end, he tested for 1st grade in most subjects except science. He also had a good concept and understanding of the basics of magic.

Since the school was small and so new the majority of the students were older. Most parents were a little skeptical about sending their young kids to an unknown boarding school, so they would wait and see how the older ones would do for a year or two. The faculty was expecting a large increase of students in the coming years though. There was only a total of 10 students under the age of 11. This means that they only had one class for the younger kids and each kid got assignments for their skill level. Later on, when the school gained more younger students they would transform into a more natural school setting but for now, this worked well for them. All the younger students were ahead of where they would be in a normal school and enjoyed the one-on-one attention from their teacher.

After the tests, Emma took Ryson to the playroom until it was time for dinner. The playroom was where the kids six years and younger spent their recess period. The older kids that still had recess had a play area outside. Lizzie and Josie wouldn't start school until next year so they spent the first part of the day in there unless they were with one of their parents. The girls were allowed to attend the Magic and Latin classes in the afternoon though. They were very happy to have a new friend in Ryson.

It was decided that Ryson would start classes on Monday and since it was Wednesday he would spend the days until then in the playroom with the twins. Alaric and Caroline had gone that morning to get the citizenship papers, non-magical custody, and name change done or finalized. It took a little compulsion from Caroline for the citizenship papers but other than that everything went smoothly. They would be receiving the official documents in the mail within 10 days but it was now official in both magical and non-magical laws. Ryson Henrik Mikaelson was now a citizen of the United States of America and was in the custody of Caroline Salvatore and Alaric Saltzman.

Unknown to the adults at the school all the witches and werewolves at the school contacted their packs and covens (if they had one) and told them about the youngest Mikaelson. All the werewolf packs who learned of him told their kids to protect him, none of them liked how the Garraro wolves had treated little Hope. To a werewolf, nothing was more important than their pack, and pups were to be protected above all. They were too late for Hope as she has not been seen in years but Ryson was a pup without a pack. They would protect him until he was either reunited with his pack (family) or until he could protect himself.

All the covens took a little longer to respond. There were whispers of a new power coming into play for some time now. Most had believed that the whispers were speaking of young Hope Mikaelson but now Ryson could also be this new power. They told their children to watch over him and help guide him in the magical arts unless told to do otherwise.

Luckily the only vampires at the school were just teenagers and had no one but the school. They didn't interact with many outside Vampires and even if they did, they agreed with the rest of the students. Ryson was just a kid, he deserved the same chance that Alaric and Caroline gave them.

It was a good thing that part of the school's protections was a special anti-locator spell. This spell would not allow any person who called the school home or if they resided there for the school year to be found by magical means. The covens were tied to their children and could bypass this but only for one from their coven. Anyone else had to be inside school grounds to use magic to find them and any human, witch, werewolf, or vampire with ill intent towards the school or its occupants wouldn't be able to find the school. Let alone get onto school grounds.

That weekend saw Alaric, Caroline, and the three kids heading towards the nearest mall to get things Ryson would need for school, his room, and of course some toys. Plus anything else that he wanted since Alaric and Caroline was allowing him to spoil himself today.

After today though they would only allow him a certain amount of money each month from his vaults. This way he learned the value of money and would learn to respect it. They knew he had enough money to last 1,000 years or more but they knew he needed to learn this skill early so it would stick with him. Now later on when he made changes to his room or anything like that he would be able to use his funds as he pleased but only for big projects. Birthday and Christmas gifts were not part of his allowance but Alaric would make sure he put a limit on the price for each gift. It wouldn't do well for him to buy everyone a new car for Christmas.

Ryson had brought his backpack so they didn't have to lug everything around all day. This of course got the twins started on how they wanted a magic backpack as well.

"If yall are good, we will get you one for when you start school next year," Caroline said looking into the backseat of the car as Alaric drove.

Ryson now had a car seat which was situated in the middle of the backseat, it of course was red and black. He had on blue jeans, a blue shirt that had a green and black dragon on it, and white and black shoes. Luckily he didn't inherit James Potter's eyesight or if he did his Vampire heritage cleared it up, so they didn't have to worry about stopping at an eye doctor. His hair while black like James Potter's was thankfully able to be tamed. Ryson liked to keep his hair kind of short on the sides and longer with spikes on the top.

Lizzie was sitting behind Caroline in her pink and purple car seat with Josie sitting behind Alaric in her purple and teal car seat. The twins were also wearing almost identical clothes. Josie had on blue jeans, purple sneakers, a purple shirt with a unicorn on it, and a purple hairband. Lizzie had on blue jeans, pink sneakers, the same shirt as Josie just in pink, and a pink hairband.

"But mommy," The twins said together "We want one now."

"No." Caroline said while giving both girls her mom look "Be good and you will get one before you start school."

"Okay mommy," they said looking down.

Ryson looked at their sad faces and decided that he was going to be nice and buy them something. He never had anyone to buy anything for and they were his first real friends.

The first stop they made was to the bank and the adults took the money they owed Ryson out of the school account since the books would be for the school. They then loaded the money onto Ryson's trust fund card. In Gringotts bank, 1,200 gallons appeared in his vault.

Ryson would be able to buy stuff he wanted today but he wouldn't have to buy everything. Every student that comes into the school from a bad home is supplied with clothes, school supplies, and all the necessities. They are also given some toys if they are younger, or a laptop for the older kids. They also get a bedding set and some room decorations.

So Ryson could spend his money and get some extra stuff that he wants but some of the shopping will be paid for by the school. Ryson didn't understand this at first.

"But why are you going to buy all that when I have money. That money should go to kids that don't have any money." Ryson had said.

"Listen Ryson." Alaric said "Yes you have money but that money is yours to buy want you want. It is our jobs as your guardians to supply you with what you need. We do this with every child that comes to the school that is now under our care. Do you understand son?".

"Yes, I understand," Ryson said.

Finally, they arrived at the mall after the hour-long drive and everyone piled out of the car with tons of energy. Well, the younger generation did. Before the twins could run off Alaric picked them up one in each arm and Caroline took Ryson by his hand. Inside the mall, the parents paid for a four-seater daycare buggy with safety straps to keep the kids from running off. The kids chose the buggy that looked like a red train, the girls took the front seats with the fake stirring wheels, while Ryson took the back and placed his backpack in the extra seat.

This was the first time Ryson had been in a non-magical mall and he was amazed at all the things that were fit in one building without magic.

The first store they stopped at was a home design store to pick out his bedding and room decorations. Ryson chose; Jurrasic Park themed bedding, Jurassic Park themed toothbrush holder and soap dispenser, some glow-in-the-dark stars to put on his room, a blue lamp that clamped to the side of his bunk bed (he chose the top bunk), a nice small blue and green children's steps to go in his bathroom, four bean bags in different colors, purple (Josie), pink (Lizzie), green (Ryson), and teal (Hope), and three nice silver picture frames. He wanted to get a picture of his dad, all his aunts, and uncles, and when he met his sister he wanted to get a picture of her and him. Until then they would sit on his dresser empty but waiting to be filled. Then right before they left he saw a pink, purple and blue frame that would be perfect for a picture of him and the twins.

They stopped at an Electronics store next. Ryson bought a flat-screen tv with a wall mount, a PS4, extra controllers, games, DVDs, and a set of four walkie-talkies. The TV and PS4 were the only items loaded into the car. They were not sure how the electronics would react to being shrunk inside the bag. The rest Caroline sneakily put into Ryson's backpack after they left each store.

The next stop was the mall play area for the kids to blow off some steam. Alaric watched over the kids while Caroline did some clothes shopping for all three of them. The twins were growing fast and even with all the stuff Ryson bought back in England he somehow forgot PJs. Clothes shopping was always easier without kids running around.

After that, it was lunchtime at the food court where the twins introduced Ryson to pizza. Safe to say he fell in love with the food.

The next stop was to get his school supplies. After every shop, Alaric and Caroline took turns going and putting the things away in the magical backpack.

School supply shopping was a little boring to the kids but Ryson loved getting everything he could with dragons or dinosaurs on it. This included notebooks, pencils, and folders all with some kind of giant reptile on them. The school supplied this stuff by some of the younger kids liked to personalize their belongings.

Finally, the last shop and the one that the kids were most excited about was the toy shop. This shop was the only shop the kids were allowed out of the buggy. Caroline went with the girls and Alaric took Ryson. The girls would get one toy each while the school would get Ryson 5 things. However, both of them knew that Ryson would buy more with his own money.

Alaric got a separate shopping buggy and followed Ryson as he put toy after toy in the buggy. It seemed that Ryson was taking full advantage of being able to splurge today, after all, he would be on a set amount from now on, and was the first time in his life that he would get real toys.

The girls each got a new baby doll, and Ryson with Alaric's blessing secretly got some extra clothes and doll supplies for the twins. They paid for the secret gifts first and hid them in the backpack before the girls saw them.

Ryson picked: 5 different lego sets, a stuffed wolf, a stuffed dragon, some robots, transformers, a remote control car, army men, some toy airplanes, a hot wheels track, lots of hot wheels, a spiderman action figure, an iron man action figure, a blue and black bike with training wheels, a helmet and pads, some children's books, a red train set, and a good selection of board games. Monopoly, sorry, candy land, clue, and of course toys to play in the bathtub.

The bike didn't go into the backpack for obvious reason, and because Ryson wanted to push it. He tried to ride it out of the store but Alaric put a stop to that.

Finally, it was time to go home and unload everything. The kids took their naps in the car on the way back. When they got home Caroline took them to have a snack while Alaric took everything to Ryson's room except for the bike, which was put with the other kid's bikes outside. The rest of the afternoon was spent setting Ryson's room up the way he wanted.

The toy box was now full, the bookcase held his legos sets, DVDs, PS4 games, board games, and books. His TV was placed above his dresser with his PS4, walkie-talkies, and picture frames went on his dresser. His stuffed animals went on his bed after it was made up. The stars were put on the ceiling by Alaric who arranged them in constellations, his bathroom now looked and felt more child-friendly and the bean bags were placed in the closet until the kids would use them.

The next day Emma came through with the glamour spell. First, they had to brew a potion that would show his true appearance and take a picture before the blood adoption overrode the changes. Now Emma couldn't do an entire glamour spell since the blood adoption wouldn't allow that, but she could make one that would only change his hair color. It would have to do until he could renounce the blood adoption.

Emma took the picture and the necklace Ryson had chosen, a simple silver and black chain, and soaked them a silver bowl of magically purified water. She then placed the bowl inside a ritual circle, with seven candles surrounding it, and began chanting. Capillus Color Mutatio Coniunctum. After ten minutes of chanting the candles blue out and the picture and water were absorbed into the necklace.

Surprisingly Alaric had been wrong about his hair color. Ryson now sported Klaus's dirty blonde hair, but the spiked tips were Lilly's vibrant red.

That night Ryson fell asleep under the glow of his stars and the knowledge that he finally had a home.