The Vampire Diaries

1. The Awakening

Elena Gilbert is the most beautiful and popular girl in Robert E. Lee High School. She is driven by a desire to be best at everything, and takes an interest in a handsome new student named Stefan Salvatore, who repeatedly avoids her.

Stefan eventually rescues Elena from Tyler Smallwood on the night of the Homecoming Dance. Afterward, the two gradually bond, leading him to reciprocate her affections. As the pair fall in love, their town of Fell's Church is being terrorised by inexplicable, horrifying 'animal attacks', with Stefan becoming a suspect.

When Elena tries to confront Stefan, she discovers his terrible secret. Stefan is a vampire, born in the Italian Renaissance during the late fifteenth century. But Stefan isn't the one who has been committing the murders; the perpetrator is Stefan's diabolical brother, Damon Salvatore, who lives to wreak havoc and distribute misery on Stefan's life. The two brothers were turned vampire by the coquettish German Lady Katherine von Swartzchild, whom they both loved. Katherine was sent to stay with Stefan and Damon's family to recover from an 'illness'. When Stefan and Damon had an argument over Katherine and asked her to choose between them she got upset and ran off. The next morning her dress was found with a pile of ashes and her ring under a tree. The two brothers had a fight to the death, in which they both killed each other. They wake up days later inside their tomb. The reason why Stefan initially avoided Elena was because Elena is a doppleganger of Katherine. For this same reason, Damon also chooses to pursue Elena, following her around in the magical disguise of a crow and he invades her dreams. Despite the duress, Elena rejects Damon's advances and remains stoically loyal to Stefan.

Elena's rejection angers Damon. In a fit of rage, he provokes Stefan to fight.

In the aftermath, Stefan disappears. The townspeople of Fell's Church believe Stefan's disappearance cements the truth that Stefan is behind the attacks. However, Elena's sure she doesn't know what had really happened. She thinks Damon is responsible for Stefan's disappearance, and she knows Stefan is in grave danger.

  

2.The Struggle

Picking up where The Awakening left off, Elena confronts Damon about Stefan's disappearance. But when Elena stands firm on her rejection of Damon's romantic advances, Damon refuses to help find Stefan. Elena must turn to her best friends, Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez. Bonnie, who is believed to have psychic powers, uses magic to track down Stefan. The girls discover Stefan trapped in the bottom of a well, close to death. After Stefan's rescue, Elena offers him her blood to recover.

Because of the belief that he perpetrated the horrific 'animal' attacks, Stefan still faces hostility in the town. And as the town's monumental anniversary,'Founder's Day' approaches, Elena reaches her breaking point.

Elena's adversary, Caroline Forbes, has stolen Elena's diary. Elena confesses all her secrets to her diary, and its contents can be read as evidence that Stefan is a violent criminal. Worried about Stefan's mental and physical well-being, Elena enlists the help of her friends to retrieve the diary. Bonnie, Meredith and Elena try to break into Caroline's house to find the diary but no success. In a mad attempt to escape,she discovers Damon lurking in the shadows of the Forbes house. Damon offers to help Elena's cause - if Elena gives him blood in return. Elena refuses.

Damon gives her a terrifying ultimatum, choosing between Damon bleeding Elena, or her baby sister, Margaret, Elena sacrifices herself. Damon compels Elena into a blood exchange.

Soon after, Elena tells Stefan about the diary. Stefan tells Elena that even if Caroline reveals the contents of Elena's diary to the whole town, because of his love for Elena, Stefan will stay. On Founder's Day, Elena and her friends try their best to steal Elena's diary, but their attempts are futile. However, when Caroline tries to read the diary, it is discovered that the diaries have been switched by Damon.

Damon smugly accepts Elena's thanks, but his satisfaction quickly turns to anger when he hears about Elena's engagement. Frustrated by their reactions, Elena storms off.

Elena angrily drives to Stefan's residence. But when she finally gets there, Stefan isn't home, and there is something malevolent about the weather. It is vicious and brutal, and it wants Elena dead...She feels there is something lurking in the dark. She jumps into the car and tries to cross running water, as she thinks this will keep her safe. The bridge then breaks and she drives into the water. She then drowns in the car and becomes a vampire.

3.The Fury

This book begins with the newly "turned" Elena watching Damon and Stefan engaged in a fight to the death. Initially she does not recognize the brothers due to her confused state, having recently died and risen as a Vampire, but soon a flicker of memory causes her to realize the one she loves is hurt and needs her help.

The reader is led to believe she is referring to Stefan.But instead Elena attacks him, and fully intends to kill him for hurting Damon. Stefan, upon recognizing Elena, doesn't fight back and allows her to bite him. Damon eventually commands her to stop and takes her in search of human blood. Stefan intervenes,not wanting Elena to kill someone, and instead makes her drink Matt's blood.

Afterwards Damon hides her in Alaric Saltzman's attic and once she has rested, her disorientation begins to lift. Elena is deeply upset about the way she attacked Stefan.While wandering, trying to process all the new information, Elena stumbles upon her own memorial service where Stefan and Damon find her. Stefan is relieved when Elena remembers their love and Damon is enraged, but the three are distracted by the strange behaviour of a large pack of the towns pet dogs who are attacking their owners.

More strange events lead the three vampires, with the help of Bonnie, Meredith, Matt and Alaric, to conclude that the same Power which forced Elena off of the bridge is still stalking the town. It transpires that Katherine, the vampire who turned Damon and Stefan, faked her own death 500 years before in a vain attempt to bring the brothers closer. Her plan failed, and the brothers, killed each other and they rose as Vampires. Katherine was infuriated by the brother's continuing feud, so she fled to Klaus, the one who had turned her into a vampire on her death bed. Under his teaching, Katherine became more powerful and quite unstable.

She eventually has Damon, Stefan and Elena tied up in an underground crypt where she plans to torture and dispose of them all. Elena manages to free herself, forcing Katherine into a shaft of sunlight and tearing off her protective lapis lazuli necklace. Elena is badly burned herself as Katherine had already removed the protective ring from Elena's hand. Stefan pulls Elena back into the shadows but it is too late; Elena has died in Stefan's arms after she made him promise to take good care of Damon.

4.Dark Reunion

As a psychic, Bonnie has dreams of Elena in the Other World. But the dreams quickly turn frightening. Which causes the death of one of their friends. A source of power has infiltrated Fells Church, putting its inhabitants in danger. Not knowing what to do, Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie use a summoning spell to call for Stefan and Damon — but whose side is Damon on? This novel greatly expands Bonnie and Meredith as characters. Bonnie takes the leading role as she writes in the diary. She also finds a possible romance with Matt Honeycutt. After some research in the library Stefan realizes Tyler Smallwood is a werewolf. They concoct a plan and lure Tyler into the graveyard. After threatening him, Tyler reveals startling information about the killer. They find out Klaus, the vampire who made Katherine a vampire is the killer, and has captured Caroline. The four find out from Meredith's mad grandfather that the only thing that can weaken Klaus is White Ash wood. Klaus makes a deal with Stefan, "Come alone or the girl dies." Bonnie, Meredith and Matt try to persuade Stefan to take some of their blood to make him stronger but he refuses and warns them not to follow. They ignore his threat and follow. They see Stefan with a branch of White Ash wood and Bonnie realizes it's a trap and cries out to Stefan before he gets hurt. There is a fight at the old Francher place deep in the Old Wood. They are losing the fight and Stefan is on the brink of death. Damon appears out of nowhere and proves his loyalty as he stakes Klaus. However, Klaus isn't hurt badly, and he attacks Damon. Bonnie screams for Elena. She appears as a glowing mist along with the spirits of Civil War soldiers that had fought and died in Fell's Church. They charge Klaus and carry him away. The ending is the most surprising yet for Elena's friends as she almost leaves forever and then is granted another chance to come back to life so she takes it.'

5.The Return: Nightfall

One week after Elena Gilbert has come back from the dead, she is in a childlike state, unable to read and almost completely unable to speak. Her understanding is impaired but not completely absent. Damon Salvatore watches outside Caroline’s window as Caroline talks to an independent image of herself. Damon believes the mirror-Caroline to be a supernatural evil force that is playing some sort of trick on Caroline. He feels a sharp puncture on his neck while he watches. After the mirror-Caroline goes away, Damon persuades Caroline to let him into her bedroom.

Stefan allows Elena’s friends to visit her,including Caroline. When the four humans show up at Stefan’s room in the boarding house Elena does not recognize any of them. She kisses Caroline,Bonnie,Matt and Meredith so she can recognize them.Because of Caroline's bad behavior,she gets kicked out.

As Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt drive home from the boarding house, they are surrounded and attacked by ambulatory trees, which poison the three humans with their sap. Bonnie uses her psychic powers to call to Damon for help.He decides to save the nearly-dead Bonnie. Returning to the boarding house with her, he nearly runs into Stefan,who volunteers to save Meredith and Matt while Damon cares for Bonnie. Damon rescues Bonnie by floating her in a bath of warm water, and then feeding her his blood.Later,Stefan returns with Matt and Meredith,who were saved by Elena's kiss.

The next morning, Elena wakes up able to speak. She and Stefan then go for a celebration picnic with Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt. During the picnic, Matt tells them that the fifteen-year-old Tami Bryce is behaving very strange.The others agree that a malach,which is a thing that makes people do untypically things. Meanwhile, Shinichi, now identified as an evil kitsune("werefox"), and Damon are watching unseen. Damon says that he doesn’t want “his” girls—Bonnie and Elena--hurt. Shinichi puts Damon in a trance and encourages the malach inside Damon to grow larger and stronger. Damon tells Stefan that there is a website referring to an organization, the Shi no Shi, that can turn vampires to humans. Stefan is suspicious but agrees to visit Damon in the woods to learn more about it. He leaves a note on the computer for Elena and sneaks off while she sleeps. Damon changes the note to read that Stefan has decided to leave Elena for her own good. Elena wakes and believes that she has been abandoned by Stefan. She decides to find Stefan with the help of her friends. Meanwhile, Matt is attacked by malachs on the way back from the boarding house. The next day, Matt returns to the boarding house, where Mrs. Flowers reveals herself to be a witch and binds Matt’s wounds.

Meredith and Bonnie set out to visit Caroline to see if she is malach-infested. Caroline is scuttling on the ceiling of her living room like a lizard, and she runs under the bed in her mother’s room. The possessed Caroline, or some other force, grabs their ankles. Bonnie calls Damon to help. Damon arrives and frees them.

Matt and Elena visit Tami, who has super-glued a homemade stripper outfit onto herself. Bonnie and Meredith head to the house of a friend Isobel Saitou. Isobel has mutilated herself, and Dr. Alpert thinks she should go to the hospital. All set out, but Meredith and Bonnie leave to find Mrs. Flowers. In the Old Wood, Matt and Elena encounter Damon,influenced by the malach, who orders them to kiss while he films them with a video camera. Elena at first tries to cooperate, but Matt objects and is tortured by Damon. . She attempts to rescue Matt by persuading Damon to drive away. However, she leaps out of the speeding car, hoping to make her way on foot to a nearby house. She is badly injured by her jump. Damon suddenly comes to himself with vague memories of hurting Elena. He finds Shinichi and threatens to torture him. Shinichi reveals Elena’s location and he leaves Damon with a kitsune key that will magically open any door. Damon creates a door to whatever room he finds necessary to heal Elena.

Damon confesses to her that he and Shinichi kidnapped Stefan and that Shinichi and his twin sister, Misao, are evil kitsunes who plan to destroy Fell’s Church. The kitsunes are the ones behind the malach, the ambulatory trees, and the self-mutilating girls.Damon’s possession returns, however, and he attacks Elena, who flees with the key through a series of doors. At last, she directs the key to open a door taking her to someplace the kitsune can’t see. Damon realizes that he has been possessed by Shinichi and that he’d been playing the villain, and he calls himself an abomination, and vows to be her slave. She causes Damon to lie face-down on her lap and pulls the malach out of his spine. The malach had originally entered via the puncture in Damon’s neck. Damon kills the malach . Damon and Elena then concoct a plan to defeat Shinichi and Misao. First, however, Elena makes a side trip to visit Stefan, who is imprisoned in a dungeon in a hell dimension . Meanwhile, Matt has woken up. Tracking Elena, he ends up at the house she was trying to reach. There another girl, Kristen Dunstan,is possessed by a malach. He continues into the woods and finally runs across Meredith, Bonnie, and Mrs. Flowers. The four then encounter Isobel and Dr. Alpert. They reach the boarding house, but other possessed girls attack. Damon appears, and then two of the group are revealed to be Shinichi and Misao, who have been playing with them all along. Damon, Shinichi, and Misao take Dr. Alpert, Mrs. Flowers, Matt, Meredith, and Bonnie prisoner. Elena watches hidden from the trees and wonders if Damon has betrayed her. Bonnie is tied to an altar by the ambulatory trees, and another walking tree approaches her. Elena develops a pair of golden wings,a gift given to her when she came bac from the dead, that enable her to fly. She seizes Misao and the scissors, and flies upward.She starts to cut Misao’s tails off to diminish Misao’s power. Damon cuts Bonnie free. Misao begs for mercy and finally gives Elena clues where to find the magic key that will release Stefan. Shinichi agrees to give Damon a psychic map if Damon surrenders his memories of the last few days to him. Damon agrees even though losing his memories involves losing his redemption. The good guys then let Shinichi and Misao go, but not before Misao admits to pretending to be Shinichi pretending to be the mirror-Caroline. The next day, Caroline informs her family and the sheriff that she is pregnant and Matt is responsible. A judge signs an order for Matt’s arrest. Matt thus joins Elena and Damon in their quest to find and rescue Stefan.

6.The Return: Shadow Souls

A penitent Damon, along with Elena and Matt, follows Stefan into the darkest dimension in an attempt to set him free from the prison he has been tricked into instead of the salvation he was seeking. When Matt sees Elena and Damon getting too close he turns back and sends Bonnie and Meredith to inform Elena what's happening back home. Bonnie and Meredith join Elena as all three are forced to enter as slaves; the chained and leashed property of a vampire – Damon. Elena Gilbert is once again at the center of magic and danger beyond her imagination. And once more, Stefan isn't there to help. Elena is forced to entrust her life to Damon, the handsome but deadly vampire who wants Elena, both her body and soul. They must journey to the slums of the Dark Dimension, a world where vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live as slaves of their supernatural masters. During this time, Elena becomes closer to Damon,she gives the love she would give to Stefan to Damon. She and Damon exchange blood many times throughout the book(in some very steamy ways) and in turn finds she has true feelings for him, adding a choice to her already mixed up life, What brother does she really want? Stefan is imprisoned here, and only Elena can free him by finding the two hidden halves of the kitsune key to his cell. Damon, Elena, Bonnie, and Meredith must all fit into the world of the Dark Dimension and venture into its deadly high society. Only by these means may they be able to find Stefan's keys to release him and then Elena will be able to reunite with her soulmate. While this is going on, back home Matt is hiding from the law and trying to fight the evil kitsune who are destroying the very core of their community. Matt enlists the help of the local doctor and her nephew, the boarding house owner, and Isobel's grandmother, who was once a priestess, to keep their home together until Elena, Stefan, and Damon return. Elena later finds out the gift she got from the Kitsune is a flower that can turn a vampire into human. When getting back to the boarding house Damon's curiosity gets the better of him and the flower turns him human with one smell. The flower was from a kitsune Stefan met in the Dark Dimension, and was supposed to be for Stefan, who is now stuck as a vampire, and is trying to make a better relationship for him and Elena. Damon, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with humanity and is now stuck as a human. Stefan and Damon only wish they could switch places (Stefan as a human, and Damon as a vampire)...

7.The Return: Midnight

In Midnight, golden girl Elena Gilbert is back from the Dark Dimension, having successfully freed her vampire boyfriend Stefan Salvatore from imprisonment. Saving Stefan had an unlikely consequence: his vampire brother Damon Salvatore has become a mortal. While the trio reels from this latest twist, they must still deal with the demons that have taken over Elena's hometown, Fell's Church.

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