Chapter Edited. I don't own anything related to TVD.

Chapter 1: A Petrova Witch

Sophia groaned when she saw her Uncle John seated at the dining room table, nursing a beer. Why couldn't she just be left alone? Why did everyone always have to be up in her business? Not only did she have to deal with the loss of her parents, but now John was always around!

"Good evening, Sophia. How was your night?"

"It was fantastic, John! Really!" She replied sarcastically as she wobbled into the kitchen. John raised a brow, clearly seeing that she was definitely intoxicated.

"Drinking is no way to solve your problems." Sophia just glared at him as she wrenched the refrigerator door open.

"Don't try to give me advice, John! I'll handle the deaths of my parents anyway I feel like it! So what if I got drunk? Who's that hurting? No one, that's who. So just leave me the hell alone!" Sophia slammed the door, completely fed up with her annoying uncle. Who did he think he was, her dad? NO! Her dad was dead! And she wasn't going to let his creepy brother tell her what to do.

"I'm not going to let you continue to drown your sorrows in alcohol, Sophia. Do you really want to turn into your brother?" John asked, standing to throw his empty bottle away.

"You don't know ANYTHING about my life! You can't just come in here and try to tell me what to do! God!" Sophia yelled, her anger completely taking over, thrumming through her body.

She would later swear that she did actually see red, as the saying goes. John was astonished at the amount of animosity in her voice, and before he could even try to calm the teen down, the entire kitchen began to shake. What in the world?

"You don't come to visit but maybe once every few months, but now you're going to act like you have a right to tell me how to behave? I don't need you! Elena and Jeremy don't need you! We're a family, not you, so you can just leave!"

As she continued to yell, John watched in shock as various glass objects began cracking. A vase holding some dying flowers from the funeral actually burst, sending glass, flowers, and water flying.

"Sophia! I need you to calm down!" John said loudly, trying to get the girl to hear him.

It was difficult, as the most prominent thing she could hear was the thumping of her heart; but eventually, the red lessened and Sophia was able to see John standing in front of her, a fearful expression on his face.

"Calm down, Sophia! Take a deep breath and just let it go." John said, relieved when she seemed to hear him, and started to calm down.

John glanced around the kitchen, noting how the objects that had been shaking and cracking seemed to still. Finally Sophia's breath evened out and she felt her anger dissipate.

"I-I'm sorry John, I don't know what came over me." Sophia said, stepping back away from him. When her shoe crunched down on something, Sophia was shocked to see pieces of a vase under her foot.

"What the-" Sophia glanced around, seeing the broken vase, flowers, and water scattered around the counter and on the floor.

She knew she was drunk, but she didn't think she had imagined the vase being fine when she came into the kitchen. Maybe she was more wasted than she thought, although now she didn't even feel buzzed.

"What happened to the vase?" Looking up, Sophia saw John's perplexed expression.

"It…you broke it. Have you…has anything ever strange happened when you've gotten angry?" John asked as he went to get the broom. He didn't miss the guilty look that crossed Sophia's face before she lowered her eyes.

"No, of course not. What are you talking about?" Sophia said, hoping he hadn't noticed her hesitation.

So she'd always been plagued with weird happenings, it didn't mean anything. There was usually always a completely reasonable explanation. Even when all the beakers in Chemistry had burst after Tyler made her mad; it'd been able to be explained by the teacher.

"I think you're lying to me, Sophia." John said quietly as he began to sweep up the glass. Sophia bit her lip as she moved over to pick up the flowers.

"I-I don't know, John. What do you want me to say?" Her voice was exacerbated.

The two quickly finished up, wiping down the counter and floor before throwing the glass and flowers away. John pulled Sophia over to the table, making her sit down before she could flee to her room. Taking the seat in front of her, John stared hard at her before beginning to speak.

"I think you might be a witch." Sophia erupted into giggles at that, but when she saw his completely serious face, her giggles trailed off.

"Oh c'mon, John! That's so farfetched that, even for you!" Sophia said, giggling again.

"I'm being serious Sophia, I think you're a witch. It would explain all the occurrences that have happened, even if you lied about them."

"John, I think you're the drunk one. C'mon, witches! What next, you're going to tell me that vampires and trolls are real?" Sophia chuckled.

"Well, trolls aren't real at least." John said, leaning back in his chair and watching her reaction. Sophia couldn't believe he was actually trying to tell her that vampires were real. What had he been doing lately, acid?

"I think you need to lay off the scotch, John. Or get a CAT scan, because there is no way vampires and witches are real."

"You don't have to believe me, Sophia. I can't force you to believe my words. But you are a witch, and we need to get you trained if you're going to survive."

"What are you talking about? This delusion is getting very annoying!" Sophia sighed, just wanting to curl up into her blankets and sleep.

"Your powers have obviously grown and have become more unstable, Sophia. If a mere argument results in objects breaking, then you clearly need to learn to focus and hone your magic. If left unchecked, it might end up hurting someone, or even you." Sophia shook her head, not believing he was taking this so far.

"Can I just go to bed? I'm tired of this, John. I don't know what you've been drinking or smoking, but witches and vampires are not real and I'm definitely not a witch. So can you just leave so I can go to sleep?"

"I'm sorry you don't believe me Sophia, but I'm not going to let your ignorance get you killed. Pack your bags, we'll leave in the morning."

"LEAVE? What in the hell are you talking about? I can't leave!" Sophia sprang up from her chair. John slowly stood, noticing the table had started to shake.

"Look at what your emotions are doing." He said, pointing to the table. Sophia glanced down and almost fell over her chair when she saw the table wobbling.

"It-that's just because of a bad leg." Sophia's voice shook. John raised an eye brow, showing he clearly didn't believe her and that he believed she didn't believe it either.

"It's your emotions. After everything you've been through, it's not surprising that your powers are reacting. We need to get you help soon Sophia, or you could seriously hurt someone." John said quietly, not wanting to upset her more.

Sophia stared at the table, trying not to cry. She'd just lost her parents and now she was going to have to leave too? Life was seriously not fair to her! What were the fates going to take away from her next?

"Calm down." John said as the table began to shake rapidly, the centerpiece falling to the floor with a thud. Sophia's tears broke through, spilling down her face as she continued to stare at the table.

"I-I can't leave. What about Elena and Jeremy? I can't leave them after…" She trailed off, although John didn't need her to finish.

"They'll be okay Sophia, as long as you get properly trained. If you stay here, it could be one of them that angers you and you end up injuring them. I know you would never intentionally harm anyone, but you're unstable; there's no telling what you might do." John murmured.

She bit her lip, trying to reign in her emotions, because clearly, she was the one doing this. How could she be a witch? Could it really be true? Were witches and vampires real? Does that mean that all the monsters from fiction were real?

The table finally stopped moving and Sophia looked up at her uncle, tears still trailing down her pale cheeks.

"I'm really a witch?" Her voice was a whisper, but he heard her. John just nodded. Sophia sighed, slumping back down into her chair. She was emotionally and physically exhausted; it felt like she'd run a marathon, her body was so drained.

"How long would I be gone?" John sat back down at the question, thankful she seemed to finally be accepting the truth.

"For however long it takes you to learn control, I guess. I'm sure it wouldn't be more than a year."

"A year!" Sophia's eyes widened, not believing he had actually said that.

"It's just a guess, Sophia. I don't know how long these things take. But the sooner we leave, the sooner you'll be home."

"But a year? I can't be gone that long! I can't just abandon Elena and Jeremy for a whole year! And what about school?"

"We'll…we'll work something out, so that you can mail in your homework. And besides, it might only take a few months, I don't know. The others will be fine, and safer, with you not here." Sophia knew he had stressed their safety to guilt her into going, but he was right. If she stayed, she could seriously hurt Elena or Jeremy.

"O-okay." Sophia said, her voice shaky as she stood. She couldn't believe she was actually agreeing to leave, but it must be done. Hopefully she'd be a fast learner and would be able to get back before school started.

She slowly made her way upstairs and began packing, having to stop several times to get control over her emotions. Elena and Jeremy wouldn't understand, but she knew that she was a threat until she learned control. She would never forgive herself if she hurt either of them.

/*/

The goodbye was as predicted, with Jeremy and Elena confused and angry that their sister was just leaving. But Sophia claimed to need some space from Mystic Falls for a while, not being able to cope with their parents' death while she was there. They'd all cried, but in the end, Elena and Jeremy had said goodbye and hoped she'd return soon. A hope that Sophia fully shared.

The two ended up in Blacksburg, where John said Gabriela Madison, another witch, was living. Sophia still had her doubts, but she was willing to go along with it if it meant keeping her family safe.

Gabriela turned out to be a woman in her late forties, with graying auburn hair and kind green eyes. Even though she was a stranger, Sophia felt an instant connection to the woman and felt more at ease, especially when Gabriela had welcomed her into her home. She didn't ask a lot of questions, even when John got her to agree to actually house Sophia, something that was a surprise to the young girl.

"Wait, you're leaving me here?" Sophia asked, glaring at her uncle. John just gave a shrug.

"I…there's a lot of things that need my attention, Sophia. And Gabriela will be a much better teacher than I ever could." John said with a shrug.

"But that doesn't mean you get to just drop me off like a stray dog! I've already lost my parents, been separated from my siblings, and now you're leaving too?!" Sophia shrieked, her turbulent emotions getting the better of her.

John gave a choking noise, his hands flying up to his throat, the muscles closing, preventing him from breathing. Gabriela hurried over to the girl, lightly shaking her shoulders.

"Cher, you must calm down!" Gabriela said firmly.

Sophia's eyes cleared and then widened when she saw John gasping, quickly pulling in her anger and hurt so that John dropped to the floor, trying to regain his breath.

"I'm so sorry!" Sophia said and burst into tears.

Gabriela tried to sooth her, wrapping her arms around her and rocking back and forth until Sophia calmed down. When she pulled away, Sophia gave an embarrassed 'thank you' before stepping away from the witch.

"I'm sorry, John. I…I understand the need for training now." Sophia whispered, watching as John slowly got back to his feet.

"I-it's okay, Sophia. I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I have to keep an eye on things in Mystic Falls for right now, so Gabriela is going to be acting as your guardian and teacher." John coughed, taking the glass of water Gabriela suddenly had with a grateful look. Biting her lip, Sophia nodded.

"Why don't you go unpack, cher. You're the second door on the left." Sophia nodded again before trudging towards the stairs, where her suitcases were resting. She was almost to the top when their conversation made her pause to listen in.

"Does she know? She looks just like her." Gabby questioned, still shocked from the girl's appearance. When John had called and asked her to train a witch, she had not expected it to be someone who looked exactly like Katherine Pierce.

"No, she doesn't know anything. I tried to tell her vampires were indeed real, but she didn't believe me. It will take some time, but I'm sure when she sees that you're actually a witch, she'll begin to understand. I'm still actually confused! I never expected this." John said, setting the empty cup down on a side table.

"I've never even heard of a Petrova witch before." Gabriela's voice was quiet, making Sophia have to strain her ears to catch her statement. Who in the world is Petrova?

"Indeed, I've never heard of any such thing either. I need to speak with Isobel, as she'll know for sure. There's no telling what this might mean, having a Petrova doppelgänger also being a witch."

"Hmm…yes it is an interesting and new development. Doppelgängers are already supernatural entities, so there's no telling how powerful Sophia will be. I'll begin her training in the morning. Thank you for bringing her to me as quickly as you did. I fear what would have happened if she was left unchecked."

Sophia scurried up the stairs when the voices grew louder, signally their approach. John gave a nod before yelling up a goodbye and leaving.

"Diner will be in an hour." Gabriela called up the stairs, waiting until she got a verbal response before moving off to the kitchen. She couldn't wait to begin teaching Sophia, as she was sure the girl would be immensely powerful. If the Petrova line suddenly produced a witch, then that definitely must mean something.

Sophia didn't know what to think as she started unpacking her luggage. What was a doppelgänger? And why did they think she was one? Or that she was a Petrova? Was that her mom's maiden name? Sophia didn't think so.

Knowing she wasn't going to be able to come up with any answers, she finished unpacking before calling Elena, missing her twin already. If she missed her family this much after only a day apart, she didn't want to even imagine how she would feel if this training took too long.

AN: Okay, so there's the first chapter. What did you guys think? I really like the stories that feature a twin Gilbert, so I thought I'd take a stab at it. Please review and let me know if you guys liked it or not!