The evils of the Heretics will put Caroline and Stefan's romance in the shade in "The Vampire Diaries" season 7. According to TV Line, the future timeline doesn't hold a lot of head-in-the-clouds moments for the pair and the current one shows tons of battles and villains.

Mystic Falls will be engulfed with Lily's friends, who are out to make the place their own. Stefan will be one of the people who will strive to fend off the powerful enemies, and he will have to exert greater effort now that Damon doesn't have his head in the game.

As has been teased already, Stefan will wait for Caroline until she becomes ready to move on from the death of her mother. He will be there all throughout and help her start anew. A kissing scene is even in the offing, but as far as the future timeline, aka flash-forwards in the series, are concerned, romance does not take precedence.

As for Damon, fans will see him in "The Vampire Diaries" season 7 try to come to terms with the fact that the love of his life is no longer around. He does this as he helps Alaric escape the same situation. Jo, who was minutes away from becoming Alaric's wife, was killed by Kai on their wedding day.

As Damon becomes sort of a guardian to Alaric, making sure he doesn't do anything horrible, Bonnie will be the person to keep tabs on the older Salvatore brother. As described in the synopsis for the season 7 premiere, "a newly empowered" Bonnie will be Damon's "moral compass."

Meanwhile, "The Vampire Diaries" season 7 becomes a full-on family affair with the presence not only of Lily but also of the Salvatore patriarch. According to TV Line, John Charles Meyer will play the role of Stefan and Damon's dad Giuseppe in flashbacks.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 7 premieres with "Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take" on Oct. 8.