'The Vampire Diaries' Season 4: Will Bonnie explore dark magic further?

On "The Vampire Diaries," Bonnie (Kat Graham) has always been a woman of principle -- she's not as easily charmed by the vampires as her friends are, but she's fiercely loyal to her friends and determined to protect the people she loves.

In Season 3, her dedication forced her to tap into dark magic -- first to help stop Klaus's heart, and then, in a shocking finale twist, to save Klaus's life by putting his soul into Tyler's body.

Over the course of the series, dark magic has had serious consequences. Her mother lost her powers entirely for 15 years after she completed the same spell Bonnie did, and there's the constant threat of the "sisters," or the dead witches, who have surprising influence from beyond the grave.

We can't reveal much about Bonnie's storyline for Season 4, because her actions in the Oct. 11 season premiere will set in motion a new direction for the character. "What I can say is that the first episode really tees up Bonnie's trajectory for the season; what happens in the first episode will tell us where she's going to go," executive producer Julie Plec tells us.

Bonnie has never been a big fan of vampires, even though they make up a majority of her social circle. She had trouble adjusting when Caroline turned, and was devastated when her mother became a vampire. When she finds out that Elena is in transition, Bonnie -- who has a renewed sense of confidence and independence after the Season 3 finale -- will fight as hard as she can to keep it from happening.

"As we know, she tapped into some really dark stuff at the end of last season to do that dessication spell, and to do the last few spells that she did," Plec says. "And she taps even deeper into it in the first episode. As it always does, it's going to have consequences."

"The Vampire Diaries" writers are looking to give Bonnie a fresh, original take on the dark magic concept, which we've seen in a lot of witch-centric television storylines, from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "The Secret Circle."

Do you want to see Bonnie give in to the temptation of dark magic for the sake of her friends? Weigh in below in the comments section.