We may or may not find Hope locked in the Malivore pit at the beginning of Episode 1, and maybe by the end of Episode 1 she may get out of the Malivore pit. Maybe. She may or may not be wandering through Mystic Falls after she gets out, having been completely erased from everyone's memory, so she's a total stranger that no one recognizes. Maybe a monster got out of Malivore and she's in the process of tracking it down, in spite of the fact that no one remembers who she is. And she may or may not run into Alaric who is also tracking down the same monster. And they may or may not cross paths in pursuit of the same monster. And Alaric probably doesn't recognize when he runs into her. And she may or may not construct a whole identity to give to him, since he doesn't remember who she is. They may or may not partner up to track down these monsters in spite of the fact that he doesn't know who she is.