No one can blame you for walking away.

[ANGELINE ROSE VAN ZANT]

<Angeline Rose Van Zant>

The sky opened up and a flurry of winter fury, brown eyes turned a dangerous red. She was hungry, there was no getting around it, and now that the majority of the school population had gone home for winter she was stalking about the forest, looking for who ever was foolish enough to go out at night. She felt her humanistic will start to wain and her mind blur, had it really been that long since she ate? She snarled lightly as she heard a sound she almost dropped into a crouch, but she stopped herself. She clenched her fists lightly, in a feeble attempt to stop herself from totally snapping, she remembered what happened last time she lost control. That poor little boy, and girl. They had been running through the little streets of a village she was visiting in Romania. She hadn't fed in at least a two weeks, their little laughs and cries of joy as they ran after each other. Like a spider she sat on the edge of the roof, she worked herself into a crouching position watching the children that the taunted her with their joyful noise. Some of the adults tried to coax them inside, but they just ran passed laughing without a care in the world. They looked up at her and she moved into the shadow of a window, and they shrugged continuing their game of tag, or whatever game the children were playing.

She leaped at them suddenly crashing into the little girl first rolling her and pinning her to the ground she looked at the little girl who looked back at her with terror and snapped her jaws around her throat tearing and ripping at the flesh, the little boy screamed and snapped her attention to him. She flung herself at him catching him with her nails through the underside of his jaw, piercing it before bringing her fangs to his neck feeling his little body shake and loose life she let his body fall to the ground before snarling at the adults who gathered before she fled into the dark of the village and finally into the forest, She could never erase the image of the children from her mind, their torn bodies their parents crying over them, and most of all the little boys scream. Another sound brought her attention back to her surroundings, she let the smells around her register there was someone else with her, but their scent was so faint, or perhaps she was just so hungry, this time she had waited for far to long to go hunting. She slipped back into the shadows of the tree the Snow crunched lightly under her foot, she snarled at the sound it made. How could it dare be so loud? a wind kicked up making some of the freshly fallen snow pick up and brush against the woman's skin. Taunting her, it knew that she didn't have the joy of feeling cold, she couldn't even shiver, well she could pretend to, but it wouldn't mean anything. It made her angry that she couldn't feel warmth or cold, they were almost like the few emotions she had salvaged from over the years, some happiness, lust, and anger. Oh so much anger, but as of lately she felt something she couldn't begin to explain. She moved and scratched her arm on a little branch.

She didn't even feel it, the sound of more snow crunching caused her to slink down low once again like a spider waiting for the source of the noise to pass by, when a figure was in her line of sight she flung herself at them driving her fangs into their shoulder trying to drain who ever it was of it's life source. The first bite was a warning bite the next one would be something more vital then their shoulder. Something in her, the still human side of her wondered if it was a student, but the blood that spilled into her mouth wasn't anything she had tasted, it was strong, and dark. But the monster side of her didn't comprehend that and made her fangs still stick in the shoulder of the person that trekked though her little patch of the snow covered forest. Almost like a dog with a bone.

[NOX ADRIAAN ARZAMAS]

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Winter Break, for the students. It wasn’t really useful to the teachers though, except as an annoyance, and definitely not to Nox who didn’t bother with Christmas. In fact, he had no use for it whatsoever. No progress was being made as of recently on his plans to finish bringing down the Order. No, instead there was snow and cold and empty halls and bothersome annoying carols. As headmaster, he had chosen to stay, perhaps unwisely. But there were a few students that had decided to stay over the holidays for whatever reason, but that number was very small. He had actually been highly tempted to send them home regardless of them wanting to stay, but on a last minute reconsideration, changed his mind and let it be. Authority to do something didn’t mean it was wise to do it. In most cases, it was highly detrimental, actually, But now he found himself lonely and rather bored as he sat in his office, no plans for now. Nothing to do as a headmaster, only as the Dark Lord, but even then his list of things to do was sadly lacking for some reason that made him rather angry. He should really have more to do, but he couldn’t think of anything as of yet. They couldn’t move too fast and startle the Order.

He found himself wandering the halls after a few minutes, seeking out someone to talk to. Someone that understood and was on his side. Someone that he trusted. So he walked the hallways to her office, the interesting, if nothing else, vampire that she was, ancient and rather wise in her own way, but temperamental. She wasn’t there, and he sighed, thinking of where she could be. He aura emanated from the Forbidden Forest, and he started in that direction, descending the stairs to the first level, then out the main doors, steady steps towards the forest across the grounds. His feet sunk into the snow with a small crunch that seemed loud in the silence. He thought vaguely about hiding the noise, but he knew that it would be worse to sneak up on the vampire. This was she had a warning, in whatever way she wanted to take it. Entering the tree line, he was unfazed by the slowly thickening trees. He had nothing to fear out here except perhaps the woman he was looking for. He was on guard as he neared her, slowing down his pace and paying attention to everything. Every little sound, every little movement. He looked around, trying to spot her, but apparently she had heard him and then hid. He opened his mouth to softly call to her, but what happened was simply too fast for him to register.

The fangs were sharp and painful as they latched onto flesh, putting neat holes in the long sleeved button up shirt and light jacket he was wearing to keep the cold at bay. He no longer felt cold though as he felt the venom soar into his veins, feeling like fire, exciting him, making his heart beat just a tad faster, breath come just a bit shorter. Honestly, Nox wasn’t sure what the venom would do to him, but he was fairly sure that it wouldn’t kill him unless she managed to take too much blood. He wasn’t worried about that yet. He was bleeding, but only from a bite at his shoulder, not his neck yet. Besides, he could spare some, but not too often, and not too much. He just needed to stop her, somehow.

“Angeline . . . ,” he muttered quietly in his deep calm voice, still sounding as though he weren’t troubled at all. Fully in control. He reached up, lightly placing a hand on each arm, holding tightly, but not nearly enough to keep her there if she wanted to move. He bent his head and turned it, lightly touching her hair, shall snowflakes that were caught in it melting against his face softly. “You have to be careful, dear Angeline. That stuff will go to your head.” A soft chuckle, amused, kind. He didn’t reach for his wand, though he knew he could easily defend himself with it, drive her back, save himself. “No offense, but I would actually like to stay alive though. I’m sure you can understand that, my dear, no?” hands pulled a bit, urging her to release him. He understood that all out struggle would only drive the monster that had spurred her to attack in the first place. He kept himself as calm as he could, taking deep breaths forcefully, waiting for her to move or react or do something.

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Nox Adriaan Arzamas

[ANGELINE ROSE VAN ZANT]

<Angeline Rose Van Zant>

The voice was so calm, so relaxing. Soon hands gripped her arms, and her hair was being moved, then a light push to show that that was enough. She pulled herself away from his shoulder, almost forcing herself to stop trying to drain him, his blood was so rich, so powerful, almost like a drug that once you had a hit of you were addicted. That couldn't be good, since she constantly craved him anyway, this was going to make things harder, how could she let herself snap like that and jump him, she should have kept herself calm, instead of letting the beast out. The scent of his blood started to attack her noise, trying to taunt her coax her into snapping again and drain every last drop, she moved slowly reaching out to where she bit him, pulling the cloth away from it, and licking the remainder of the blood away so the holes could heal themselves, before letting herself lean into him, and letting her arms wrap around him. "I am sorry." She spoke trying to cover for her sudden outburst, the blood she had just siphoned off of him would hold her until she found a proper, not her master, source of blood. She stood there so close to the man she just attacked, "Did I hurt you?" She asked, her voice actually showed some sort of worry, perhaps she was scared of what he would do to her for attacking him like she had, or perhaps she was scared that she scared him with the attack.

She wanted to reach out once more and touch him, to show she was sorry that she hadn't waited to see, that she had let the beast within out all over his shoulder, at least it wasn't his neck though. "But what are you doing out here?" She asked cocking her head to the side inspecting the Dark Lord. "I thought you would be planning, not taking a stroll." She almost laughed, but it caught in her throat. She had no reason to be laughing right now, if he had put up any struggle a few moments ago, she would have probably gone farther and more deadly. But thank god he didn't, she would hate to be known as the one who killed the Dark Lord, it would also put quite the damper on their plans, and her plans. See she had plans of her own that needed to be met, and if Nox died, then she would be one pissed Vampire. She had become quite fond of the man, but she was unsure how fond of her he was, that was why she was so close...but so far away. She didn't want to get hurt, if that made sense. After her Husband died, she was distant from everyone, even the people she took on to sleep with and then drain, She didn't share anything more then her name with them, and then once they couldn't get away she shared she was a vampire, most were excited to sleep with a vampire. Apparently that was a lot of peoples fantasies, to sleep with a vampire. She didn't see how it could be a fantasy, but then again she had heard stranger things. Such as females wanted to sleep with a merman, how would that even happen? they had a fish tail...how would they engage in coitus. She briskly brushed this thought away no longer wanting to think about man-fish sex. He was the only one who didn't call her Countess, but Angeline, she thought it to be more endearing that he would call her by her name instead of what everyone else called her.

She inspected the man again, and stepped away from him before looking to the ground she was still mildly ashamed of what she had done, she could have killed him. She blinked a few times before shifting her weight and lightly biting her lower lip. She felt that she needed to be gentle, but sometimes it was just so hard, she did have a temper, and major mood swings, but that came with stress and the not being able to feed regularly. Sure there were little defenseless animals she could drain, but animal blood would never be as good as human blood, and she wouldn't stoop that low to feed, she would rather turn into a monster then deprive herself of human blood. That is exactly what she told her husband so many years ago, and that's probably what got him killed, he would bring her humans no matter how much he didn't want her to feed on them, he had become fond of humans, that was his downfall. You couldn't be fond of people that wanted to kill you, it couldn't happen.

[NOX ADRIAAN ARZAMAS]

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She moved away, seeming graceful and lithe but it was obvious she desired more of the blood that flowed through his body. An idle wonder popped to mind as she drew away, forcing itself to the forefront of his mind, and he let the path run along in his head, parallel to so many other lines of thought, though they seemed to get tangled further off in the distance, curling together in an odd sort of way. A gift, to have multiple tracks of thought, but a curse, as it often allowed him to be half distracted. He felt cold fingers pull away the collar of his shirt and jacket to clean up the wound, a cold, soft tongue hungry for blood smoothing move venom over the top of the wound, causing it to heal faster and without a scar. He was appreciative that she at least did that much, though he would have to clean his shirt and jacket and mend the holes in it later. It was no matter. The cold arms didn’t startle him, but it made him feel slightly colder than he already was; her weight lightly leaning against him doing the same. Yet, he didn’t push her away, nor chide her to let go. Quietly, he wondered what she wanted from him, a strong vampire, yet he was human, and weak. Weak, except for his magical ability. But he was weak of body in comparison, short on time. He had taken extreme measures to get as far as he already had, but not without its own price. The wonder floated up again, and he looked down at the vampire softly.

“No, my dear, it’s fine. It didn’t hurt me badly at all. Just like donating blood, except next time I wish you would ask." Nox chuckled darkly. “I’m very curious as to what the infused magic in my blood tastes like though. Considering its an enchantment of itself.” he watched her quietly, hearing her question, but unsure of how to respond. What did he say he was out doing? Bored, so he came out here to talk? It sounded foolish now, but he supposed it would be better than trying to make something up, considering that he didn’t really have any reason at all to be out here. He ended up simply shrugging and looking away, watching her take a step back out of the corner of his eye. “I suppose I’m out here because I have nothing else to do. Planning only works if there is something to plan. As of now, there is nothing at all. I’m at a loss of what to do, honestly. What comes next? I’m out here for the company, I suppose. Wasn’t planning on sharing precious body fluids with anyone, but it works, I guess.”

He sighed, his hands rising to run through his hair, gripping at it in frustration. He didn’t often seem so human in front of all those who followed him, but there was no acting like a god all the time. You had to have someone you trusted enough to let it all down for a moment so you could rest. And besides, how could he not act human in front of this woman, a vampire? It was true he could bring down a vampire easily by himself, but most of them were on his side, as far as he could tell. It was true that he could bring down a lot of magical creatures, but few of them wanted to go against him at all except the self righteous ones, and they were annoying anyway. Nox stared down at the ground for a minute, trying to collect himself, trying to look more like a man that was in control. Of course, he was in control for when it counted, but right now, he didn’t want to exist as a man who could barely stand with as much responsibility as there was that sat on his shoulders. To himself, he was always just a man, he supposed, though to others he looked strong and regal and completely perfect. They didn’t see all the little mistakes and tripping points, the stagger and the pause to catch his breath. To them, he was some type of deity sent to lead them on this path, and he wouldn’t fall. It didn’t always feel like that to him, but it was no matter. He couldn’t show them what it was like for him.

He looked up at the woman, smiling wryly. What did she think of him during these breakdowns? Did she scorn his weakness? It was hard to say. Eyes laughing silently with mirth looked dark in the shadows they caught, but glowing just enough to give them an ethereal look. “So what comes next in all of this, Angeline? I control the ministry, I’ve got London in such a panic that I could control it if I wished. Hogwarts is my base of operations, and I’ve got creatures of the dark everywhere on my side. What comes next in all of this, or do we really have to wait for the Order to poke up their heads? I grow tired waiting.” His body twitched, as if it had a mind of its own. Thin black sheets of fabric started to condense out of the air, like long shrouds of black, clinging to his form. They were layers of magic, but they kept him slightly warm, though they had a appearance of being something far more ominous. Nox didn’t really notice them, and he didn’t need to worry about them at all. A few calm breaths, putting his entire charade back together, preparing to return to whatever it was that he should perhaps be doing. “I’m sorry for my intrusion, dear Angeline. If you would prefer I left you in peace to hunt as you will, I would be happy to leave.”

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Nox Adriaan Arzamas

[ANGELINE ROSE VAN ZANT]

<Angeline Rose Van Zant>

What could they do, it was true he held the the world in the palm of his hand all he had to do was close it and every thing would be undone, total unadulterated chaos. The order was a joke, but Harry Potter was leading it, proving to be a worthy adversary. But there was no prophecy to tell them they would fall, no 'love' magic to protect anyone, and most of all no horcrux's to protect from Potter's merry men. What was there to do, she had taken a step away from him, watching the black cloth like magic cloak him, he was cold. Or so she figured, after all this was no temperature for a human to stay out in for longer they needed. "what we do? we hunt them, we don't let the order have time to plan. We go after people who are suspected to be in with the order, we torture the children we have here, the one's who families are in with Potter. We aren't Tom Riddle and his followers, there are no rules we have to follow, no prophecy to tell us what we can and can't do. Potter is human, he can be killed....we need to find him kill him and soon the order will fall." she spoke and then let her eyes turn back to him, flashing a dangerous red. Inspecting the Dark lord, how she wanted to leap at him while they were alone, taste more of his precious blood. Give him her affection, show him that she could take on the world for him. His magic and blood were intoxicating, his scent alluring, every thing about him was inviting. Sure him being human was quite distressing after all she had always said that humans were food not friends. But as of lately this man proved his worth, she had remembered something Octavius said to her once, that she just needed to leap at him tell him what she wanted and hoped for the best. But she wasn't as bold as Octavius was, and she would be devastated if she made a move like that and he didn't want her back. Was this how that Lestrange woman felt? how she felt when she wasn't sure that Voldemort wanted her. It made Countess slightly sick to think about it, so she forced her mind else where. She turned her attention back to Nox, red eyes flicking over the human, before another noise caught her attention, she knew it was an animal just by it's footfall, she did want to attack it, to ravage it, to show it not to interrupt her thoughts. But still she remembered how cold it must be out here and didn't want Nox to freeze. "Shall we go back inside? So you can be warm?" she said her eyes flashing the calm brown they normally were. She motioned for Nox to lead the way, she had enough of his blood to tide her over until she could properly feed.

Maybe one of those little rat bastard children would wander where they shouldn't and she could attack them. Oh she was in fact held accountable for half the student disappearances. If those little shits would do as they were told and not piss her off more of them would be alive. But as it was no one thought she was serious when she threatened their lives. And that was one thing she was deadly serious about, she wouldn't joke about death in such manner. But of course the Dark ones knew all about her and what not to say to her, it was the light ones who were foolish. Her eyes flicked over her master before she turned her attention back to the school. "Unless you'd like to say out here?" she said lightly reaching out to him letting her fingertips graze the side of his face. She was filled with the urge to jump at the man, kiss and kill him. But she fought it, it was her blood lust speaking to her. The still somewhat human part of her wanted to throw away her immortality and die with him. She wanted him, not for his looks but his power, not that he wasn't good looking. His power and cold personality drove her to want him more and more with each word. One day, she wouldn't be able to control herself and something bad would happen, be it the kiss or kill longing. Perhaps she would speak with the Lestrange boys about it, see what they would say, she already knew that Octavius would say jump him and get in his pants. The little bold bastard. She didn't know how she would feel if she did, she was a pureblooded vampire after all, she didn't want that image tainted, but then again who would say anything to you if you were tainted by 'The Dark Lord'. No one, no one would dare say a word about your blood purity if The Dark Lord was involved.

"You are lucky Nox, at the end of your life you get to die, I've lived lifetimes, I have loved and lost. I have tried both sides of the coin, but still...no matter what at the end of my lifetime...I will live." She said thinking out loud, the thought that sparked this thinking out loud was that through his horrible deads, he could end it all with death, she couldn't. She had to live with ever decision she made. Every loss she had, and every loved one who died, sat in her mind. "you control every one, you've taken over and you have your fair share of women to chose as a partner, yet you don't....why?" She said, for all she knew Nox had five wives, and happened to be good at hiding them. Oh how she hoped this wasn't the case, but it wouldn't be the first time she lusted after a married man. She had even gone to trial for it a few years back, 1997, she had gone to her trial, Rufus Scrimgeour proceeded it. She was almost sent to Azkaban, thanks to who she was seeing. The Head Auror, it was funny when you thought about it because she only really wanted his blood, but sleeping with him was more of a bonus. To bad the wife walked in, and how was she to know that Adultery was illegal in the wizarding world. A day after the trial, Scrimgeour ended up dead, and so did the auror, and she would point out that she didn't have a hand in either of those deaths. She fled back to Transylvania where she had been until a couple of "Death Eaters" found her and brought her back to Nox. She had planned on killing them too, she invited them in, because they looked 'weary' but they ended up jumping her and dragging her back with them. It was comical after words, and she managed to kill one right after he let her arm go while they neared where Nox was. That was interesting to explain. It was funny really, It seemed so long ago now. She shook herself away from these thoughts and brought her attention back to Nox, brown eyes scanning him. "What do you want to do love?"

[NOX ADRIAAN ARZAMAS]

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Nox listened to her quietly, absorbing the words calmly. They were important in some way. He knew that well enough. But there were plans to make. There was a world waiting to be conquered, every ounce of resistance squashed out of it. He wouldn’t rule unless he had to though—no, he just liked the struggle. The fight. He laughed at himself quietly as she finished, realizing his foolishness. “You are absolutely right Angeline. I’m being foolish, aren’t I? There’s much to be done. So much, yet. I’ve got the fight I love so much, and I’m wasting my opportunity. I should fix that immediately. Something should be arranged for the students when they return from their little break, don’t you think?” He quietly nodded to himself for a second before looking at her again.

Dark grey eyes danced with the light off the snow as he stood there, listening. She seemed to be puzzling over something in her mind from time to time, even as she suggested they go back inside. Now that she mentioned it, Nox was rather cold, but it wasn’t an issue. Her fingertips grazed his face, and he shivered slightly at the cold touch, but didn’t draw away. Catching the hand lightly, he listened to her have her thoughts out. He wanted to assure her about so many things, that being mortal wasn’t what she thought it was. Nothing elegant. But the last thought brought a flash to his eyes and his posture hardened for an instant. Was that what this was about? Women. Romance. Relationships.

Nox sighed and his brow furrowed. “My dear Angeline, perhaps I don’t understand, but the eternity you hold onto—if only there was some way for me to live like that.” He squeezed her hand and used it to pull her closer slightly. His other hand slid underneath her hair, along her cool neck, to the back of her head. His heart picked up a notch as he realized how daring it was to move like this with a vampire. “if there was any way for me to have the immortality you have, I’d willingly give you more blood. So maybe I don’t know what I’m asking for. Maybe it would be torture to live forever. But right now? I have nothing to lose.” He grinned cattishly, leaning forward to look into her eyes from a close distance. “No protection from the killing curse, of course, but a simple solution to petty attempts at a rather vulnerable life. We both know you could kill me right now, Angeline. I’m human, and my heart has to continue to beat for me to stay alive. I can get sick, I can get injured.”

He pulled away a bit, his eyes dancing in delighted, excited, amusement. He was powerful, but at the same time, he was weak. His sister had done experiments to escape from such a fragile coil, binding herself to the seed of a dementor and then letting it grow inside her until her soul was just as dark and empty and hungry. A living dementor. A valuable asset. But she was temperamental, dangerous. Nox wasn’t sure how it would have worked for him to try such a thing. It was just a magic she had found. Something as ancient as what he used, but far more dangerous to try. How many people had died trying to do it successfully? It was hard to say. He breathed in a breath of cold air and held it for a second, wondering if there was anything else he could try to make himself less vulnerable. He let the breath out, glancing up at the sky for a second before back down to the woman-vampire.

His hand slipped from behind her head to her chin, tilting her face back as he drew close, looking down at her. Bending down, he lightly placed a kiss on her forehead. Warm grey eyes glinted daringly as he met her eyes. “I’m not interested in women who are just too scared to not love me if I wished it. This is the first time I’ve met one not like that.”

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Nox Adriaan Arzamas

[ANGELINE ROSE VAN ZANT]

<Angeline Rose Van Zant>

Countess almost recoiled at his touch, but she yearned for it. His warmth was something she had never had when her husband was alive, though of course being a vampire you don't produce much warmth. And then they were face to face, Nox spoke of how he was just a human, how he could get sick, and how he wanted a way to live forever, he then offered more blood if she could make it happen, Countess didn't know how to take this, he could be fooling her, but Nox wouldn't do that, something must have been wrong for him to talk like this. She wanted to say something, she wanted to tell him that she could do it, that she would be willing to turn him, that she could share her immortality with him. However, she wasn't going to do anything unless he was dead set on doing it, because that was a choice you could never fix. His movements, while not unwelcome, made her unsure of herself. Once he had kissed her forehead she caught his hand lightly pulling it to her cheek. “Nox, I am unsure what to say, so forgive my brashness. If you truly want to share my immortality and powers then I will let you, I can turn you...but you have to have no doubt in your mind when I do.” creating a vampire was tricky business, it was so much different then being born one. There were more risks involved, if the intended wasn't fully willing and ready for the difficulties then it could drive them mad. One thing Countess did not want Nox to do was go mad, so she wanted his full willingness.

“Well my dear Nox, to be honest you don't scare me in the least.” she laughed lightly. “But If you so wished it I could not love you.” She moved kissing him lightly. “I don't want to...but I can.” she whispered to him as she pulled away. “Now on to the children, what to do when they get back, maybe we could filter though and see which ones are part of that ridiculous order, I'm sure we can think of wonderful things to do once we split them up from the others...I'm sure they also wouldn't be so tough.” She said turning to walk towards the castle, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and moved slowly to wait for Nox. She didn't know whether or not she really wanted Nox to go through the change, but she wouldn't deny him if he asked. It was funny really, she had no idea how he managed to win her trust and faith, and well love. She had been so cruel before she met him, she thought humans nothing more then food, but then a couple of his death eaters showed up and well, the rest was history. She wondered now how her life would have been without him. She imagined it to be rather boring or spent in Azkaban. “Oh and Nox, the dance the children are going to have, are you going to attend?” She asked lightly as she threw a glance over her shoulder at him. She was thinking about going, though she was sure other teachers would be there, She could find a quick meal should a couple wander off alone to do things in the forest. She wasn't stupid none of the adults were, she knew their had be be sexual activities going on, and she wasn't sure what she would do if she ever caught one, actually, she would probably leave it alone if she wasn't hungry. To be brutally honest, she could careless what the children did as long as it didn't interfere with her plans.