[vivienne scarlet d'eath]

The orange, cackling fire flickered in Vivienne's crystal blue eyes. The Slythering dungeon was hardly illuminated by the weak attempt at light, one could barely make out the spiraling stairs that led to the dormitories or the dark furniture varying between forest green and black fabrics. Vivienne was sprawled across a black loveseat, the closest one to the fire. The warmth from the flames felt wonderful against her cold, pale skin. Sighing, she glanced around and noticed that the common room was completely vacant. Piles of books and papers were strewn across the tables and chairs and floor, but there were no owners to claim them. Vivienne rolled her eyes, humans could be so piggish.

Boredom consumed her as she continued gazing into the fire. And that wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. It was nearing the end of her potions term, and her thirst for blood was getting stronger and stronger by the day. No one but a vampire (of course) and a drug addict could even begin to comprehend her desire for the red liquid that was so satisfying. But she had to resist, she had to keep strong. If she didn't, her Hogwart's career would be cut several months short, and she wasn't about to let that happen. No, education was much to important to her.

Smelling the scents of the Slytherins sleeping soundly in their beds, she knew that she had to get out of there. Swiftly, Vivienne rose from her seat and exited the common room. Relief washed over her as she traveled through the dungeons, no longer smelling the blood so strongly. She took her time down the corridor, not sure what she was planning on doing. Unfortunately being a vampire meant no sleep and so she had to spend every night in the castle, trying to find something remotely entertaining to do. Her mission was usually unsuccessful.

When she finally made it to the Entrance Hall, she took a sharp left and climbed the Grand Staircase. Once on the first floor, she began to weave through the halls and staircase, racking her brain for something to do. At last, she reached the astronomy tower of Hogwarts and decided that that was where she was going to stay. Swinging open the door, she entered the roof of the tower and left it ajar. Who was going to come up here in the dead of night any way? Leaning against the fence-like structure surrounding the roof, she stared up into the sky.

It was midnight black, with stars in every direction twinkling pleasantly. Vivienne could name a few constellations and planets she had learned over her years at Hogwarts. It was serene out on the Astronomy Tower, it reminded of her old sanctuary back when she was human. The place that betrayed her and turned into the monster she was now. Not that she minded, she loved her existence, for the most part. Immortality was a depressing and undesirable thing once one received it. And the constant thirst for human blood in a human world was also a bit of a pain in the ass.

[drayden paul peterson]

Who else was going to be wandering about the castle in the dead of night? Drayden, for starters, as well as the thickset third year boy he'd dragged out of bed to help him carry his cumbersome astronomy instrument. Two pairs of footsteps carried the mismatched silhouettes out of the Slytherin common room and up the dungeon steps. The quick, shuffling footsteps belong to the younger boy who stumbled suddenly from his own undone shoelace. Drayden clucked his tongue irritably, though it was really more for show than actual annoyance. He was laughing slightly at the kid's stout figure, rather, and the struggle to balance the heavy telescope on one shoulder and an oversized bookbag on the other. Drayden wasn't without a heart, however, and carried his far share as well - two astronomy books and a spare roll of parchment.

Up to the Entrance Hall they went and then up the numerous steps of shifting staircases. The only trouble Drayden seemed to encounter was the consistently slow pace that was caused solely by the third year. Were he to have come alone Drayden would have reached the tower twenty minutes past the current hour. As it was, however, he knew the going was always difficult with akward objects being carried by teens at an awkward age. So he suffered silently.

He hadn't been expecting the astronomy tower door to have been left ajar like that. It was Drayden's footsteps that shuffled to a halt now and the stout boy behind him was forced to stop and balance tediously on a narrow stone step. It wasn't as though he was seriously worried of anything or anyone being up on the roof; within two seconds he was back in motion and roughly pushing aside the door to made way for his heavily-laden pack animal.

"Just set it up at the edge over there," he told the kid absently. With a wave of his hand he gesutred lazily at the desired spot before taking a moment to prim the unbottoned collar of his cream-coloured shirt. Eyeing the obvious female figure standing opposite him and his stocky sidekick, Drayden patted the hair down on the top of his head and wished for the briefest of moments that he'd actually taken the time to meticulously comb every inch of red. His mistake was in thinking that he'd be up here alone tonight - the third year, of course, didn't count as company. "Be careful when you put it down," he reminded the boy promptly, a bit harshly even. "Don't drop it. And when you're done you can curl up in the corner for the rest of the night."

After depositing his books on the cold stone floor beside the telescope and bookbag Drayden rolled his cuffs back before peering one-eyed into the telescope lens. "Good evening to you, dear," he said finally to Vivienne.

[vivienne scarlet d'eath]

Vivienne heard footsteps at the bottom of the tower and a male voice. She sighed, hoping someone annoying wasn't blundering up the stairs. That was the last thing she needed tonight, an annoying human. She was thirsty and she would be even more tempted to drain them of their blood if they bothered her. Soon enough, a red haired boy and a stocky, younger boy reached the top with big, awkwardly shaped astronomy objects. She could see the younger one was struggling, but she figured that this was between the two boys and she wouldn't lend a hand. Instead she just observed as the boy did everything the older one told him to do, it was quite amusing. Poor younger years, they were always taken advantage of. Vivienne never was though, for the fact that she looked seventeen in her first year.

Silence returned to the top of tower as the boy, Drayden, peered through his telescope. It was a bit awkward, but Vivienne wasn't about to break the weirdness she hadn't even created in the first place. Instead, she continued observing the stars and other things in the sky. But at last, she heard Drayden's low voice speak a greeting towards her. Looking back down, she smiled slightly at him and said in her cool, smooth voice,

"Good evening, Drayden. What are you doing up here? You could get in trouble, you know."

Being a vampire, Vivienne had the special privilege of being allowed on the grounds at all hours of the day. She was sure Drayden didn't know what she was, though, and she wasn't about to blurt it out right now, in the dead of night. It would probably scare the living daylights out of the guy.

Oh, but he and even his little friend smelt so delicious. How satisfying it would be to just seduce him and trap him on the floor, then delve into his neck. It would just be so- wait. Stop. No drinking students' blood. Sighing softly out of frustration she glanced over the grounds and at the little boy. He looked frightened at her appearance. Many were, she was abnormally beautiful, an alien among the average. Vivienne and all the other vampires at the school were hard to miss, they stuck out like sore thumbs.

[drayden paul peterson]

The poor third year boy, with wise obedience, made his way to the corner of the tower where Drayden had pointed out as his bed. For at least a few hours Drayden planed on being up here and when he was finished he would need someone to help him carry his stuff down to the Slytherin common room again. He saw no point in sending the boy back to the dungeons if he was going to use him later. Besides, this routine had all been pre-planned and it wasn't the first time they had gone through the motions, hence the quiet acceptence from the kid.

Drayden adjusted the knob on his telescope, one of many that must have done something preferable because he continued to turn it steadily, inch by inch, to its desired degree. Then he moved on to the next knob, rotating it slowly with delicate fingers. He was silent even with Vivienne's returned greeting and her inquiry, which he would get to in due time. First he wanted to make sure he had everything all set up to his liking and that the boy was asleep in his corner before daring to venture a conversation with the gorgeous girl. There was never any telling where such encounters would lead, though Drayden was a bit short on affection of late, sad to say.

When the planet Mars had come into bright red focus he finally pulled away from the lens and stooped down to collect one of his textbooks. While in pursuit of the proper page he took a glance up at the vast night sky before him and hummed an interesting note. "There's just too fucking many," he said bluntly, "For me to really care. This is almost as bad as Divination, what with all the planets aligning and the orbit of Jupiter or Mars or something." He clucked his tongue irritably again before stopping the pages beneath poised fingers.

"Astronomy, Vivienne, that's what I'm doing," he told her in an absent voice. He was trying to read the print of his book. He nearly knocked himself over when he realised the light of his wand would help a bit... Drawing the slim length of wood from his bookbag muttered the word that dimly lit up the tip, which he then hovered over the words of his reading. "Mars should be in alignment with something tonight, I just don't know what... I hate homework. It's bloody pointless." Balancing the book in one hand and still holding his wand in the other Drayden turned back to his telescope. "What brings you up here tonight, hm?"

[vivienne scarlet d'eath]

Vivienne watched in amusement as Drayden struggled with the homework he was working on for Astronomy. They were in the same class and Vivienne had already completed her homework the night before. She chuckled softly and shook her head, not bothering to help for a little bit longer. It was much too entertaining to watch him try and sort everything out. He had nearly fallen when an idea had popped into his head and he hada look of frustration upon his soft features the entire time. It was so cute how humans were so clumsy.

"Oh, Drayden, Mars should be in alignment with Neptune tonight. And homework is so that you must review what you learned earlier in the day."

Vivienne, unlike many of the other students at Hogwarts, enjoyed her education. She was more than happy to do her homework and all of her assignments, no matter how ridiculously long they may be. After all, she had all night every night to complete them. She listened to Drayden's inquiry of what she was doing on the tower and she answered it somewhat honest.

"I'm here because the Slytherin Common Room was a bit too stuffy. I'm not tired so why not run around the castle for a bit?"

She, of course, didn't include how the scent of all the humans in one place was overwhelming. That probably wouldn't be the smartest idea, for word would get around and then the Headmaster would get angry and most likely kick her out. She wouldn't even have to bite someone, just say that she was tempted to and it would be all over for her.

Glancing over at the little boy she could see he was asleep. Well, at least he was going to get some rest tonight. Vivienne looked back up at Drayden and looked him over. His fiery red hair was his most noted feature, but his others were handsome as well. They had talked a few times before, usually a flirtatious tone to their conversations. Oh well, you only lived once right? My once seems to be extended quite a bit... she silently thought to herself.

[drayden paul peterson]

"Running around the castle at night," Drayden mused aloud with a tone of pleasant sarcasm mixed into his voice, "How riske. You should invite me next time, you know I wouldn't mind a bit of daring adventure." He peeked adjusted the knob beneath his fingertips in just the slightest fashion before adding in satisfaction, "I suppose it doesn't matter though. We're both here now." He straightened from the apparatus and took a moment to brose his book again, bringing the light of wand close to the font on the paper. There was a quaint breeze that flowed around them both, what with being atop one of the highest towers of the castle the wind was inevitably stronger and cooler. The air current ruffled the tips of his hair as well as the collar of his loose-fitting shirt.

"You just tell me if you get the slightest bit cold, dear," he told her, "And I'll have my shirt off faster than you could hex a first year." He sneered at his own crude humour - although it wasn't very funny to begin with - and with the hand that still held his wand began to scratch the end of his chin slowly. He was thinking about something, homework related no doubt, and as his thoughts swarmed elsewhere the silence fell in around him. There was only the odd snore or snuffle from the boy on the hard stone ground in the corner who was curled up in an awkward and clearly uncomfortable position. Drayden paid him no mind or concern; a second thought had never been spared.

The spare roll of parchment was the next thing to come out of the bookbag. Now having to manage a wand, a textbook, and a roll of parchment [though he was able to pull it off with ease] the task of jotting down knows and peering through the telescope seemed all at once too large a task for one sole person. He snapped his fingers then - oh, yes he did - at Vivienne with the expectancy that she was to arrive at his side in that very instant. "Hold my book, won't you, love?" he asked. "I can't do this all by my lonesome. I'll give you a treat in the end, hm?" His hand extended out from his body, expecting at any second to feel the weight of the hefty textbook lift away from his arm.

[vivienne scarlet d'eath]

"Oh, you don't want to run around late at night with me, Drayden. Trust me," she said softly. Vivienne was being completely honest, but she made it sound as if she wa being seductively dangerous; not truly dangerous. A breeze ruffled through the her hair as heard a small, snoring sound escape from the young boy. Scanning Drayden's face, she saw that he really didn't care what the boy was doing, as long as he would be ready to assist Drayden in his needs as soon possible. Ah, selfish creature. But he was in Slytherin, and they weren't known for being particularly nice.

"Haha, I'm fine and I'm sure I will be fine for the rest of the night. You just do me a favor and keep your shirt on." Drayden, Drayden, Drayden. Always so crude and ready to take his shirt off. It was entertaining and sometimes funny, so Vivienne never said anything about it. There was an unnatural stillness in between them and she realized that she wasn't breathing, and hadn't been since he had come up here. Shit. Way to act human, Vivienne, she though. Quickly, almost too abruptly, she began to breathe. Hopefully he didn't notice.

Suddenly a snapping sound reverberated from Drayden's finger and she saw that he wanted her to help him with his work. She snorted and shook her head. A snap? Really? No, no one snapped at Vivienne.

"I'm not a damn dog. Don't snap at me and offer me a treat. You may treat him," she jerked her finger in the third year's direction, "like your own personal pet, but I refuse to be another slave for the Drayden Peterson."

She stood her place against the fence and glared at Drayden. He was looking more delicious by the second, and the wind blowing his scent into her nostrils was definitely not helping the situation one bit.