Christabelle dropped her books on the ground near the lake as she sighed and laid down on the grass, the warm rays of sun hitting her face. She loved this time of year, when it was just warm enough to go swimming but not cold enough to freeze once you got into the water. She was rather tired of the classes and would be so glad when they were over, her mind once again going to what she had told Alex that night in the common room about freedom that she desperately craved for. How could she be so foolish? Was there ever really such a thing as freedom? If there was did it exist for her? Would it exist for her?

Alex walked calmly out of the castle. He could hear people talking about him - not because he was a death eater but because of how thin and beaten he looked. His last transformation hadn't been his best. Not with all those people around. It had hurt more than anything when he woke up. But now it was just numb. Presently he spotted Christy sitting by the lake, he smiled and walked over to her. Sitting down by her side with a small gasp of pain he laid back on the grass, "Lovely day," he grinned, lifting a hand over his eyes to block the sun from his pale complexion.

"It is." she said smiling, "I love spring and winter the most." she said idly looking at him curiously, "Are you alright Alex?" she asked, "You don't look to be in the best shape in the world." She had known since she had met him that he had been keeping something from her. Maybe they were good enough friends that he might tell her all of it, or atleast something, right?

Alex bit his lip, could he trust her, "Well yeah. But you have to promise not to tell anyone," he said quietly, listening in to make sure no one was close. It was safe. "I'm...umm...well, I'm a werewolf," he said quietly, "and a Death Eater," he added as an afterthought. "Feel free to hate me as soon as you like. But please don't tell anyone else. I have enough to deal with."

Christy tried to suppress the laugh that was begging to escape her lips, "Why would I hate you Alex?" she asked looking at him, "You've given me no legitimate reason to hate you." She was confused about the being a Death Eater. She had heard her father mention that when she was a child but anything dealing with the dark lord, her parents had made a strong attempt to keep her away from. "You're still the same person I met aren't you?"

"Well, yes...and No. I am in, I suppose I act the same - but I have really bad mood swings. I'm like a woman," he laughed closing his eyes but still talking, "It's confusing. But Death Eaters aren't exactly the most cheerful bunch of people," he smiled and covered his eyes with his hands making his shirt ride up a little showing the beginnings of a few of his scars and the ends of others.

"Do you want to go for a walk and get out of the sun?" she asked him curiously. She had seen his scars that night at the lake but never brought them up because they made him uncomfortable but figured now that she knew he was a werewolf she could ask, "Are..are the scars from being a werewolf?" she asked him curiously. She didn't care one way or another that he was a death eater or a werewolf, he was still her friend. Infact the first person to strike a conversation with her when she first arrived.

"No, it's just..." he paused and pulled out his wand. Accio-ing his sunglasses from his dorm. Putting them over his eyes he sat up, his hands supporting him. "Some of them...some of them are from Gary," he said tilting his head to the side and showing her his vampire bites from the night Sammael took his blood. "But yeah, most of them are from transforming," he said quietly pulling his shirt back over his bare skin.

"I've never noticed those before." she said looking at the bite marks curiously never truly seeing vampire bites before. "Nice shade by the way." she said accio-ing hers as well. She loved the sun but did have to agree it was unbearably bright today even for her.

"My hair usually covers them up," he smiled. Covering eyes was probably a good thing - a blind werewolf would not have got very far in life. "They're a bit big," he smirked. To a muggle they would have been called 'Hollywood Shades' - the ones famous people wore walking down the street when they don't want to get noticed. He chuckled lightly to himself as the sun almost reflected against his pale skin. "It's so good to be out here in the sun. Even if I do have work to do."

Her blue cat-eyed sunglasses slid down her nose a little and she pushed them back up with her finger, "I think we all have work to do but we have to have some time relaxing otherwise we become to stressed to handle our lives." she groaned inwardly at the thought of doing her school work, "Or was there a different kind of work that you were referring to?"

Alex sat up properly and crossed his legs, letting his hands fall neatly into his lap, "Well, school work. But I suppose there are other things..." his voice trailed off towards the end. Should he tell her? She might freak out and report him to Dumbledor. Then he would have failed the Dark Lord. What was he thinking? If she told anyone he could kill her in an instant so there wasn't a problem there. "We're making an army," he said suddenly and very quietly, "I'm...recruiting...as it were."

"An army?" she asked curiously wanting to know what in the world he was talking about, "An army for what exactly?" her curiosity had gotten the better of her and now she wanted to know what he was talking about, "And who's we're?"

"For the war," he said looking directly at her, his smiling having vanished moments before. Alex would always become very cold and dark at the mention of the Dark Lord or any of his plans. His arm burnt with pain suddenly and he gasped. Alex pulled up his sleeve to see that the mark was - for the first time ever- stationary. The Dark Lord was obviously not pleased with something. Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, Alex rolled down his sleeve again and turned back to Christy. "We're - the Dark Lord and his followers."

"And if I chose to join a side you want me to be on his I take it?" she asked looking down at his arm after he pulled up his sleeve. "I honestly don't know if thats something that I want my life to be a part of." she said having heard stories of the Dark Lord and in particular things that had happened when she was nothing more than a baby. "If you could tell me more I would be more than happy to at least think about it before I make my decision but right now unless I know something more then my answer will have to be no." she said trying to be diplomatic and rational.

"The Dark Lord, well where to begin. He's not the way everyone portrays him. He's not foul and evil and a kill-joy. He's none of those things. He's supportive, encouraging, an excellent leader and a fantastic friend. But because of the things he does - the people he is fighting against. All his actions get blown out of proportion. When I needed someone to listen to me - he did. For hours I just talked and talked. He replied with one sentence and I joined up right away. There were no threats - no nothing. He just asked me if I would join his cause. So I did. The mark on my arm is out way of talking - not his way of controlling us all. It's amazing Christy - the freedom we have. The things we might have to do may not be pleasant all the time, but it's for a good cause. A just one." Alex began to pick at the grass around him, "I might not be able to convince you - but if you support the ministry, you support liars and thieves. People who exploit werewolves and vampires. Under their control I'll never get a job - but the Dark Lord has promised me paid service for the rest of my life." Alex smiled again, "I'd rather chose him over them any day."

Christy listened to him speak letting every word he said sink in. Freedom...How could she be promised that and know for sure she was being granted it. Her father was the German Minister, how could she ever be disloyal to him or defy him? "My loyalties to the ministry are a lot closer than you think Alex." she said quietly, "My father is the German Minister of Magic. My loyalties are blood-tied." she didn't quite understand why she wanted to chose to side with her father now, look at the life he had given her. He had kept her from everything that ever mattered to her. "But then again, he's kept me sheltered my whole life, placed me in an arranged marriage, which I'm glad of don't get me wrong because I love my fionce and have since I was three but I would have liked the choice."

Alex frowned slightly, "So you're going to support someone who has controlled you and then sent you away. Makes perfect sense," he said sarcastically. "At least think about it. The Dark Lord isn't what everyone thinks. Especially Potter. 'The boy who lived'?" he smirked, "'the boy that whines' more like." Alex fiddles with a loose bit of cotton on his trousers fro a moment before saying, "Blood-ties can be broken."

Christabelle frowned, "I never said I wouldn't think about it." she replied a little hurt that he would think of her like that, "I will at least think about it, I know that there are two sides to every story and everyone tells half a truth and half a lie, so now I have to figure out which is which."