If I Could be Anyone Else;; [[closed to Zane]]

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

"Was?" Zane asked, stressing the word. He didn't really think one could be a Death Eater at one point, and not at the next. It was a huge decision to make, and you didn't suddenly decide you didn't like murdering and torturing people anymore. Not to mention Zane had a personal vendetta with Death Eaters because of what they did to his family and home, and indirectly were doing to his sister.

"How the hell do you just stop being a sadistic murderer?" He demanded, his voice a loud hiss. He wasn't yelling, and no one but Ash and anyone who passed by closely to listen could hear him. He was clearly angry, though the reason why was unclear. He was practically glaring at Ash by this point, and his hands were pulled tightly into fists, "How can you not be one anymore?"

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female understood what Zane was saying. Normal Death Eaters changing their ways was mostly unheard of, and were killed for being traitors. However, she was a different such case. She hadn't wanted to be a Death Eater in the first place, and she'd had a hard life, so going against it hadn't been an option. Her father practically tortured her into becoming one, and had forced the Dark Mark upon her, which was still stinging so uncredibly painfully and caused Ash to rest her hand over it once more, trying to stem the pain.

"I never killed anyone, and I don't plan to either!" Ash said in a a raised yet still quiet voice. Zane was just judging before he knew the real factts. He didn't trust her, Ash understood that, and she didn't blame him much either, though she still felt like ot was unfair on her. Sje hadn't asked for any of this. "And for your information, it wasn't my choice! I'm not a Death Eater because I chose to be one. Do you think if I was loyal, I would be ignoring a summon? Because that's the pain in my arm!"

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane's eyes narrowed, and he clenched his teeth. He couldn't deny that Ash was right in the sense that she probably wouldn't be denying the summon. He didn't really see how Ash was a Death Eater not out of choice, and watched her carefully, keeping himself in silence for a moment as he thought. He had a couple of choices here. He could turn her in, or he could give her the benefit of the doubt, and see what was really going on.

He crossed his arms over his chest, "I'll make you a deal then." He said, "Tell me how you became a Death Eater, and how it was against your will, and I won't turn you in." He would be able to tell if she was lying or not, for he was very skilled in that area. In Psychology all around, really.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Ash hated telling people about what had happened with her family - she'd never actually spoke about it to anyone really, so she didn't want to start now. Part of her believed that the male should just take her word for it, and not think that just because she had the dark mark, she was atomatically loyal to the dark lord. Actually, she was quite against the dark arts nowadays and wanted nothing more to do with them, not to mentiom the fact that she believed it was the dark arts that took her father away from her.

"I shouldn't have to justify myself. You should just believe me." The female countered, hoping that this was going to work, and that the male wouldn't actually attempt to turn her in. If her words didn't get through to him, then she knew she had no choice but to spill the beans, though she really didn't want to. She worried that Zane might have heard of her dather, or her family name, and be even more suspicious of her. It was a wide known fact that all of the Wolfe's had been into the dark arts.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane snorted rather loudly, obviously amused by Ash's words, "Just believe you?" He repeated, though in question form, "Yeah, because I have every reason to do that and none not to." Really, it was the opposite. He had every reason not to just believe her. She had the dark mark on her skin, and admitted to being a Death Eater, even if it was in the past. There was absolutely no reason for him to just believe her. He'd never take that chance.

"Forget it." He replied quite simply, folding his arms over his chest. His gray eyes narrowed as he watched the female, clearly not budging in the least, "Either you can tell me, so I actually have a reason to believe you, or I can turn you in. Simple as that." He shrugged, almost acting as if this wasn't that big of a deal.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Ash was starting to believe that Zane was about as stubborn as she was, and that was a big deal, because she happened to be extremely stubborn. However she didn't blame the male for not trusting her. If it were the other way round, she would probably be acting the exact same way as him, so it wasn't hard for her to imagine just what he was thinking. Obviously he thought there was no reason to believe her. A death eater was a death eater til the day they died; her father once taught her that.

Sometimes she believed it.

"Fine." She grumbled, coming to the conclusion that the male wasn't going to give up on this. She looked away, dropping her gaze to the floor for a few moments, and then focused back on Zane, her eyes narrowed, expression serious. "My father is Derek Wolfe, and my family are a group of notorious death eaters ... As you can imagine, they wanted me to be exactly like them. So they trained me, against my will - forced me to use unforgiveable curses on my own father's python and still I refused ..."

She paused, and shook her head trying to flush the memories away. "When I was old enough, my father branded the dark mark to my arm with force ... You have to believe me when I say I didn't want to join them, but once it's happened, it's hard to go back. They kill traitors. My uncle even gave me the scar across my eye."

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane was indeed very stubborn, but at the same time, he was also very curious. It was his interest in Ash that was driving him really, not stubbornness as much. Unlike a lot of people, he actually liked to learn and to know things. He wasn't a nerd by any sorts, he just liked to know everything, to say the least. It was sort of a hobby of his in a way, collecting information, and Ash was a particularly interesting find.

The boy had indeed heard of her family name, and was surprised to find one of that family standing before him. He listened as she spoke, watching her face with intense scrutiny, studying her emotions. It was clear from her hesitation that she was uneasy talking about it, but not because she was trying to think of what to say, because it wasn't true, but because she was ashamed, and uncomfortable. They were bad memories. Memories, not made up stories.

He unfolded his arms, his expression softening, "Sorry to hear that." He said, all accusation gone from his voice, "But I believe you."

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female was absolutely relieved to hear that, because it would have sucked to actually tell a story like that, one that she hard a hard time dealing with, and not be believed. Infact she regretted saying it even now, but was sure she would regret it more if she'd been turned in by the male for being a death eater. She still found it difficult eing who she was - she wasn't feeling sorry for herself, but she kind of felt like she was cursed or something. She had the family that she did, she could speak to snakes, and she was a werewolf.

Really, someone up there must hate her.

She looked away as the male spoke and didn't look back. "Good." She muttered, almost frustrated. She was still annoyed with him for the ccusation that he'd cast upon her, but more than that she was annoyed at a lot of things; like the pain in her arm for instance. It was slowly stopping, but the throbbing and stinging was still there. Obviously her father had given up trying to summon her, and Ash knew all too well what would happen when she saw him again. She would be punished.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

The male ran a hand through his hair, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. He actually felt kind of bad now for how rude he'd been to Ash earlier, and also for demanding she tell him that story. He adverted his gaze for a moment, before allowing it to rest on her face once more, "I'm sorry for being such a jerk earlier." He said, his voice and expression sincere. He was telling the truth, he really did feel bad about it, "I wasn't in a good mood, and you just showed up at the wrong time."

"Not that that's an excuse." He chewed his lip for a moment, gaze flickering away once more, and resting on the ground. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were in thought, before he turned his attention back to the female, "My name's Zane by the way." He figured he at least owed her his name along with the apology. And perhaps a few more sorrys to go along with it. He'd really been a jerk to her, and for no reason other than he'd been angry at someone else completely unrelated to her.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

The female had never had a friend, not had she ever recieved an apology for anything; other than some younger kids who occassionally bumped into her at Hogwarts and were totally afraid that she might curse them. However, this was a different sort of apology, and strangely enough it felt kind of good hearing such words. It kind of helped that Ash was a girl, and Zane was an incredibly gorgeous guy, who she was sure had queues of girls just lining up for him. It wouldn't surprise her if half the girls in her own house fancied the pants off him.

She lifted her head to focus on him, her eyes softening slightly. Her hand dropped to her side and she gave a half hearted smile towards the male. "It's alright. I'm Ash." She responded, feeling like it was simply easier to atleast be more friendly this time. She supposed that she owed him that for being a bitch back to him. Afterall, she'd been kind of rude, and so her own attitude had not helped anything.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane really didn't blame Ash for being bitchy to him in return. He'd been rude in the first place. She obviously hadn't been being sarcastic when she suggested he should be more careful. He'd just been angry and retaliated in an unnecessary way. He really regretted the way he acted when he was angry a lot of the time. He had a tendency to take it out on people who weren't related to the issue in the least, like he'd done with Ash, and felt quite horrible about it later. He really had an conscience. It was part of why his step-parents made him so angry. Not just because they wouldn't take Alice to St. Mungo's, but because he felt like it was partially his fault. Like he should try harder to get them to change their mind, or even take her their himself. But he didn't have the money to pay for it, and their step-parents wouldn't support the decision.

Zane returned the small smile, his eyes switching to the scar on her arm, "So why was that hurting so badly?" He asked, curious once again, but also slightly concerned. The pain seemed to have for the most part left her expression, which was a good thing, he assumed, for he hoped it meant that the pain had faded.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

Ashley had an anger problem herself, the only difference was that she hardly felt guilty about taking her anger out on people. Well, she'd never felt guilty, actually. Most of the time her anger was justified especially when it concerned her father and the Death Eaters, or anything to do with thw Voldemort wannabee ... Calderact in other words. Okay so he was different in a lot of ways, but he still was a bastard. That was the only thing that mattered to Ash, and she really hated what he was doing to the wizarding world, and what he was planning.

She looked down at her arm as Zane spoke, and then looked back up, almost hesitantly. "I was being summoned, as I said." She answered, though she wasn't exactly done speaking. When a Death Eater was being summoned, it was usually because something important needed doing, or the Dark Lord was having a meeting, and such things as that. She always refused to go to them, and the only reason she was still alive was because of who her father was. "Probably a job they want doing ... They'll get someone else to do it."

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane wondered what it was like having the mark on her arm. It had to have hurt terribly from the look on her face. She'd really appeared to be in a lot of pain. Not to mention, it was a way of someone getting ahold of you whenever they wanted, like you could never be alone when you wanted to be. It was a huge invasion of privacy. The male had even heard that people with the mark could be tracked by it. He wondered if that was true, but didn't feel asking was a good idea. It didn't seem like a topic Ash like discussing.

He tilted his head slightly, watching her as he spoke, "But won't you get in trouble for not going?" He asked, slight concern appearing in his expression. It was once again genuine, but so was his curiosity. He wondered if the answer to that question was yes, if the trouble would come to Ash, or if she'd be punished whenever she returned to her father... In which case he'd suggest she didn't return.

[Ashley-Raine Wolfe]

And the female hated having it. She had heard that when Voldermort was defeated, the Dark Marks faded, but when Calderact came into power, they reappeared on old death eaters, like they'd never gone in the first place. Ash really hoped then when the dark lord was defeated, hers would go to. She was kind of counting on it actually, and if no-one stood up to the guy, then she swore to herself that she would just go and fight him instead. She was old enough, being 18 and had the determination for it to. Ofcourse, deep down she knew she wasn't strong enough.

She shrugged lightly when Zane questioned her. Yes, she would be in trouble, as she always was when she didn't show up for these meetings. But she'd survived hadn't she? And the girl was almost in tip top condition to, besides her eye and the fact that sometimes she twitched in class because of having been cruicio'ed days before at the hands of her father. She could deal with it, she was sure. "Yeah, probably." She answered, and it was obvious that the answer was yes. She would be in trouble, and a lot of it to.

[Zane Alexander Harlow]

Zane frowned, crossing his arms over his chest once more, and shifting his weight onto his right leg. He continued to watch Ash as he spoke, "I'm sure it's obvious advice, but in that case I suggest you stay away from your father. Or whoever it is that you'd have to answer to for not answering the summon." Not that her father or whoever still couldn't get to her on the grounds.

Part of Zane wanted to help Ash out with this, perhaps protect her. He owed her something for being such an ass to her, and other than that, he was really just the type of guy to want to help someone else out. He'd feel bad if he just allowed Ash to get punished after she told him it would happen, and he didn't do a thing to try and prevent it. He really did have quite the conscience, though he wished he didn't. It was quite easy to make him feel guilty.