A Perilous Parley [Purger Headquarters; December 26, 2028 – Dark Future]

Feet adorned in scuffed-up black boots crunched the snow beneath them without mercy. Similarly-colored robes and a heavy cloak whipped the top layer of frozen accumulation this way and that as the wizard walked onward. His hood was up and his right, black-gloved hand armed with a wand. The sleeve of his left concealed a second wand in case of emergency. In fact, the wizard was so paranoid he carried several wands on him: each one taken from an adversary or conveniently went “missing” from the list of effects of some of his victims in years passed. If you did not know this wizard was a pureblood not overly fond of muggle film, you would swear he had taken a leaf out of the Matrix film character Neo’s book. The only difference is he had wands instead of guns, and he wasn't on a mission to free anyone being held captive.

The expression on Stefan Althaus’s face was not that much different from a hardened soldier on their way to war. It was as stoic as possible, but there was a firm resolve and an undercurrent of anger within the icy sapphires he called eyes. By heading toward the lion’s den that was assumed to be purger headquarters Stefan knew that he was putting his life on the line. When did he not put his life on the line? He had taken out quite a few of the inexperienced purgers when he wasn’t babysitting Sevastyan and company or checking in on Viper. The wizard had been lucky thus far... why not see just how far his luck would hold?

Stefan had been plotting this trip since Amaranth and Sevastyan had begun the journey to mend, a few days before the Christmas holiday. Although he gladly jumped into the whole chaos of the season, buying gifts and overall getting into the spirit of things perhaps even moreso than in years passed, Stefan felt the newly-reconciled couple deserved something more. His own wife and two-year-old daughter deserved more. After everything that had happened since the summer, they all deserved at least a small slice of peace of mind. Assuming this meeting went well Stefan hoped to buy those he cared for most a little extra time completely free of worry, without paying the ultimate price. Some would think that simply lying low and casting a fortress's worth of wards would do the same thing, but Stefan was not one of those people.

Stopping several feet from the entrance, the German scanned the area with a coldness that would even make the ice envious. Ideas ran through his head that spanned from a desire to simply torch the place and be done with it, to fleeing and aborting the mission altogether. One particular mind-voice declared the mission a suicide. A voice reminiscent of Kiara McConn’s told him he was insane, while one much like Viper pleaded he be careful. The Sevastyan-esque mind-voice acknowledged that Stefan had to do what he felt had to be done. An image of Irene clutching little Lydia floated to the surface, begging him not to go through with this plan. ’You all deserve any sort of deal I can manage, and by Merlin I have no intention to die!’ Stefan silently answered the voices. The wizard had to give himself a bit of a shake to clear these thoughts away. It wouldn’t do any good if sentries caught him unawares.

Even if Stefan wanted to turn back, he doubted he would be able to now. The wizard wasn’t stupid: no doubt he may have triggered at least some sort of alarm on his arrival. He had stood there long enough now that there was little doubt in his mind he was being watched. Would they attack him before he could say his piece? There was only one way to find out...

“Sonorus,” he murmured, tapping his throat with his wand. In the same fluid motion Stefan lowered his hood to make identifying him easier. The wizard turned his neck this way and that as if to relieve a kink, the shoulder-length hair flying out from under the cloak. For a brief moment, Stefan closed his eyes and attempted prayer: that the transaction would go smoothly, and his state of departure was that of alive and in relatively one piece.

”I want a truce long enough to speak with the wizard in charge!” Stefan’s charm-enhanced voice boomed with as much resolve as he could muster. His wand was raised to strike, though whether in a position of offense or defense was difficult to determine. Either way: whenever Stefan got stressed, he got excessively wand-happy and hexed the first thing that moved. It was this confidence of his fault to curse first and ask later that made him feel ready for a probable ambush. Seeing his task as perhaps his first ever that was blatantly motivated by good rather than his own personal gain rooted Stefan to the spot.

Perhaps this was insane... Perhaps it was suicide... There was only one way to know for sure...

And if he got out alive, Stefan would consider this his greatest achievement to date!

"Someone is approaching, Father."

Charles DeLanquar ignored his son, continuing to sit, eyes closed and entirely concentrated on the torture currently in progress. The victim was an elderly man; close to his mid-eighties and rather well kept for such an age. Pureblooded and powerful... it had taken the meticulous Purger nine weeks to break him to the point of entering his mind. Now; it was just a matter of time until all he wanted to know would be his.

"Father!" Chaz, one of his younger sons hesitated on the other side of the door; knowing to interrupt his father, was unhealthy at best.
"What?" Charles rose and stalked to the door. His voice nearly shook as he towered over his son. "Who is it?"
Trying his best to remain calm, while close to passing out, the young man shrugged.
"Mother didn't know."
Charles ignored him, moving past and slamming the victim's door behind him. Normally, he was a quiet man, dangerously silent as he moved about... akin to the snake that so many pure-bloods allied with. Few would be brave enough to mention that to him. He'd devoted his life to crushing what he believed to the be the waste of the earth. Any who had in any form served the twice cursed Lord Voldemort. In truth, he may very well have been considered a 'good' man; out to rid the world of evil. But he had attempted too hard to crush it... finally delving into the rocky caverns of a darkness so deep, that he was worse than those he sough to destroy.

He found his loyal wife in the spell room; where she and their daughter, watched to be sure any attack was of their own device. While his family was the core of the Purgers, there were others that served him; twisted by a deep hatred of someone's wrong doing. Ideally, if your name was not on the list of the damned... you were welcome to join. Otherwise, you hadn't a prayer.
"What is he doing?" Raewyn asked, fingering her every present wand.
Charles watched the hooded figure moved toward their headquarters, seemingly fearless in his gait. That alone warranted his allowance as the DeLanquar patriarch held up a hand.
"Let him continue on. He appears to be on a mission."
His daughter gave him an unsure look as if shocked.
"You want me to lower the wards?"
Charles sighed stiffly, hands clenching into fists. A moment later, the wards silently vanished and the man moved on... probably without ever knowing how close he'd come to death. It was the purger way; the edge surrounding the wary but ignorant prey.

"Remain here."
Charles left the room and headed up into the surface hatch, apparating himself out into the frigid snow.

”I want a truce long enough to speak with the wizard in charge!” The words had no sooner faded to echo through the gusting wind, when he appeared before the man.
"Present."
He was a large man, well built, dressed in thick grey and black robes over black trousers. His wand rested within its holster on his hip; as if he hadn't a concern in the world. Slicked black hair now showed signs of greying and his once vibrant eyes had dulled from constant unforgivables and little to no sleep. Pale skin gave him the whisper of some demonic being, which in some ways, no doubt he was credited with. "So this is the great Stefan Althaus." he purred, as if addressing a school boy. "Somehow I always pictured you... dead."

A laugh started deep in the back of his throat and rippled up through the rest of his body; chill enough for his daughter within the lookout room to shiver ever so slightly. It may very well have been enough proof in itself that the purger had long ago left full sanity behind him.

Despite being a pureblood and well-accustomed to people apparating here and there, Stefan jumped at the sudden appearance and single-worded response. Ask and ye shall receive, they say... True to his wand-happy nature, Stefan had fired a cutting curse in the direction of the voice purely out of reflex. Without apology, Stefan sunk his wand-hand into his pocket as if to disarm himself. However, he refused to let go of the handle, and therefore refused to remove the hand from said pocket. A sneer twitched itself onto Stefan’s face as he assessed whether or not his opponent was armed, finding the filled holster with no trouble at all. ’And here I thought I was confident,’ Stefan mused, nonverbally halting the charm to magnify his voice.

Icy eyes sized up the man before their owner claiming to be the head of the operation. Stefan couldn’t doubt the other’s word, and he certainly seemed to fit the bill. Large and well-built... the kind of build Stefan never took on in a duel face-to-face, preferring instead to attack when their back was turned. Of course, much of this had to do with Stefan’s build always having been on the thin-to-slender and lanky side. Stefan was practically a tiny inkblot in the snow compared Charles... Like a Chihuahua trying to take on a Saint Bernard.

Despite being a hand’s count short of half a century old, Stefan felt very much like he was forty-five going on eighteen. Although he had some commonalities in appearance with the wizard before him, Stefan noticed differences. First thing was that the other wizard’s hair was on its way to gray. Stefan, by contrast, had a full mane of ebony with no signs of age. Of course, any gray Stefan spotted immediately got plucked off his head as it was only a strand here and there. There was no way to tell with the curse constantly modifying the color pattern of skin around his eyes what their state was, but the orbs still held a fire burning strong and seemingly unaffected by the evils he’d wrought. Their skin tones were both pale, although Stefan had a feeling Charles was a few shades moreso. There wasn’t really much visible to compare to other than Stefan’s face, as it was the only bit of skin exposed to the elements.

"So this is the great Stefan Althaus. Somehow I always pictured you... dead."

A combination of a smirk and disgust-filled wrinkle of nose contorted Stefan’s face. He allowed Charles his laugh, keeping his own expression as blank and un-intimidated as possible. It was easy, for he had laughed at others in such a way before. Regardless of Stefan’s neutral-esque mask, a betraying chill ran up his spine. “Ja, well... Glad to disappoint you. I couldn’t be any more alive,” he replied, giving Charles a rather wide-eyed expression that did little to assure others of his own sanity.

Stefan shifted his weight onto his other foot, taking a side-step so as to not be quite so ‘dead center’ and therefore within easy targeting range. “I’m aware names to not simply vanish from your rather interesting List...,” he began, eyeing Charles carefully. The wizard fidgeted, not feeling at all safe by remaining in one place like a sitting duck. “However, I want to negotiate a cessation of attacks against the Kaminski’s, Viper’s, and the remainder of my own family. If not indefinitely, which is preferable... then for a few months,” Stefan explained boldly.

Charles had sidestepped the curse; his well-trained reflexes making it appear far more simple than it was for his weary bones. For as powerful a figure as he cut against the white about them, the lead purger was best in his element with his victims unable to move or fight. This was not something he planned to advertise however. That wouldn't assist the situation in any way. As vain and inconsequential as it was; he wasn't thrilled to note that the wizard before him was aging better... Although truthfully he had no idea how old Stefan was; other than that he was probably younger than himself. That didn't mean much these days as Charles struggled through his sixties. Therefore, by his magical blood, he actually should have had less grey and a touch fewer wrinkles... but his victims didn't mention their thoughts in between his attentions to them.

Besides, age didn't matter in this equation. Charles had the upper hand. He had reinforcements behind him and any Stefan loved within easy access to crush under a thoughtless boot. Ah, it was nearly perfect. Nearly... but that was too come later. Charles had no doubt of that. Patience had a single purpose; the fruition of a plan so well laid that often it's egocentric creator could only drool over it.

He knew somewhere deep down, Stefan had to be afraid. If not of him, than of the others that could swoop down from nowhere. The raven haired wizard could be dead before Charles got the chance to gloat. It was a nearly surreal amount of power for any one man to possess. The only thing that made it a well-known reality was the blood stains that still marked the many rooms beneath the snow.

“Ja, well... Glad to disappoint you. I couldn’t be any more alive,” Well, he had nerve, no amount of pride could cancel that from Charles assumption of the man. Nerve and guts. As an image rose to mind, the purger wondered which would spill/snap first. He'd break that smirk off the raccoon's dirty mug soon enough.
"True..." he agreed, before adding, "For now." In his opinion, the power shifted as Stefan physically did. It gave that little glimmer beneath the skin and he liked what he saw. However faint... he smelt the fear.

“I’m aware names to not simply vanish from your rather interesting List...,” ah... this was interesting.

“However, I want to negotiate a cessation of attacks against the Kaminski’s, Viper’s, and the remainder of my own family. If not indefinitely, which is preferable... then for a few months,”

He had had people beg for mercy before... mainly right before execution; but once before in a situation similar to this. His sister-in-law had once made a tantalizing offer. With that thought in mind, Charles folded his arms and gave Stefan a look over.
"Does it truly matter if they die a few months later than earlier? Than today?" Malicious and eager to strike any measure of fear, Charles casually summoned a copy of the List to his finger tips. "So many names, Stefan. What if I let you pick a single one to save."

Stefan had barely noticed if his curse hit or not. However, he did notice the other wizard move. A name with meaning along the lines of having an eagle eye would’ve fit this wizard better. On one hand Stefan wished he had told someone that he had been planning this. Anyone that could provide backup. Too late now, and the wizard knew it. Had he even uttered a peep Stefan could just see the uproar it would cause. He had to do this, therefore he had to be alone. His loved ones were few but relatively safe, and even safer by not having a clue that this meeting was even occurring.

"True... For now."

The wizard scowled almost instantly. “Regrettably,” he ground out with a very brief raise of onyx eyebrows. “Old age will creep up on me one of these decades,” Stefan remarked, a small semblance of the prior smirk resurfacing. Sapphire orbs glanced around to check the scenery a moment before focusing back on Charles. After all... there had been no guarantee this was a truce; just that the head honcho was available for a chat. His five years in the loony bin didn’t exactly help him learn to trust people.

Skin on Stefan’s nose hiked up further as Charles clearly took a moment to size him up. His wand arm twitched slightly under the scrutiny. Defiantly Stefan looked straight into the other wizard’s eyes. It was Stefan’s hope to get a feel for his adversary’s thoughts other than wanting to see him dead and broken in a pool of blood right there on the spot. Stefan estimated there were at least nearly a dozen others that also wished for such a scene that were still living.

"Does it truly matter if they die a few months later than earlier? Than today?"

Another scowl lined the younger wizard’s face. “Some would say yes, it does,” Stefan retorted. However, it got him thinking. Not about teaming up with Charles, but rather about the pain he might inadvertently cause. Recently reconciled relationships only to be torn asunder afterward... It might be easier while things are just starting to return to normal than if it was fully reestablished. Yet on the other hand, Stefan could kick himself to death for thinking such a thing.

He didn’t want anything to happen to Viper. However, for nothing to happen to her meant nothing happening to Sevastyan, and everyone else he was negotiating for. He could care less how Sevastyan felt, yet the wizard’s feelings were closely tied to Viper’s. While not one for sappy romances Stefan couldn’t see how it wouldn’t matter, for it did. “Others might say waiting would make the pain worse..." A flicker of something accompanied this statement, but was covered up before it could fully show itself. "Either way: Consider this me asking you and your mates to take a Christmas vacation... starting today.”

Not sure what the other wizard planned on doing, and being rather jumpy by nature, Stefan scuttled out of the way upon sensing a surge of magic from Charles. His wand was halfway out of his pocket again when he realized the magic was simply the conjuring of the list he’d mentioned.

“So many names, Stefan.”

A scowl and determination still on the wizard’s face, Stefan swallowed somewhat noticeably and blinked. He tried not to look directly at the list. The wizard did not fear the parchment itself, nor the listing of names. However, he did fear seeing the magic of the parchment cross off each successive name of someone he cared about as the victims succumbed to death. It hadn’t happened yet, but he feared it. Not that he was going to come right out and inform Charles of this. Once more his eyes scanned the landscape, hoping to give Charles the guise that he merely had more things to focus on than a simple scrap of parchment.

"What if I let you pick a single one to save."

Stefan’s scowl soured further and he shook his head in a no rather curtly. “That’s not what I came here to bargain for. Let me pick eleven,” he replied stiffly. If his calculations were correct, that number covered Sevastyan, Viper, Lara, Demyan, Lynn, Dracovan, Svetlana, the smaller Dracovan, Piper, as well as his Irene and little Lydia.

Stefan deliberately excluded himself.

“Regrettably,”... “Old age will creep up on me one of these decades,”

The smirk that accompanied those bold words was enough for Charles to nearly lash out; wanting the wizard before him to crumble in pain like so many before him. So many had lain begging for mercy before the purgers after the sting of the whip and the crack of the many pounding beats. It was only logical that this one join in that normalcy. But anticipation was half the joy and Charles was, without a doubt, enjoying this.Decades... he nearly laughed. No one on the List of the Damned had decades left, he'd seen to that and would continue in that line. Sooner than later, he'd have them all and the purification would be complete.
"What is another hour save but the shortening of what could have been a day? You're wasting my time, Stefan." he snarled, breath gasping out in thick white bursts. The frigid air suited him, uplifting an already blackened heart. "You're wasting your own time; precious and short as it is."

It surprised him that those words came from his malodorous mouth. Precious was not the definition to life; not in his opinion or beliefs. If so he wouldn't have taken so many of them; wouldn't have stamped out so many faltering flames... but perhaps some part of him was weary; however deep down that Tartarus had inclination to hand him a shovel. Within his depth of depravity there was no return. For the sake of what he believed to be pure, black had to cover all that had once been. It was about as twisted as a man's mind could get and yet he'd still said those bloody words.

"That’s not what I came here to bargain for. Let me pick eleven,”

Mind dangerously sharpened by those thoughts, he came back to the man before him, just as he requested not one... but eleven names. It was as if he'd requested a menu be given to Charles; for his selection of the choice meats for his consumption. It couldn't be this simple, to merely be given all those to join his 'to do' list. Still...

Why eleven?

Once the euphoria of having all he wanted from Stefan in the palm of his hand; he couldn't help but wonder. Why that number of people? Was it his family and friends? Everyone he cared for? Or did that include himself... although probably not since he'd already come here so sacrificially. He was a walking lamb in a wolf infested world.

"Tell me... does it lift your black heart to give so much for so few? Or did you honestly believe that you're coming would do anyone any good, at least besides me?" Without waiting for Stefan's response, Charles shook his head. "Why don't we save each other time. I'll give you the list and you mark eleven random names... and I'll exchange those lives for the eleven you wish. Fair, don't you think?"

Stefan watched Charles carefully, looking for any sign that something he said would cause a physical response. The man looked about ready to throttle him yet miraculously hadn’t attempted so. The wizard assumed either the world’s tormentor had patience vastly superior to his own (Stefan’s level of patience being nearly nonexistent in some cases), or there was some other means holding him back that had nothing to do with being patient. Stefan couldn’t help but wonder which it was. For a moment, Stefan’s features pulled themselves into a grin. He so enjoyed annoying people... even if, in this case, that might be considered a death wish.

"What is another hour save but the shortening of what could have been a day? You're wasting my time, Stefan. You're wasting your own time; precious and short as it is."

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” replied Stefan calmly, an ebony eyebrow deciding to jump halfway through the statement. “If you expect me to be holed up somewhere, huddling my loved ones around me in fear of the day your little minions come for us... think again. I’m a fighter and a killer, not a lover. I would rather be here out on the front lines between you and them, with even the slimmest chance they might be spared, than unaware and unprepared for the storm. If I get what I want then it’s hardly a waste of my time. Life isn’t precious. It just is what it is.”

He waited on pins and needles to see just how far the envelope could be pushed. Eleven was the maximum Stefan had enough heart to ask for, although he could go as low as seven. Were Charles the one asking him to spare lives, Stefan would no doubt continue playing the haggling game. But then again, that was him and his odd yet dark sense of humor.

Charles seemed to be taking a moment to consider something, but what? Stefan wasn’t about to distract himself with Legilimency and attempting to break into his adversary’s mind. That was probably what the older wizard wanted: a distraction that would take just long enough to get in that one crucial strike...

"Tell me... does it lift your black heart to give so much for so few? Or did you honestly believe that you're coming would do anyone any good, at least besides me? Why don't we save each other time. I'll give you the list and you mark eleven random names... and I'll exchange those lives for the eleven you wish. Fair, don't you think?"

A voiceless laugh escaped Stefan. “My black little heart would do back-flips to see that building behind you torn to rubble with you and your army inside it, if you care to know. And this meeting certainly wasn’t an attempt to make you happy,” the wizard sneered, choosing not to directly answer the questions posed. Stefan was not one to get all mushy even though it was a matter of the heart that brought him.

Blackened eyes narrowed, several of the black spikes going up and down his face seeming to pull back. There was now only a single line up, and single line down, on either darkened eye. “You want me to pick eleven to live, and eleven to die?” Stefan echoed, to make sure he heard Charles correctly and understood the terms. It sounded like a distraction. But if it spared the eleven he wanted... Stefan knew one had to play the game in order to have a chance of winning.

Extending his left arm, for the wizard still refused to relinquish the hold on his wand, Stefan waggled his fingers in a sort of ‘bring it on’ gesture. “Gimme.”

“If you expect me to be holed up somewhere, huddling my loved ones around me in fear of the day your little minions come for us... think again."

In actuality, that was exactly what Charles expected and had seen, over and over again. It was what he continued to imagine and enjoyed seeing. This; showing up and asking for amnesty... it was new and Charles didn't like change. Sensible and predicable was how he enjoyed his world. He didn't like heroes... they spoilt the simple fun of terrorizing the unprepared. And he especially hated the uncommon hero; those rising to the occasion to 'save' the day. It was nauseating, in the worse possible way.
"Your life... waste it as you will." he murmured, eyes steely as he continued to watch his prey.

“My black little heart would do back-flips to see that building behind you torn to rubble with you and your army inside it, if you care to know. And this meeting certainly wasn’t an attempt to make you happy,"
Ah, how delightful to hear the hatred. He loved hearing his enemy say how much delight it brought him to want the purgers destroyed. It meant he'd done his 'job' well. Driving fear into the hearts of those he stood against was all he lived for. That and seeing that fear live before his black eyes.

He watched Stefan's eyes; finding them abnormal enough without his emotional 'roller-coaster'. Of course, there was as little emotion playing out of the other wizard's face as there was on his own. That did little to assure him of reading the other correctly... but he was fairly certain he had him right where he wanted him when he held out his hand and asked for the list... informally, but still asking. Without a word, Charles floated it over to him. It couldn't be this simple... life simply wasn't. And he was fairly certain that his adversary knew that; and yet was still playing along. On a whim, Charles was of the sort to break any word he'd ever made; regardless of the cost or person. He hated those he'd aligned himself against and Stefan was one of them, without exception. That and he knew those eleven that would be set to be 'spared'. And they were high on his list to destroy. At the top most likely in fact.

"Just remember one thing as you pick. They'll die in a single hour... everyone you mark. And everyone they know." He beamed, enjoying this too much. "So in a way, you yourself will be as much a purger as any one of my own family. Sleep well on that thought..." Malicious and eager, he waited, eyes unchanged, for any expression to show how his words had effected the man before him. He hoped it would bring about some hardening... some restlessness. But then again; he also hoped it wouldn't. It would show a deeper deprivation of character and Charles was an admirer of those like himself.

“Oh trust me, I will,” Stefan all but growled at the murmur from Charles. He gave the background surrounding Charles another precursory glance that the wizard wouldn’t admit had a level of nervousness to it. Fools kept their eyes locked onto one threat instead of being on the alert for others. Stefan did not believe himself to be such a fool.

A scowl and another facial twitch jumped across Stefan’s face as he roughly swiped the list from the air. He assumed it was a fear tactic, because up until now he had done his best not to look directly at it. Well... Stefan would just have to show him just how unafraid he was of it, in and of itself. The wizard had a feeling this task would not be as simple as it looked. Too many times had he manipulated others in similar ways, and too many times he had broken promises he claimed to make. He wondered what the inevitable catch would be.

Removing his wand from his pocket, Stefan conjured a blank sheet of parchment using the list in his other hand as a reference. The new sheet of parchment that hovered beside the List was black as night. Determined not to lose grip on his wand, Stefan conjured a blood-red quill to take down his thoughts in similarly crimson ink. With a huff the wizard lowered his icy sapphires to the list...

"Just remember one thing as you pick. They'll die in a single hour... everyone you mark. And everyone they know."

Stefan glared up at Charles from the list. So, here was the catch... ’Figures,’ he mused darkly. That took quite a good chunk of people out of the running. While Charles might have been lying, Stefan wasn’t about to take the chance. For all he knew, the other wizard was dead serious. “And if that contradicts people on the list that I want spared?” he asked with a hint of snarl. Just to be on the safe side Stefan decided to select people that hopefully didn’t know them. Were there any such people? He glanced back at the list...

"So in a way, you yourself will be as much a purger as any one of my own family. Sleep well on that thought..."

“Want me to kill the people on my ‘To Die List’ while I’m at it... Dad?” Stefan asked in utter seriousness. He only broke from such gravity at the last word, which was spoken with no small amount of sarcastic discourtesy. Stefan didn’t lift his eyes again from the parchment until the last word had left his lips, curious to see how Charles would react to that. The Slytherin in Stefan told him it would be wise to move in order to prevent getting cursed in the event that didn’t go over as well as anticipated. He might have guts, but Stefan also had a sense of self-preservation. Ergo, the wizard shifted yet again.

The list of people to be spared was easy and had been completed in the course of the few sentences exchanged. Those he was to mark to die, however, was proving to be a bit more difficult. Stefan only had one person on that list thus far: his own brother, Conrad. Conrad had no idea Stefan had started a family, and likely didn’t know most of those on his list since he almost strictly worked in Germany. Maybe Svetlana Kaminski knew him professionally... but Sveta was lower on his list than Viper.

Charles knew his daughter was at that moment preparing a team to take care of any on Stefan's list. He also knew that his wife was currently shaking her head at his actions. They didn't have to give mercy; that was the one and only perk of their current positions. But unexpectedly giving it was nearly as rewarding as the torture that usually accompanied such quaint visits. He'd trained his children well; his wife less so as she often murmured against their occasional activity.

“Want me to kill the people on my ‘To Die List’ while I’m at it... Dad?”

Of all the things, he expected and hoped for Stefan to say, that was the most unexpected. Now he knew how Cronus felt when his children had dethroned him; awkward and yet slightly amused that they dared try it. Unlike the infamous baby-swallower however, Charles surprise was quite a bit less dramatic and did not lead to his downfall.
"If you wish." he smirked, recovering faster than he'd thought possible. It did irk him that this man was so damned witty. In any other setting; they'd get along famously. Then again in any other setting, they wouldn't have probably ever met. To the betterment of both of them, for sure. Neither were of the sort to do the world good by consorting with their own 'type'. Then again... that can be said of most. "The DeLanquar family could have done worse than have you as one of its members. I have many sons of less intellect than yourself." It didn't matter to him that any of those mentioned sons were listening and watching. If they were offended then they didn't deserve to bear his name.

He was truly interested in the names that would be given him. Mainly because he wanted to know who else was counted as an enemy besides himself. It was true what they said about an enemy's enemy.
"Perhaps, you'd enjoy tea at the ending of this friendly chat. Or something stronger? I have a fine hundred year old current wine." Now he was taunting him; enjoying the last stick of the spurs so to speak. They'd be finished soon and he wanted to leave a lasting memory; a true dent. Of course, Stefan wouldn't be living long enough to carry that very far, at least if Charles had his way. But details rarely bothered the powerful purger. He usually planned for the long term and rarely the momentarily problems. They took care of themselves.

Something like an eyebrow quirk twitched onto Stefan’s face. It surprised him that Charles had recovered as fast as he did. On the one hand, Stefan had almost hoped that with as much hate the other seemed to have against him that such a comment would have irritated him. No matter: at least it did not end the negotiation prematurely. That mattered more than the accommodation of his own amusement. And the fact Charles recovered so quickly did amuse Stefan somewhat. The wizard couldn’t help but find it a pity they were on opposite sides. He had a feeling an alliance with Charles would have resulted in as great a friendship as he had with Viper. The world would certainly be in trouble if they had met and got along famously. Yet were it not for their current positions as hunter and hunted, Stefan was fairly certain they would never have crossed paths. Then again he had no idea what Charles did for a living.

“I’ll take that as a genuine compliment,” Stefan remarked and gave Charles a somewhat cheeky salute, wand still tightly clenched in his hand. It was... interesting. First, Charles had threatened him; and now the wizard was issuing compliments? Stefan wondered if he may have misinterpreted the words. He decided it didn’t really matter. Either way, he knew Charles wanted him dead and there was nothing that could be said or done to make him reconsider the older wizard as an adversary.

Not too enthused about devoting his attention to a distraction, Stefan lowered his eyes once more to the list. It took quite a bit more thought to compose a list of those to die than he thought it would take. Of course, a lot of that had to do with the rule imposed that everyone the victim knew would also die. That certainly left out the McConns, both adults of which had chased him in the past for various crimes: they knew Viper, Sevastyan, and everyone else except his own little family. Although... Kiara did get a few chances to get to know Lydia recently. It also left out the entirety of the Kaminski clan, for they too knew people important to Stefan’s black heart. With a half-hearted, silent apology to Ethan, Stefan bade the quill to add two more names:

Rowan Zachary Addams. . . Basil Addams

Stefan knew both wizards well: Ethan’s father and grandfather on the Addams side. Ethan had had no idea just how dark his paternal line really was, or so the wizard thought. The name of the Hogwarts nurse caught his eye but Stefan immediately skipped it due only to affiliation. One of the elderly wizards at the school also caught his eye: Magnus. Thinking for a moment, Stefan decided not to include him either. The old hermit likely came out of his shell and got to know anyone that mattered at the school. The same could be said of that Professor McKevin.

’Curse you for making this difficult...’ Stefan darkly thought in Charles’s direction.

Kazimir Bogdanovich Orlov . . . Adrian Sumner. . .

Well, that made five names. A restless sigh escaped the wizard. If he hadn’t had to play this little game he wouldn’t be doing it. Scanning the list for any others that jumped out at him, Stefan found yet another one and wrote it down. An ancestor of this particular individual had been a worthy opponent for his father during the Dark Lord’s second rise. Out of desperation to produce five more names, Stefan jotted down four that he spotted on the list that he had absolutely no feelings for other than hatred. Unfortunately, these people also knew Sevastyan. The wizard cursed his schoolboy nemesis for having been so popular. Now to select one more wretched name, and he could call this job done...

"Perhaps, you'd enjoy tea at the ending of this friendly chat. Or something stronger? I have a fine hundred year old currant wine."

Stefan paused from scanning for one last name at this comment and eyed Charles quizzically. 'Is he serious?' he wondered. To him, it sounded like the perfect opportunity for getting himself poisoned. Had Charles thought the same? Then again, at the same time... if he got into the compound there could be a chance he could take out quite a few of the purgers in a sneak attack of sorts. The only downside was that he was here alone. Stefan doubted he could take care of the hoard while within the depths of its nest. The wizard weighed his options. If only he had extra bodies to go with the extra wands he had on him... “Tempting offer...” Stefan began, lowering his eyes once more to the parchment.

He spotted his best friend’s name from Durmstrang and jotted it down simply because it was just another name. Regrettably, that name knew of Sevastyan at best, but there was nothing he could do about that. “...but I should probably decline. I’m not a tea person and it’s dangerous to drink and apparate,” Stefan replied with a vocal smirk but not a physical one.

Double-checking to make sure he had eleven names on both sides, and realizing he did, Stefan vanished the scarlet quill and charmed the parchment to fold itself. With a wave of his wand the German wizard sent both the original list and his lists back to Charles. “There. Eleven to live, and eleven to die. The ones to live will be spared, ja?” Stefan asked, a scowl of lethal seriousness much like how he had arrived once again adorning his features.

~ ~ ~

To Live
1. Amaranth Viper-Kaminski
2. Sevastyan Maksimovich Kaminski
3. Larissa Seraphima Kaminski
4. Demyan Elessar Kaminski
5. Ethelinda Praskovya Kaminski
6. Irene Althaus
7. Lydia Althaus
8. Dracovan Viper
9. Svetlana Kaminski-Viper
10. Dracovan Maksim Viper
11. Piper Sofia Viper


To Die
1. Conrad Althaus
2. Rowan Zachary Addams
3. Basil Addams
4. Kazimir Bogdanovich Orlov
5. Adrian Sumner
6. Garrett Moody
7. Iosif Gorbachev
8. Evert Rosenberg
9. Bellatrix Valkenhorst
10. Tatiana Romanova
11. Vladimir Zolnerowich

Ah, just an eyebrow; Charles was deliriously happy, finding the gesture to meet satisfaction in some bizarrely twisted way. It was slight, subtle, barely seen and gone the next second. Perfect. Appreciation of the German wizard was rising like the smell of a roasted fowl. Or at least he saw them in that similar light. Stefan served with yorkshire pudding had a lovely ring to it... although the Purger sect had yet to delve into the cannibalistic arts.

“I’ll take that as a genuine compliment,”
He'd better, Charles mentally remarked. It had been one, despite usual deviousness. Time after that had passed quicker, with the elder wizard watching the younger scribble down doomed names. It was ironic. Taking dead men from one list to add to another. They probably wouldn't see it that way... but too each their own. Time was as the tide; it may have missed a grain of sand in one rising, but it always returned.

Now, there was nothing to do but watch the marking. Names... Charles knew the difficulty of marking names down. He'd written the List of the Damned after all. At first it had simply been a way of sliding his boiling thoughts from mental imagination to solid possibility. A vent for that compressed brain of his; but now, there wasn't a pure-blood in the magical blood who didn't fear it. Along with any associated with them. They were the stench that had propped up Lord Voldemort and now no longer littered the good world. He'd sent them shivering into the cracks and crevices they belonged in.

Ironic to think all of the horrors he'd brought about had begun with a single tiny sin. He'd coveted his brother's wife. And the ignorance that had come with that union. He'd watched as Richard had wooed, wed and bedded a crafty little witch who had already fallen head over heels with a momentary apparition of Tom Riddle. He'd seen a child come from that union; a little baby girl who later became the Headmistress of Hogwarts.... a niece in all but blood. And all his foolish brother did; could do, was preen his lovely bride with their own little half-blood. So he'd put an end to the masquerade. He'd killed his brother, taken his brat as his own and did enough damage to his sister-in-law to see her suffer out the rest of her life. But that had failed too.

So, he'd waited and watched; cooing at how adorable the first bastard child was. Believing herself so good at heart when in actuality she was the direct blood of the greatest dark lord of their time. It had been too poetic for words. And Charles had enjoyed every moment of telling her.

Eyes blinked and he glanced to Stefan. Goodness, boy sure took his time taking down names. Though in reality it had only been a moment or two. Time just didn't prance up to the purger and whisper its secrets, and in true muggle form, he never wore a watch.

“Tempting offer...” and there was a pause, during which Charles noted a single name was added. The man was nothing if not slow and thorough. Emphasis on slow... less on thorough.

“...but I should probably decline. I’m not a tea person and it’s dangerous to drink and apparate,”

Sensible as well... goodness, could there be one flaw in this man to truly irk him. One would be sufficient.
"Suit yourself, far be from me to injure their health. If you haven't got your health, then you haven't got anything."

There, finally, the impatient and large part of Charles clapped happily as the parchment was given over to him. Ah, he scanned the names, this would do nicely. He so did love check lists.

“There. Eleven to live, and eleven to die. The ones to live will be spared, ja?”

He waved a hand as if assuring breakfast to a three year old.
"Of course."

Stefan blinked and narrowed his eyes with shrewd confusion for a moment. Seconds later, he relaxed the features. “Quite true...” he ventured, clearly attempting to hide a smirk with little success. “And I did suit myself, actually...” Stefan made the absentminded show of brushing the few delinquent snowflakes from his shoulder.

A little voice in Stefan’s mind repeated one word over and over in his ears: Danger. Danger, danger, danger... He wanted to tell that little voice to go to Hell, knowing darn well he was in probable danger. Such a neutral statement seemed off after their ‘playfully morbid’ exchanges of threats and talk of death. Preserving one’s health was the one off twang in the orchestra’s symphony. Was Charles really going to let him go? Or was this a ruse? Insofar as Stefan was concerned the older wizard was just as unpredictable as he.

One ebony eyebrow clamped down upon the eye below it in an attempt to understand the reason for Charles’s clap. The wizard supposed it mattered not, but kept this information at the back of his mind anyway. Stefan waited a moment for his opponent to scan the names. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of things, least of all the expression on Charles’s face. Their exchange had not quite gone the way Stefan had envisioned it, but now at least it was done.

He waved a hand as if assuring breakfast to a three year old. "Of course."

“Good,” Stefan replied curtly, the scowl still etched on his face. “In that case I’m done here,” he said, taking a step backward. Slowly, just in case, Stefan let the spell tucking the wand up his left sleeve drop. “As I am on neither list, ergo not scheduled either way for the next hour, I’ll take my leave. I’m sure you have some poor fool locked up in there somewhere you need to disembowel.”

He was not going to turn his back on Charles. That was like ignoring a rattlesnake being dangled inches from one’s nose. And if Charles turned his back on him, which seemed equally unlikely, Stefan had a few good curses on the tip of his tongue. All he needed now was opportunity...

Charles was not a patient man... he sometimes liked to think he was. But he wasn't and thousands of people could testify to that fact. Patience came only in the form of enjoying some long term torment. But he had decided several moments ago that he was going to let Stefan go.

It was out of character and rude to his long lasting record. Bruising to the ego and crushing to the soul. But yet, comforting in a way. He wanted one good deed to be written down on his letter... where ever that was kept. One truly wonderfully poor choice to be known to everyone. That; and he wanted to hunt Stefan down without any merciful thoughts hanging over his head like a swinging pendulum.

"Farewell, young Stefan. Enjoy your last few days." he waved the printed page, laughing softly. "I plan to enjoy them." And with that, he apparated away, gone in a moment of magical whirling.

"Farewell, young Stefan. Enjoy your last few days. ... I plan to enjoy them."

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be more than just ‘a few’...” Stefan retorted, the smirk once more verbal as opposed to physical. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that last sentence. Before he could respond Charles had vanished. Seemingly alone, Stefan’s paranoia took over: his eyes darted around in an attempt to try and look at everything all at once. The wizard even made sure to look over his shoulder, and even did a few turns in the snow to make sure there was not a hidden assailant hiding behind him.

Had it really been that easy?

Frustration overcame Stefan at having lost his opportunity to curse Charles once his back was turned. He supposed he should have expected as much: Charles did apparate directly in front of him. It should make sense that Charles would leave the same way he came, Stefan berated himself. He halted and reversed the spell on the wand up his sleeve for it seemed unneeded now. Stefan supposed that, on the bright side, he had evaded capture and accomplished his goal not only in one piece, but un-bloodied altogether! It was only a shame that he hadn’t sent any of the hoard to Hades while he was at it...

The deal now done, Stefan raised his wand. As opposed to his other facial expressions prior the wizard donned one that looked truly insane. Pointing his weapon of choice at the building, the wizard cast the most powerful blasting curse he knew. With the building likely magically fortified Stefan knew it would not sustain much damage. He didn’t have the energy to try and destroy the headquarters as well as do what he intended to do now that he was seemingly let free. The wizard just wanted to give Charles and company a little ‘friendly’ jolt.

Having had a similar experience with a large stick and a wasp’s nest Stefan prepared to apparate himself out of there before the purgers within could swarm him. However, before entirely vanishing from sight, the wizard had a few ‘last words’:

“Catch me if you can!”