pretty sights | steve

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

13TH JANUARY 2025

A WEEK OR so had passed since the students returned to Hogwarts and strangely enough, Zen hadn’t seen Steve. The thought of him wandering after another pretty girl had crossed her mind, especially since Zen had some time to bond with the Kolstad ever since she met him. He was now one of her closer friends, a cute one and seemingly the one to always give her advice. Or a boost of confidence. The Novell had seen Nora however, her loudness in the halls and instinct to track Zen’s movements being enough for the two to come together. Zenevieva’s worry over looking different had died along too with the passing days and alongside her common Hogwarts robes, her short blonde hair flourished. Or so she’d like to think. Her Hufflepuff friend — Sari Fawley — was a perfect example, she let her blonde waves go everywhere, eventually forming a strange mane, not like she cared. So Zen knew she shouldn’t care either. Running a hand through the ashy waves, Zen turned the corner, another book in hand. Monday afternoons meant the halls were quiet, younger students in classes while the elders of Hogwarts would be out on study breaks or in advanced classes.

As eyes peered up, the blonde smiled at what she found at the end of the hall. There stood Steve, as if he were clueless as the next person or eventual first year who would be running around after the upcoming summer. Rushing over to his side, one of her arms wrapping over him as she did so, Zen slowly started to remember their Christmas together. It was an offer she considered declining at first, considering how nervous she was to meet his Mom — a full vampire in comparison to the twins and Zen herself — as well as leaving Adèle…On her own…For a day or two. It was officially Zen’s first Christmas without her parents, the same feeling for Adèle as it meant one year without her older sister to look up to and have meals prepared from her. How Zen missed those meals. The offer itself was sweet as a whole, given how much the Novell ate that day and the laughs she had. If it wasn’t for the Kolstads as well — in particular Steve — Zen wouldn’t have gained some kind of confidence as the weeks went along or even considered dyeing her hair.

She remembered the finale of it all, green eyes observing the changes in her mirror before she turned back at her aunt, looking upon the resemblances the two held now. More than ever. ”W-Where have you been hiding?” She asked in a stutter, looking up at him as she stepped away from their slight embrace. While phase one of her changes was somewhat complete, the stutter was still a nuisance. Eventually she would find a way around it. ”Did you see another pretty girl?” She joked.

@steve & hopefully this works!

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

zenevieva mira novell

01.13.2025

Back to the grind once again, and Steve couldn’t have been happier to go back to Hogwarts. Not for the classes and homework, obviously – that would signify that there was something wrong with him – no, this was because he needed the socialization. The break had brought on some fun memories, since Zen, his and Nora’s new half-vampire pal and schoolmate, had spent a few days with his family. It was liberating to have another person just like them around, and while Steve had never felt lonely due to his condition (Nora making quick work of that), having Zen as part of their rag-tag half-vampire crew was even better. From their encounters since their first meeting, she was way different than the Kolstads were. In a vampire-sense, they were still the same, but she was more reserved and kept to herself whereas Steve and Nora were out there in the front making a show of themselves. He liked having a friend that was calm and could keep him grounded for a few moments at a time while also being the one he could show all the fun things in life to. They had a mutually beneficial friendship for sure.

Since Christmas though, he hadn’t seen his new fanged friend. Their schedules were completely opposite of one another, Nora had confirmed that for him, because she had apparently seen Zen in the corridors at some point in time. Hogwarts was just big enough where even searching for someone could became a task in itself. Today, Steve was lucky. In his absentmindedness Zen found him standing in one of the upper hallways of the castle, staring at all of the paintings he had ignored the previous term. There were far more of them than he remembered, and he had started to chalk it up to being a new student and being overwhelmed by literally everything the magical school had to offer when he felt someone starting to wrap their arms around him. Without looking, he already knew it wasn’t Nora; she was too aggressive with her hugs and he would have heard her coming before she even knew he was there. No, this person was gentle, small and blonde. And smelled like vampire.

Steve felt stupid for not recognizing Zen immediately – he should have sensed her approaching him. Apparently the moving picture frames had the ability to dull his vampire senses, since he had been completely absorbed in them. But Zen wasn’t blonde, and his jaw went slack when it all clicked in his head. “What’d you do?” he asked, surprise dancing off of his tongue. “It looks great! People won’t even recognize you anymore.” He almost hadn’t, but that was beside the point. Smell was everything at the end of the day, and she was still the same Zen.

He chuckled at her joke about finding a girl, and then turned back to the picture frames he had been observing. “Yeah, I’ve taken an interest in…” he leaned forward, squinting at the name plate on the picture directly in front of him, “…Gertrude Finglebottom. Quite the looker if you ask me.” Maybe the old girl had been that at some point in time, but she looked like a wrinkled, dried-up prune in her frame. It wasn’t the most flattering one either.

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

BEING BACK IN HOGWARTS was the only exciting thing Zenevieva had looked forward to after the crash and burn of Hogsmeade and Azkaban’s destruction. Living in London simply didn’t seem safe at all and given the history of Hogwarts and the…Battles it had gone through, it was still better than nothing. The Professors were trained for the student’s safety and education and Zen had read many novels to prepare her own survival. Though, nothing could ever save her from the joys that was the preparation for her NEWT exams next year. Being back also meant that the Novell would be reunited with her friends, Kaylee, Ellie, Steve and Nora, and even Daniel. Anyone that would allow the blonde stutter away about her winter break, as well as discuss why she bleached her roots. Even though her fellow half-vampires already knew the reason. Or so she figured.

As she unwrapped her arms and stepped away from him, Zen felt her nose wrinkle at his compliment, her lips growing into a smile. ”B-Bleached it like any other M-Muggle…” She murmured as she started, rocking on the back of her heels, the book she held closed gripped tightly in her hands behind her back. ”O-Over Christmas…Y-Your words kind of h-helped. C-Change something about me to s-see if it’ll make me h-happier.” And in a way Steve was right. Alongside him and his sister, Mrs Kolstad brought some form of joy over the holidays for the new-blonde, especially since she always found Steve’s mom discussing Zen’s wellbeing to her aunt: Adèle, who was still getting used to the difficulties that being a carer brought. ”Y-You barely did so…M-Maybe it worked.” The Ravenclaw had a feeling that if the two weren’t half-vampires, with their scent ability still intact in their half-human, half-vampire bodies, they wouldn’t have been able to figure out one another so easily. It was irritable now that Zen thought about it, growing up as half a dark creature and half human, yet the only ability she could tap into either helped her singing and influence or sent strong smells up her nostrils.

Leaning forward with him to look at the name of the lady in the painting, Zen let out a quiet laugh at the name. ”I-I know her.” She responded to him. It was true, considering the Novell had seen the woman’s name in a few odd sentences or two within her textbooks but she wasn’t as popular as other subjects of other paintings around the school. Wrinkling her nose again as she observed thee lady in the painting, Zen laughed a little louder at Steve’s observation. ”E-Enough of a looker to take to G-Gilderoy’s Valentine B-Ball?” The event itself wasn’t for another month or so, but sharing the same house as the Seventh Year meant the half-vampire was met with some snooping moments from time to time, as well as to hear his complaints. Even if it underwent and eventually happened, the blonde doubted she would actually attend the ball, considering she’d have to wear another dress. And a trip back to the boutique with Kaylee where she had been looking for a dress for her Blishwick date was stressful enough.

@steve

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

zenevieva mira novell

01.13.2025

Steve had never thought of his words or ideas as having any sort of actual impact on people’s lives, but Zen was living, breathing proof that there were some out there that listened to what he had to say. When he had brought up the idea of changing herself, he had figured she would speak to more people and be more proactive in social events, but this was on a completely different level. It took a lot of confidence to completely bleach her hair. Even he would never do that, afraid of what others would say about his luscious locks of layered hair if they suddenly changed color or were completely chopped off. Zen, on the other hand, could pull it off. “You really look like your aunt now,” he observed. They already looked similar enough prior to the color change, but now it was almost uncanny. “What do they say? New year, new you, or something like that?” Steve offered her. Perfect timing really. His own New Year’s resolution was to eat healthier and drink blood more often because the previous year had been a constant fight against his nature and it had been a pain by the time the end of the year rolled around.

Zen turned her attention to the portrait that Steve had been looking at before her arrival and mentioned that she knew the lady inside. He raised his eyebrows at her, interested to hear the story that surely accompanied the comment, but she ended up not saying much more. Instead, she asked if the woman inside was good enough to take to the upcoming ball. Steve joined in her laugh, looking up at the picture again. “I wouldn’t frame our relationship that way,” he said, hoping she would get the pun. “What about you? Has blonde Zen tugged on any heartstrings in the last few days?”

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

GOING BLONDE WAS JUST THE first step for Zenevieva to change herself. She believed it was a good step to building her confidence, even though she still needed to work on her stutter. She knew it would be confusing for a few people to begin with, hopefully allowing the Novell to stray away from her bullies, even though she oddly hadn’t really seen them in the past few months. The observational comment was seen as a compliment to the half-vampire, especially since her aunt was one woman she respected. ”Y-Yeah. New year, n-new me.” She had other resolutions aside from building her confidence for the year, maybe make some more friends, read twice the amount of books she had read last year, she hadn’t exactly pinpointed everything just yet.

While Zen was sure she knew the lady, the novel or textbook that had the woman’s famous painting detailed in escaped the Ravenclaw’s mind. What mattered was, Zen most definitely knew her. The ball was one thing Zen knew she would probably be avoiding, considering A. social events were the Novell’s worst enemy and B. she absolutely hated dresses. The invitation itself said any ‘formal’ presentable clothes would work, but she knew every female attending would be wearing some kind of dress. The pun caught Zen off guard, but she laughed anyway, rolling her eyes. ”Y-You know I h-hate puns.” At his question, Zen shook her head lightly. Steve was just the one of the very few who knew Zen was blonde now, or even one of the very few people the half-vampire could speak to confidently. ”N-No. I doubt I-I’ll break any h-hearts soon…”

@steve

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

zenevieva mira novell

01.13.2025

“I was wrong. This isn’t a new you,” Steve corrected himself as he stared at her. Narrowing his eyes at her, he purposely tried to make her uncomfortable with the glare. “This is an improved you. Because you’re still Zen, but I can already tell you’re on the track to being the best possible Zen.” He flashed a smile at her before turning his attention back to the picture he had been looking at. Hopefully that would be another push in the right direction for her. After hearing her story, it was hard not to want to help her out, especially because they were the same thing at the end of the day. Steve didn’t know what it was like to take on the role of an older brother (though he often tried to pull that card on Nora if he was given the chance), but he felt that his relationship with Zen was sort of like that. Like werewolves with their packs and full vampires with their covens, the three of them sort of made up their own small family. He liked that.

She said she hated puns and Steve shrugged, not averting his gaze from the picture frame. He still hadn’t figured out what made this frame amongst the thousands the most interesting today. It just was. That would be a poor answer to some, but it seemed to fit for him. “Zen, if I still had a heart to give, it would be shattered into a million little pieces right now. Trust me,” he held his hand over his heart. “People will notice. And by then you’ll be ready to show them how cool you are.”

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

ZENEVIEVA KNEW EXACTLY WHAT STEVE was up to, but without a word of a doubt, she enjoyed what he was doing. It was a boost to her confidence, but an awful thing for her embarrassment, as her cheeks sported a bright shade of red. She felt uncomfortable with his sudden stare though, even shifting her eyes elsewhere to avoid his burning glare. ”T-Thank you…” She muttered, her left hand lifting to rub her right elbow as she blushed away. It wasn’t odd to be randomly complimented the same way Steve had done, but considering Zen had grown to know the Kolstad, she knew this was genuine. Unlike the many other times he was simply playing with her.

The two of them stared down at the painting in a blissful silence until Steve spoke up again. She felt herself quietly snort at his words and gesture, rolling her eyes. ”Yo-You still have a heart du-dummy.” All of them did, even if they were half-vampires after all. Their beats were irregular, the same way their parents had been. Although, the Ravenclaw hoped the last part of his statement would eventually come true. It would be nice to have some sort of popularity in the school. To have more friends, and a lack of a stutter It would prove every conversation to be ten times better. ”Y-You’re cooler.” She managed to add, nudging his arms lightly. But that’s what she hadn’t come for! It was the end of the day, the two of them deserved some fun, not some sappy stuff (even if it did make Zen feel a lot better.) ”I-I’ve been practicing.” She began. ”T-The ‘voice’” Zen had always felt like using the voice would be wrong, or would…go wrong with her stutter, so she had been advised (mainly by Nora) to practice her speech first, to calm the stammers her mind would form before speaking out.

@steve & i’ve forgotten what this thread was supposed to be about so i kinda,,,changed it LOL

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

zenevieva mira novell

01.13.2025

"Of course. That’s what friends are for,” he answered her appreciation. Giving her a pat on the shoulder, he continued, “There aren’t a lot like us, especially here. Gotta help each other out as much as we can when nobody else will understand us. I used to take that for granted because I’ve always had Nora with me, but I can see now how it isn’t always that easy when you’re on your own.” Christmas had been a bit of an eye-opener for him when it came to his new friend’s situation, especially without having an adult vampire around to help. Her aunt, from what he could tell, was doing a good job though, and Steve chalked it up to being similar to how his dad would take over the messier tasks for him and Nora whenever their mom was away for work. He didn’t really have to because they were independent while together, but it was the thought that counted.

He laughed at her as she said he still had a heart and was cooler than her. Of course he was. Because he had his hair. But that was about it, in his opinion. He put his hand over his chest and feigned surprise at the heartbeat he felt there. “Holy crap, I do still have one! The only problem is that I’ve divvied it up to so many different girls by now that I’m not sure if it’ll ever be back to the way it used to be,” he ended with a dramatic sigh before tossing a wink at her.

Zen continued though, explaining that she had been practicing…the voice. Steve’s eyes lit up as she said it, jaw dropping simultaneously. “Really? How’s it working so far? Have you trapped any poor, unfortunate souls yet?” His phrasing of the power probably wasn’t the best in the world but he was excited! There were a lot of nuances behind the voice, and, in his experience, took a lot of concentration to ensnare the target. He personally didn’t like to use it since it was dishonest and he didn’t want that sort of reputation, but it was still a useful skill to have.

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

THE PAT ON HER SHOULDER was always reassuring, and it drew a smile to Zen’s lips as he did it. He was right though, in Ilvermorny there weren’t many demi-humans and while Hogwarts was an upgrade, there still weren’t many of them. Steve and Nora were homeschooled before transferring to Hogwarts and Zen could only imagine how many other half-vampires or other demi-humans out there who were stuck, confided to the walls of their home due to being afraid to being out in the open. Alongside them, the different people. Steve had a point though, considering he had Nora by his side, Zen was somewhat alone after her parents death. Adèle had no idea what to do, how to look after a growing half-vampire, but in fairness it was the same as treating a regular child. She just needed blood every few months. ”I-I hope we ca-can find more of u-us…” Who knew? Maybe there were more half-vampires secretly crawling in Hogwarts.

Zenevieva felt herself laugh at his feigned surprise, before she rose her own hand from curiosity, holding it over her heart. It pumped oddly, beating incredibly fast before slowing and upping its speed again, she had always been fascinated in her heart. She wondered if she could see it one day. ”Y-You don’t have an-any girlfriends.” She retorted, teasing him. Zen knew him, but she didn’t know him completely. Steve was a flirt, yes, but it would be nice to see her brotherly friend settle his womaniser charm one day. It would’ve been hilarious if she had gotten a girlfriend or a boyfriend before him though.

Bringing up the voice seemed to interest Steve though and the Novell bit her lip as she smiled. She had only done it a few times in practice now, using it on a few students ‘absent-mindedly’ so they would stop asking her a million or so questions. ”G-Good.” She told him, shaking her head. ”No-No souls ye-yet. Still wo-working on it.” She grinned as she laughed. Maybe she could try it on Daniel without him realising, get him to study or do something good for himself. Graduation was around the corner after all. ”I ki-kind of want to u-use it on so-someone…To ki-kind of help h-him out…” Zen was sure she hadn’t told Steve about her…friendship with Daniel, nor the amount of times she had hung out with the elder Gryffindor.

@steve

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

zenevieva mira novell

01.13.2025

The prospect of finding more half-vampires always gave Steve a fluttery feeling. He wanted to find more like them, because then he could compare between himself and them. See what was normal and what wasn’t. Was the fact that he disliked having to consume blood to keep himself going weird? Did some have a taste for it more than he did? While the necessity for blood was real, and when it did hit the back of his throat, exhilarating, the consuming of it wasn’t really his favorite thing in the world. Blood lollies were pretty good though, so he had to give the manufacturer that. There were times where sucking on one of them throughout the day kept him moving. He couldn’t say that anything else really did that for him. Nora never seemed to have a problem with it, but he liked the more human side of him than the vampire. Nothing came from being able to look pretty and seduce girls. He didn’t even have the fangs to prove it! And the sunburns were absolutely awful.

“True. But I have lots of friends that are girls. So those are girl friends,” Steve wagged his finger at her jokingly. Zen wasn’t wrong though; there wasn’t a singular girlfriend. Cameron was the closest to that, but that was also complicated. Or at least he thought it was. A lot of other factors were built into that relationship and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship by screwing up in an actual romantic relationship with her. In his mind, it was easier to bounce around and flirt with all the girls, free of repercussions. “I’m having too much fun right now though, so it would be pointless to be committed full time to any one single girl,” he shrugged. “One day I’ll settle down. You’ll see.”

His relationship with girls aside, Steve was infinitely more interested in Zen’s progress with the voice. Working on it sounded like a step in the right direction, though he was a little confused about her want to help a person out with it. Was that possible? Steve had always equated to the voice as a tool to use in a playful or malicious manner. Helping someone out with it had never crossed his mind. “How do you plan to do that?” he asked, somewhat confused about the whole thing. “Because my voice only has girls giggling and all lovey dovey. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I can’t really compel anyone to do something they wouldn’t already do.” Which was a complete lie, because he could if he wanted to. But forcing a person to bend to his will like that wasn’t what Steve wanted to accomplish with his ‘power’. That seemed to dirty the vampire half of him.

[zenevieva mira novell]

look at us now.

LIKE THE NEXT HALF-VAMPIRE, Zenevieva hated when it was…that time of month. Consuming blood wasn’t exactly an activity any sane person would indulge themselves in, but given it was for their survival, she knew she had to eventually get over it. Though, things like Blood lollies made the experience more bearable, as to the next person it looked like a simple piece of candy, even if others knew what it actually was. Zenevieva was simply too nervous to always buy more alone though, which is usually why she begged her aunt Adèle to buy some. Or even try make it like her mother would.

Zen rolled her eyes at Steve’s wagging finger, she knew the kind of guy he was just from hearing him speak to others and of course from Nora’s mere gossip. But to her, Steve was one of her closest friends! Even if she struggled to speak with him. ”Mmhmm.” She murmured in a response, not believing his statement entirely, but people do change as they grow. At least that’s what the books say. But Steve had a point, they were only sixth years and still had a lot of growing to do! The world was their oyster. A closed one for Zenevieva mainly. ”I b-best be the to-top ten people yo-you invite to your w-wedding…” She added, smiling a bit.

”I-I have no clue…” If she could use the voice to convince or manipulate Daniel to do his work and actually study, it could be beneficial. But from Steve’s words, Zen found herself frowning. ”I do-don’t think my i-idea would work th-then…” She paused to gather her thoughts before turning to him. ”I have this…f-friend. I just want hi-him to graduate happily.”

@steve

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[Deleted]

▲

Convincing Zen of his plethora of girlfriends was about the same as trying to tell someone that his hair had its own brain. In a way it did, always standing at attention in its almighty glory. At the same time, it needed his assistance in applying hair products, which was just as much effort as flirting with new girls. “Number one,” he said, holding up an index finger. “It’ll have to be at night because of my mom though. I don’t think any of us want to be sporting awful sunburns throughout the whole service.” He involuntarily shuddered at the thought of his entire family and Zen being absolutely torched by the sunlight. His mom would either have to be in covers from head to toe or not make an appearance at all, and he preferred to have her there. “Any idea how vampire weddings even work? I’ve never been allowed to go to any, but I feel like they have to be sort of morbid and grim. Like, do they have a fondue fountain full of blood or chocolate?” A chuckle bubbled out of him at the dark thought despite being completely serious about it. That was going to have to be a question for his mom when he saw her at the end of the semester. Or did vampires even have weddings? Obviously his and Zen’s parents were a different situation than the normal.

“Do you need the voice to make him happy?” Steve posed, now curious about who this guy was. He was pretty sure he had never heard Zen mention this friend before, but their conversations usually had a lot to do with Steve projecting his own thoughts and stories on her. “Either way, I think with enough practice you could do it. I’m not sure if being compelled to be happy is what a human would want though. That’s the same as someone telling you to smile more, right?” Having never been on the receiving end of the compelling voice, he didn’t know what non-vampires felt. Was it a cloudiness of confusion over their actions or a complete blackout? It struck him that this was probably something he should’ve known already, considering it was a main factor in his life. “Who is this friend anyways?” he asked after taking a few seconds to think to himself. “I’m sure if we brainstorm some way to help, you wouldn’t have to use any powers on him.”

zenevieva mira novell ● 409 ● The Prophet's Beckoning by Shadow Of Intent

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