This is written for The Golden Snitch!

I'm in South, Castelobruxo!

Valentine's Day Date 2018: Colin Creevey/Luna Lovegood, Vampire Academy: (creature) Vampire, (colour) Silver, (creature) Swan, (word) Inheritance, (word) Blood, (word) Queen.

Career Advice: 10. Ostrich Babysitter: Write a story based in the Forbidden Forest. OP: (word) Delicate, (genre) Suspense, (word) Judgemental, (phrase) As beautiful as ever.

Through The Universe: (character) Colin Creevey.

[WC: 1226]

~Thank you for the lovely Victoria [Extramundane Epeolatry] for betaing this! Thank you!

~oOoOoOo~

Colin Creevey stood in the shadows on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He watched as bodies were carted off inside of the castle; he watched as captured Death Eaters were wrangled up to be brought to Azkaban - all awaiting fair trials, of course. He watched as an angel - his angel - swept by the bodies of the dead and injured, looking for something - looking for him.

He knew he couldn't be seen; it'd be better off for everyone if they thought he was dead. He had only two items on him - his camera and his wand. They would be all he needed. He could survive off of the animals that remained here. He wouldn't taint himself with human blood. He wouldn't be a monster.

~oOoOoOo~

Days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. Colin watched as the castle was slowly rebuilt. He watched all of the funerals - for students, teachers, and Order members alike - go by with tears and clouds of black.

His body was weak, he knew. Animal blood could only sustain a vampire for so long. The remaining Centaurs were getting weary of him, but no longer bothered him when he made his intentions clear - he wouldn't feed off of humans, Unicorns, or them.

He thought about leaving England altogether, maybe finding others like him, but he always changed his mind. He yearned for the days he saw her.

~oOoOoOo~

Colin swept through the forest silently, following his long lost queen. How could she be so stupid to enter here alone? She looked like a lost swan, with her ethereal blonde hair and her slender neck. Her body was lithe and delicate, moving almost as silently as him.

The forest was getting denser; what little sun that streaked through was no longer visible. He could hear the steady beat of her heart, her blood pumping through her veins. When she turned her head to look behind her, he could even swear he saw her jugular pulsing.

His thirst was insatiable - but he swore he would never hurt his Luna. She was the light in his darkness, the sun to his moon, the angel to his demon. She was his. As he was hers.

She finally stopped in a small clearing, filled with bony thestrals. Luna took some raw meat out of her satchel - the bloody meat that he ached for and tried to focus on instead of her. Colin watched as the skeletal horse took the offered meat.

"I have some extra if you want some… Colin," she whispered.

How did she know? Know what he was? Know he was here? It took him a moment to get over his shock, to finally look into her steady gaze. Her molten silver-blue eyes - he swallowed their decadence hungrily; he drowned in the deep intelligence that laid before him. He missed those eyes.

"My sweet Luna, I should have known you'd figure it out," he tentatively said back.

"Here," offered Luna. "I saved the excess blood in a jar as well. I figured it would keep away the temptation."

She was as beautiful as ever, he mused. She innocently placed the items in his hands - and quicker than she blinked the jar was already open and being poured down his throat. His thirst was abated, the war raging inside him diminished.

He would enjoy what he could of her before she left him - for he knew that this was not a life for her.

~oOoOoOo~

Weeks passed with them spending the days and nights in the forest. She would bring him fresh blood every time; he would show her more of his photographs. Most were of her, but he had a few of the magical wildlife that she greedily claimed. He wouldn't show her the ones he had of the war. Her innocence was already maimed enough.

She gave him news of his brother; he was faring better now that more time had passed. She had tried persuading him that his family would still want him - but he always refused. Having a vampire as a brother or son would never bode well - they needed to move on.

She wanted to join him in his life. He refused, of course. He would never willingly submit her to a half-life; always with a burning in her throat and the coarse feeling of emptiness.

She never gave up; her fire never went out. He wouldn't give in, but wouldn't it be nice to spend eternity with her? Never aging, always being free. Loving her forever.

His defenses slowly wore down as the months passed.

It had been almost a year when she told him the news that made him accept it.

"My father… Colin, my father died. He was all I had left other than you. When I escaped Malfoy Manor, they killed him in retribution. Colin, you're all I have, and if you don't want me - then I have to go.

"I can't stay with you, not while you still look young as I age. If you don't want to turn me, I understand, but I'll have to go. I want to live my life, not watch as it slips by. I love you!" she sobbed.

He immediately swept her up in his arms, running his fingers through her hair as he pressed his cold lips against her forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me? I could have done something… anything."

"It wasn't the time to," whispered Luna.

"I'll do it. But, it hurts. Everything feels as if it's on fire. This is your last chance; once it's done the only way you'll be free of this curse is a stake to the heart."

"I'm ready."

Colin swept her hair off of her neck, leaning her head all the way back. His fangs elongated, begging to be sunk in her flesh. He pushed her body back, until she was only supported by him. He felt her heartbeat speed up, could smell the adrenaline radiating off of her, but he didn't feel any fear - she wanted this.

He pressed his fangs as softly as he could into her jugular, letting her sweet blood rush over his tongue. He gulped her sweet essence down, before he withdrew and he swept his tongue over the wound, healing it. He swept his wrist under one of his own fangs, before he placed his wrist on her willing mouth. She was in a state of bliss from his venom, but she still drank greedily. When she had enough, he pulled his wrist back before she went limp in his arms.

It was done - she would be forever his.

~oOoOoOo~

Their days may have been rough - but he would always have his queen. She had come into her new inheritance alarmingly well. He saw her warring with herself over killing her prey, so he had came up with a solution for her - blood banks. The human blood was more filling, more appetizing. Her skin was no longer translucent, but her normal pearly white. Her eyes regained their molten silvery-blue hue with just a red ring on the outer edge. Her hair was more natural, more curly, and lengthened past her hips. Her lithe body became stronger, lean with muscle that roped around and flexed when she walked.

She looked beautiful and regal and everything in between. But most of all, she was striking.