A/N: You guys are awesome! I think I got the most reviews for the first chapter of this story than I have for any of my other stories. I'm really excited for this, I've been writing it in my head and needed to get it down before I lost some of it. I'll try to update more frequently, things have been a bit crazy in my life right now. This is probably going to have shorter chapters than most of my other stories, but hopefully that will get them out quicker.

Enjoy, and please review.

She was scared, and she wasn't sure why. She was halfway home, a mere block and a half from her house, but she couldn't keep the hairs on the back of her neck from standing straight up. She listened as hard as she could, but she could only hear the soft echo of her heels on the sidewalk.

Slowly she put her hand in her jacket and withdrew her wand. She kept it close to her, so it was all but invisible to the outside world, but ready to move at the slightest provocation. She walked past a car idling on the side of the road, it's headlights weakly flooding the area in front of it with light. As soon as she was out of the gaze of the two people arguing inside she whispered a Supersensory charm. Swimming in front of her eyes was not only the image of what was in front of her, but what was behind her. And she could immediately tell what was making her feel so ill at ease.

A pale, beautiful young man with dark eyes, he couldn't be much older than she, was walking about half a block behind her, staring at her intently. Random men would not cause this reaction in her, she wasn't afraid of some Muggle, and could easily defend herself. But there was something about this man, something not right, something her body was screaming at her not to ignore.

She pondered what it could be for a couple seconds until the man stepped into the dim headlights. And there was a flicker, no more than a fraction of a second, of something in his eyes that made her blood run cold. She sobered up immediately as adrenaline poured into her veins.

Those eyes were not only dark, but there was a touch of crimson to them.

Her breath caught for a moment. She realized that she was being stalked. By a vampire.

Unintentionally her pace quickened, and behind her the man sped up slightly to match her. She knew she could just Apparate, could turn and disappear, but something was different about the way this vampire had looked at her. She had seen a hungry vampire before, and read dozen accounts of people having encounters with vampires, and none of them ever described the intensity that this one was staring at her with, and it seemed like anyone who had seen this intensity would have made note of it. Her gut, every instinct she ever had, was telling her that Apparating would only buy her so much time. She knew their powers, knew he probably overheard her telling Harry she only lived three blocks from the club. They had already gone two blocks, there was only so much further she could go before getting to her house. He knew where she lived, and something told her that he would wait, taking out her neighbors one at a time, until he found her.

She turned away from her house, nearly sprinted down the next block, took another sharp turn and, when some bushes temporarily obstructed his view of her, Apparated into the building next to her, which happened to be a church. If he was truly stalking her he would still be able to smell her. There was a man at the house next to her fixing his car, a much easier target than the one who had disappeared into thin air. She felt slightly guilty at putting the man in danger, but she was almost certain that the vampire would skip him for her. If he entered the church she knew his hunger was only for her. She was standing on the rafters over the altar, a shield charm keeping him from getting to her before she could get away. If he entered the church she'd go to Harry's, figure out a plan there. Hopefully if the vampire thought he could never get to her he would give up and move on without killing half her neighborhood. In the dark and the cold her ears were picking up every small noise, and her heart stopped as the doorknob squeaked as it started to turn.

She was nervous, he practically tell that without using his Empath abilities. But as he passed a car parked on the side of the road he felt her nervousness turn into terror. For a moment he thought she discovered she was being followed, but how would she have done it? She hadn't turned around, and he saw no mirror or anything that would allow her to see behind her. She had done a rather peculiar movement with her arm, but that couldn't cause one to see behind them, could it?

He knew there was something different about this girl, something he couldn't put his finger on. She and her friend had talked about 'Apparating', whatever that was. Possibly some new slang term for something, he didn't know. And it didn't matter, whatever it was she chose walking over it, making it infinitely easier for him to follow her. He decided to hold off the kill until she was in her house. There would be no possibility of someone else seeing, and disposal of the body would be much easier. No one had ever questioned that a person as depressed as she would commit suicide.

She was walking more quickly now, and she turned. They had mentioned three blocks, so she must be close to home, where she would feel safe and settle into her nighttime routine. Just a little longer, he told the monster screaming for her blood inside him. Wait until it's easier. Then I can savor the moment.

She turned again, and he lost sight of her. He sped to a jog, then turned around the bushes she had just walked behind.

Nothing.

He growled as his eyes swept the area. There was a lone man, garage door open, bent over the open hood of his car, but no sign of the girl. He inhaled deeply, and caught just a trace of her scent. It as coming from the church next to him. He smiled. She had picked quite an interesting place for her final moments.

Fighting his muscles to keep his movements human-like he walked to the door of the church and turned the knob. It was locked, but with a quick flex to his muscle the lock gave and he was able to open the door. He stepped inside, her scent overpowering him, and closed the door behind him. He scanned the room, and didn't see her. But he heard her breathing heavily, and looked up towards the roof.

"Thought you could hide up there, did you?" he purred, stepping towards her, but he was shocked when, as he neared the alter, an invisible force stopped him from moving any closer.

"I knew I could hide up here," she said confidently.

"Quite a little trick you have here," he muttered, running his hand on the unseen barrier, and looking up at her. It was then he saw the stick clutched, white-knuckled, in her hand.

"I've got several tricks," she replied.

"All contained in that wand, witch?" he sneered.

"It hasn't failed me yet," she replied, her voice shaking slightly. "Why did you follow me in here? That man outside was a much easier kill."

"It would be hard for you to understand, la mia cantante," he smiled.

"Your singer?" her brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"It means your blood calls to me in a way I can't resist. It means I will continue to hunt you, even if you use your magic and run right now. I know which neighborhood you live in, and I will patrol it until I find where you live. Even if you have protection up against me, because one day you will slip up. It might be tomorrow, it might be ninety years from now, but everyone slips up. And if you decide not to return home I will search this country for you until I find you. Or your companion, who I will get to tell me where you live, and then kill for my trouble. I will kill you, my dear. I cannot rest until I've tasted what your smell has promised me."

"You leave Harry out of this," she whispered. "He's done nothing."

"And yet, he's my only source of information on where you might be. He seems to care enough about you to know at least the general information as to your whereabouts. I'll keep him around until I find you, then his usefulness is over and I'll dispose of him."

"No," she whispered, a tear running down her face.

"If you care about him so, why don't you come down here? I promise I'll make it quick and painless. It will be like going to sleep," he said, testing his abilities through her shield, trying to calm her.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, fighting back against his calming sense, feeling more terrified than ever. "Stop that!"

"Ah, so your protections can't keep everything out," he smirked, satisfied he had the upper hand in something, though a little unsettled that she recognized his attempts.

"I want to live," she said firmly.

"And I will wait. Even if it means I have to take you on your deathbed, my dear, I will have you."

There was a noise behind the altar, and he looked down towards it. Realizing his mistake he glanced back at the rafters, but the girl was gone. He swore lightly as an elderly Vicar, wearing a dressing gown and carrying a lantern, emerged into the church.

"What are you doing here so late, son?" he asked as he approached the vampire.

"I thought I could find something here, but as always, what I need eludes the grasp of one such as me," he grumbled, turning to go, but the man's hand was on his arm.

"He eludes no one who searches for Him. What is it you seek, son?" he asked gently.

He sighed. It was late, and the girl deprived him of his meal and left him screaming for something to satisfy, though nothing would as well as her. He would need his strength in his hunt for her, he knew that, and shouldn't deprive himself of an easy meal just yet.

"Do me a favor, Father," he muttered, turning back towards the man, who suddenly looked in terror as the lantern light caught the crimson in his eyes. "Pray. Pray for your soul, for I do not wish to send you to Heaven without a final talk with God."

The man dropped the lantern and turned to run, but found his way blocked by Jasper. He turned the other way, but was blocked again. Backing toward the altar the man started stumbling through the Lords Prayer. Jasper let him finish, and as his 'Amen' was dying around the room, attacked.