I'm borrowing most of these guys from JK Rowling, but it's just for fun and I'm not making any money from it.

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Snape entered the Forbidden Forest late that night. He traveled deep into the forest and placed his lights in a large circle. He had come to harvest the takasa flower, which only bloomed at night. It was a powerful healing agent, particularly useful on wounds caused by dark magic. Madam Pomfrey's stores had unfortunately been depleted upon his last return from Voldemort's lair, broken and bloody. Best to stock up in case he was summoned again.

He had just begun to pick the flowers when he felt he was not alone. Turning around he saw a woman behind him. She was young, perhaps twenty, with short black hair and a pale complection, but beautiful none the less. She was garbed in tight black breeches, high black boots, and a simple tailored black blouse. Around her waist was a belt of sorts, it appeared to contain a saber and a few other items he couldn't see from his vantage point.

She looked at him with a blank expression, no recognition and no emotion that he could discern, and when she spoke her voice was without inflection

"You should not be out here little one, there is evil in the forest this night."

"Perhaps I am that evil." Snape stated, "who are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

She merely looked at him blankly, turning her head to the sided in a sharp movement, "I will stay and protect you."

"Please, don't inconvenience yourself on my account."

He continued to gather the precious plants as he kept an eye on her, she stood for a moment and then crouched with her legs spread wide, putting her hands to the ground and shifting to rest her weight on one leg. She continued to watch him blankly, occasionally cocking her head to one side or another.

Suddenly she stood and whirled around to where a man had appeared out of nowhere. The man had long blond hair, tied up into a pony tail, dressed all in black with a black overcoat billowing behind him.

The man smiled and he could see the glint of sharp incisors, "Ah Katrina, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," he said, when she didn't respond he continued, "I will have the wizard."

"I will protect the wizard Barl, and you will die." Severus pulled out his wand and he held up the palm of her hand toward him, "hold!"

The vampire laughed ruthlessly and as he stepped toward her she disappeared in a cloud of mist only to appear behind him and lick him brutally in the middle of the back with her booted foot. The creature stumbled and spun on her and as he lunged she crouched quickly sending the heel of her hand into his chest. The thing hissed and grabbed for her throat and while she held him off with one hand, reached around to grab a silver spike from her belt and plunged it into his heart.

The creature hissed in fury and clawed at his chest before falling onto the ground, motionless. She glanced up at Severus with those emotionless eyes and she took the saber out of her belt and with one quick motion, cut off the vampire's head.

Severus stood in shocked silence at the scene that lay before him. The woman wiped the blade on the grass as the body before her disintegrated into ash. She returned the knife and the spike to her belt and stood.

"Perhaps next I warn you of danger you will listen." Striding toward him, "you are a wizard." He nodded. "I was once a witch, a very long time ago."

"And what are you now?"

She opened her mouth to bare her fangs and hissed at him, "I am a creature of the night little one. Three thousand years ago my father created the vampire. He was a wizard, with a wish to live forever and upon his children he placed this curse. He killed me and brought me back and now he still lies where he died by my hand."

"How do you come to be here, now?" Snape asked

"Once I had four brothers, all were changed. For hundreds of years we hunted as a pack, killing indiscriminately. Eventually I learned there need to kill when I feed, that I could erase the memories of my pray, even make it a pleasurable for them. I became sick of death. We had accidentally discovered how to change others and two of my brothers began making vampires at will, and their blood lust was great. They were beyond reason and in the end, we had no choice but to kill them. Many others had been changed and given the knowledge of the changing, it was too late to go back. Most of these vampires are evil creatures, but thankfully not all. Through the years I have hunted and killed many dark ones."

"You killed him easily enough," he said with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, I am an ancient and Barl young and weak."

"What brings you into the forest?"

"These last few years there has been someone calling to them, to enter this wood and attempt to attack the school. For the great wizard I have been in this forest, now my home, protecting the children from the dark ones. And so here I found you, collecting this flower," she reached over to pluck a small white bloom, "interesting flowers that you should be collecting. Heals wounds caused by dark spells."

She looked at Severus intently, her eyes so light blue as to be almost white, her pale skin translucent in the light. "You have the appearance of a vampire, professor?" He nodded and she continued, walking up to him to look at his face more closely. She reached her hand up and he felt the coolness against his cheek. "My heart is dead and cold," she cocked her head to the side, and put her small hand on his chest, "I feel your heart is almost as cold as mine."

The creature ran her hand down his chest and he felt a sudden wave of desire washing over him.

"Perhaps we could warm each other this night," her hand wove it's way to the back of his neck and into his hair and she pulled his willing lips to hers.

Her mouth was cool and sweet and he felt himself rise as his tongue flickered over her sharp teeth. Severus put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him tightly deepening the kiss. She slipped his robe off his shoulders and moved her hands to unbutton his frock coat as she kissed his neck, tasted the living warmth of him. He wore a white starched shirt that she began to unbutton, making a trail down his chest with her tongue as she did so. With the last button she rose, slowly running her hands up his chest and looking him straight in the eye as her hands pushed it down his lean muscled arms.

Katrina looked behind her to the bare grass and back to the wizard, Severus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the ground, creating a large black down filled mattress covered with red silk pillows.

They fell grabbing at each other, his lips hot and moist made their way across her cheek and down her neck, as he grabbed her hair in his fist and forced her head back, moving his other hand to massage her breast roughly. Clothes were discarded in a hurried frenzy and the vampire arched her back as he thrust into her.

He began to see her in his mind, as if he were making love to her two separate places at once, slowly the two merged, and they were 'joined', at a higher ethereal level. The pleasure of such a bonding was immense, each feeding off the other's desire.

As she wrapped her legs around to deepen the thrusts, they moaned, shaking with the force of the climax.

The woman lay on her side, head resting in her palm as she took the sight of him in, "you are very beautiful."

He opened his eyes, "I hardly think that term can be used to describe me," he drawled.

"I do 'not' say what I do not mean, you will do well to remember that. Perhaps I find beauty in what others do not," she gazed at him with those pale eyes and tilted her head to the side, "but I do find it none the less." She ran her fingers down his arm, and as she ran them over where the dark mark lie invisible, it flared under her fingers causing him to push her hand away. "You are marked by the evil one," she said gazing into his eyes, "and yet you are not marked here." Her fingers gently grazed his chest.

"How would you know that?"

"Would you not have felt it when we joined if I was evil? No, I cannot read your mind, but there is awareness of each other's essence. I feel much darkness in you little one, pain and anger, but not the depths of evil you suggest."

They dressed and Severus grabbed his bag, allowing her to walk him to the edge of the forest. There they stood in silence for several minutes.

"I would have your name?" she inquired.

"Snape, Severus Snape."

"Sssseverussss, yes, it suits you. I am going to the school tomorrow eve, mayhap I will see you then?"

He shook his head, "Hogwarts is protected by wards, you will not be allowed just to walk in there."

"These wards do not stop me from going as I wish, also for the great wizard I am coming to speak of the vampire, show the children how to fight them. Eight o'clock I meet the werewolf. You will come if you so desire." Katrina turned to him and cupped his face in her palms, his pale face silhouetted by the moon in the background was captivating as he leaned to kiss her lightly on the lips before he began the walk back to the school.

The vampire stood motionless, watching him until he entered the castle safely and then she simply disappeared.

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Please review.

PS as I am occasionally stuck in writing my other story, I hope to fill in with some on this one. . .