A/N: Hello there! Yes, I know it's been several months since I last updated this little story for you. I've been kind of living a really hectic life and everything that I've written has suffered for it. I do have to thank those of you who have stuck around and thank that one reviewer that left a really kind review asking me not to give up. You are awesome, my dear! Anyway, here's a little update for you all. Enjoy!

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Avonlea followed Snape through the halls of the castle, her arms wrapped around herself. Paintings called out to them, but Snape ignored them. He didn't say anything to her as they walked and never once looked back to make sure that she was following him. The idea of turning and running away from him crossed her mind, but Avonlea knew that she couldn't hide from him at Hogwarts, even if the castle was so large that things could go missing for decades. She simply followed after him, looking down at the floor like it held so much interest in the world.

The smell of the warm meat broke through the damp smell that she associated with the dungeon levels of the castle. Her nose twitched as the many scents of the lower levels flooded her lungs, reminding her that her senses were getting sharper with each passing day.

This sucks, Avonlea thought, rubbing her arm and pausing long enough for Snape to unlock the door to his office and living quarters. I bet if I go into the greenhouses that I'll pass out right inside the doors.

Snape moved aside and looked at her. "Miss Raven," he said, his hand resting lightly on the doorknob.

The Veela Halfling bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, sir," she whispered, stepping into the room ahead of him.

She glanced around the room and saw that there was a small table laden with plates of food that smelled delicious. A fire burned in the fireplace and spread warmth throughout the room. Avonlea gravitated towards the fire, holding one of her hands out towards the flame, memorizing the feeling of the pleasant heat.

"Professor," she said, turning to look at him when the door closed behind him. "You don't have to do any of this. We can just know that you're my mate and stay separate. I won't trap you in something that you don't want to be trapped in."

"Don't try to be a martyr, Miss Raven," Snape told her, moving to stand next to the table. "There are far worse things in this world that could have happened to me than being saddled with this burden of ours." He put his hand on the back of one of the chairs. "And Carissa would never let me hear the end of it if she heard that I stood by and did nothing to help you keep your humanity."

A small laugh burst from Avonlea's lips and she smiled slightly. "Carissa would never let me hear the end of it if she found out that I didn't try hard enough to make this work out for us. She doesn't want me to become a vampire any more than I do."

"Then why are you protesting against any chance of keeping that from happening?"

Avonlea shrugged and looked back at the fire for a moment. "I'm scared. I've been scared from the very beginning, ever since I found out that I would become a vampire if I didn't find my mate. I'm scared that no matter what we do in the next couple weeks, that it won't lead to anything that can save me. I'm scared that we won't fall in love and that everything that we've done will be for nothing. I'm scared that any love you may find for me won't be real love, but expected love." She turned her blue gaze on him. "I'm scared to trap you and I'm scared of rejection, Professor."

Snape stared back at her with an unreadable expression on his face. "We will never know if those fears are warranted if we do not try," he told her, pulling the chair out. "The most we can do is see what happens in these next two weeks and prepare for the worst if our actions do prove to be made in vain. For now, we will eat before the food gets cold."

Avonlea crossed over to the table and took the seat that Snape offered. She didn't start grabbing food until Snape had settled in his own seat across from her. Her eyes kept glancing up at him as she carefully piled small amounts of each dish on her plate, not wanting him to become disgusted with her because of her appetite.

What appetite will I have in a matter of days? Avonlea wondered, pouring herself some water. Will my desire for normal food diminish almost completely and my desire for blood increase until I have to lock myself away to keep myself from attacking people? How will Professor McGonagall hide me from the rest of the students then?

"Let us talk," Snape said after several minutes.

"What?"

"Don't tell me that you are deaf as well as stubborn and stupid, Miss Raven. I would think that you would like to talk," Snape commented, looking at her over the table. "To push this relationship along as I'm told helps."

"What is there to talk about?" Avonlea asked, setting her fork down when she realized that her hand was shaking a little.

"Perhaps you could tell me more about yourself," Snape offered though he didn't seem to be happy with the idea. "And I can tell you more about myself. It may help the cause to see how different we truly are and the obstacles that could keep you safe from becoming a walking, talking leech."

"Oh! Okay then. Um…what would you like to know?"

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Avonlea and Snape talked for a few hours over dinner before he let her walk around the room, looking at his collection of books and magical artifacts. She held her goblet of water in her hands, feeling calmer now than she had when she had first come into this little space with him. He had slowly stopped being completely cold to her and seemed to be able to tolerate her presence a little bit, like he did whenever they were in a classroom setting.

"You have a lot of Muggle romance novels here," Avonlea commented, running her fingers lightly over the spines of the collection. "I never thought that you would be interested in something like cheap romances."

"There are many things in my life that no one knows about," Snape told her, watching her from a position next to the fireplace. "And I would like to keep some of those out of the public knowledge, Miss Raven."

"I promise that I won't tell anyone about what I've learned about you," Avonlea said, looking at the books. "I see a lot of my favorite authors here. And you have some books by them that I haven't managed to read yet."

"You read Muggle novels?"

Avonlea nodded and turned to look at him. "I have to do it in secret now because of my mom. She threw a fit when she found a stash of them in my room over the summer one year. I wasn't allowed to eat for a couple days and I couldn't leave my room for a week and she also burned them all in front of me. No daughter of her was ever going to support anything that a Muggle wrote because it was a piece of smutty trash." She offered a small smile. "I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was living a smuttier, trashier life than the characters in half of the characters in the books that she burned. I should have, but I held my tongue."

"You may borrow any of those books at your leisure," Snape told her, taking a sip from his goblet of wine. "As a rebellion against that vile woman that you call your mother."

"Do you really trust me with your books, sir?" Avonlea asked, looking at him.

"I wouldn't have said that you could borrow them if I did not trust you with their care. Aside from one student of years ago, I have never seen a girl take such care of their books." Snape looked into the fire. "Just don't let anyone know that those books belong to me. Even the walls here."

"Because the walls have ears and they are always going to talk." Avonlea reached out and took a couple of the books into her hands. With a small whispered spell, the books shrank and she pocketed them. "Before I leave, sir, I would like to thank you for letting me have dinner with you. I know that it was hard for you to spend so much time with me and even more painful to talk with me about yourself, but I thank you for doing it."

Snape was silent as he continued to stare into the twisting tendrils of flame.

"I hope to see you again soon," Avonlea continued, setting her goblet down. "Goodnight, sir."

She slipped past him, breathing in his warm scent as she walked. His hand brushed against hers as he turned slightly, but Avonlea didn't look back until she was at his door.

"Goodnight, Miss Raven," Snape said.

A small smile touched Avonlea's lips as she headed back the way that she had come to get to his office and living quarters. She managed to avoid coming in contact with Filch and the portraits on the walls called out to her once more. Avonlea allowed a few pleasantries to escape her lips as she bounded along, heading for her own common room. Her entire body felt warm and full of energy.

As the Veela Halfling stepped into the common room that she shared with her best friend, her eyes fell upon the quill and the ink pot sitting next to a pile of parchment on the sofa. A chill settled upon her shoulders and her eyes turned towards the flames that still burned strongly in the fireplace. The ashes of her goodbye letters were long gone, but that didn't stop the words from each of them from parading across her mind's eye.

I can't linger on that, Avonlea told herself, reaching into the pockets of her clothes. There is still plenty of time for me to keep my vampirism at bay. And if I start running out of time, then I can always rewrite the letters from memory.

A small smile touched her lips as she looked down at the shrunk books that Snape had let her borrow. "Maybe there is some hope for me after all."

OOOOOOOOO

Snape didn't move away from the fire for several minutes after Avonlea left. Her scent remained in the room, filling his lungs. Not that he minded which made him feel slightly annoyed. He had never cared for anyone in the way that Avonlea needed and yet, she needed him to and for some reason, he was going to help her out with this problem in her life. Did he love her? No. But did that mean that couldn't fall in love with her?

"It's ridiculous to think that a relationship of that nature could happen within a couple weeks," Snape muttered out loud, turning away from the fire and moving over to his wall of bookshelves. "It may happen in these, but could never happen in reality."

His fingers traced over the spines of the books that Avonlea's fingers had traced over minutes before. She'd only taken a few of them and Snape could recall the names, characters, and plots of each one. They could talk about those books at their next meal, whenever that was.

Her time is running out and there's nothing we can do to speed up any form of relationship between us, Snape thought, letting his hand fall away from the books. I will never forgive myself if I do not save this girl…

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A/N: It wasn't a very large update, but a small one is better than none, right? I hope that I can get another update worked on soon, but I can't make any promises anymore. Please leave a comment in the little box and I'll try to get back to you. Thanks!- Scarlet