A/N: Hello lovelies! It's been a very long time, but I've got this little update. Thanks for the support by the way! The scenes are shorter, but I'm trying to get my thoughts straight here. Please bear that in mind and enjoy this little gift.

OOOOOOOOO

Avonlea moved through the common room, her nose stuck in one of the Muggle romance novels that she had borrowed from Snape. She had already read through three of them and they had sent her heart beating. Her mind had placed her in the roles of the lead female characters one too many times and placed Snape in the male role, leading to some very naughty day dreams that made her rub her thighs together in an attempt to smother the heat between her legs.

"Maybe reading romance novels at this point is a bad idea," she muttered, lowering the book for a moment so she could glance out the window at the wintery world beyond the glass. "With everything that's happening to my body and what needs to happen to my body in order to stop things from happening to my body, reading smut can't be helpful…It could make things a lot harder."

The Veela Halfling passed her tongue over her lips which she noticed were very dry and hissed when a sharp tooth caught on it. She almost dropped her book when she realized that her fangs were out and felt the empty pang in her stomach that called for blood. She placed a hand over her stomach, bending slightly at the waist.

"No, no, no," she hissed between clenched teeth. "This can't be happening. Not so soon. I had blood just a couple days ago and that should have done me good for at least a week and a half. Why – why am I so hungry now?"

Avonlea's gaze turned towards the door to the common room when it opened, half expecting and half hoping to see Snape standing there. However, it was Professor McGonagall that stepped through the door and straightened her cloak. The older woman's eyes widened from behind her glasses when they landed on Avonlea's hunched over form.

"Miss Raven!" she exclaimed, crossing the room with long strides. "Are you all right? Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"I'm okay," Avonlea lied through her teeth, sinking onto an overstuffed armchair with her arm still wrapped around her stomach. McGonagall gave her a stern look. "Okay, I'm not okay. I'm in a lot of pain right now and I'm hungry. And not the people kind of hungry. I'm the hungry for people fluid hungry." The blonde shook her head. "It's not supposed to be this bad, Professor."

The older woman moved over to stand next to the chair and put her hands on Avonlea's shoulders. "You must fight this, Miss Raven. I know that you are doing your best, but you must fight harder." She frowned. "Does Professor Snape know that your blood thirst is becoming more prominent?"

Avonlea shook her head. "I haven't thought much about feeding. My blood thirst hasn't reared its ugly head until now." She looked towards the fire that burned in the fireplace. "I thought that the blood that I fed on from Carissa was enough to get me through at least a week or two. I guess that I was wrong. I'm sorry, Professor."

"Do you think that you should tell him?"

"Probably." Avonlea looked back at McGonagall. "But I don't want to tell him. I don't want you to tell him either, Professor. We have to see how this goes before my birthday. I can't do anything that would force his hand and make him feel obligated to help me by sleeping with me. It won't work if that happens. If he doesn't fall in love with me on his own, then I'm as good as undead." She shook her head. "I can't jeopardize whatever is happening between me and Professor Snape. If anything is happening at all."

The older woman's lips pursed for a moment and she started to roll up the sleeve of her shirt. "Would my blood suffice for now, Miss Raven?" she asked. "Until I can find some blood source or until Professor Snape falls in love with you?"

Avonlea shrugged and let her arm fall away from her stomach. Her eyes had already latched onto the thickest vein in McGonagall's arm and her stomach ached. "I don't know. I've never fed off of someone of your age, Professor. I don't know if it will be harder on you for me to feed on your blood or if your blood will suffice for as long as I need it to. There's just so much that I don't know and so much that could go wrong."

"I am willing to take that risk," McGonagall said, offering Avonlea her arm. "The safety and wellbeing of my students is more important to me than a few pints of blood." She frowned. "I can contact the hospital and see if they can supply some blood for the mean time…"

A soft laugh escaped Avonlea's lips. "Do you think that they would keep their mouths quiet about a possible vampire living in the distinguished halls of Hogwarts, Professor? There are bound to be people that will tell and then there will be no use keeping the secret because the cat will be out of the bag."

"Leave that bit to me," McGonagall ordered. "You just focus on living your life and making the most of your time."

The older woman thrust her arm out to Avonlea and the girl gently grasped it between her hands. Taking a deep breath, Avonlea let her fangs extend and pierce the thin skin of her Headmistress.

OOOOOOOOO

Avonlea was summoned to Snape's office at dinner time and carried his books with her. She had checked her reflection in the mirror several times that day, just to make sure that she didn't have a bloodthirsty gleam in her eyes. Her color was good, but she could see that she was slowly getting paler and paler with each passing day.

Don't think about that, Avonlea thought, adjusting the strap of the bag that she carried the books in. And don't think about Professor McGonagall's trip to the hospital in search of blood….or the look on her face when I fed on her. I have never seen someone turn so pale…Is that why it's better to feed on someone younger? A young adult and not someone as old as she was? Could I have permanently hurt her or worse? Could I have killed her if I hadn't pulled away when I did?

"I don't want to become a monster," Avonlea whispered to herself, closing her eyes for a moment as she stepped into the dungeons. "I don't want to hurt anyone…Not like this."

The Veela Halfling marched down the hall and stopped just outside the door to Snape's office. She wrapped her knuckle against the door, taking a step back. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Snape. Avonlea noticed that he wasn't wearing his cloak, just clothed in black pants and a black, collared shirt.

"Sir," she greeted, adjusting her grip on her bag again.

"Come inside," he ordered, moving aside slightly.

Avonlea stepped past him, her body brushing against his slightly as she entered the small room. A shiver went through her and she knew that it wasn't just from the chill of the dungeon level. She sent a little prayer up to the heavens that he hadn't noticed.

"I've brought your books back," Avonlea said, turning to face him once the door to his office was shut. "And I've brought you a couple of my favorite books that you don't have. I thought you'd like to read them…but it's just a thought."

Snape held his hand out and Avonlea placed her books into his hand. While he looked over the backs of the books, Avonlea placed his books back where she had found them the night before. Her body stiffened slightly when she heard something fall onto a table behind her and she turned to see that Snape had dropped her books onto his desk.

"Shall we eat?" Snape asked, gesturing at the table laden with food. The table that Avonlea had ignored when she had come inside. "We may continue our discussion from last night."

Avonlea nodded and took the seat that he offered her, letting him push it in for her. His fingers brushed against her shoulder as he moved away, sending another shiver through her body.

Calm down, Avonlea thought, arranging her napkin on her lap before reaching out to fill her plate with food. This is happening too fast for you and not happening to him. Calm down, girl or someone is going to get hurt. Most likely you.

"You seem distracted," Snape commented, breaking into her thoughts. "Is there something that I should know about?"

"Oh!" Avonlea shook her head. "No, no. I was just thinking about my mother's last letter and the promise that I made to Carissa." She rubbed the side of her neck. "And I haven't really felt well today…I almost didn't want to accept your invitation to have dinner. I may become bad company tonight."

"It's doubtful that you can become any worse company than you already are, Miss Raven. But if you must, try not to become ill on the carpet. It is not something that I wish to clean up, even with magic."

Avonlea's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll try to keep your office as clean as you've kept it, sir. I wouldn't want you to waste your magical energies on the task of cleaning up my mess. That is if I make a mess, of course, sir.

Snape glared across the table at her. Avonlea's smile turned sweet and she started picking at her food.

OOOOOOOOO

Snape was seated on the couch that sat in his private common room with the Veela Halfling seated next to him. She was seated at one end and he in the other, but it was not far enough for him to not smell the scent of her hair and skin. He could look out of the corner of his eye and see that she was immersed in the pages of the book that he had handed her, almost forgetting the large cup that she had nestled between her thighs.

Unbidden images of dreams past came flashing across Snape's eyes as he watched her out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn't shake the image of being between those thick thighs in moments of passion. Or being so close that he could taste the skin of the girl. The mere images and dreamed sensations aroused the professor in an instant.

Snape quickly shifted his position and did his best to hide the fact that he was aroused. Avonlea didn't even glance his way as she turned the page of the book.

Does this girl know what she's doing to me? Snape wondered. It must be the pheromones that all Veela have…I cannot succumb to those pheromones. They do not mean anything other than sexual arousal. I do not want to girl. I want the girl's body and nothing more. And that's not what she needs. That's not what I need. No, what I need is a long cold shower.

"Miss Raven," Snape said, lowering his book so that it rested on his lap and effectively hid his arousal. "I believe it is time for you to return to your room for the night."

Avonlea lifted her eyes from the book and glanced at him. She frowned, closing the book and downed the remnants of her drink before rising to her feet. Snape rose to his feet, wishing that he had worn his cloak during this time with this girl. But she didn't seem to notice anything or just didn't care to mention anything.

"Thank you for the meal," Avonlea said, moving over to the bookshelf and placing the book back in its place before looking back at Snape. "And for tolerating my presence on your couch for a bit of reading…It was rather nice having that peace in the midst of every bad thing that's going on right now. Thank you, sir."

"Perhaps we can see what happens with more time," Snape said, looking at her. "If I summon you for dinner tomorrow night, will you come?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It depends on a lot of things, but I'll do my best to come have dinner with you. Because I don't want your time and energy to be taken in vain, sir." She backed towards the door. "I guess I'll see you when I see you. Goodnight sir."

Snape watched the blonde girl step through the door and stood there until the door slammed shut behind her. He stood there for a few heartbeats before turning on his heel and heading towards his private bathroom. The professor quickly did away with his clothes and jumped into the cold shower that he wanted. His hand made quick work of the arousal that the infernal girl had unknowingly created before leaving.

Yet, all he could think about was how it would feel for her to replace his hand in this action. He wondered what it would feel like to be joined with her in the most intimate manner. His hand tightened on his arousal and the man cursed.

"This girl is going to be the death of me," he ground out, lifting his face to the icy spray.

OOOOOOOOO

Avonlea walked through the door to her common room and pressed a hand against her neck as she moved over to the fireplace. A little nervous laugh escaped her lips as she recalled how she had snapped at Snape before their meal and had remained toe-to-toe with him during the duration of their meal. She had never done that with anyone except for Carissa and it made her laugh to think about how her confidence was becoming stronger as her humanity was becoming weaker.

Maybe becoming a vampire wouldn't be that bad of a thing, Avonlea thought, watching the twisting tendrils of flame. I'd be the most confident person that I have ever been…The only downsides would be that there wouldn't be any sunlight and I'd have to feed on blood to survive, but are those really too bad to live with?

"Yes," Avonlea muttered with a frown. "I would lose everything that has ever mattered to me. I would lose my friends and I would lose the chance to live the life that I want. I can't want to become a vampire." She let her hand fall and crossed her arms. "I can't stop fighting for my humanity just because it would be easier to give up."

Her body shivered as it remembered the sensation of Snape's brief touches against it. She cursed softly when she felt heat settle in her core with a burning need.

"Seriously?" Avonlea asked of the heavens. "He barely touches me and this bullshit happens? Dammit!"

The girl spun on her heel and headed into the bathroom. She stripped out of her clothes and jumped into the shower, letting the icy spray shock her burning body.

"There has got to be a way to stop this," she ground out between her teeth, letting her hand do what her mate should have. "Dammit!"

OOOOOOOOO

A/N: I don't know how much longer I can keep the two of them from jumping together, but I'm trying to make it to the right moment. Bear with me, this is a real work in progress and the Plot Bunnies are being slow and stingy in coming. Please leave a little review in the box and I'll do my best to get back to you all. Thanks everyone! –Scarlet