You must be wondering about how I set about the castle during the day if I am a Vampire. A Vampire's allergy to sunlight is a myth, albeit an understandable one. Vampires can, if desired, walk about in sunlight, though it is very hard on their eyes.

After thousands of years of hunting through the night, our eyes micro-evolved to suit our needs, so they are very sensitive to light. Standing in a well lit room, everything seems washed out and over bright to me, and if I go outside on a sunny day, the entire world looks as if it is aflame with light. I am thankful that, in these times, sunglasses have become easy to obtain. Even if I do look ridiculous.
But once again, I find myself divagating from the tale I set out to tell.

It was the second week in September, I believe, in the charms classroom that her story began. Slytherin had Charms with Ravenclaw, and gratefully, no one from Slytherin had the nerve to sit next to me. I enjoyed my solitude. Since Tepes had passed away, I had become even more of a loner than before. My heart was still aching from his death.
But she, she sat down next to me almost immediately. I still recall most of my Slytherin class snickering behind their hands as her brazenness, which eventually became endearing, though at the time, I found it annoying.

Her name was Annabelle Le Croux

She confessed that she sat beside me because I have a Vampire badge on my book bag, and that she, too, had a 'love for Vampires'. I was annoyed and slightly confused. Vampires were not to be loved.

I hadn't fully looked at her until a few days later, but when I did, I found myself at a loss for words.
Her hair was a dark shade of blond, bordering on light brown and fell past her shoulders and turned to curls at the end, and her eyes were a pale shade of green that seemed to pierce your very soul. Somehow, her eyelashes were darker than her hair, which made her look all the more striking to me. Her skin was smooth and fair, with blooms of faint pink in her cheeks that made her look full of life. I did not understand, at the time, why I felt so moved by her appearance.

But it was Anna's sharp wit and humor that drew me to her. She had a dry, cutting sense of humor which she would often use to chastise her classmates without them even knowing she had done so. After a week, we would hang back after class and chatter about whatever came to mind. She would walk with me to my next class, for hers had just ended for the day, and we would 'socialize'. It was heavenly to have someone to share my thoughts with.

She spoke in a soft Cockney accent that was only truly prevalent when she was pressed, something that made me smile inwardly. Anna tried so hard to be dignified, but every once in a while she would lose her composure. She was, perhaps, the most striking when she was angry.

After knowing each other for several weeks, Anna reluctantly explained to me that she was born into a family of Muggles, and had two brothers that made life difficult for her. Most Slytherins would have been repulsed by this, but I was intrigued. I was curious about Muggles and always had been. They were the ones I hunted most, and now, for the first time, I felt a small amount of shame for doing so.

Vampires are well known for the ability to charm the living. I myself had never been very good at this, but could use it to urge someone's opinion one way or the other. Most of my relationships with the Living, as sparing as they were, were based off of this ability.

Perhaps this is what made my friendship with Anna so important to me. I had never once relied on this ability with her, and she still was willing to be my friend, even after seeing some of my ugliest behavior. It only occurred once, when cornered by one Harry Potter, in the Library, on the subject of my 'father', Sirius Black.

By the end of this encounter, I had to forcibly drag Anna away from the unfortunate boy by lifting her up and carrying her out, much to the dismay of her and everyone in attendance. Our mutual embarrassment was a small price to pay for the preservation of 'The Boy Who Lived's precious untouched eyes and the attempted murder charges I'm certain Anna would have received had she succeeded.

Our friendship grew quickly, and showed no signs of slowing or breaking. I had heard, and witnessed, the Living and the transient concept of bonds: friends who swore 'forever' would be over once the relationship had ceased being beneficial.

Vampires have a history of promising forever, even if it means their demise. We are faithful and loyal to the end, and perhaps beyond if such a place were to exist. Anna seemed to share this ideal with me.

Even in her Living state, she was a splendid example of a Vampire.

.oOo.

It was a dark day in late October when Anna asked me about my family once again. I fell silent for a long time as we sat beside the lake, the murky waters reflecting the low clouds. Up until now, I had done such a perfect job of deflecting the question, but I could see there was no escape this time. My occupation being what it is, I know when I am cornered.

"It's complicated." I said finally, hoping to deflect her interest once and for all. I know Anna better than this. She's as naturally curious about everything as she is cynical and jaded.

"We have time. It's Saturday." Anna said, closing her Muggle book and looking at me patiently with those intoxicating eyes. I sighed as I watched the Dementors moving in the distance. I knew she couldn't see them with her Living eyes, so I diverted my attention to the sky. "Do you have siblings?"

"Half-siblings, they are much older than I." I said, watching a snowflake drift slowly down. " We have a different mother."

"You're not fully English, right?"

"Hmm? No…I'm not. My mother was from Japan."

"Oooh, I thought so!" Anna said, sitting up a little straighter, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I love Japan!"

I smiled slightly, careful not to expose my canines. "Really? I wish I knew more about it. In the Wizarding world, we don't have much for international studies."

Anna began to rummage in her bag, handing me a book. "This one is my favorite. You can read it if you like."

I took the muggle book from her. As were all her books, it was pristine, carefully treated with the utmost respect. She was such a bibliophile.

"The Pillowbook of Sei Shonnagan." I read with a smile. "I've never read a muggle book before."

I was glad to have diverted the conversation from my family. My mother had been taken away by the men from St. Mungus' when I was seven. It wasn't particularly painful to me, we had never been close, but it was not something you discuss. Ever.

We sat in blissful silence, watching the clouds crashing into the mountains as snowflakes fell softly around us. I glanced over at her for some reason, and I felt something stir in my chest. A desire to protect her from all the terrible things in my world and hers, and a desire to protect her from myself as well. She was, after all, Living, and I Dead. In any other situation, she would have simply been my prey, but it left me wondering what camaraderie I had been missing out on all this time.

She was beautiful and precious to me, every facet of her.

From that moment I swore, be my powers damned or divine, I will use them to protect her.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A/N: Sooo much editing, I'm being so careful about the wording in this. I really don't want either one of these girls to be mary-sues. Please stop me if they start to seem too sue-ish.

Reviews are encouraged, any help and gentle criticism is welcome. Yes, this is a shoujo-ai story. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it's girls falling in love with other girls, it's cute and fluffy and not raunchy and sleazy *twitch*.