Vampire in Gryffindor Clothing

Tonight’s the full moon, Akasha thought grimly, looking at her moon chart with disdain. But she didn’t need a chart to tell her that. The throbbing hunger in her veins and the sharp pain in her fangs did.
She would have to feed tonight. Hunt. For human blood.
She hissed at the thought. It was funny how human blood disgusted her now. Before it was all she had lived for. That and the pleasure of draining the last of a person’s life force. The Kill.
But she needed it all the same. And by tonight, when the moon was full and high in the sky, she’d yearn for it with an intensity that frightened her to the core.
She started when the curtains of her bed stirred and a friendly brunette emerged. She waved.
“Hi, Anna,” Akasha said, relaxing slightly.
“Yola. Are you coming down? You’ve got presents”
Hopefully none from Aubrey, she thought dryly. “Yeah,” she said. “Just let me get dressed”
“Okay, but hurry”
Akasha groaned and got to her feet. Her limbs felt heavy, her skin sore to touch. It was like having the human equivalent of the flu. Except her temperature would be much colder, just like any sick vampire. 92.3 degrees to be exact.
But no matter how sick she felt, she had to keep a normal routine like always. She rifled through her closet, looking for something to make her at least somewhat warmer. Finally she decided on a white cashmere sweater and green velvet sweats. It was Christmassy AND warm. She smiled approvingly at her reflection and then headed for the common room.

“Thanks for the present, love,” Akasha said, trying not to laugh as she placed her arms around Sirius’ shoulders.
He looked up from his “intense” game of Wizards’ Chess with Lupin and grinned. She held up a tiny washcloth.
“I thought you could use it in the showers,” he joked, a mischievous lilt in his dark grey eyes.
Lupin covered his laugh with a cough.
“Have you forgotten, I’d rather dry myself with you,” she drawled.
Sirius cleared his throat reflexively. “I’m sure that can be arranged”
She laughed.
“Akasha! You coming?” Anna called from the other side of the Great Hall.
Akasha looked up at her and nodded. “See you,” she said to Sirius.
He looked so disappointed at her leaving that she couldn’t help but lean forward and nip his neck reassuringly.
“Hey! That tickles!” he chuckled.
She nuzzled his neck. “I can’t help it,” she murmured truthfully. “I’m hungry”
And with that, she pulled away and went to meet up with Anna.
Sirius turned back to the chess game only to find Lupin staring after Akasha, a curious look on his face. Jealousy surged up through Sirius like an explosion, and the green-eyed monster reared up toward his friend in defense.
“She’s mine,” he warned. “You keep that in mind”
Lupin looked at him in surprise. “I wasn’t even thinking about that. It’s just... I hate to say it... but my werewolf senses are tingling.” He said all this very calmly, eyes thoughtful.
Sirius cracked up, nearly falling off his seat as he doubled over in laughter. “Akasha’s not a were-chick,,” he got out between spouts of laughter. “She’s just a really, really hot babe”
“Yuh-huh,” Lupin murmured. But something was off.

She was sad she would have to miss the Christmas feast tonight, but she wasn’t really hungry for food... exactly.
As she stalked through the shadows of the Hogwarts’ grounds to the gates, a dark figure on fours padded across the grass just behind her. She tensed and whipped toward it, but then she saw it was just a dog. A very big, black dog.
Her breath sighed out in a long relieved whistle. She patted the dog lightly on the head and scratched its ears. The dog’s eyes closed halfway and its tongue lolled out. After a moment it rolled over to offer her his belly.
Funny, she thought, animals usually don’t take to me all that well.
She scratched its tummy briefly before clenching her chest with a soft groan of pain. She was having trouble breathing. Bloodlust was beginning to take over. She had to get far enough away from the school, from Sirius. Or she could.
A wet muzzle pressed into her cheek. With great effort, she opened her eyes, realizing she was laying on the ground.
“Go along, hunter brother,” she murmured, pushing the dog away. “Tonight I must feed alone”
He stood there, unmoving. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn’t quite place it. Her thoughts were too muddled. She forced herself back up, black cloak wet from the snow, and stumbled forward a couple of steps. The dog followed her.
“Stupid mutt,” she growled. “Go! Shoo!” She pushed at it. She had to get away.
It stayed.
Her frustrated hiss was purely feline. This time, as she turned away, she let her body turn into her other self: a black kitten. The kitten swiped its claws at the dog and then reared off toward the Forbidden Forest. The dog bound after her, but she was too quick for it.
However, she hadn’t expected the bear-like dog to know the forest better than she. As she was sure she had lost him in the thick of the trees, he burst from the underbrush before her.
She “meowed” in protest and backed away. She turned back into her human form. The dog cornered her into a tree and then stopped, staring at her. She was so dizzy. She needed... needed.
“Akasha”
Her eyes snapped open. Sirius knelt before her, brow furrowed in worry. She realized at long last that he was the dog.
“Oh, God. Oh, God, no!” she choked out, falling into his outstretched arms.
“I didn’t know you were an Animagus,” he said, oblivious to her dilemma.
“Sirius...” she said hoarsely. “You... have to... go”
He looked hurt. “But why? Akasha?” Finally, he noticed something was wrong with her.
Her skin was clammy and as cold as a corpse’s. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. Her heartbeat slow and uncoordinated. The hungry curve to her mouth and the stalking look in her eyes scared him. She looked like a panther about to pounce on some weak, and defenseless gazelle.
“Akasha, what’s wrong? We need to get you to the hospital wing!” he said urgently. He made to pull her up.
She threw him away. “NO!” she cried, the sound tortured. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Sirius, please! You have to go! I don’t want to hurt you”
“But you wouldn’t...?” He paused and moved back to her again. She was shaking violently now, her mask of control near breaking. “Akasha... Is this because I found out you’re an Animagus”
She gave a hysterical laugh. “I’m not an Animagus, Sirius,” she said with that voice that was so much like a dying person’s.
She sound crazy.
“It’s okay. I don’t need to know, Akasha. Let’s just get you back to the school,” he said, trying to remain calm. Was she smelling him?
Yes, she was. He could hear the tiny cat-like sniffs as she got closer, her nails clawing at his shirt.
“I can’t go back to school yet, Sirius,” she said. “Not until I feed. And right now, you’re the only thing standing in the way of that”
Something was tugging at his mind. Many things. Lupin’s warnings... DADA... ‘A vampire child need only feed when the moon is full and high...’... Akasha’s incessant need for distance... and now.
“If you’re not an Animagus...” he said huskily, terrified and disgusted and caring all at once, “then what are you”
Her lips skinned back from her teeth in a savage snarl. “The creature that everyone’s always warned you about,” she growled, her voice slightly distorted, as if she were possessed.
She pounced on him. He fell back beneath her and could not find the strength to break free as he stared wide-eyed at her. Her fangs flashed in the moonlight, amazingly similar to a fox’s, curving slightly and narrowing to a very sharp point. His struggles stilled at her desperately pained look. This was Akasha. He knew her. He trusted her. The decision was so simple.
He pulled his shirt collar down and offered his neck to her. “Go on,” he murmured. “Take what you need”
She sat back, eyes wide, face softening. “Sirius, no, I can’t,” she whispered, voice distraught. She started crying again. “You don’t know how much I want to. But who’s to say I won’t lose control and take it too far. You don’t understand how strong the need is. And if you’ve killed before, it only comes back stronger. I couldn’t bear to hurt you”
He cupped her face in his hands. She tried to pull away, desperately trying to flee, but he held onto her firmly.
“You won’t hurt me. I trust you, Akasha. Let me help you,” he added gently at her look of reproach.
“But”
“Shh...” He drew her lips to his and gently kissed her. She shuddered at his insistent lips trying to coax her into submission, and then, finally, she began to relax.
“Yes...” she murmured. “I need you”
Sirius’ heart constricted in sweetness. Her lips found his throat with hunters’ ease, and then her fangs pierced his skin. He fought not to recoil at the sharp pain, but then, after a moment, his whole body exploded in warmth... in Akasha. He could feel her mind, her thoughts, her soul. Every part of her was open to him. He could feel her fear of him, but there was also love. And joy at sating her hunger. The rushing sweetness as the pain in her limbs disapparated and air flowed into her lungs again.
He never wanted this to end. He wanted to be this close to Akasha forever.
When she pulled back, he tried to hold her head to his neck. He knew she still needed more, and oddly, he felt like he did too. But she was adamant.
“It’s enough,” she said quietly, eyes on the ground. “Thank you”
Feeling groggy, he slowly sat up. It made his head spin, but he didn’t let it show. “You’ll be okay now”
“Until next month”
“Well, we can”
“No!” she hissed, suddenly vehement. “This time was bad enough! Next time I could kill you! I will not put you in the position of being my prey again”
He flinched back at the word. “How can you be so cruel after what we just shared”
She laughed coldly. “It’s called a Telepathic Link, love. It’s between all vampires and their victims. Don’t be so shocked,” she said at his look. “I’m a hunter by nature, Sirius. It’s nothing personal. You’re just the weaker species.” She sounded so calm and matter-of-fact, as if she spoke this way to everyone she fed off of.
“You’re sick,” he said, disgusted, getting up. “The books were right; you’re nothing but a monster”
“And you’re point would be”
“You just stay away from me. And don’t think you’ll ever ‘feed’ on me ever again. You make me sick”
Akasha crossed her arms and nodded to a path that would lead up to the school. “Go, then”
He spat on the ground next to her. “I’ll go when I please,” he growled and then shifted into dog form and bound down the path.
Akasha’s face broke into a look of heartbreak. Her knees hit the ground, and at long last, she allowed herself to cry, feeling more ashamed of herself than ever.