Her reaction to seeing Demetri was the same as when she had met him the first time so many years ago. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her knees turned to jello and her breathing was unsteady; his beauty was absolutely hypnotizing. It was almost unnatural. Demetri surprisingly – given his reputation – was not very tall. He reached around five foot and nine inches. He had pin straight, jet black hair that fell to his chin and his eyes were gold, except for on certain occasions where they were blood red. His skin was white, paler than anyone Alyssa had ever seen, and was only blemished by the dark shadows under his eyes. At that moment he was dressed all in black, with a straight cloak that touched the ground. His lips turned up into a smile, baring his teeth and a shiver ran down Alyssa's spine.

He repeated her name and in the dull silence, it echoed around the small meadow. "What are you doing here?" he then asked.

Alyssa furrowed her brows, "Did you know I was coming?"

Demetri gave her a sheepish grin, "Of course I did. That's Brad back there, isn't it?" he said. His eyes never left her so she was baffled that he knew that Brad was there as well. He didn't wait for her to nod and stepped forward, looking as if he wanted a hug. She instantly took a cautious step back and he smirked. "It's going to be like that?"

"Sorry," She said with a shrug, "But it would make all of them pretty upset if I let you touch me. Especially Brad, you can imagine."

He nodded. "I could still give you what you wanted, you know. In fact," His eyes ran up and down her body, "It would be a much better idea now, seeing as you've… grown up."

Alyssa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was thirteen – hardly capable of making a proper decision." She said haughtily. Would people keep reminding her of that for the rest of her life? "Besides, I'm pretty much taken anyway." She raised her left hand and flashed the new ring.

"You're married?"

"Engaged."

"Oh." Demetri said, not seeming in any way disappointed. "To one of them back there?" He asked, his eyes now leaving hers.

Without turning around to see the group she said, "The blonde."

"Oh, how pretty." He said with a smile that bared his teeth again.

"Anyway, this isn't why I came to see you." Alyssa started, wanting to leave the topic of her fiancé.

Demetri nodded, "I could tell from the elite crew you have." He walked silently to the side and Alyssa watched as he sat down on a broken tree trunk. "What can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about these Death Eaters that have begun rising up again. We want to know what we're up against."



He nodded again, showing that this news was familiar to him. "Well, there's not too much activity around here… but there's word that they want to take Scar-head, over there, out. They're worried that he's going to be the next Minister and that he'll throw their families into jail just for spite."

"So this is – once again – all about Harry?" Alyssa asked, completely surprised. She figured it'd be some sort of rise to power thing.

"Well, yeah." Demetri replied as if it were obvious. "I mean – it's clear they want revenge for the death of their Lord. I expect it might be a power thing too," He added, as if reading her mind, "Y'know… take you all out one by one."

"Why now?"

At this he looked somewhat offended, "I may be a Vampire but that doesn't mean I'm one of them, do you really expect me to know?" She rolled her eyes at his sensitivity. "Besides – that should be obvious, as well. They need the time to build up ranks. The majority of their numbers have been defeated since the death of Voldemort, so it'd take a while to become what they are now."

Alyssa's eyes narrowed, "Is it really that bad?"

"Nothing you can't handle, I'm sure. But they've been doing some serious damage without the Ministry noticing in the Muggle world. That's what you need to be looking out for. And now that they know you've come to see me they'll be starting their –"

"Wait, wait, wait… they knew we were coming?" She asked, completely dumbfounded. "Did you know we were coming?"

Demetri rolled his eyes, "Word travels, you know. Why else did you come to see me? Because we hear things you don't. They've got eyes, more than anything - which was what I was starting to say… They know you're here so they're going to make their move. You should attack before they're ready for you; be one step ahead of them; that whole thing." He explained waving his hand around.

"This is just fantastic." Alyssa explained, she was already half-turning around to get back to the group and explain what she'd heard.

"What, no hug or anything?" His velvet voice asked. A chill ran down her spine and her body froze mid-turn. He was already standing about a foot away from her and she could already feel the cold of his body. She stiffly turned back around to look at him and was shocked by the closeness. His golden eyes shined brightly in the dark and she felt herself transfixed. He took one stride towards her and wrapped his arms around her stiff body. His entire being was frozen and solid, and her teeth almost began to chatter. Demetri smiled at her reaction and whispered into her ear. "I could still do it… if you wanted."

It was the only sound she could hear, it was as if she were dreaming, and suddenly his ice cold lips ran over her neck. Someone from behind her said her name and her eyes popped opened as she stumbled backwards.

She turned around, "B-brad." She stammered, looking at her older brother who had his wand out. She looked back at Demetri, whose eyes had suddenly turned solid black and she gasped.

"Nice seeing you, Brad." Demetri said quite civilly.

Brad forced a smile. "I wish I could say the same. Thanks for your help but we must be going, now."

Alyssa didn't find the strength in her legs to begin to move, but Brad grabbed her hand and took her back to the other side of the meadow. Her eyes never left Demetri until he disappeared back into the darkness of the woods.

"I knew something like that would happen," Brad vented as they walked back from the way they came. "I knew it. And I can't believe I even let you convince me to do this; that could've ended horribly." He rolled his eyes at himself and tightened his grip on Alyssa's elbow, as if afraid that if he let go she would go running back to Demetri.

"I'm fine Brad – I'm fine!" She snapped trying to yank her elbow out of his grip. "Would you just let go of me?" She scowled darkly at him but had to admit that her legs still felt like jello. She finally used her free arm to reach over and slap his shoulder and out of surprise, he let her go. She instantly took a few steps away from him and walked over to Draco's side where she took his hand without hesitation, welcoming its warmth.

"So what do we do now?" Ginny asked loudly, "Seeing as that was a complete waste of time."

"It wasn't a complete waste of time." Alyssa snapped, "They're after Harry again," Everyone groaned unsurprised at this news, "But they know we're here, and they're going to make their move soon; which means we have to do it first."

"What did I say?" Ron shouted with a smile on his face, "I told you!"

"Yes, you did." Alyssa replied monotonously. "And another thing – their numbers are big. Real big; and they've been stirring things up in the Muggle world that you don't know about." She said pointedly to Harry.

Harry paused mid-stride and looked warily at her. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly sure –"

"She was too busy falling for Demetri's charismatic charm." Brad growled.

"You know what I say?" Hermione asked suddenly, "How about we just get a hotel for the night. We all need to rest, and figure out our next move."

"No!" Ron whined childishly, "Let's go kill those bastards!"

Everyone ignored him. "She's right." Ginny said. "Let's head back to town and find a place to stay. We can head back tomorrow."



Three hours later, Alyssa found herself standing on the balcony of the Inn they were staying at. Hermione had booked three rooms without any trouble and – "I'm sure you can divvy this out for yourselves," she had said – they split up. Draco was busy in the shower, and Alyssa was smoking a cigarette she had bummed from some random guy walking down the aisle. It started pouring all of a sudden, and she'd had to dash under the roof; though not quick enough to keep herself dry. Her hair dripped down her shoulders, and she had taken off her jacket to avoid getting colder from the wetness.

The plan they had figured out before heading for bed was simple. They would leave as soon as there was sunlight, go back to the Ministry to gather up troops, and hopefully finally end what should have ended three years ago. While they discussed what their next steps were, the debate of whether Brad would join them or not was once again breached. The only reason he wanted to fight was to protect Alyssa – which he now thought was strongly needed because of her experience with Demetri. And during that argument came the really shocking news.

Hermione was pregnant.

She had found out three days earlier; only she and Ron knew. Ginny screamed in delight, Harry turned a shade of purple, Draco's jaw dropped, and Alyssa soon realized that Hermione would also not be present with them.

Alyssa rubbed her eyes, now ready to go to bed, and tossed her cigarette over the edge of the balcony. She turned around and entered the room she and Draco were staying in. It was relatively small; one bed, one bathroom, one television. But it would do for the seven hours they'd be staying there. She sat at the edge of the bed and leaned over, gathering her hair together in one hand so she could squeeze out the water.

The bathroom door opened revealing Draco in nothing but a towel and dripping with water; Alyssa rolled her eyes. He was downright disgusting. He looked quizzically at her and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Why are you wet?" He asked simply.

"It's raining outside." She murmured. She sat back up and her hair cascaded down her back. He grinned at her and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Is everything all right?"

Alyssa shrugged and closed her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair and over her scalp. "Just tired, I guess. It's been a long day." He nodded understandingly and she leaned into him. Even through the chilled drops of water, the warmth was radiating from his skin. She ran her lips across his slick shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Did I really make that much of a scene?"

His body tensed up against her and for the first time she realized he had actually been worrying about her before. "It's nothing that I didn't expect to happen." He said softly, "But it happened very fast, and your brother kind of…" He paused looking for the word.

"Freaked out?" She suggested; he nodded.

"I think you would've been fine." Draco said confidently. "Although I wasn't exactly happy with the situation either."

"So when do you think we're going to get moving on this?" Alyssa asked curiously.

Draco shook his head. "I don't think we should talk about this here."

"Right, we're being watched." She said nodding. She stood up from the bed and walked to the window; there was hardly anyone outside, but she still felt that uncomfortable feeling as if someone was actually watching them. She pulled the string to close the blinds and turned back around to look at Draco. She walked over to him and ran her hands threw his wet hair. She kissed his forehead and murmured "I love you."

Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him so that she was straddling him. "I know you're worried…" He said softly, "It's natural. But I promise you everything will be all right." He smiled slightly and pushed her shirt up so he could run his hands over her skin, and kissed the scar on her abdomen. "A real promise this time; no bollocks."

She rolled her eyes, "Good." She ran her hands through his hair and pulled slightly, tilting his head back so she could look into his silver eyes. They closed as she ran her lips over his and his arms tightened around her waist. There was a clanking sound outside that diverted Alyssa's attention. She pulled away and turned her head to look at the door.

"Don't tell me you're paranoid, now?" Draco murmured.

She ignored his protests and got off his lap to walk back to the door of the room. In quick movements she opened both locks and pulled the door open. There was no movement at all outside - no residents, no sound from other rooms, no cars driving by on the road – only the rain falling from the sky. Alyssa stepped to the balcony and narrowed her eyes looking for any sort of sign of something abnormal. There was nothing.

"Alyssa, would you get back in and shut the door?" Draco asked from inside. He stepped to the doorway and waited impatiently.

"Alyssa?" A voice called.

Her head shot up and she leaned over the balcony to see Harry's body leaning over from the next floor. "Harry! Did you hear it, too?" She saw him nod and in one second he had disappeared and reappeared right next to her.

"I did. I don't see anything, though."

"Can't we all just agree that it was just a sound?" Draco whined.

Harry and Alyssa both ignored him. "I think you should leave… now." Alyssa said, lowering her voice a significant amount. "We're being watched, and I have a bad feeling about all of us staying here at once. We don't want to involve the Muggles."

"You're right." Harry replied. He looked cautiously over his shoulders as if they were being overheard at that moment. He nodded his head to her room and they all scuttled inside, much to the protest of Draco. "They're probably patrolling the amount of magic that's being given off; they might be able to tell if we apparate out of here."

Alyssa shook her head, "No 'we'. You, Ron, and Hermione should leave now. Tell my brother to come down here," ("Oh, come on," Draco moaned.) "I don't want anyone by themselves." She paused and bit her lip as she thought. "I'll put up a shield, they'll think it's just protection but you'll be able to apparate out of here unnoticed."

"It'll have to be a big shield." Harry said.

"I'll manage."

Harry nodded, "Where will we meet tomorrow? Actually… I'll go straight to the Ministry to tell everyone what's going on and formulate a plan. The rest of you can go to the Manor," His eyes briefly met Draco's for confirmation, "And Draco will meet me there."

"Lockdown?" Alyssa whined, putting a hand on her hip.

"Just until we get back to you with a plan; it won't be long. I promise."

They both paused, agreeing on what was to happen. Harry leaned forward for a hug and began to say, "In case anything –" But Alyssa interrupted by taking a step back away from him. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said calmly. "Now get out of here so I can do my magic."

Harry sent her a wolfish grin, "Be safe." He said, and with a pop he was gone.

"Was this all quite necessary?" Draco asked.

"He needs to be safe. Now shut up." He rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom to get dressed. He didn't bother with pajamas considering they'd be leaving in a few hours, anyway. Alyssa, meanwhile, stepped to the door and pressed her hand to it. She closed her eyes and just as Brad appeared in the room her fingertips started to glow.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Draco stepped back out of the bathroom wiping his mouth after just brushing his teeth. "Harry's gone to the Ministry about what's going on. Alyssa figured it was too dangerous to sit here and wait."

"Oh." Brad said. He looked over at Alyssa who had now stepped away from the door. "So what do we do now?" He asked.

"I think we should get some sleep." Alyssa said, "It's been a long night."

Brad looked at the bed and scratched his head. Alyssa looked at Draco who looked like he was strongly resisting the urge to shout 'Shotty!' but he stood silent. She finally rolled her eyes and pointed her finger at the bed. In a very unnatural way, the bed began to stretch itself, making it nearly twice the size it had originally been. She smiled at her handy work and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and change into something dry. When she returned, they had already settled themselves as far opposite on the bed as they could. Alyssa rolled her eyes and climbed over Draco to get under the covers.

"What should we do in the morning?" Alyssa whispered.

Brad groaned, "Go to the nearest diner. I need coffee."

"Agreed." She said. She looked to see what Draco had to say but he merely yawned and pressed his face into the pillow. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. What an interesting night it had been; dangerous encounter with a vampire; being watched by Death Eaters; now falling asleep between her fiancé and her brother. At that last thought, she felt herself begin to fade away into a deep sleep. The next morning, Alyssa, Brad, Draco, Ginny and Blaise went into town looking for a diner. They'd only found one but it was closed for renovations, so they moved on to coffee shops. Two were closed because it was too early, but they finally found one down a side alley.

"Is it really a good idea to be wasting time looking for coffee?" Ginny asked as they stepped inside.

"I highly doubt we're missing anything important." Alyssa argued.

Draco nodded as he shut the door to the coffee shop behind them. "We would've received a Patronus or something." They all fell silent as they looked around. The shop was completely empty; there didn't even seem to be anyone working. The only sign of it being opened was the running coffee machine. Brad scratched his head impatiently and his shoulders slumped. Ginny yawned and sat at one of the barstools.

"Hello?" Brad called, "Is anyone here?"

There was a low thud in the back of the shop and a grisly looking man with a black eye walked out. "Sorry, abou' tha'. Wot can I do for ye?"

Alyssa cocked an eyebrow and looked at the others, "Um, just five coffee's please."

"Gotcha," He said with a salute. "Wot's the occasion at such an early hour?" He asked.

"We're traveling." Blaise answered curtly. "For business."

The man turned around and eyed Blaise warily and nodded stiffly. They all sat down at a round table and Ginny waited on her stool for the coffee. The man returned to the back room and shut the door.

"He's a little odd, isn't he?" Alyssa asked.

Blaise shrugged, "Everyone's a bit odd at six in the morning. I suppose he's had a bit of a rough night."

"How could you tell?" she said sarcastically. She lowered her voice reasonably as the man came back out with five clean mugs. "Are you gonna tell everyone what's going on when we get back?"

Brad furrowed his brows until he realized who she was talking about. "Right, I guess I should. I'll go straight to the hotel." Alyssa watched over his shoulder at the man working as Brad spoke. "Go to the Manor and stay there. It's not safe out and I don't want you running around. I mean it."

"I don't see why we can't just go with you to the Ministry. It would save us time."

"Because you are not an Auror." Draco said quite simply.

She glared at him, "That's quite beside the point. I'm involved enough to be an Auror, I have more knowledge than half those idiots –"

"Would you lower your voice?" Brad snapped; Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Now would you be saying that you actually want to be involved in the Ministry?"

Draco laughed and just as Alyssa was about to answer her attention was diverted. She shot up from her chair so fast that it fell to the ground behind her. Blaise was standing just as quick as she was, and as Brad and Draco realized what was going on, they stood up as well with their wands out. The man who had just been fixing their coffee now had a wand, and was holding it tightly to Ginny's temple.

"That's not a very good idea, mate." Ginny said through clenched teeth.

"I've heard all I need," He disagreed, "And company's on the way." As soon as the words were spoken, the sound of shattering glass filled the room. Alyssa whipped around to see the front door was crashed through. While the man was distracted, Ginny elbowed him in the stomach. With a loud grunt he leaned forward and she elbowed him again in the face, forcing him to fall on his back. She stepped away from him and pulled out her wand just as the windows shattered through.

"Should we leave?" Alyssa shouted, but then she could see no more. They were surrounded in darkness. With a shout she was shoved to the ground and there were sounds of struggling above her. "Brad!" She shouted, but received no answer. She stood unsteadily to her feet and just as she did so, she received a blow to the stomach sending her flying backwards. She landed hard on her back. The air was knocked out of her. She didn't bother trying to stand again and instead braced herself trying to listen to what was going on.

"Stupefy!" She could hear Ginny shout.

"Rictusempra!"

There was another shout and Alyssa felt a curse whizz by her. She jumped up to her feet and deflected a curse that came at her face. She pulled out her wand and shouted "Stupefy!" She heard a thud and suddenly it was light again. Everyone stopped and blinked in surprise. Draco was restraining someone with his arm around their throat, Brad had bound two people together with his wand, and Blaise was helping Ginny off the ground. Her face was red with anger and she turned around to kick the guy who had originally attacked her.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked Alyssa.

She nodded and wiped her eyes, looking around the now trashed room. "What the fuck just happened?" She shouted.

Brad stood up to his full height, "We should probably take these guys to the Ministry. We need to leave now, though, incase more of them are on the way."

"What the fuck just happened?" She repeated. No one answered her and a tremor shook through her body. "All for some freakin' coffee," She snapped. She took her off her jacket and winced as she tugged her left arm out of her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked again, instantly throwing his victim to the floor and coming to her side. She turned her arm to look at her elbow and saw a piece of glass sticking out of it. He furrowed his brows thinking of what they should do, but without hesitation she pulled it out and threw the piece to the floor. "I'll be fine." She answered.

She walked behind the table and grabbed the coffee, pouring herself a mug and nearly chugging it down.

"Do we know any of these guys?" Ginny asked, looking down at the man she just kicked.

Blaise shook his head, "I don't think so; Brad's right, though. We should get going. There's probably more on the way."

Brad shoved the Death Eaters together and looked at Alyssa. "C'mon, we need to get going." He grabbed her bag and tossed it to her, along with her jacket. "I'm going to the hotel; Draco and Ginny – go to the Ministry, Blaise – go with Alyssa to the Manor and wait there. Everyone will meet there when we've decided the next move."

Alyssa put her jacket back on and stood next to Blaise. "Got it. I won't move – promise." She said to assure Brad. Draco kissed her cheek before standing next to Ginny, Blaise winked at her and they apparated away with the four Death Eaters. Brad looked at Alyssa and repeated Harry's words, "Be safe," and he apparated away.

"It's a bit too early for this, don't you agree?" Blaise asked.

Alyssa nodded, "All too much."