Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next? What happens next?
I dare you to move, I dare you to move
Dare You To Move, Switchfoot

They arrived through the various open channels; if their magical signature was aligned to the cottage, there were no restrictions on apparition, floo, or the front door. They were the oddest assortment of wizards and witches from wildly different backgrounds, but Hermione couldn't be prouder of the way they'd banded together in the wake of Voldemort's downfall. Sure, they occasionally squabbled over things, but they'd done a lot of good since they aligned under the banner of The Order of the Phoenix.

With Harry as the leader of the group, it operated much like Dumbledore's Army had back in their Hogwarts years. Some of the members, like Luna, Neville, and George, were instrumental in the formation of the new Order, where as some came as a surprise, like Theo Nott, Tracey Davis, and Pansy Parkinson. Certainly, it'd taken some getting used to. Old house rivalries, and the fact that a certain pug-faced girl had once tried to hand Harry over to Voldemort, meant animosity had run deep. But, after many near-duels and a lot of firewhiskey, the end result was, at least, amicable co-existence.

It also helped that a certain bespectacled boy had fallen head-over-heels in love with a tall, broody Slytherin.

The rest, they collectively decided, was history.

Hermione waved at Daphne as she entered the meeting room. It was an official, large space with so many spells and charms protecting it that even the collective staff of Hogwarts, using all their magic combined, wouldn't be able to penetrate it. Daphne afforded her a light smile and clung to her boyfriend's hand. Blaise merely tipped his chin to Hermione in greeting and led Daphne to two chairs around the back of the table.

Harry spoke in whispers to Theo, his shoulder pressed into his boyfriend's chest, his chin tilted up and eyes brighter than Hermione had seen all night. Draco hung back in a chair next to Pansy and Tracey, his fingers steepled beneath his chin, watching the Order congregate and greet one another.

It wasn't very often that they called a meeting with everyone in attendance at the same time. Certain members, such as Neville, who was based at Hogwarts, were specially stationed and able to deal with local issues. George monitored Diagon Alley, and Tracey Davis was a halfway point between the Order and Hogwarts, a point specifically located in Sheffield's magical community. Charlie acted as their eyes and ears within the Ministry, which had turned out to be important now that they knew Robards couldn't be trusted to provide them with reliable or complete information. Luna, bless her, traveled all over the world, and had a hand in The Quibbler , which they'd used to publish articles that combated the propaganda the Ministry published in The Daily Prophet.

Everyone had a role.

Luna was the last to arrive, and skipped through the door of the meeting room with her pale hair whipping about her head. Clinging to her shoulder was a tiny bright blue pygmy puff whose eyes were as round as galleons. A large grin enveloped Luna's face as she waved to everyone and apologized for her late arrival.

"I found an abandoned kelpie in Bristol, and couldn't just leave the poor dear on its own," she explained as she took her seat next to Charlie.

"That's unusual, isn't it?" Charlie asked her, leaning close with the faintest smile. "I've only ever witnessed them in groups."

"Oh yes," Luna said, nodding her chin seriously. "Highly unusual. Some might even say it's a bad omen."

Hermione rolled her neck, basking in the pop of a bone, and counted to three before she took her seat on Luna's other side. Harry closed the door to the room and sealed it with his wand before taking his usual seat with his back to the door.

The chatter around the table died.

The table was round and enlarged with a charm. Harry didn't want anyone to have the idea that he was creating a dictatorship within The Order, and so he insisted that they sit in a circle, so that no one person was at the head. Theo had argued, muttered something about Harry being a do-gooder Gryffindor, but the matter was settled by the time they'd all woken up the next morning. Hermione never asked how. There were some things she just didn't need to know about her friend's love life.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice." Harry let his eyes wander around the hodgepodge group of wizards and witches. "It's been a bit of a mental night for us here, as you can see by our special guest this evening." He gestured towards Draco, a breath of a laugh in his voice. "He's been granted privileges here, for the foreseeable future. If that's going to be an issue for anyone, I suggest you leave now."

There was a grumble through the group; Hermione heard George whisper something to Charlie, something about Draco that sounded derogatory, but ignored it. When no one else spoke, Harry nodded and folded his hands together, resting them on the solid oak table.

"My cousin's been bitten by a vampire."

The words settled over the group, and though Hermione had expected more gasps of shock or, indeed, any reaction at all, everyone remained silent and riveted by Harry. He had clearly been expecting a reaction because he cleared his throat awkwardly and, after a beat, pressed on.

"Draco showed up on our doorstep tonight having saved Dudley from being killed by a vampire." All eyes were on Draco, who didn't bat an eye, or shrink back as Hermione had expected. "We discovered that the vampire problem we thought was contained to wizarding London and Hogsmeade, where Sanguini lives, is actually a much larger issue."

"Should have taken the bloodsucker out when we had the chance," Zabini muttered, and then he jostled Draco with his elbow and laughed lightly. "Joking, mate. I know you like the bloke."

Again, Draco was stoic, not rising to the bait.

"While I don't disagree," Harry continued, "I don't believe that this is all down to Sanguini at all. Draco has been working alongside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to monitor a new vampire in the UK. A muggle vampire."

"That's also been a recurring issue near Nottingham," Tracey said, and all eyes at the table snapped to her. She peered at them from beneath a thick, dark fringe. Her lips held a natural pout that rarely broke into a smile. "There's a new coven, some new vampire that's been turning muggles around the area."

"And we're just hearing about this because…?" Harry gritted his teeth, and his hands turned white under the strain of clenching his fists together.

Tracey's large, dark eyes flitted to Harry. "It was you who said each arm of the Order had autonomy over their local operation." Her cheek twitched, and Hermoine swore she heard Daphne cover a snort with a cough. "I've been monitoring the situation."

"How many muggles have they turned?"

"In the past six months? Four, plus your cousin."

"And you didn't think it was worth alerting the rest of us to this?" Harry's eyebrows were high on his head; Hermione could feel his anger radiating from him. "If we had known there was a situation, we could have stopped it!"

"There was nothing to stop." Blaise Zabini jumped to Tracey's defense and addressed Harry in a hard voice. "Two vampires is less than you've been dealing with in London, isn't it? And this is the first time you've called a meeting of the Order about it. Because your family's now involved; otherwise, you've been waiting it out to see what's happening."

Hermione caught Blaise's eye, and the corner of her lip jumped briefly. "He's not wrong, Harry." All eyes were on her; she so very rarely agreed with the former Slytherins when it was 'Harry versus the room'. She tried to apologize with a kind glance in her friend's direction. "It's personal to you now, and so it feels more urgent. But the most important thing is that we have a clearer picture now. We can do something now ."

"Now is a little too late for Dudley," Harry griped as he tapped his fingers against the table. "Fine." He didn't look fine. "Do you know anything about this Desdemona? Weaknesses? Visitors?"

Tracey's eyes moved slowly to Draco, and when Hermione's gaze fell on him she noticed that he'd been looking at her. How long had he been watching her? A blush rose to her cheeks, and his stare finally moved from her to Tracey.

"There haven't been any visitors that I could see, except Draco." Tracey said his name like a whisper, as if she hadn't wanted to admit it at all and was trying to keep it to herself. "But obviously, you know that now. She has her castle on lockdown; there are guards at all hours. There's no visible way of entering except through the front gate, and something tells me that doing that is not an easy feat."

Draco's shook his head back and forth lightly; he'd mentioned that to them earlier. Hermione watched the way he looked around the room. Slowly, calculatingly, as if assessing everyone assembled. When he got to her again, Hermione dropped her eyes to the parchment in front of her.

"Sounds to me like there's only one solution, then." Draco stated, his hard voice somehow also perfectly smooth, as it brought the room to utter silence. "Potter, your cousin is going to have to be your inside man in Desdemona's coven."

"Bollocks," Harry spit immediately, "there's no sodding way I'm sending Dudley into that . You don't know him; he's not… I'll be surprised if he doesn't try to walk into the sunlight when he finds out what he is."

Draco's gray eyes rose to the ceiling and he cursed under his breath. "The only other solution is to find a different muggle who doesn't mind eternal life, turning them, and asking them to spy on Desdemona for us."

"Right, and any muggle that's willing to turn into a vampire isn't going to want to spy on their sire." It was Charlie's voice that was one of the reason, strained though it was with his bulky arms crossed over his chest. He lifted his bearded chin to Malfoy. "He's right, Harry. This is the best opportunity we're ever going to have."

"If she chose Dudley on purpose, I could always—" But Harry was interrupted as the entire room burst into expletives and sighs.

"Saint Fucking Potter, again."

"Saving people complex hasn't gone anywhere."

"Oh, Harry, you can't possibly—"

"Fucking Gryffindors."

Theo placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, and caught his green stare with a very pointed look. "You'll do no such thing. You might have a death wish, but every fiber of my being is willing to keep you alive at all costs."

The room fell silent once again. They all watched the war raging in front of them as the two men silently stared one another down.

"Fine." Harry's shoulders rolled backward, a deep crack filled the room, and that was that. "He'll need to understand a lot more than just what it means to be a vampire. Davis—"

Tracey's chin tilted in his direction, the only sign that she'd accepted his tone of authority as their leader.

"As you're in Sheffield, and I consider this your cock up—" a round of grumbles from Pansy and Daphne were silenced by Harry's raised hand, "you'll be Dudley's contact for Order purposes. He'll be your charge."

"I know next to nothing about raising a new vampire," Tracey said, not argumentatively, but as if she were trying to remind their rather emotional leader that he wasn't thinking things through… again.

"I offered my help." Draco inspected his nails, and Hermione recognized the haughty tone as one he'd often used when he'd been right and she'd been wrong. Instead of this making her want to hex him, a different, more curious, feeling coursed through her.

"We need something else from you."

His movements stopped entirely and he was utterly still at the sound of her voice. Hermione swallowed, willing him to look at her again, but he didn't. She sucked in a greedy breath.

"Something isn't right with Sanguini's coven," she went on to explain, letting her eyes drift from Draco's still body to the rest of the avid listeners in the room. "The activity we're seeing currently is more than we've seen in the past year put together. We need Draco to get closer to Sanguini. We need more information about what he's up to."

"Gawain already has him up Sanguini's arse," Theo reminded her lightly, eyes flitting over Harry's profile and watching the way his jaw ticked. His lips tugged down at the corners, so imperceptible that, had she not been paying attention, she would have missed it. He was so clearly worried for Harry, and Hermione adored him for it.

"Even so." She continued, wetting her lips and glancing back at Draco. "You're going to need to get even closer to him. Friendly, even."

He finally acknowledged her with his gaze, and her heart jumped to her throat when their eyes met. Silver, in the torchlight of the room, clashing against the dark brown of her own irises. Merlin, she missed the way a single look from him could send her reeling.

His chin lifted, minute and quick, and her pulse quickened. "Shouldn't be a problem," he said, voice a low timber that felt as if it were only for her. Draco crossed one arm over his chest, while resting a hand on his jaw. "He's a bit of a quirky bloke, and with his growing coven, has expressed a need for a right hand. As I'm experienced…"

Her heart slammed from her throat to her stomach, and she swore the room took a collective breath. It was George who broke the uncomfortable silence, his voice too bright and forced.

"We're opening a branch of Wheezes in Hogsmeade," he announced and clapped a hand on Neville's shoulder, "Longbottom and I can operate as sanctuary when it's required for you, Malfoy."

"And if you need anyone to monitor Wheezes, Pansy and I are entering the slow season for the boutique," Daphne added, nudging her friend with an elbow. "Isn't that right, Pansy? We can help Weasley, can't we?"

Pansy paused for a beat, surveyed George with her naturally sultry eyes, and her lips lifted. "Whatever we can do, Weasley. All you have to do is ask."

The entire meeting had been like a wildly swinging pendulum between tension and awkwardness, and Hermione wanted to crawl into a dark alcove of Potter Cottage and hide until everyone left. Especially since a certain gray stare still hadn't left her face; even though she wasn't looking directly at him, she could feel the pinpricks of Draco's attention scattering along her spine. Trying to ignore the sensations that Draco had stirred in her, Hermione gave a short cough and nodded her head as if that cleared the air.

"Right," she said, drawing the attention back to herself. "It's settled. Dudley will act as an informant on Desdemona's coven, and will report directly to Tracey. Draco will get closer to Sanguini, reporting directly to George and Neville. In the meantime—"

The door to the meeting room burst open and a dozen wizards and witches lifted their wands towards the door, ready to fight. What should have been an impenetrable fortress was disrupted in a hot second as Cormac McLaggen's long, brick-like body appeared in the doorframe. He wore a massive grin and floppy blond hair, as he faced the entire Order of the Phoenix.

"Hey guys!" He chucked a wave in their direction and found an empty chair next to George. "Luna, thanks for the heads up. Someone—" his eyes moved to Harry, sparkling despite his accusing tone, "forgot to send a message to me, and Lovegood here was kind enough to forward it on."

Hermione snuck a glance to Harry, who wore thin, sheepish smile. Theo was chuckling into his shoulder, his face buried in the fabric of his jumper, which did very little to muffle the sound.

"Sorry," Harry said finally, the strain in his voice cracking over a short laugh. "Not sure how that happened, mate. You're not a very forgettable bloke."

The tension immediately dissipated as Cormac's entire air shifted to one of self-importance. "All is forgiven! So, what did I miss?"

"New muggle vampire in Nottinghamshire. Potter's cousin's a vampire now. Malfoy's becoming bosom-buddies with Sanguini." Charlie ticked off the list on his fingers, and glanced to Luna with a grin. "About cover it?"

She nodded once. "Satisfactory summary, Charles."

Harry provided a slightly more detailed overview, and Cormac tapped his finger against his cheek. "I have an old acquaintance up near Sheffield. She's called Perpetua — anciently old." He cracked a knuckle, eyes unseeing and far away, as if remembering something, and then he added, "She's an alchemist, so she's been around a while. I'll pop 'round to see her. Maybe she knows something about this Desdemona vamp."

"Good. Right." Harry clapped his hands together, before running his fingers through his rogue hair. "Since we're all together, let's have an update."

"The Wizengamot is seeking a rewrite of the Vampire Legislation Bill." Charlie said, as he propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "Minister's not too keen on it, but with the Supreme Mugwump backing him, I don't have a choice but to draft it." He glanced at Draco, and Hermione watched the way a muscle in the latter's jaw twitched. "I'll stall as long as I can, but they're using terms like 'euthanize' and 'Kiss'."

Hermione paled and couldn't help but seek out their lone vampire guest. He barely reacted, as if it were expected that the Ministry would pull such a shoddy move. Her heart ached for him, but she kept her collected composure as best as she could. She wished he'd look at her, but he seemed to be making a point of looking anywhere but towards her.

Harry rubbed the back of his hand absently, until Theo took his scarred hand in his and entwined their fingers. "Keep that bill from being passed at all costs, Charlie. I'll check with Kingsley, see what I can do. Luna?"

"On it, Harry." She pulled a quill out from somewhere in her hair, and summoned a small roll of parchment from her bag. " The Quibbler will critique the legislation and call into question the Supreme Mugwump's history with the League of Vampires—"

"That's not a thing," Draco deadpanned, lips barely moving around the words.

"Yes it is." Luna kept scribbling on her parchment. "When I was in Zambia last month, the president was seeking further information on the Mugwump's visitations, which only happen at night."

"He's magical," Hermione interrupted, hoping it would draw Draco's attention to her. It didn't. She stared at his blond head as he tilted it down towards his feet, as if inspecting his shoes. "Magical vampires can cast charms to walk in the daylight."

A murmur ran through the table, but Luna wasn't swayed. She merely rolled up her scribbled-on parchment and stuffed it into her pocket. The quill was lost once again to her hair. The little pygmy puff on her shoulder nuzzled its face against her cheek and purred.

"There's no news from Hogwarts. If Desdemona is trying to include you in whatever her plan is, I think we should lockdown the school. No one in, no one out. All the old security measures." Neville, who had grown up into a spectacularly fit man, leaned back in his chair and kept himself from falling backward with three fingers on the table. "I'll let McGonagall know the details so we can put the castle on alert. She's been itching to use the gargoyles, so she'll be pleased."

"Fantastic. Thanks, Neville." Harry's chin bobbed, and he turned to Theo. "I can feel your nervous energy, you know. Out with it."

Theo's sharp cheekbones and piercing, hazel eyes traveled the room. "The Carrow Estate was broken into. Amycus is fixing the wards, but there's no word on where Alecto is. She seems to have gone missing during the burglary." He scratched at his forearm absently. His throat constricted, the planes tight around the chords in his neck. "There's no intel from the underground Death Eaters on who it could have been, but I'll keep pressing for more."

"It can't be tied to the muggle vampire issue, surely?" George asked, his eyes flicking between Harry and Theo. "The Death Eaters would never—"

"Don't be so quick to conclude what those sadistic bastards would and wouldn't do," Blaise hissed quietly as he wrapped his arm around Daphne's slender shoulders. "There's not one person in this room who doesn't remember exactly what they've done, things that they would never would have done if someone hadn't been threatening them with The Killing Curse."

His eyes, peculiarly, landed on Hermione's. She chewed her lip between her teeth. "Never say never, of course," she agreed, though the roil of her stomach did nothing to help keep her voice even. "Theo, please keep your ear to the ground. The last thing we need is a Death Eater outbreak in the midst of the vampire situation. It would be a nightmare."

Theo's adam's apple climbed his throat as he tipped his chin. His thumb crawled over Harry's knuckles, and she noticed for the first time that he'd been squeezing Theo's hand so tightly that his knuckles were stark white.

"Anyone else have anything to add?" Hermione asked, pulling her attention away from her obviously distraught friend to the rest of the group. When no one spoke up, she stood from her seat. "Then I call this meeting adjourned. You're all welcome to stay for a drink — it's been too long since we've caught up."

"Draco, you hanging around, mate?"

Hermione zeroed in on him again — she couldn't seem to keep her focus off him. Draco finally, finally looked at her, and it stole her breath away. His lips pinched, and he lifted his chin. "Yeah, I've got time for one."

"Brilliant."

The Order of the Phoenix stood from their seats and began to disperse into smaller groups and started separate conversations. Hermione tugged on Harry's sleeve and he ducked his head down so that she could whisper into his ear.

"We need to have someone monitoring Dudley." Her eyes darted to Draco, who hadn't stopped watching her. Heat bloomed in her chest and traveled up her body until it created a rosy blush on her cheeks. "Our infirmary isn't sunlight tight — if he doesn't get somewhere safe before morning…"

From across the room, Draco's eyes glittered. He tilted his chin and moved through the room, slinking as a cat might. As he rounded her, his hand shot out to her hip and he lowered his lips to her ear.

She couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

It was the closest she'd been to him in over a year. The familiar heat that used to radiate from him was gone, and was instead replaced by the thrill of the unknown. She stayed utterly still as his lips ghosted over the shell of her ear.

"Stop watching me," he whispered, and then he was gone.