Authors Note: Can you believe this? Three stories in one day. I'm on fire. I'm that good.

WARNING: This is a cross over! It's an AU Cross over, if you're not into that sort of thing, Don't read it. You don't have to torture yourself.

I love trying new things when it comes to Tomione and really, I'm kind of excited about this one because it's so different and I have the whole plot planned out and I just love the direction I'm taking it in.

Okay so. Tom's character is a tad different, but I'm trying to keep some basic traits, anywhom. Reviews ARE SO WELCOME because if no one reads this or likes it, i'm not going to continue with it.

As such.

I do not own the rights to Harry Potter nor the Mortal Instruments. These are not my characters and I do not claim to own them or their copyrights in any way...and blah blah blah. All that legal mumbo-jumbo.

If you do read and review, can you take a guess at where this might be going?

Enjoy!

The music in the club was loud and pounding. Hermione Granger was relaxing against the bar and her eyes were scanning the crowd of people with an obvious rapture. The people in the throng were…unique, even though that word seemed a little light for the type of people dancing in here. Specifically the boy that seemed to be donning full drag with what looked like a dead bird taped to his bright neon blue dress. His thick buckled purple boots with silver metal sparkles were shining in the rapidly blinking dark light.

The room was thick with fog, flashing lights, and gyrating bodies. Hermione caught looks with a pair of flashing emerald eyes from across the room, she smiled, nodding at her fellow hunter. Harry Potter leaned casually against a faux romesque column keeping his eyes peeled across the dance floor. The club, ironically called Fallen Star, was usually filled with loads Downworlders and the occasional demon. For a mundane, it would have been impossible to tell that this club was filled with anything that wasn't human, but for people like Hermione, her friend Harry, and their friend Ron, it was easy. Years of training had allowed the three of them to easily see past any glamour that the demons or downworlders had thrown over themselves.

The room was pulsating with a life that you wouldn't ever find in a normal Mundie club. The note they'd received earlier from Albus, one of the most well-known warlocks in the London area, had directed them towards this area for a meeting. She'd nearly lost her eyebrow raising it when she saw the location, what kind of well-respected warlock chooses this nappy location as a meeting place? There was no question as to whether it was real because it was a very well-known fact that Albus had a phoenix, a somewhat extinct creature, and it was the creature that had delivered the message.

She knew very well the message wasn't really meant for her or Ron, more for Harry. Harry, whose parents had died protecting the Shadow Hunter world against Grindlewald, one of the Great Demons. Harry Potter, who had been said to have been saved by the angel when killed by Grindlewald, leaving a lightening shaped scar. Harry Potter, whose legacy had raised him to be one of the best shadow hunters in the London area. It was a lucky pick that she and Ron had been chosen to reside and be trained in the London institute, amongst several others, and train alongside the boy who lived. It was even luckier that she and the two boys had grown so close and were often picked to go on riskier missions rather than the other students.

So when the message arrived that Dumbledore was requesting a secretive meeting regarding something big that was happening across the Downworlder scene and across the Demonsphere, they were quick to respond. Harry, however, made it very clear that because the note was mainly to him, he felt it better that he go in alone. Hermione, while Harry could be said to have been a better hunter physically than her, she was considerably smarter. She thought this was stupid but he was set and he usually got his way so she could do nothing but agree.

She watched quietly as two men dressed impeccably in two dark suits came up to Harry, nodding at him to follow and she kept her eyes narrowed as they did. They disappeared behind a pair of black velvet curtains and she turned back to catch eyes with Ron who was seated down at the other end of the bar where she sat. A rather upbeat song started playing and she found herself tapping her fingers to the beat watching the crowd's energy change their rhythm to the song. She found herself watching a couple that seemed to be completely lost in each other's gaze, so close to each other that she was surprised they were capable of breathing.

"What do you think?" Ron asked coming up next to her watching the couple with interest. "You want to try?"

"That? No thanks. Not wearing the right shoes." She stuck her foot out, her hunting boots glinting in the flashing lights. She never left the institute on a mission in anything other than her shadow hunting gear and that wasn't going to change tonight, though Harry and Ron had tried to tell her she should have dressed in club clothes in case they needed someone undercover.

"Wonder if that meeting had anything to do with all those missing downworlders that have been happening." Ron asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it, Dumbledore always seem to know what's going on, and it's pretty much his job though. He is the high warlock of London, but sometimes I feel like he knows a little too much and he enjoys playing that card a lot. I feel like he think it's a game to trail people along and make them figure it out themselves." She shrugged her shoulders but she wasn't lying.

Every time Dumbledore got involved with something they were doing, he always seemed to know the next step and he always liked trailing them along with the information he knew, forcing them to work at least three times harder for the information they would have in normal circumstances. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the man's help, but sometimes she felt like he were simply using the trio for his own good. Whatever he wanted to talk to Harry about, it wouldn't be the full story, no; it would be clips and pieces, riddles and words that would start them on the journey.

"Harry loves him, you shouldn't say that around him." Ron said in a voice that almost sounded parent-y.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to share his opinion of the man. We'd do better trying to find our answers ourselves than chase around some riddle." She suddenly found her eyes trailing another couple, but they were different. "Ron-"

"I see them."

The couple was strikingly beautiful, and when she said beautiful, she felt like she was almost attracted to the both of them. The boy had shortened golden hair spiked up messily to the side and his eyes were black, both of their eyes black with no white what so ever. The girl's hair was a deep cherry red than complimented the pale alabaster skin. She knew immediately that they were demons, their eyes the dead giveaways. That wasn't what caught their attention, it was the pace at which they were circling through the crowd moving from one end of the room to the next with an uncanny speed. Even more odd was the legs of the girl that seemed to take away from her unnatural beauty, because she had the legs of a horse.

"That is just…that's just weird." Ron said, his hand drifting unconsciously down to the seraph blade that was tucked into one of his many pants pockets.

"That's an Onoskelis, that's a rare demon." The girl and the boy had stopped and they were dancing incredibly close to another couple, in fact, now that she looked closer, too close.

"They're…are they drugging them?" Ron's hand moved farther down and was gripping the weapon in his pocket.

"Let's move." She moved her hand down the clipped thigh garter grabbing the seraph blade from it's case.

They moved around the crowd, the idea was always to try and corner them. They didn't have time to go and warn Harry because whatever the demons were doing, it wasn't legal and she was going to be very sure that they learned their lesson. The two demons were dancing closely together, but whatever had been in the needle that they'd slipped was taking effect. The couple next to which they were dancing had slowed down, their eyes shutting softly. She moved quicker, pulling her blade from her pocket.

"Abiel." She felt the weapon in her hand surge with a warmth before it lit up, the blade lengthening in her hand.

"Any room for two more?" She asked coming up as Ron came behind the girl, his weapon held low in his hand.

"Shadow hunters…you don't belong here." The girl's voice was silky and it seemed to hiss out, her teeth were sharp points.

"Neither do you, but I'd be happy to give you a free ride to where you do belong." Ron smiled.

The boy demon moved but Ron was quicker, much quicker, His blade swiped up and the boys hand was gone quicker than it could move up. The boy's mouth snarled and his shaped changed before the blink of an eye, his skin becoming black and tar like and his shape moving to that of some oversized catfish with legs. She leaned back and swiped her sword at the horse like feet of the girl, but she was quick on her feet.

Their battle scene was not unseen, although the mundanes may not have been able to see what was happening, the others could. Several voices in the crowd shouted and they began to move quickly away from the fight. Hermione didn't mind, she much preferred the room they were giving. The girl landed but when she landed she had a weapon, a bright small silver dagger than glinted in the blinking lights.

Hermione smiled and beckoned at the girl while Ron was quickly making do with the boy. The girl snarled at Hermione and moved forward slashing at her but Hermione was faster and she rolled dropping low and swiped the blade up catching the foot of the girl. The girl shouted and her hoof fell to the floor followed by a thick yellow blood that caught Hermione on the side of her gear.

The girl tripped landing on her side and Hermione stepped up, kicking the dagger from her hand and placing a heavy foot on her chest and the heel of her boot on the demons hand with her seraph blade placed on the girls free arm. Ron had already taken care of and killed the boy, he walked over to check on the two mundanes that the demons had drugged. The crowd of mundanes had obviously noticed nothing worthwhile was happening and had moved back into place, dancing and crowding around them. The downworlders seemed to be following suit, ignoring the situation with the hope that they wouldn't be involved, though some stood off to the side watching with mild interest.

"Care to tell me what you were doing before I kill you?" Hermione asked pressing the knife a little bit deeper into the girls arm.

"Bigger business than you need to know." The girl snarled pushing at Hermione but she didn't budge. "Kill me, I won't tell you."

"No problem." Hermione raised the blade and slashed it down, decapitating the girl and removing her boot from it's chest. She turned around to face Ron and saw him prodding at the two mundanes. "Yeah, maybe if you poke them enough they'll come back."

"They're dead." She just realized the seriousness of the look on his face. "We'll have to report this to the clave."

"What the hell did they give them? Why would they give them something to kill them?" She walked up and bent down, reaching for a pulse. "We can test their blood back at the institute. Maybe we can find out what they gave them."

"What the hell happened out here?" Harry had come rushing out behind the velvet curtain and was looking at them with wild eyes. "Why didn't you come get me?"

"We didn't exactly have time to get you." Ron muttered, his ears burning a slight pink color.

"Why are there dead mundanes and a dead dem-"

"Two. Two dead demons, one of them already disappeared." Hermione stood up and pocketed her blade. She threw her phone to Ron, they needed to call the Clave before the crowd disturbed the bodies. "Found the two of them running around the dance club and saw them hit those two with the drug and then we ran over and they didn't want to play nice."

"What did they inject them with?" Harry was looking at the incision site on the necks, Hermione began to crouch down but a voice caught her attention.

"Shadow hunters," She stood up her, her body still on high alert and turned to face whoever spoke. "Always causing trouble aren't you?"

The man who spoke was ridiculous, but the good kind, the very good kind. He wasn't so much a man but a young adult, a very attractive young adult. He had to have one of the smoothest, honey-like deep voices she'd ever heard, it raised all the hairs on her body giving her soft goosebumps. His hair was such a dark brown that it could have easily been mistaken for black. His eyes were a flashing dark blue that seemed to match his hair in the style of being incredibly dark, everything about him seemed dark. With the exception of his skin, which was a beautiful soft pale that seemed packed underneath the expensive and fashionable suit he wore. His face was had strikingly sharp cheek bones and he was tall, oh so tall.

"Who are you supposed to be?" She felt her hand twitching towards the blade she had pocketed, she didn't care how handsome he was you can't trust anyone.

"I'm the owner of this club, little shadow hunter." He raised an attractively arched eyebrow at her. "And this is my club so occasionally I do hang around and watch over things and when there is trouble I always seem to find you Nephilim in here don't I?" He came around to look at the bodies.

"Aren't you a little young to own a club like this?" Harry was speaking loud to be heard over the music.

The man seemed to have noticed so he waved his hands over in a 'follow me' motion and began to walk back past the curtains where Harry had just had his private audience with Dumbledore. He led them down a hallway that was lined with couples who were grouping each other in such a heavy manor that she felt the need to turn away. She had to grab Ron by his shoulder to stop him from ogling a girl whose dress had ridden up against the other girl she was grouping (though her skin was a dark green color). He led them to the end of the wall where two very large and muscular men stood before guarding what seemed like nothing before motioning his hands towards the blank wall in front of them.

"Follow me, please." He stepped casually through the wall leaving the rest of them to follow suit.

The two men stared down at them condescendingly as they walked into the wall. Something that might have surprised them or even shocked them many many years ago, it made no difference now. Nothing really surprised them anymore, she couldn't think of anything they hadn't seen in their training.

The room they entered was grand and eloquent. The ceiling was high with heavy black drapes framing the room and a large crystal chandelier hanging above them that was filled with melting black candles. It was rather macabre with metal runes decorating the walls around them and a very large thick red and gold Persian rug below their feet. Plush black leather couches were placed strategically around the room to give it a more homey appearance, or at least she assumed. Large candelabras floated around the room leading Hermione to believe that this man may be a warlock. Apparently Ron had come to the same conclusion.

"You're a warlock?" He was staring at the runes and the floating candles.

"Of sorts, yes." The smile on his face made Hermione shiver, there seemed to be a lot hiding under that answer.

"What's that supposed to mean then?" It was her turn to raise her eyebrow at him.

He turned and the look he gave her made something warm in the pits of her stomach, as if he were reading her just by simply looking at her. A slight smile was pulling at the corner of his lips and she felt like she desperately needed to look away but his gaze wouldn't let her.

"It means, Little Shadow Hunter, there is a time and place for all questions." He smiled smoothly and walked around to lean against his desk, motioning at the couches in front of him. "Sit, please."

"You still haven't told us who you are." Neither of them moved to take a seat and his smile remained still on his face, unmoving.

"My real name is not of importance. Your little shadow hunter here can call me Tom, you may call me Mr. Riddle. " His smile widened and he moved to seat himself on the couch that was next to Hermione. She felt her body tighten in response to his closeness, his fingers clenching and her body sparking at him being so close. It had to have been his magic, it was the energy from his magic. "Now, let's make the board even I'd like some names too, though I don't need your name. I saw that scar from a mile away, Harry Potter. However, I don't know you two, though I'd rather like too."

He looked towards Hermione at his last words, sending her a wink with a legendary smile that made her blush so deeply she had to look away to avoid further embarrassment with her stomach curling in on itself.

"Ron," Harry nodded at Ron who was going through no effort to hide the glare he was sending towards Tom. "Hermione, now we're even. Why did you call us back here? We left those mundane bodies out there, we need to get back. The clave will be here soon-"

"My men are keeping a watch over the bodies, don't you worry your pretty little shadow hunter heads," He patted the seat next to him again looking at Hermione.

She couldn't really describe what happened next, even thinking back on it later she couldn't really think of what happened. She just knew he looked at her and she felt something in her body, every molecule come alive and speak to her with an electricity and fever so powerful that she felt inclined to bend to it's every whim, to heed to it's every will. Tom's pupil's widened slightly and his smile became slightly more seductive.

"Sit, Hermione. Don't be shy." Hermione felt her body moving and her skin tingling and she listened to his words, her brain hazing over and spinning in circles. His smile was so warm and charming and being so close to him made her feel warm inside. She took her seat next to him and desperately tried to ignore the small voice in her head to wake up and breathe again but she couldn't peel her eyes away from his. "There, not so bad now is it?"

"No, not at all." Her voice sounded slightly distant.

"You'll stop whatever you're doing warlock, charming a Shadow Hunter is against the Clave Law and you know it." Harry's voice was angry and heavy.

"The Clave law doesn't affect me, Harry Potter." He pulled his eyes away from Hermione's to give Harry a knowing look. "Now, you're just too pretty to be a shadow hunter, surely there's some devil blood in there with that angel."

Hermione couldn't say exactly what it was about him but whatever it was, it was charming. There was this pull and she felt like she could listen to every word that came from his mouth, that he was the most interesting person on earth. His eyes sparkled at her and his smile was something that came from a modeling magazine, nobody could naturally be this handsome.

"Tom, may-"

"Mr. Riddle," Tom interjected Harry's words, flashing Hermione another smile before turning to look at Harry again, his face becoming that of all business. "I brought you back here for a reason and I'll get to it."

Tom stood up and walked past his desk to a table that held a very fancy eloquent bar with many different types of alcohol and what looked like several different colored potions. The bottles clinked as he reached forth to grab one and three cups.

"We can't drink-"

"Then accept it as a formality, it's impolite to decline a drink." Tom cut him off again, his voice taking on a quality of business. "While I appreciate you taking an interest in the demon culture that come through this club and taking care of the dangers that come along with demons; however, I don't appreciate you turning my club in a battle scene."

"We didn't really have much of a choice, now did we?" Ron's voice was sarcastic and Hermione sent him a glowering look.

Tom turned, a formal smile on his lips as he handed out three small glasses filled a finger's width with a honey colored liquid. He passed Ron and Harry their glasses with a courteous smile and then came to Hermione with a smile that could have charmed a mother to push her child off a cliff. He reached forward to give her the drink leaning forward, reaching and pushing his fingers against hers. She made to take a breath but nothing seemed to go into her lungs and the feeling that charged through her fingers plunged into her body and she couldn't move. His eyes flashed and he let go of her hand, her fingers shaking slightly holding the glass.

"This was something my men could have handled easily and you'll have to forgive me, I'm a little confused. If you don't mind me asking, why are you here tonight? You don't seem to be dressed for a night out." He looked the two boys up and down taking a sip from his glass.

"We had some business near-by, we happened upon the demon by accident." Harry's reply was quick and automatic; Hermione had to turn away to avoid looking annoyed the obviousness of his lie.

"Really? That's the lie you want to go with?" His eyebrow raised at Harry whose cheeks burned a soft pink color. "Perhaps your redheaded friend would like to try?" Tom turned to look at Ron.

"We-"

"We don't have to say anything. We came here on official Clave business and what happened is between us and the Clave. Are you going to tell us why you asked us back here or not?"

Hermione was trying her best to keep her lips pursed but it was becoming very difficult. It didn't really seem to matter what situation the three of them would be put in, Harry pushed himself up to be the leader. Not that he wasn't exactly in charge because during most missions it was him who was technically given the most power, but it got old…very old. Harry was arrogant and always seemed to think that it was of utmost importance that his two friends followed his lead and she found herself growing a little tired of it, especially at the moment.

"Mr. Potter, I've brought you back here out of the kindness of my heart, nothing more. However, you'll find my patience is thinning. Unlike whatever trail your old warlock friend has picked for you, I've got a little bit more honey for the beehive," He took another sip of his drink and set it down on his desk. "See, I've been following the Downworlders and their lot, their gossip. It's all rather interesting isn't it? Seems like they're losing a few members of the community every week doesn't it?"

"So what are you getting at?" Harry cockiness had jutted down a notch, his voice trying to hide the interest that had grown.

"Oh, caught your attention now have I?" He smirked. "The thing is, when you have the kind of power I have, you learn a lot Mr. Potter. There's something big happening and while right now the Clave doesn't have interest in the role it plays with the Downworlder's, I assure you it won't stay that way."

"What do you have against the Clave that you'd rather tell three underage shadow hunters than the Clave?" It was Hermione's turn to ask questions, her curiosity besting her.

He turned and gave her another word class smile, downing the rest of his drink.

"Let's just say the Clave and I are…polar opposites." The smile that piqued his face made Hermione shiver, her arms curling with goosebumps.

"So, what do you want us to do?" Harry leaned back against the wall, his arms crossing defensively.

"Why don't we make the playing field a little more even? Why don't you tell me what you know and I'll tell you what I know, and unlike your good friend you just met with, I'll be giving you a lot more than some pathetic dead-end riddle."

Hermione couldn't decide what seemed so different about the man in front of her. She knew that whatever he was, he wasn't human, there was no way in hell he could be. While she usually looked at Ron and thought that he was ludicrously tall, this man had at least a good three inches on Ron. He couldn't have been a demon because their sensors would have been going off the charts with his reading, because he had to powerful, whatever he was. A warlock seemed like a good enough answer but there was something nagging at the back of her head that told her that wasn't quite it, he was something much bigger, much more potent. The clothes he had on screamed that he was filthy rich, his suit some type of well-known designer in an inky black shade with blood red cuffs. He had to be older than he seemed for his hair was styled meticulously as though he'd walked out of an earlier decade, parted down the side and pushed into waves handsomely down the side of his head.

"The Clave approaches Potter, best make a decision soon." He tapped the silver Rolex on his wrist.

"Fine." Hermione felt a sense of relief, at least this time they had something bigger than some nonsense riddle. "All he said was that we'd find some interesting news about the missing Downworlders if we traveled down to where the fey liked to play."

Tom laughed aloud, throwing his head back in a dramatic fashion. Hermione caught sight of his teeth and found to her surprise that his teeth were slightly crooked, but pearly white. She'd imagined that nothing about him would be flawed, at least she knew he wasn't an angel.

"That sounds like Albus alright. You won't be getting anywhere with that any time soon will you?" He walked back over to his bar and refilled his glass. "But I'll tell you what, why don't I expand on that little piece for you."

He walked back over to the couch where Hermione was seated and sat down next to her, she forced her head down to look at the drink she held in her hand which had grown considerably wet and cold with condensation. She realized suddenly that her hand was shaking and she used her other to try and still it by holding her wrist but jumped with shock when his hand leaned over and held it for her, his thumb placing onto the small of her wrist as if to feel her jumping heartbeat.

"No need to be nervous, I don't bite." His fingers were warm against hers and while they did still the shaking, it was merely due to the fact that she was trying to control her breathing by taking deep inhalations to steady herself. "Now, I'm sure you three are somewhat familiar with the Shadow World?"

"Of course." Harry answered for them.

"There's a tavern there, a little place called Water Lily, very keen to the Faerie Folk. Faerie run and owned of course. There's a man there, a rather talkative informant I know of, names Ardal. If you happen to catch him after he's had a drink or two, preferably two, he can tell you a great deal about the happenings of the Shadow World and those who have been disappearing from it."

"Why can't you just tell us?" Ron interjected.

"I'm a little too high up on the food chain, you see. Bound by certain oaths, but you'll find I can be a great deal more helpful than your warlock friend." Tom's hand still lingered on Hermione's and she still found herself rather enraptured by the feeling and sensation his touch had on her.

"So, what happens if we require more of your…assistance?" Harry seemed to pause for a moment, searching for the appropriate word.

"Oh, I'm not that hard to find. I'm a very popular person you see," That smile again and she felt her breath catch, his finger must have sense the change in her pulse for his smile widened even more. "Of course, if all else fails, I can always be reached at this number."

He nodded to the two men standing on the sides of his desk and the bigger, bulkier one came forth holding a business card (which looked almost comical compared to the man's size) out for Harry. He grabbed it and raised an eyebrow but said nothing, just pocketed the card and nodded.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I do have a lot of work to be done and the Clave is making it's appearance and I'd rather like to be out of their way." He stood up and gestured for Harry and Ron to hand their glasses to the men and Hermione stood, following suit.

Harry and Ron walked out first, her awkwardly trailing behind unsure of how to process the events that had been laid before them, but was stilled by a hand on her shoulder.

"Miss Granger," She turned and found her pulse racing once again, he was rather close and unlike the heavy charming smile he'd laid upon them before, he'd replaced it with a rather small one that simply turned the corners of his cheeks showing off dimples that suited him rather nicely.

"How did you-"

"It's not important. However, I would like to be…more accessible to you than your male counterparts. This is my personal card, I'd appreciate it if you didn't share it with your friends. If you need anything, anything at all. Please, don't be afraid to contact me. Even if you don't, I'll be honored to hear from you at all, though I don't expect that you'll refuse. " She felt rather weak as she lifted her hand to accept the card he held out of her. The small smile on his lips made her chest burn and her stomach twist in on itself. She felt herself freeze when he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, her chest halting to a standstill and her hands gripping the card so tightly it was a wonder it didn't rip. "You'll find I can be rather…persuasive."

With that, a hand came out from the wall on the other side and grabbed her to pull her through. She jumped from the contact, her body shocking itself back into reality. The men who stood guard outside the door had small smirks on their faces and she found it a tad unsettling. Hermione glanced down at the card that he'd handed her and found her reaction the same as Harry's, raising an eyebrow at the odd thing. It was a thick white card, the edges of the card lined with what appeared to be shiny black snacks on the matte white card, glistening in the lights above. His full name was written in blood red cursive ink: Tom Riddle. Such an odd name, she thought but even weirder was the random apple with a single bite taken out of it between his name and the number he'd given her to reach him at.

She looked around and tucked the small card into her breast pocket before walking out to meet her friends and the Clave who had entered the club and had already taken custody of the bodies for now, only a few adults stood around talking to Harry and Ron where the bodies had once been.

"Ah, Miss Granger, we were waiting for you." Hermione smiled and nodded at the man who'd greeted her, Edmond Greenward, one of the overseers for the Clave's institutes in London. "We'll just need a statement and we can handle the rest from here."

Back at the institute, Hermione had realized how incredibly tired she was, waving the boys off and going up to the room that she, thankfully, had to herself. She peeled her shadow hunting gear off, tossing into her dirty clothes hamper and dressing into her nightclothes before remembering she'd left the card in her pocket. She turned the lights off and lit the small witch light that she had on her bed stand, examining the card and spinning it around in her hands.

She could hardly remember the time she'd met a man who seemed so utterly interesting. A part of her knew she probably shouldn't feel that way, it was incredibly looked down upon to be friends with a Downworlder (even though the Accords were supposed to keep them as equals) let alone experience the odd sensation she'd encountered when she met Tom Riddle. She racked her mind trying to place this man into the categories of Downworlders and demons she knew existed but she couldn't quite place him with anything. She knew for a fact that he wasn't a demon, though a few years back she could have sworn she'd heard a story about a boy who had been half demon. That all seemed rather unlikely too though, this man didn't feel…bad. She couldn't explain it and she wasn't sure she'd be able to unless he told her.

She continued to turn the card over and over in her finger, her mind on instant replay of the events in the room. She thought back to the moment where Harry had asked him why he couldn't just tell them, the same such oath existed for Shadow Hunters, to swear on the angel was an unbreakable vow. Maybe he'd done the same but again, she had a nagging feeling, a needle prick in the back of her head, that this probably wasn't the case.

Simplistically, if she really wanted, she was sure she could just call him and he'd probably meet with her and answer her questions but the thought of actually picking up the phone and calling some man whose being was unknown to her seemed kind of stupid…no very stupid, incredibly stupid. It didn't matter how stupid the idea seemed to her, she couldn't ignore the impulse the idea had created, spreading through her limbs almost like a poison, impossible to ignore.

She jumped when she looked down and saw that her free hand already had picked up her cell-phone from her bed stand…when did I pick my phone up? She typed the number into her phone but forced herself to press the end call button. I'm not calling some random club owner just because he seemed a little mysterious. She put her phone back down and shut the witch light off, maybe if she went to sleep the urge would go away, she wouldn't want to talk to him anymore.

That wasn't the case, no that definitely was not the case. She found herself tossing and turning and when she finally cracked open an eye to look at the clock, she sighed loudly. It was two thirty in the morning, surely she hadn't been rolling around in bed for three hours already? Had time flown by that quickly? Was she honestly still up at this ungodly hour still thinking about calling this random guy?

Yes. Yes I am.

Wait. What did she plan on doing after she called him? Did she think that he would just answer the phone and talk to her like some stupid teenage boy until the sun rose and then they would laugh realizing they'd spent all night talking? No, that seemed incredibly out of character for such a man. Was she going to sneak out like some bad high school girl going to meet her rock-star, bike riding, long-haired boyfriend? That seems more logical than talking on the phone all night.

What's that sound? Hermione looked over and dropped the phone from her hand, a ringing sound coming from the line. What the fuck? What the-

"Calling so soon?" His voice was unmistakable and Hermione stared at the phone, her body buzzing with a scared shock. When had she picked up the phone and dialed the number? What was happening? "Cat got your tongue?"

"I didn't mean…I mean…I must've accidentally…" She was trying to find the words in her throat but her numb shock was still buzzing in her head.

"Are you sure?" His voice sounded confident and knowing and for some reason that picked at her. "You don't seem like the type to make many mistakes."

She had no interest in telling him he was correct. She wasn't about to tell him she was a know-it-all, but she had been told several times, possibly even a hundred times, that that's definitely what she was. She was easily the smartest Shadow Hunter in the institute, her grades in all her courses easily surpassing her friends and fellow hunters. It seemed rather egotistical to admit, but she was hardly the type to make a mistake, especially one such as dialing a number that she didn't even know and accidentally calling someone.

"Who are you?" The words slipped from her mouth as a whisper.

"Someone you'd very much like to know." She could hear that smile in his voice, the picture of it plaguing her head.

"Did you do something to me?" She felt silly asking, it sounded stupid coming out of her mouth.

"Nothing that you didn't truly want." His voice sounded even deeper over the phone, more smooth and she wanted to close her eyes and listen to him talk, but her mind was too awake, her body running ofd a livewire she couldn't shut off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She played with his business card in her hand, twirling it in her fingers again.

"I never do anything to anyone that they don't want. I never make anyone say anything that they don't want to say…do you get where I'm going with this?" His tone came out clipped but amused.

"So you are a warlock?" She ran her fingers over the edge of the business card, her heart still hammering away inside her chest.

"Not really, a bit more…heady than that."

"Why won't you just tell me?" She was beginning to feel a tinge of annoyance.

"I think you'd rather like it better if you figured it out for yourself. We can make it our little game, I'm rather good at games."

"Will you tell me if I guess correctly?" She wished she didn't sound as attentive as she actually was.

"Oh, you'll know, I promise." His voice added emphasis to the words you'll know and she pressed the phone harder into her face.

"What are the terms to the game?"

"Tell you what," She heard a rustling and then he spoke again. "Why don't you meet me tomorrow night and we can go over the terms of our little game. I'd much rather discuss it in person."

"I don't know…"

"Oh you do," She could hear the smile, that wide, charming, all-knowing smile. "You knew before you even picked up the phone."