Hello there! Remember me? I have a legitimate reason why this took so long to get out-I had to rewrite it, because I cut certain scenes out of the last few chapters of Glitter and Glass, and they ended up being a lot more important than I thought. SO, as part of my redo of this, I put in a flashback. Ta-da, problem (mostly) solved.

The runes I use in this are half made up, half actual runes.

So, this whole 'getting Alec back' thing was a lot harder than Magnus thought it would be. For one thing, he didn't want to visit the Fair Folk more than once or twice.

So he figured that he should have everything planned out. Which was problem number two. The book was very vague on the ritual to give the Fair Folk magic... And heavens knew no fairy would listen to him if he came with a half-baked idea. He would be laughed out of the Seelie Court-no, he would be lucky if he was only laughed out of there. It was much more likely that he would end up at the bottom of some lake.

First thing was first. Magnus gathered his more arcane tools. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. The book called for blood to be passed from warlock to fairy, blood taken by an athame with runes carved into it with the warlocks fire. The runes needed varied, based on the warlocks own power, and whatever else was needed.

As soon as he'd read about taking blood, he knew what he had to use. It was an athame given to him, oddly enough, by a Shadowhunter. The Shadowhunter had found it in a shop of magical artifacts and, after cataloguing the dangerous artifacts, he'd given it to Magnus as payment for saving a few from his family.

It was lovely, absolutely perfect, a long double-edged blade, and the handle made of ivory elephant tusks inlaid with whalebone cords. He'd kept it as an artifact, never intending to use it. But this... for this, it was the only thing he could imagine using.

As for the runes, he would bypass most of the Shadowhunter runes, mainly because they would no doubt end up setting him on fire if he tried to carve them. He would carve in the symbol for Angelic power, as he'd had to do that on several other Shadowhunter-requested pieces. It was hard for him to do-made him itch, and more than once he'd messed it up, but he could do it.

The rest of the runes took place in his mind, a mixture of normal runes and runes only known to the children of Lillith.

Gebo, an X, for a gift given.

Seboln, a half circle bisected by a wavering line, for the strength of a warlock.

Thurisaz, a sideways triangle with an elongated base, for chaos and temptation (he winced at this, knowing that it was needed for transferring magic, but hating it all the same).

Lilien, seven intersecting lines forming a star, representing a child of Lillith.

and finally,

Ihwaz, a strange, almost Z-like mark, for the strength of magic.

By the time he was finished, the athame was glowing with the light of his fire, and tears were sliding down his cheeks. This was twisted, and it made him sick to his stomach instinctively. Every hint of his being struggled against the idea of giving power to another-even if it would not weaken him.

Magnus laid down, allowing his body to sleep into blessed sleep, restoring him for the rest of the rituals needed.

He dreamt of Alec.

~X~

Magnus wakes with a start, disappointed that the dream was merely that, a dream, that Alec is not laying beside me in bed, scowling as I 'accidentally' shake the glitter out of my hair and onto him. That he is not trying to stay looking unhappy even as I trace shapes through the glitter on his chest, writing my name on him and beaming up at him.

But he is not there. Magnus isn't even in bed, rather he's sprawled out on the chaise lounge in his office, hugging a pillow to his chest.

Blinking away tears-unneeded, as he is going to get Alec back-Magnus sits up and stretches. The reason for his abrupt awakening is obvious, his phone is going off.

"Ma'nus Bane... whatcha need?" he answers sleepily, running a hand through his hair as he squints at the clock. It's 4 in the afternoon, so he guesses he can't really get mad at whoever called for waking him.

"Magnus? A-Are you okay?" A shaky voice comes across the line, and Magnus frowns at the phone.

"No, but that's kind of a given. Who is this?" Magnus sinks into his chair.

"R-Robert Lightwood." At that Magnus stiffens. Shit, what does someone to say to the father of their (not-dead, not-permanently dead at least) boyfriend?

"Are...are you okay?" he asks at last, inwardly wincing when he notices how his voice has gone soft, careful, as if Robert is a dangerous animal he's afraid will run.

"No, but as you said, that's kind of a given. Jace said that you were at the hospital... you should've come over to us, we..."

Magnus shook his head, before realizing that Robert wouldn't be able to see him over the phone, "No, Robert, I shouldn't have. I couldn't be what you would've needed me to be. I needed to... be alone."

Robert sighs, and Magnus can almost imagine the older man running a hand through his hair. In ways, he supposes, he and Robert are more alike than anyone else. They've both seen things they'd rather forget, both lost countless people they care for, and... and they both feel as if they've failed. For Robert, it is as a father, failing to protect his children. For Magnus, it's as a warlock, as someone who Alec loved. He should've been able to protect him.

"I understand... just, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to come to the Institute? Despite... initial misgivings, you're a part of this family."

A wave of emotion hits Magnus, and he has to take a deep breath before he can speak again.

"...Thank you, Robert. Do not hesitate to-contact me, either, if you or anyone else needs anything." Magnus stumbles for a moment, starting to tell Robert that they can come over, but he thinks better of it. For one thing, he's destroyed quite a bit of his apartment, and for another, he's fairly certain that they would not approve of what he's planning.

After he says goodbye to Robert, he's struck by a memory from only a few days prior...

*Flashback*

Magnus sat by Alec, who is sleeping peacefully. Maryse is sitting near the bed, staring at the far wall. This is what she does every day. Some days she brings paperwork with her, but usually she just stares. Magnus thought of suggesting she knit, but figured that Maryse Lightwood would be more likely to kill someone with knitting needles than to actually knit with them.

A thought occurred to him then, and he turned slightly to Maryse. Perhaps it was not a good idea, to ask her things like this, but he always liked to toe the line.

"Maryse, did you ever hear of fairies with magic?" he asked in a voice that he hoped was innocent.

Apparently not innocent enough, as she turned sharply to him with narrowed eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I was just... researching, and I came across it."

"Well it's untrue. The Clave would know of any such things. And if there was a way for that to happen, then all parties involved would have to be taken care of immediately. Fairies are the least controllable of all Downworlders, and they're only controlled because they know they lack direct power. If they had power as well... they would be unstoppable."

Magnus scowled slightly at the mention of Downworlders being 'controlled', but schooled his expression into one of polite disinterest as he looked at Maryse.

"Hmm... I suppose you're right. Even if there was a way, The Clave would destroy anyone involved."

Maryse raised an eyebrow at me, "Are you implying that you might, theoretically, know anything about this?"

I put on my very best bewildered expression, "Why on earth would I want fairies to have magic? I know nothing, just speculation."

Maryse seemed to accept my explanation, and turned back to the wall.

*End Flashback*

Magnus sighed. He would have to keep the Lightwood's and the rest of the Clave as far removed from this as possible. If they got wind of this, they wouldn't hesitate to kill him. It wouldn't matter his reasoning, or that he just wanted to save Alec... they wanted to control Downworlders, and would not do anything to jeopardize that control.

But he was High Warlock of Brooklyn. Anything he did could be (theoretically) be monitored by the Clave. He was already on their radar, doubly so since he was known to be consorting with a Shadowhunter. Well, not anymore, but...

There was only one thing he could do. And he'd better do it quick, if he wanted to have an easily believable reason for it. He couldn't be noticed. And as High Warlock of Brooklyn, he would always be noticed. So he had to become unnoticable.

He grabbed his cell phone.

He needed to make some calls.

So, can you guess what his plan is? Personally, I think that most of his plan is obvious, but there's definitely some twists. I'm so excited to write this, but I can't promise fast updates. I'm taking Algebra 2, and considering how much I struggled with Algebra 1, is ridiculous.

And now, I am putting out a request. I started writing another story a while back, a oneshot, but eventually I hit a dead end, began questioning everything, and so there's a 9,000+ word, unfinished oneshot sitting on my desktop. I was wondering if there's anyone who might be willing to look it over and tell me what to improve on, what's good, what's bad, etc.

SO, please review, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as you enjoyed Glitter and Glass!