A/N: Written for tellmesomething new for the Tomione Secret Santa exchange! I hope you love it!

Many thanks to my wonderful beta's: Rachael, GaeilgeRua, and BirdieMing. This would not be the piece it is without them!

If you liked this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review!

Find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff.

Rating: M

Pairing: Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger

Summary: Grindelwald's death set off a massive curse across Britain. Every recently dead wizard has become decidedly undead. The world collapses and only a handful of survivors remain. Tom Riddle, Grindelwald's lieutenant is one of them. As is Hermione Granger, Dumbledore 's lieutenant. When they meet, sparks fly. Almost literally.

A Time of Zombies

"It had to be zombies," Tom Riddle muttered under his breath as he hacked his way through a trio of them. "Magical zombies," he grunted, hacking down a few more with his sabre. The noise they made as his sword sliced through the rotting flesh had long since become music to his ears. No longer making him sick to his stomach. It signalled survival.

When Grindelwald began showing signs of losing the war, he knew the world was about to go to hell. Though Tom had served as Grindelwald's right-hand man, he was still nothing if not a survivor. So, he took precautions and quietly began making plans for a life lived in exile. Somewhere tropical and as far from wizarding Britain as he could get. Little did he know, that even as Grindelwald's right-hand man, Grindelwald had kept secrets from him. Some of the secrets were irrelevant. Like that Grindelwald and Dumbledore—leader of the Order of the Phoenix and the largest thorn in Grindelwald's side as he rose to power—were lovers as youths.

The fact that Grindelwald cursed newly dead wizards to become undead was something that Tom did care about. And frankly, it pissed him off. Worse still, the curse was triggered by Grindelwald's death, which meant that not only was Tom out of a job, he now had an apocalypse to deal with. The resentment he'd built up against Grindelwald over the previous years had boiled over when Tom realised what Grindelwald had done. If Tom were more self-sacrificing, perhaps he would stay and attempt to clean up the mess.

The curse Grindelwald placed on newly deceased wizards was cruel. It went against most beliefs of the afterlife wizards held. Most thought that they were a mindless mass, going after wizards because the magic sustained them, settling for Muggles when wizards were scarce—and wizards were getting scarce—but Tom knew better. Grindelwald was not only the one behind the zombies; he was a zombie, and if Tom knew anything about Grindelwald, it was that he wouldn't settle for being ordinary. No, Tom suspected that Grindelwald was the head, directing the hordes of zombies that now roamed across the decimated landscape.

Tom slashed his way through the last two zombies and turned to survey his path of destruction. If the zombies weren't dead, they were at least incapacitated for the time being. The problem with magical zombies was that magic was useless against them. Only Muggle means seemed to stop them and even then, Tom suspected that they had regenerative properties. He was alone, fighting his way to the coast to get off this god-forsaken island, and didn't have an opportunity to experiment. He'd heard of a few survival groups, but Tom saw them as sitting ducks. After all, he had always been a loner, and that hadn't changed just because the world had gone to hell in a cauldron.

Surveying the land around him carefully, Tom determined he was alone once more. He didn't think that the zombies could sniff out magic, so he cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and took off at a slow jog toward a distant tree line. The sun was beginning to lower, and he would need to set up a place for camp for the night. Fortunately, zombies couldn't climb trees.

Three days later, he was ambushed while making his way through some difficult to navigate underbrush. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that cities and towns were death traps. Much better to make his way along through the countryside, eschewing buildings of any type altogether. Waterways were even worse; the zombies congregated around them. Tom didn't know if that was due to their altered biology, or if it had been an order from Grindelwald. It wouldn't surprise him if it was.

The group that had set upon him were not much bigger than the one from the day before, less than ten of them surely, but they were newer zombies. Faster, more capable of tripping him up.

THWACK!

Tom looked around furiously to see an arrow pinning a zombie to a tree. It seemed he had attracted some attention. Just as he had that realisation, another zombie came for him, and he ducked his head as he swung his sabre over his head, lopping the head clean off.

"Nice move," a man's voice said from behind him.

Tom turned to see a black-haired man with glasses and the brightest green eyes he'd ever seen staring at him. The man had a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows slung across his back. Tom breathed heavily as he looked around him to find all of the zombies down. Slowly, three more people appeared out of the surrounding wood: a tall, lanky red-headed man with a face full of freckles, next to a fierce looking red-haired woman that had to be his sister, and a blonde girl with bulbous blue eyes.

"Thank you for your assistance," Tom said formally, unsure if they were going to prove themselves friend or foe.

"Muggle?" the blonde girl asked.

Tom smirked. "Wizard." The word 'Muggle' would have been meaningless to a true Muggle, but to a wizard, it was an easy identifier.

The black-haired man smiled and strode forward. "Harry Potter," he said, holding out his hand for Tom to shake.

Tom's eyebrow rose. He knew who Harry Potter was. The question was, whether Harry and his companions would know him. And if they did, what would they do about it? He looked at Harry's hand for a moment, weighing his options.

"Look, we don't care if you were a Grindelwald follower. We're all in the same mess now," the blonde woman said airily.

"You might when I give you my name," Tom replied.

"Dumbledore's dead," the red-headed woman spat. "We don't care about the shit Grindelwald and Dumbledore were fighting over. We care about surviving the zombies."

"Tom Riddle," Tom said, grasping Potter's hand. He smirked when the fierce red-head gasped. The blonde woman smiled at him though.

"You're cuter than I thought you'd be," Blondie said.

"Ron and Ginny Weasley," the red-haired man pointed at himself and his sister. "That's Luna Lovegood."

Tom knew all of those names. They had been high-ranking members of the Order of the Phoenix. "And how is the Order doing these days?" Tom asked.

"How are the Acolytes?" Potter retorted.

Tom smirked, "Touché."

"There is a group of us," Weasley said.

"Ron," his sister hissed, slapping his arm.

"You're welcome to join," Weasley continued, ignoring his sister.

"I'm not looking for another group to join," Tom said. "Just passing through the area."

Potter smiled tightly, and Tom smelled trouble. "It wasn't a request."

"I thought you didn't care about the war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald," Tom replied. He still had his sabre in his hand, but his wand was stupidly tucked away, and the four of them had him outnumbered, each with a wand in hand already. He had to give it to them, they were prepared.

"We don't, but we do believe in safety in numbers, and frankly we could use a fighter of your calibre," the female Weasley said.

"I still decline your thoughtful invitation," Tom said formally.

Potter laughed. "It wasn't a request," he repeated.

"If you hate it after a few days, you are free to leave," Lovegood said. "Come to get a hot meal, at least. You look as though you could use it."

Tom was furious, and his chest felt tight at being cornered. He was only a handful of leagues from the coast where he would hopefully find a boat to take him to the continent. As it turned out, Apparition during a zombie apocalypse was a very, very bad idea. Tom had tried early on, only to find himself needing to Apparate four times in a row before landing in a zombie-free area. From then on, he swore to only travel through Muggle means.

Despite Lovegood's assurances, Tom didn't believe for a moment they'd let him leave in a few days. He would just have to scope out this camp and find a way to escape. It set his plans back but wasn't insurmountable.

"Fine," he snapped, nodding tersely.

"Excellent." Lovegood seemed truly happy about the turn of events, but she was the only one. The female Weasley cast a glance of suspicion at him before following Lovegood. Potter and the other Weasley took up the rear, effectively surrounding him. At least they hadn't taken his wand. Yet.

The walk to the camp didn't take as long as Tom feared it would. They made it long before the sun went down. He was impressed with the camp, despite feeling like he was walking into a death trap. The camp was buried in a deep forest. It had defensive walls built into the forest itself, well-disguised enough that a passerby, or a zombie, probably wouldn't even notice.

None of the buildings were on the ground. It had taken Tom a minute to realise that everything had been built into the trees above them. He leaned his head back to get a good look at everything and was amazed to see the vast network of bridges and treehouses.

"How big is this camp?" Tom asked.

"We're hovering right around a thousand wizards," Potter replied. "No Muggles, although we're trying to figure out a way we can incorporate them if possible."

Tom sneered. "Why bother?"

"Not everyone holds your views on Muggles," the female Weasley spat. "They're people too."

"Right." Tom rolled his eyes. He forgot where he was for a moment.

"This way," Weasley led him up a ladder nailed into a huge oak tree. The ladder was at least two stories high.

"Don't the zombies try to climb the ladder?" Tom asked. Zombies couldn't climb trees, but a ladder? Even as uncoordinated as they were, Tom was sure a very determined, very fresh zombie could manage it.

"There's a trip wire to make the slats sink back into the tree," female Weasley said from below him.

That was…kind of brilliant. Tom wondered who had thought that one up. When they arrived at the hut at the top of the ladder, Tom was in for another surprise. A blond toddler, who couldn't have been older than three or four, ran past them, rushing out onto one of the many swinging bridges, an adult lagging behind as she chased the toddler.

"Scorpius!" she shouted as the toddler squealed and made it to another hut several trees away.

"You have kids up here?" Tom asked.

"Railings are all charmed to prevent falls," Lovegood said. "We really aren't as dumb as you seem to think we are."

Tom grunted and followed Weasley into the hut.

"Who's this then?" a female voice asked as Tom blinked his eyes to get them used to the much dimmer light.

"Found him fighting a small horde," Potter said. "Claims he's Tom Riddle."

"Really?" the same female voice. Tom could make out someone behind a stack of parchment. Bushy, brown hair that seemed to be just as alive as the witch writing something out.

"I am Tom Riddle," Tom bristled.

"Well, then hopefully you can tell us what curse Grindelwald used and cut my research time down then," the bushy-haired witch said, finally looking up from her parchment.

The moment Tom's eyes met hers he thought his heart might stop. He'd never seen her before, but something about her called to his fucking soul. The air crackled with it. He furrowed his brows, breathing heavily, trying to shake the recognition or whatever it was that had struck him and yet he couldn't.

"What is it, 'Mione?" Potter asked. His eyes bounced between Tom and the witch, but neither Tom nor the witch said anything as they continued to stare at one another. It was like their souls were speaking, and they were helpless to do anything about it.

"'Mione?" Weasley asked. Tom could see Weasley reach out and shake the witch's shoulder. She snapped her eyes to him and shook her head.

Finally, the connection was broken, and Tom felt like he could breathe again.

"It's nothing, Ron," the witch muttered. She stood from behind her desk and crossed the room to stand in front of him. It was then that Tom realised he was at least half a foot taller than her. Her hair and presence made her seem big, but she was quite short.

"Hermione Granger," she said, sticking out her hand.

Tom sucked in a breath. Dumbledore's right-hand lieutenant stood before him. "Tom Riddle," he replied, grasping her hand.

If catching sight of Granger made his heart quicken in his chest, touching her skin made the blood in his veins turn to fire and fucking sing. Granger gasped, and he couldn't help but follow suit. He didn't know what it was between them, but he desperately wanted to shove her against a wall and fuck her. Or over the desk. Hell, even the floor would do. His cock was hard and aching in his trousers for the first time in months.

"What the fuck is this?" Granger whispered.

Tom shook his head. He'd never had felt like this before.

"The soulmate bond," Lovegood whispered.

"The what?" Granger snapped, finally turning from Tom and piercing Lovegood with her warm, honey brown eyes. Tom shook his head again. He'd never thought of a witch's eyes with that many adjectives. Just what the fuck was going on?

"The soulmate bond. I'm sure that's what it is. It's activated when soulmates meet for the first time," Lovegood gushed.

"He is not my soulmate," Granger protested. "He's Grindelwald's fucking lieutenant for crying out loud! A Muggle hater! An anathema to everything I am and believe in!"

"Everything you believed in," Lovegood said. "The world is changed. Different. Maybe a year ago he wouldn't have triggered it, but now? It's obvious. Look," Lovegood pointed at Hermione's hands. They were glowing light gold.

Tom looked down at his own, seeing the same golden glow. "What the fuck is this? How the fuck…?" He pulled out his wand and Scourgified and Evanescoed, but the glow stayed.

Lovegood giggled.

"Luna," Granger said sharply, gathering the blonde's attention. "We need more information. Can't exactly sneak around if I'm glow-in-the-dark."

"You aren't sneaking anyway," Potter drawled. "You're the leader, you can't sneak. You stay in camp and stay safe."

Granger glowered at Potter, and Tom wondered what their past entailed. They seemed…close.

"The glow goes away once the bond is consummated," Lovegood informed them.

Tom choked.

"Consummated?!" Granger and Potter shouted at the same time. Weasley laughed. Tom narrowed his eyes at the group.

"I don't know what the fuck you've gotten me into, but I want no part of it," Tom said through clenched teeth. He didn't care what was between him and Granger; he couldn't stay here. He had to leave. Turning to go, he found his path blocked by Potter and Weasley. He whipped around to see that Granger had directed them to stop him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Tom hissed.

"If Luna says we have to…consummate this," she looked as if she were sucking a lemon wedge, "then that's what we'll do. You aren't leaving me here to fucking glow, Riddle."

"I'm not fucking you," Tom said. "I don't want to be here, I was forced to be here. This is hippogriff shit. Is this how you trap everyone here? This fake soulbond tripe?"

"Of course not!" Lovegood insisted. "Soulbonds are incredibly rare. They only happen every few generations or so."

"Oh, how fucking special," Tom sneered. "Doesn't change facts."

"Out!" Granger shouted. Tom was shocked to see how quickly everyone else left.

He glared down at the small witch until both doors to the hut were closed. She flicked her wand and Tom heard the distinctive sound of locks sliding home.

"I'm not fuckin—"

"Shut up, Riddle. Shut up and listen. I have a thousand fucking people here to depend on my leadership. And despite what Harry says, I do have to go out and fight the hordes when they come calling. We're mostly hidden here, but they find us occasionally. I can't be fucking glowing and be an effective leader. You were Grindelwald's man, you know what it means to lead. So help me lead," she hissed.

"I don't want to lead a group. I just want to get to the fucking coast, and get off this fucking island!"

"I don't want you to lead with me," Granger spat. "Salazar, you're fucking stupid. I just want to fuck you, so I stop fucking glowing. Merlin, you'd think it wouldn't be this hard to get laid. I don't care if you close your eyes because you think I'm ugly, let's just fucking get it done."

Tom breathed out heavily and stalked toward her. His cock had been hard for entirely too long. He backed her up to the tree at the centre of the hut, pressing his cock into her stomach.

"Still think I find you ugly?" Tom hissed.

"It'd be fine if you did," Granger whispered.

"Shut the fuck up," Tom said as he pressed his mouth to hers.

If he thought touching her skin was going to put him over the edge, he had no idea what this was. He felt like he was going to come from just a kiss. She climbed him like a tree, wrapping both legs around his waist as he pressed into her. He wrapped a hand around each thigh, holding her up as he pushed his cock into her centre. Merlin, he couldn't wait to be fucking naked with her.

"F-Fuck." He tore his mouth from hers and began kissing down her jaw and the side of her neck.

"Clothes. Off. Now," Granger demanded.

Tom agreed wholeheartedly. He gripped both sides of the men's button-down she was wearing and ripped it off of her, buttons flew, bouncing around the hut. Granger wiggled her shoulders, dropping the shirt entirely, then flicked her bra open and removed that as well.

Tom stared at her perfect breasts for a moment, his breath caught in his throat. He reached a hand up and cupped one of them. Granger groaned, her head slamming into the tree behind her as he thumbed her nipple.

"Like that?" Tom breathed.

"Suck them," Granger ordered. Tom smirked at her and dropped his head. Her nipple felt like heaven in his mouth as he rolled it around. It pebbled so beautifully, and he rocked his hips into hers in response.

"Fucking Godric," Granger groaned and grabbed the back of his head, directing him to her other breast. Tom was happy to oblige. If he never sucked a pair of breasts again, he would still die a happy man. She was so fucking responsive. It seemed everything he did ratcheted up her pleasure.

He pushed her legs off his waist and began attacking the button at the top of her jeans, dropping to his knees as he did. She helped him push down both her denims and knickers. He breathed in the scent of her and leaned in to lick her clit.

"No fucking time," Granger muttered and pushed on his shoulders. Tom fell back onto the floor, and she scrambled on top of him. She made quick work of his trousers. He lifted his hips to help her move them down.

"Fuck," Granger grunted when she caught sight of his cock.

"See something you like?" Tom teased.

"I'll like it better buried in my cunt," Granger responded. Tom's cock twitched.

Granger wrapped her hand around him, pumping him, and he bit his lip. He reached down and gripped either side of her hips, helping her guide him inside. She sank down until he was buried, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

This was it. This was the feeling he never knew he'd been missing his entire life. "I…" he didn't even know what to say.

"I know," Granger agreed breathlessly.

"Move," Tom said. "You need to move." He shifted his hips.

Granger balanced her hands on his chest and rocked her hips forward. It was her turn to relish in the sensation, her eyes fluttering to the back of her head as his cock slid through her folds. Tom reached a hand up and palmed one of her breasts. He tweaked her nipple, and Granger gasped, rocking her hips faster.

"Yes," Tom hissed, flexing his hips again. "Like that." He was starting to feel breathless, like he was about to come, but he wasn't ready. He desperately began to think about Potions ingredients. Merlin, he wasn't ready to come yet.

"I…" Granger rocked her hips faster, and Tom put both hands back on either side of her waist. He held her tightly, helping her rock faster and faster over him.

It didn't take long for Granger to shout out through her orgasm. She collapsed onto his chest, and Tom took the opportunity to roll them over. He could tell that Granger liked being in charge, but the only way he was going to come now was if he dominated her. He grasped her hands, pressing them into the floor next to her head. She wrapped her legs around him as Tom began fucking her in long, smooth strokes. He buried his face into her neck, licking and biting what he could reach.

"Fucking perfect," he muttered. "This. You. Fuck. I never want it to end."

"Same," she groaned. "Fucking same. I want to fuck like this forever. Feels, oh Merlin, I'm going to come again."

"Fuck. Yes. Come," Tom groaned, applying himself faster and faster. Trying to get Granger off again, fuck he wanted to feel her cunt grip him so sweetly again. He knew it would feel better the second time she came. And he was right. She shouted, arching her back as her cunt gripped him so hard he couldn't move. And Merlin, did it feel better. She was tighter as he slid through the tremors of her latest orgasm.

"That's it," Tom hissed as she came down. "Just like that."

"What are you doing to me?" Granger muttered, her cunt slicker than ever. Tom wondered if he could hold out for a third.

"I'd ask you the same thing," he breathed, pulling back from her shoulder to look her in the face.

The moment their eyes connected, Tom felt his orgasm begin to build. His balls were drawing up, and he was going to come. Then Granger kissed him, and he groaned into it as he shot load after load into her hot cunt.

"Fuck," Tom breathed when she finally released him.

"Yeah," Granger agreed. "Now I have to get back to work."

Tom groaned and rolled off of her, resting for a moment and watching as she dressed.

"You should get dressed," she said. "I'll be calling the council back in shortly."

"Smells like sex in here," Tom commented, leaning up on one of his elbows.

Granger shrugged. "They knew what was going to happen when I ordered them out."

Tom grunted, dropping back down. "So the soulbond is hippogriff shit."

"No, it's real," Granger said. "Luna knows these sorts of things, and she's always right." She shrugged.

"I don't want a soulmate."

"Sorry?" Granger offered. "I wasn't really in the market for one either."

"Are you going to make me stay?" Tom asked as he finally stood to get dressed.

"I…no. You can go. Just, try to be quiet about it so as not to give out our position."

"What were you going to say?" Tom asked with narrowed eyes. Granger settled herself back behind the desk piled with parchments.

"That I think the camp could use your talents," Granger said, not meeting his eyes.

"The camp, or you?" Tom asked. He stepped around the desk and squatted down near her chair.

"Does it matter?" Granger asked. "You're leaving."

"It matters," Tom said.

"Fine, I wouldn't hate it if you stuck around for a while," Granger admitted.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Tom asked. Before she could say anything, he pressed a kiss to her lips. She melted into him, and Tom wondered what the hell he was doing. He knew if he didn't go now, leave this camp tonight, that he was probably never going to leave. How could he leave half his soul behind? Even he wasn't so callous as all that.

"The council," Granger moaned against his lips.

"I guess I better go then," Tom said, kissing her again.

"Be on the council," Granger said. "Please."

Tom smirked against her mouth. "Alright. If you insist. Soulmate."

Granger wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him closer as she plundered his mouth. Tom was definitely not leaving.