Meeting The Enemy… sort of

Hermione was walking back to the hotel that night. Spike and Faith insisted on walking her, but she wanted to just be alone for a while. A quick spell cleaned them all up once they reached the office, but she could still smell the stench of evil on her, not so much the sewers smell but more so the aroma of the stalker vampire who thought his words would impress her – they did quite the opposite in fact. Shuddering as she thought about everything he said, Hermione thought back to Spike and smiled to herself. Who would have thought that William the Bloody was a sweetheart – well to her at least? He was still a pompous arse to everyone else around them, but when he felt her shivering at the vampire's words, he held her tightly against him and assured her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"I. Am. Not. Having. Any. Children. With. You," every spoken word was its own sentence and ended with the stalker being slammed into the wall, "I. Am. A. Thirteen. Year. Old. Child."

Faith looked from Hermione to the stalker and back at Hermione then started to laugh, "Seems to me like she does fine on her own."

"Hermione," Angel said, shaking away his memories of the last time he's dealt with a wand wielding witch, "Put the wand down."

"I. Tried. Very. Nicely. To. Tell. You. I. Was. Not. Interested!"

Seeing that Hermione was ignoring Angel's words, Spike bravely stepped forward and placed a hand on Hermione's wand hand and whispered, "Scarlet, calm down now, love. We can't find out anything about this war thing he seems to know about if he's scattered all along the wall, now can we?"

Flicking her wrist, Hermione watched as the stalker vampire dropped to the ground with a shriek of pain. "Very well," she huffed out, "Get on with the questioning then."

"Remind me not get on her wicked side," Faith whispered to Angel before walking over to the groaning vampire. "See what happens when you stalk someone. You never know just how dangerous they really are."

Kneeling to be leveled with the shocked vampire, Faith yanked him up by his hair. Hermione was right, he was handsome… for a vampire – then again, they were always handsome. Look at Angel and Spike. Pressing her stake against him, Faith dug it into his throat, earning a snicker from him and an eye roll from Angel. Spike was more concerned on the girl in front of him who was watching the scene in front of her with a fascination that reminded him of Buffy. Scoffing at the thought of him thinking of the blonde slayer as much as Hermione thought of his mini me, Spike walked around Hermione and approached Faith and the stalker.

"Tell us what you know, and Dark Angel here won't kill you," Spike told the stalker.

Frowning, Faith released the stalker's hair and looked up at Spike, "Yes I will."

"Well it won't be as painful."

"Yes it will."

Rolling his eyes, Spike hissed at Faith, "Honestly woman, I'm trying to get information out of him. It won't work if you tell him you'll kill him either way."

"Hermione," Angel groaned into his hands, witnessing the vampire floating in the air once more.

Walking up to group, Hermione shrugged her shoulders but didn't say anything. Smirking, Faith trailed the stake along the vampire stalker's face, causing him to shudder at the touch. "How 'bout this," Faith told the stalker in a seductive tone, "You tell us everything you know and this stake will go directly through your heart quickly."

"Miss Granger."

Turning around, Hermione found herself face to face with one of the most attractive men she had ever met... aside from Draco, Reid, and Spike of course. This was a different type of attractive; he didn't have the bad boy look to him. He looked like he was around Cordelia and Faith's age, maybe just a year or two older than them. Dark brown hair with light golden highlights in it fell all around his face, ending just above his shoulders; definitely reminding her of Draco. The lightest shade of baby blue orbs were twinkling down at her; also reminding her of Draco in a way. Thinking about it, Hermione mentally moaned at the thoughts – even when he was nothing like Draco, she still found herself comparing the two. He was even dressed in a neat suit. It was the smirk on his face that had her knees locking at the sight of him though.

"Yes?"

He stepped closer to her, holding out his hand for her to shake, and she quirked a weary eyebrow. He didn't seem to be all that dangerous, but his smile alone was what had her thinking that she would be safer with the Malfoys than this man. "My name is Lindsey McDonald."

Lindsey McDonald? The idea seemed almost ironic to Hermione. He was a pretty boy with a female's name and she heard the almost farmer twang in his voice, reminding Hermione of her favorite nursery rhyme from when she was a child. His name matched him. "How do you know my name?" she asked him.

"I'm a lawyer for Wolfram and Hart," he informed her, reaching into his suit's pocket and pulling out a business card for her to look at, "The vampire that you killed tonight was one of my clients."

Hermione gasped and quickly looked around the streets, "Are you mental?" she hissed at him, "You can't speak of those things on the streets like that. There are muggles around here."

Chuckling, the beautiful stranger nodded his head, "Of course; I'm sorry. Perhaps you would prefer to speak at my office? We could meet in the morning?"

Shaking her head, Hermione moved away from him. "No, I wouldn't prefer that. And I didn't kill him."

"Of course you didn't," his smile almost melted Hermione, but she realized what it really was; the devil himself in an angels form. Once again, the irony of the situation didn't escape her. "I understand that it was actually Spike who plunged the stake through his heart, but-"

"But you're too much of a coward to confront him on your own, so you assumed the little thirteen year old girl would be a better target," Hermione stated.

"No," he shook his head, "Unlike what your informants have told you about me, I do not attack children, Miss Granger."

"They have told me nothing about you," Hermione smirked, sure that if Draco were here right now he would be proud. "I've never even heard of Wolfram and Hart."

"Of course you haven't," it was his turn to smirk now, and it made her woozy. This wasn't good. Her summer wasn't supposed to be filled with thoughts of a certain git; he wasn't supposed to be affecting her from so far away. "Contrary to what most people believe, we aren't that evil-"

"Your client was a vampire who was stalking me, and hell bent on making me his queen," Hermione scoffed, "I highly doubt that doesn't consist as non-evil."

Shaking his head, Lindsey chuckled, "We are a law firm who defends those that can't seek defense from normal lawyers. Our cliental is based more on vampires, demons, imps, and other dark creatures. Occasionally we'll get a human client, but it's not as often as you would think."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Hermione asked in confusion. "I'm thirteen; I don't need a lawyer, especially one who specials in defending murderers."

Licking his lips, Lindsey searched the streets then stepped closer towards her until his breath was hot on her ears, making her gasp at the feeling. "We also work for Death Eaters."

"Everyone in the wizarding world knows of the muggle-born with who hangs around Potter," the vampire stalker told them, his eyes remaining on Hermione's and challenging her to look away. "Without her, Potter would be nothing and everyone knows it."

"That doesn't mean that I'm the one who helps him to defeat Voldemort."

Chuckling, the vampire stalker snarled at her, "Such a brave young witch speaking the Dark Lord's name with no fear. It only makes you a fool, babe."

"Just tell us what you know," Angel told him, noticing the way Hermione cringed when the stalker called her the affectionate name.

"If it weren't for you, Potter wouldn't have known about the Sorcerer's Stone," he made it known he was speaking directly to Hermione, "Nor would he have made it through the trials you guys had to cross in order to get to it."

"Ron beat the chess game," Hermione argued, quick to jump to her second best friend's defense.

"Do you honestly think they would have even made it that far if it weren't for you?" when Hermione remained silent, he continued, "It was you that led Potter to realize it was a Basilisk in the chambers in your second year."

"Harry would have figured it out on his own," Hermione shook her head, jumping to the rescue of her best friend once again, "He could speak Parseltongue, and would have eventually realized why he was the only one who could hear the voice in the walls."

"That may be so," the vampire stalker shrugged his shoulders, cringing away from Faith who was now adding pressure to his ribs with the stake; reminding him that she was there, ready to torture him if she had to, "But if it weren't for your research and quick minded thinking, he would have never learned where the chamber was located or how to avoid being petrified."

Angel looked away from the stalker vampire and turned all his attention on Hermione. It was true. When he first listened to her stories about Hogwarts, he noticed that she was in on the action instead of sitting on the sidelines, but it didn't dawn on him that without her everything would have turned out differently. "So she led Harry to the end twice – what does that have to do with anything?" Angel questioned, pressing for more answers.

"Twice?" the sudden cold cackling sent shivers down Hermione's back; chilling her blood cold. "Just last year, Hermione here was able to travel back in time, not only saving the life of Black, but also the life of a hippogriff; she outran a werewolf during the full moon transformation, and she proved that Pettigrew was alive and hiding out as a rat."

"I had nothing to do with Pettigrew getting caught," Hermione shook her head, "My cat Crookshanks hated him, and it was Professor Lupin and Sirius who forced him to change back into his human form."

"But you were the one with the time-turner," the vampire stalker grinned, reminding Hermione of her importance in the escape of Sirius Black. "You were also the one who learned the truth of what Lupin truly is. You helped Potter to defeat the hundreds of Dementors that were killing him, and you escaped with only scratches and bruises."

Faith was intrigued now. Looking back at Hermione, she looked at the young witch in appreciation and awe then turned back to her latest victim. "Alright, all you did was tell us what we already know. Now tell us something useful."

"The Death Eaters know of how important you are in all of this," he spoke directly to Hermione again, still hanging up in the air.

"How?" it was Spike who asked the question.

It was Hermione who answered it, "Malfoy," her voice was low and filled with disbelief. "He tells his father everything."

"They know all about the brightest-witch-of-her-age, and of her involvements of thwarting the Dark Lord's plans so far. Without you, Potter would have been killed already."

"Who was it?" Hermione asked him, praying that her voice didn't betray her. "Who is Malfoy working with?"

Laughing, the vampire stalker shook his head, "You don't get it, do you babe? Your entire school is crawling with kids of Death Eaters. You're a muggle-born – a Mudblood in their eyes – but you're their biggest threat. With you on Potter's side, he'll win the war; they need you dead."

Regretting her choice to walk alone, Hermione looked up the street. She was still another half mile away from her hotel and she could probably outrun this guy, but it would lead him to her parents. He worked with Death Eaters; he wouldn't stop to think about the safety of her parents. Lindsey seemed to notice her silent thoughts of escape, and he threw both his hands up in the air as if in defeat. Taking a slow step away from the slightly frightened young witch, his eyes watched her hand as it rested comfortably on her wand.

"I didn't come out here to hurt you," he assured her.

"Your client stalked me and was obsessed with making me his thirteen year old bride to rule the world by his side," Hermione scoffed, "Sorry if I don't believe you."

"I told you, I don't kill kids. I don't even like torturing them."

"Death Eaters don't exactly like me," Hermione spat out at him, "They don't seem to like my blood."

"I know," Lindsey nodded his head, "You're a muggle-born; they despise your type. But you're different this time," when Hermione cocked an eyebrow, he continued, "You're a threat to them. They need you on their side."

Shaking her head, Hermione glared at him, "I would never work with them. Harry's my best friend, and even if he weren't… they torture and kill people. They work with Voldemort."

"You speak his name?" Lindsey's eyes were wide; the fear evident, sketched into the baby blue.

Chuckling, Hermione told him, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."

"You're a fool, Hermione Granger."

"And you're an evil man, Lindsey McDonald."

"You don't know me enough to make judgments about me," his voice was harsh, but his eyes were amused.

"And you don't know me enough to make assumptions about me," Hermione countered.

Laughing, Lindsey moved in closer to her, but not enough to seem like a threat, "I know that you're the type to jump in and save the day."

"And I know that you're the type to represent a stalking vampire."

"I didn't come here to argue with a thirteen year old."

"Then why did you come here?"

"To offer you something."

"What could you possibly have that I would want?"

"Protection."

"I have my wand," Hermione reminded him, finally pulling the wand out of her pocket.

"Not that kind of protection," Lindsey said, flinching at the sight of the wand now in Hermione's hand. "Under my protection, the Death Eaters won't be able to touch you."

"I thought they were your clients."

"I never said they were my clients," Lindsey corrected her with a sly grin. "I said they were clients of the law firm. I also told you that I don't believe in killing children."

Hermione thought it over for a second, but quickly shook her head. "I don't need your kind of protection. Perhaps you should see Harry, he's the real victim."

"No," his face looked grim all of a sudden, "Think about it Miss Granger… without you your friend would have been killed already. Obviously they can't get to him so they'll move on to the next thing."

"Kill the muggle-born witch protecting him, and they can get to him quicker," Hermione nodded her head, "I know all of this already."

Spike snarled while Faith stabbed the stake through the stalker's ribcage, earning her a bloodcurdling scream. Angel stood in the shadows watching the scene unravel before him. Within a second, Spike had replaced Faith and was now twisting the stake around the vampire's body, earning more shouts of pain. Faith walked over to Hermione wanting to shield her from witnessing the horrifying scene in front of her, but Hermione shoved her hand away; insisting she was fine and that she wanted to watch. She couldn't be innocent and sheltered forever.

"It isn't me who wants her killed," the vampire shouted out in agony. "I'm trying to make her my queen after all, aren't I?"

"How do you know about the wizarding world?" Hermione questioned him, moving in closer and raising her wand to lift him a little higher into the air. "You're an American vampire."

"They're preparing for a battle," he replied, "They're calling in reinforcements that the Ministry would never dare to suspect."

Thinking about it for a second, Hermione nodded her head in a slow fear, "They're recruiting dark creatures from all over the world?"

"America is the biggest place with lots of resources," the vampire stalker also nodded his head.

From the sidelines, Angel frowned, "What sorts of creatures do they already have?"

"Vampires, wolves, trolls, giants, and I heard they've even got a couple of demons already."

"And you?" Spike questioned him, pressing the stake deeper into his body.

Gasping from the pain, he tried to squirm away from the stake stabbing into him, "When I learned of Hermione's involvement, I knew I had to her; the young witch who was smart enough to thwart all their advances. I want to bring her over to the dark side."

"I would never work for Voldemort."

"I wouldn't expect you to," he grinned at her, flashing his fangs, "We would kill him together. Then you and I would become the dark king and queen and the Death Eaters would be under our command. We would rule the world."

Rolling her eyes, Faith snorted, "That's not the first time I heard that line before."

"Well I wasn't speaking to you," he growled at her.

Trailing the stake to the vampire's heart, Spike pressed it slightly into his chest, "Is there anything else?"

"No," it was Hermione who replied, "We know all we need to know. I'm the threat now, and they'll be paying more attention to me than to Harry. Voldemort's recruited American creatures to back him up and the Death Eaters' children are working with their parents."

Grinning, Spike looked into the stalker's widened and fearful eyes, "You heard the bride."

Lindsey and Hermione kept the other's watchful gaze; Hermione waiting for the precise moment to have to use her wand and Lindsey making sure that the wand doesn't have to be used. Licking her lips, Hermione found her thoughts being taken to Draco yet again. It seemed like no matter how much she tried to avoid him or not think of him, this summer vacation was turning into a Malfoy vacation of some sort.

Chuckling, Lindsey ran a hand through his hair and the girl's shivering reaction didn't escape his notice. "I'm sure you do know, little darling, so what do you say?"

"No thank you," Hermione shook her head, "I'm sure I'll be fine without the protection of a demon."

"I'm not a demon," he assured her.

"No," she snorted, "You just work for them."

"I'm just thinking of protecting you," Lindsey told her. "If my bosses knew that I was offering you my protection they would fire me. And trust me, at my job they take the term 'fired' literally."

Grimacing at the sudden image of this man standing in front of her being swallowed by flames, Hermione shook her head once more, "Then don't risk it. I'm sorry Mr. McDonald, but I don't make deals with the devil, especially when he works with the people trying to kill my best friend."

"They're more focused on killing you, little darling."

Shrugging her shoulders, Hermione twirled the wand between her fingers the way she watched Faith do to her stake so many times, "For now."

"You're a good person, Miss Granger," Lindsey smirked, licking his lips. "It's hard to find that in the world nowadays."

"No its not," the look on Hermione's face matched the pity she felt for the beautiful man standing in front of her, "Not if you look hard enough. There's good in all of us."

"Even the man who works for the devil?" Lindsey questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"You are offering protection to a thirteen year old girl, whom just helped to kill your client, aren't you?"

Lindsey stared at the young witch in disbelief; bewilderment in his eyes as he saw the unsettling sweet little smile on her lips. Her words echoed in his mind and he couldn't believe it – she knew what he did, who he worked for, and she still believed he had some good left in him? "Angel will protect you," he said suddenly, "It's what he does. He's the good guy who's always saving the day."

"Goodnight Mr. McDonald," Hermione smiled, making sure her wand stayed in her hands. She had a feeling he wouldn't attack her, but she didn't want to chance anything.

Softly chuckling, Lindsey nodded his head at her, "Goodnight little darling."

A/N: I might be posting chapters up every day or more than one in a day. It all depends on how antsy I am to start posting up the sequel already –which I cannot stress enough, is the main story – so yeah… Lindsey wasn't going to be a main part of the actual story, but I can't not write an Angel story in LA and not have Lindsey in it. That would be like writing a Harry Potter story and not having Harry Potter in it. And also I am in love with Christian Kane. I'm more obsessed with him than I am with Tom Felton –and that says a lot- and Lindsey McDonald is the best thing to ever happen to TV in general –at least in my eyes- I'm rambling now… sorry… it's just that I'm in love with him and I had to have him in here. This won't be the last you guys see of him either(:

So anywho… what do you guys think?(: