Title: Out of Time

Rating: M, to be safe! I like reading and writing smut, but I'm not sure I'll work it into this! But I might! If this get there, I'll give a warning.

Pairings: Hoping for...Buffy Summers and Tom Riddle (NOT LV) - eventually!

Disclaimer: BtVs...NOT mine! HP...NOT mine! Anyone and anything else you recognize...also NOT mine! I just borrow the characters and worlds and...interweave them!

Summary: In her prom dress and a black leather jacket—and toting a crossbow—Buffy heads underground to face the Master. Then a bite and a mucky puddle sends her to another time—where she's found by the boy who made all the wrong choices. But, does he have to? Can he be saved or...will they run Out of Time?

Spoilers: Meh. Probably not! I mean, if you're here and giving this a go, I expect that you've seen the series (probably more than once, for me the viewings have gone beyond twenty) and have read the HP and/or FB books (it's an obsession!). However, if you haven't, then...shame on you! That's totally on YOU! Go watch! Go READ!

Note: I would LIKE for this to become part of a series, but we'll see how this one goes. My original plan doesn't give this story a very nice ending (sad). I'm not sure I'll be able to do it (the planned ending) when the time comes. I tend to fall in love with "my" characters and I have very difficult time hurting them. I'm toying with the idea of multiple endings, so extending this into a series would still be possible. But we'll see.

~o0o~

Prologue: Prophecy Girl

The prophecy foretold that the Slayer would face the Master—and that she would die at his hands!

Sunnydale, California

June 13, 1997 (Friday)

The Anointed One—who'd once been just an eight year old boy named Collin before being turned—stopped at the entrance of the Master's lair, so Buffy stopped too. Curious, she looked down at him. He was a cute kid, wearing a red sweatshirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers, but she knew he wasn't really just a child. He was evil.

Hardly sparing Buffy a glance, the soulless child gestured down below, inviting her to enter the Master's lair, then, with out a word, he turned and left the way they'd come in.

After watching him go, Buffy turned to make her way down to the level below. It was slow going, navigating the rubble as she made her descent. When she finally gets down there she looked around. There are hundreds of candles burning everywhere.

"Welcome," the Master drawls, his voice seemingly coming from all directions.

"Thanks for having me," the Slayer quips.

The Master steps into the light to look at her.

"Y'know, you really oughtta talk to your contractor," she continues. "Looks like you got some water damage."

"Oh, good. The feeble banter portion of the fight," the Master says without amusement. "Why don't we just cut to the..."

Buffy spins around then and launches an arrow in the direction of his voice—but with his vampire reflexes the Master catches it mid-flight right in front of him at chest level.

"Nice shot," he says, his red eyes on her as she quickly reloads her bow.

"You're not going to kill me with that thing," he continues, snapping her first arrow in two.

Buffy looks up at his words. "Don't be so sure."

"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you?" he says, his voice traveling around the cavern, causing Buffy to glance around.

"You are not the hunter. You are the lamb."

Slowly turning, Buffy starts to walk around, searching for the Master. Turning a corner, she comes upon a dead and rotted body, but continues her search. "You know, for someone who's all powerful, you sure do like to hide."

From what sounds like far away, Buffy hears the Master say, "I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last."

"Well, I don't," she says, her eyes wide as she searches for a few moments longer.

"I understand," comes a voice directly behind the Slayer.

Grunting, Buffy turns around to attack, but the Master knocks the crossbow out of her hands and grabs her by the neck.

With his hand around her throat, the Master looks down on her. He isn't expecting it when she swings up with her arm and knocks his hand away, then starts to run, but when he holds his hand out toward her, she freezes, caught by his hypnotic powers.

Looking back at him, Buffy realizes that she can't otherwise move. Fearful, she stares at him as he approaches.

With a small smile, the Master makes slow twisting motions with his hand as he nears. Amused and delighted by the Slayer's stillness, he comes up behind her and gently removes her leather jacket, letting it fall into the water on the ground. Buffy is panting hard with fear as he leans into her.

"You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me," he says into her hair. "But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything." Then he whispers, "You're the one that sets me free!"

Still panting, Buffy can't seem to make herself move, but she feels her eyes fill with tears and spill over.

"If you hadn't come, I couldn't go," the Master gloats. "Think about that!"

Buffy is frozen with fear and the Master waits a moment longer, then bends down and bites her at the base of her neck. But instead of draining her, he drinks just a few sips and lets her go.

"Oh, God! The power!" he growls, raising his hands triumphantly as he watches Buffy falls to her knees.

"And by the way," he says as she falls face down into the pool of water, "I like your dress."

Without looking at her, the Master turns and walks away, moving toward the edge of his confines—and pushes against the field, forcing his hand through and causing the barrier to break down in a burst of light and energy.

And with that, he starts up and out of his lair, leaving the unconscious Slayer in the shallow pool to drown...

~o0o~

So, not a true chapter, but I hope it gets the scene set! Sort of! I hope! Basically Dorothy's not going to be in Kansas anymore! Lol. The next chapter is a real one...it's all me fiddling with the places and people!