Alternate Universe, barely follows Harry Potter timeline.

Disclaimer- yeah, yeah I don't own Harry Potter or Tom Riddle no matter how much I want to live in a castle in England with my evil ruler of the world and husband Tom Riddle.

Warning- Not a fluffy fic. If you dislike Tom/Hermione pairings, evil characters, dark gloomy castles, or life threatening games of hide and seek…. Then do not read.

Alright my fellow Tomione fans! You know I promised a horror one-shot fic of our favorite pairing!

She ran, and ran, and ran as fast as she could.

"Hermione…" His voice bounced off the castle walls, fading into the wind around her, making her heart speed up. Her feet ached, and her pants came out quickly, the breath turning into a chilly fog- glowing white in the dark hallways.

She was worried, no not worried, frightened beyond belief. As long as she had known Tom, she knew that he could walk every inch of Hogwarts with his eyes closed, not to mention his power and skill with magic. Then again, she thought sadly, after the passing events she could say that she didn't know anything about Tom.

Her curls bounced up and down as she ran to the library. It was almost past curfew, but she knew Tom would be there about this time, and she just had to tell him the news. Quietly, she entered her favorite part of Hogwarts- the library. The scent of willowed pages and fresh ink made her relax, but when the familiar mouth-watering scent of him drifted around her senses… her heart pounded hard. Not as hard as it usually would, and Charles Finnigan caused this change of routine. She turned around the next shelf and smiled happily at the image of the sixth year leaning against the shelf, smirking at her. He always knew where she was.

"Tom! Oh, Tom the most amazing thing happened today! I must tell you!" He laughed and stared at her, looking interested. The rise and fall of his chest distracted her for a moment, but she returned to Tom. "And what, may I ask, is this amazing event that has captured your heart?" The deep baritone of his voice shook her a little, like the music pounding to your heart in a synchronized beat. A good way, but Hermione knew it was wrong. He was a sixth year, she was a third year. Yes, a three year age difference but to Hermione, it was like ages.

She blushed at his question, slightly embarrassed to answer. After all, she shouldn't be bothering Tom with such… small matters as this. She was about to say 'never mind' and bid him goodnight, but stopped to his command. "Answer me Hermione, darling." No matter how many sweet endings he adds to sentences, something about them feels powerful.

"W-well… ." She spoke quickly, making Tom raise an eyebrow. Usually Hermione was more collected and less… awkward. "Terribly sorry, I didn't catch that." He enjoyed her obvious discomfort, but it still pulled a string. She shouldn't be like that, hesitant to come to him. She should always come to him. "Please don't make me say it again." He frowned. "Hermione-"

She sighed and spoke once more, cutting him off. "I kissed Charles Finnigan today and we are going to Hogsmeade together tomorrow." She didn't like the look on his face. It made her feel like a child that did something terribly wrong. "I'm…sorry, I must have heard it wrong. We always go to Hogsmeade together. You don't need to be wasting your time with someone as inferior as Finnigan. You need to be spending time with your equals Hermione, your friends."

Her face turned red and he knew she was about to go off on him. She always was one to argue, the spunky little witch.

"Charles is my friend Tom! I thought, as my friend aswell, you would be supportive." He took angry steps toward her, his handsome face turning into a snarl. She had never seen him like this. "Is he really your friend Hermione? Or does he just want to jump your precious little bones? I'm here to protect you Hermione. I am your friend, your family, your lover. Only me." He backed her against the wooden shelf, a few books falling off. He pulled her chin up, and she had to stand on her toes as he kept tugging her face to his.

"Do you understand?" She was shaking like a leaf, but kept her barrier strong- for the first time in her life wanting nothing more than to leave and never see Tom's face again. "No." She groaned in pain when her head smashed the hard wood, and he roughly attacked her lips. She was too short, only reaching the higher part of his chest. Tom grabbed her thighs, tugging on her legs, wrapping them around him.

Hermione stopped her running and slid behind a rather large statue of a griffin. Shaking, she pulled her knees to her head, resting, hoping he wouldn't find her. A small sob escaped her lips as the clock strikes midnight, officially claiming it October thirty-first, Halloween.

Silent tears escaped as he ignored her shoving, and continued to nip and suck on her neck. What did she do? Why did this happen? "T-Tom…stop. Sto- what's going on? Stop, stop!" She shivered involuntarily when he chuckles, warm vibrations shaking her more. "Let me explain something to you Hermione." He carried her to a table and sat her on the edge, closing her in with his arms. "The Sorting Hat put you in Slytherin because you were meant to be near me, not some stupid, little Gryffindor boy. From the first tutoring session Slughorn assigned me to do for you, I knew. I knew. You were so much like me. So smart, so curious, wanting to know everything and reach your highest potential."

"I've never been one to believe in a god of any sort, but there was a story of how everyone has another half. When one person was torn in half, become two people."

"These people were meant to be together. Forever. It just so happened that in my third year, I came across a book, several actually, but only one catching my interest… with a similar version to the fables I hear in church when Mrs. Cole forces us orphans to go. I gave it to you as a gift in first year, to drop a hint. Or, considering how frightened you are, a warning."

She knew the book he was speaking of. The Grim Tales of Adeline and the Shadow. It was a wizard's book, with moving illustrations, something she loves, and out of this world tales. It was about how every living soul had gotten split in half, each half being separated from the other until they are rejoined. Adeline, a girl that refused many proposals and wished for freedom, had been set up to be sold. While many men voted for her, one outbid the rest. No one knew much of him, except that he lived alone in the large mansion atop the dead-grass filled hills.

People were frightened of him, the rumors that spread about him. No one knew his name, so those who were bold called him a shadow. Later in the story, it is revealed that he is a demon- an evil spirit- and he forces Adeline's hand in marriage. While after years of turning down sweet words of young men, longing for freedom and no burden, she ended up giving her freedom away- only to live forever as a piece of the demon's soul.

She was his other half, another major detail later explained in the story. He had split his soul three hundred years ago, so he could live forever. First out of greed and fear of death, but then it grew into the obsession of possession.

Hermione shuddered. It was a dark tale, and she was repulsed by the book when she first got it. But once she started reading it, she couldn't put the book down. It had entranced her, but she couldn't see how anyone could make it through the whole book. She didn't.

"Tom, listen- don't do this. Okay? I won't go out with Charles, if you don't want me to. I won't tell anyone this happened, I promise."

He nuzzled her neck, his sweet breath fanning out across her skin. He ignored her again, and Hermione felt her anger rising. She hated to be ignored. "Let's play a game Hermione."

She scooted backwards, and barely held eye contact with Riddle. "No."

"Let's play… hide and seek."

"No!" she was screaming now, and for the first time, she saw that… that something in his eye. That mad look in his eye, that evil, crazed look.

"You hide, anywhere in the castle, and when the clock strikes twelve, I will come looking for you."

No.

"And if I find you, I get to keep you. Forever."

No…

"And you will live an immortal life with me, as my second horcrux."

She shook her head no and pushed him back with her legs. Where was her wand? He stumbled a little and looked down on her. "Don't worry though, the pain only lasts a second. You'll always be with me; you'll never have to ask for anything. I'll give it to you. I'll kill for you, love." He looked up at the moon shining through the window behind her. "You better start running, time flies by fast."

She snuggled deeper into the wall, wishing she knew wandless magic so she could camouflage herself. It was cold, and she rocked back and forth. She froze when she heard soft footsteps coming towards her hiding spot. Hiding in the shadows, she watched as his legs passed her little sanctuary. She slumped down and let out a breath of relief.

He stopped walking.

He started laughing.

"You're terrible at this game Hermione." She held her breath as he scoped the near- to near for comfort- area. He checked behind every suit of armor, every painting, and finally- he came only two feet from the griffin statue. Usually, Hermione Granger thought things through, but when in a horror situation people have the tendency to be brash. So, she ran.

She ran, and ran, and ran.

He started yelling after her, casting curses her way, and running after her. She barely dodged the Incarcerous and Levicorpus spell. "You're cheating Hermione. This isn't tag; I believe you have the games mixed up." She continued screaming as more spells she didn't know flew towards her. The portraits grumbled in annoyance, some watching with interest, and some rushing to fetch a teacher.

He cackled as the portraits fell from their places on the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. More yells could be heard from the paintings, drowning out Hermione's. The large glass windows shattered, resembling white doves flying in synch. The castle became much colder, and she glanced backward to see if he was near. Cocking her head to the side, she backed up, making sure to never let her eyes stray from the empty hall.

Frantically, she glanced up at the large moon. Instead of the full moon earlier, a shadow moved across the light, leaving the world to suffocate in the darkness that chokes you with fear of what lurks in the nooks you cannot see.

Imagination is a dangerous thing when there is no light to guide you.

"Locomotor Mortis"

The bed was soft, and large. It could fit four people without having to awkwardly squeeze your shoulders into someone's cheek. But right now, only two human bodies occupied the comforting mattress and green sheets.

Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the room. Large statues of snakes were built into the tiled wall, and there was no door- just stalagmite. A dresser and a comfy looking stool occupied one wall. Hermione couldn't see much else because of the canopy hanging around the bed, obviously to keep the ones on the bed private. She just stared at the ceiling as a hand stroked her curls, her lip quivering. She was dressed differently than when she was in the library and running around the halls. A nightgown, fancier than what she was used to. He grabbed her hand and ran it over his cheek and bare chest. "I love you Hermione." She shivered but didn't respond.

She shrieked as something slithered up her leg, wedging between her and Tom Riddle. Tom held her to the bed as she tried to get up with his arm. The large snake bit into her arm, and she screamed again, but there was no pain. Tom hissed lightly and the snake wound around Hermione and Tom's waist, slithering between their legs, occasionally flicking her tongue out and licking.

He began hissing in her ear softly, entrancing. Like the snake below, he would sometimes flick his tongue out and lick, cutting off his words of endearment in a completely different language. Hermione stared into his eyes, quivering. "Welcome to immortality love."

Now she knew how the story ended.

The End