A/N: This little story (one of 10) is part of The Bickering Kingdom's 10-Pairing Challenge! I have been given ten pairings centered around one character. Explanations for this slightly OOC exchange will be at the bottom of the story. Warning: I do not own HP and none of the pieces in this section are beta'd. Enjoy!

…

The only reason she had wandered over to here was to prove her independence, her maturity. To prove to her mother that not only could she take care of herself, but she could also handle the trivialities of the infamous Knockturn Alley.

"Fat load of good this idea was." Minerva muttered, mentally berating herself as she looked around. Quite honestly, she would never be this reckless normally. In fact, it was really only because her mum had been so frustratingly annoying today. It's just not fair that she always—

"Care for some goodies, dearie?" A hand reached out to grab Minerva and offer her something that the second year knew she would have no interest in.

"No, thank you!" Came the response accented in fear. The elderly woman harshly laughed, almost like an eerie cackle, and that's when Minerva realized she had been wandering without thinking. That she didn't recognize her surroundings and she was far more intimidated by the situation than she originally perceived. Suddenly, she felt other people walking towards them, more laughter echoing off of the nearby shops.

"Are you lost, lamb?" A patronizing voice asked.

"Turn down the wrong alley?"

For once in her life, Minerva McGonagall felt more fear than anger.

And so, she did the one thing many thirteen-year old children excel at: she ran. She chose a random direction and sprinted. She kept an eye on her surroundings, a hand on her wand, and she raced through bleak surroundings to hopefully find an exit.

And she really had been doing a great job of running.

That is until her robes decided it was time to trip and fall painfully onto the dingy floor. It was at this, she let out a curse.

"And what do we have here?" A bored tone drawled, and where there was once pain was now replaced by goose bumps. She tensed for a brief moment, wondering (as all thirteen year olds do at some point) if she was about to die, or if this stranger was merely going to seriously maim or injure her.

After a few moments of awkward silence, it was apparent death would not be arriving anytime soon. She looked up from the ground and was taken aback by the handsome features of the recognizable figure standing above her in a cold manner. He was holding a wooden box, one that was elegantly carved and rather eye-catching, and stood waiting for a response.

"You're Tom Riddle." She said before she could stop herself, something she confirmed when she noted the Borgin and Burkes above his head.

Although Tom Riddle was a graduate of Hogwarts for a few years now, his name (and current job for that matter) was still whispered around the school. She hadn't really expected to find him here, nor had she really expected to find herself in this situation, but here they were nonetheless.

He merely raised a coiffed eyebrow at this, his charming features forming a polite smile. And suddenly Minerva felt a sort of swooning emotion she never had experience before.

"Indeed I am. And, who are you?" He asked after another moment of silence.

"Minerva McGonagall." Typically she wouldn't be so foolish as to divulge such information mindlessly, but he had a way about him that created a charming, trustworthy persona. A brief spark of recognition passed in his eyes, and soon he placed the box down to offer Minerva a pale hand.

Yet upon as he began to place the box down, a strange whirring noise sounded from inside it. They both abruptly turned to the noise, Minerva realized how close she was to the box. She moved less than a meter away and the object inside the box began to quiet down, but it still wasn't silent.

"Strange," She heard a brief murmur from Tom and was fixated by the box. It seemed to be emanating a hypnotic aura of power. She couldn't help but feel drawn to it from the moment she saw it, and that magnetic pull only grew as she continued to look at it.

"Minerva?" It was a bold move to use her first name, but she hadn't responded to him saying "Miss McGonagall". She glanced up from the box and briefly saw an emotion flit across his face, however, said emotion coldly fled before she could identify it.

He held out his hand again, and this time she accepted it. Although her eyes darted back to the box for once brief moment, she restrained herself from openly staring at it.

"I hate to ask, but do you know how to get to Diagon Alley from here?" The whirring still occurred in the background, but she forced herself to not be so openly curious as she might have been in the past. She may feel strange about meeting Tom Riddle, but that was no reason to lose her head in the middle of Knockturn Alley.

Upon receiving instructions on how to get back, Minerva paused a brief moment

"It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, Miss McGonagall."

Professor Dumbledore wouldn't approve in the slightest of this exchange.

"Indeed, Mr. Riddle."

It was such a simple, brief exchange that left her feeling bewildered and strange. But it wasn't a bad strange.

"Please do remain in contact."

They weren't going to even look at the strange box at this point, both content for their respective reasons to stay silent on the matter.

"I will indeed."

As she hastened from the shop, Tom Riddle grabbed the box and a hungry look of greed flickered across his face as he watched her leave his sight.

Nobody had been able to make this particular box react in such a fashion before, and it was indeed a sign of great power.

Minerva McGonagall was indeed a curious individual, and he looked forward to his acquaintanceship with her deepening into something more.

…

The next time they met was by pure accident.

(At least on her part)

However, it was followed up by a series of letters filled with reinvigorated interest on both of their parts.

…

The next time they met was planned and calculated to nth degree. She couldn't help but smile at his less than charming greeting as they met up to discuss the Muggle's World War relating to the tensions of their own world. Both topics were something neither of them could escape, but, similarly, both of them were pleased to find someone who could calmly discuss the matter.

…

Their first proper meeting ended with faint smiles and a wave goodbye.

This one ended in a kiss.

…

"Did you enjoy your summer, Minerva?"

"Indeed I did, Professor Dumbledore."

"Care to elaborate?" A hesitant blush bloomed on the normally stoic face.

"No, sir." For once a response that would have had a hint of sass was perhaps a bit… timid.

…

"My condolences for Hepzibah's passing."

He allowed her to hug him, and fought the urge to roll his eyes at her seemingly pathetic sentiments.

"Indeed."

…

"What did you think of that artifact?"

"Tom-"

"Don't call me that, Minerva." Came the sharp hiss. She stopped herself briefly for a moment, slightly angered by his response and rather hurt by his growing coldness.

And then she melted into a smooth, charming kiss and all was forgiven.

(But only for a moment)

…

"You seem different." Her comment had slid into the silence, but he wasn't even acknowledging her presence by this point.

…

She sat at her desk for rather a long time before grabbing the quill and penning a letter.

This wasn't a sappy "Dear Tom" letter – she detested the very concept – but rather a meaningful inquiry.

She wasn't truly concerned in the slightest. She hadn't become attached to the man after all nor she did allow him to truly take her heart.

"Damn that man," She muttered frustratingly before tossing her letter into the trash.

…

The sun seemed to glare disapprovingly at the young woman as she walked down

She really hadn't meant to wander back into such dangerous territory again, but it was inevitable: she needed to know the truth.

However, even as she walked up to the dreary shop, she already knew the answer.

"You're gone, aren't you, Tom?"

He had been gone for years.

…

A/N: Explanation time!

As you may have guessed, this chapter's pairing was Riddle and Minerva.

Now that there has been a legitimate established timeline of Voldemort's life in the 40s/50s, I realized I'd have to tweak some of what's canon to make this challenge work. For example, as stated in the HP Wikia page of the First Wizarding War, during the 50s-70s, Riddle is known as Lord Voldemort. Yet if he already took the name of Lord Voldemort by that point, how likely would it be that Minerva McGonagall would even tolerate the guy? So, in this version, Lord Voldemort only becomes his official name once he leaves B&B for Albania. Also, just because I know some people probably find the age difference to be disconcerting, he still graduated before Minerva but he is slightly younger than canon.

I also know it probably felt rushed reading the story. That's merely because… I'm a doctor, not a romance writer (Kidding about the doctor part). Nonetheless, I did want to take a shot at writing some form of romance, hence this challenge.

I do hope you've enjoyed this little piece. There's 9 more pairings left, some that may be familiar, some that may be quite foreign. Have a nice day, and see you later!