Sixteen year old Tom Riddle was unnerved. He was…in love. He couldn't be. Not him. No. He never experienced love before. Yet, he couldn't deny his feelings. She was smart, strong, witty, clever, and she stood up to him. They were both prefects. They were both near the top of their class and always vying for the top. They were both very good students and leaders in their houses.
No, Tom couldn't deny it. He was very much in love with sixteen year old Minerva McGonagall. She challenged him, pushed him, and made him better himself just to keep up with her. Oh, how his heart beat for her because she was the type of strong woman who was worthy of him. Yes, she was powerful, strong, and had a good mind. He wanted her, badly. So, he went and got some of what he thought would be some of her favorite flowers. Roses, lilies, daisies, muggle snap dragons, and he put them in a bouquet and wrapped it in a blank piece of parchment. He then left Slytherin Common Room to go find her. (He got the flowers earlier from the Greenhouses and brought them to the common room to make the bouquet.)
Three hours later (warning: Disturbing image):
Tom Riddle was practically skipping, no, actually he was skipping back to the Slytherin Common Room. Tom and Minerva had met up and he gave her the flowers and told her how he felt. How she challenged him, how she made him better, and asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him for Valentine's Day. But first, he had to play her in a game of chess. So, he put all his cunning and mind toward the game and in the end, he played her into a stalemate. It was wonderful and they were both exhausted and beaming at each other. He gave her a hug, and she gave him a peck on the cheek. It was bliss. It was heaven. It was wonderful. So that's why Tom Riddle was skipping down to the dungeons, scaring the life out of many portraits and turning them a dull gray, for a short while, as they 'fainted' from shock.
When he entered the dorm room, he was beaming and as he went to bed he had some very lovely dreams of dancing with Minerva, and making her his wife and mother of his children.
Valentine's Day Hogsmeade Visit:
Tom and Minerva just finished their date at the coffee shop of Madam Puddlefoot. They were taking a nice stroll. Tom bought Minerva a book, a muggle book about the Greek Goddess Minerva. He called her his Goddess and professed his love for her. She was flattered.
They continued dating until they graduated. They traveled to Russia, where Tom and Minerva, together, defeated several dark wizards as they tried to conquer the Russian Ministry for Magic. They didn't do it on purpose; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were at the Russian Ministry because a husband and wife team was going to interview them for internships. Minerva was going to study under Dmitri Von Konnikov, a Russian Prince and Lord in the magical world, and Tom was going to study under his wife. Von Konnikov was the world's most powerful transfiguration master and was considered more powerful than even Albus Dumbledore, the recently made Headmaster of Hogwarts. Lady Von Konnikov was a Princess from Georgia, and was the most powerful defense mistress on Earth. She invented 35 separate wards before she was in her late 60s. They had had 8 children, all of whom lived abroad.
So, when the dark wizards attacked, Tom and Minerva had no choice but to stop them or be killed. So they stopped all of them.
Tom became enraged when one of the wizards knocked Minerva unconscious. He quickly stunned them all, knowing that Minerva would not approve of him killing them. He did, however, send bone breaker curses at their legs, arms, ribs, and backs before stunning them. So, they would never walk again and therefore never do anyone harm again. He also sent a bone breaker curse at the jaw of the man who knocked out his beloved Minerva. No one, but no one, ever hurt his beloved! He had already saved enough money from some of his Defense jobs after school to buy her a ring. Well, actually, he had the ring of his Grandfather, the stupid pig, set into a better gold ring, with her name etched on the outside. He had planned to propose to her after they got the internships.
He was a just-out-of-school DADA novice, who had been lucky enough to catch the eye of the DADA professor who took him on a couple of jobs and allowed him to do some of the work. She let him cast some of the wards and when she saw what good work he did, she wrote to Lady Von Konnikov to ask her to take him on as an intern. In Russia, an apprentice was called an intern, and apprenticeship called internship, and the internship lasted 5 years, after which the person was declared a Journeyman, Master, or asked to continue for another 5 years, which earned them the title of Grand Master.
As soon as Minerva regained consciousness, he was at her side, asking her what she needed, doting on her and glaring at anyone who even looked like they might think about bothering her. Or who breathed wrong, or who looked at her. She was touched, and then it became annoying after five seconds. "Tom…Tom…Thomas Marvolo Riddle!" she said in her 'school teacher voice' as Tom always called it.
"Yes Dear," said Tom.
"Please do stop. I can defend myself. Thank you," she said. He sighed and gave her a peck on the cheek. He did so love her.
"Well now, It looks like my old student was right. You are a good defense person, no? You pass and you have the internship. Report to Von Konnikov manner tomorrow at Sunrise, and do bring a cloak," said a young looking lady. It was amazing how young she looked, but Tom knew that Lady Von Konnikov was 112 years old, "And do stop gawking."
That was when Lord Von Konnikov walked into the room. He also looked very young. He spoke to Minerva. "Ms. McGonagall, or should I say Mrs. Riddle?" asked Lord Von Konnikov, "In any case, you have my internship as well. Report to Von Konnikov manner tomorrow morning. Oh, and you two will be living there as well.
That very night, at a restaurant to celebrate their internships, Tom Riddle got down on one knee and proposed to Minerva McGonagall and she said yes, without hesitation.
5 years later, both Minerva and Tom Riddle and their son, Thomas Glaucus Riddle, were asked to stay another 5 years.
It was then that they traveled to Hogwarts where Tom Marvolo Riddle became the new DADA professor and Head of Slytherin and Minerva Riddle became the new Transfiguration Mistress and Head of Gryffindor.
Thomas Glaucus Riddle went on to study both muggle and magical medicine, becoming the first healer to combine the best aspects of both, helping to usher in a new age for healing in the wizard world.
His younger brother, Jacob Stephen Riddle, went on to become a dark creature hunter and was the first to apply the cure to werewolves after it was invented. Sadly, he had to put down Greyback because Greyback refused the cure and was starting to kill young children for fun and games.
Their sister, Kristina Minerva Riddle, went on to become a transfiguration Mistress like her mother. She did research and development and invented several new transfiguration techniques and even discovered a new law of transfiguration.
Albus Dumbledore, fought Gellert Grindelwald. Unfortunately, they were so evenly matched, that they ended up killing each other. Aberforth Dumbledore took possession of the elder wand and also became Headmaster of Hogwarts. He was the best and most fair Headmaster the school ever had, and his name would be spoken at Hogwarts with the same respect as the name of Merlin. Yes, Dumbledore's Beard would be an exclamation of many future first years, along with Abe's spectacles and many others.
When James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape arrived, Hogwarts was different. With Aberforth Dumbledore as a very wise, kind, and very fair headmaster, and with two deputies, he led the school beyond the house rivalries into a new age of cooperation and fairness. It did help that his Deputy Headmaster was a Slytherin and his Deputy Headmistress was a Gryffindor and married to each other, proving that the two houses could get along.
Tom and Minerva mentored Regulus and Sirius to reconcile and stay friendly.
Tom invented a ward that kept a werewolf confined to a single room and didn't let anyone in or out of the room so long as the full moon was in the sky. Severus Snape, working with Tamara Von Konnikov, Lord and Lady Von Konnikov's great-granddaughter, developed a cure for Lycanthrope. Remus was the first person to take the cure. It worked and Severus became apprentice to both Minerva and Tom. Severus would later, after Minerva's retirement and with Tom's consent become Headmaster with Tamara Snape serving as Deputy and his wife. They would have 6 children, all girls.
Remus Lupin moved to America and became President of the United Magical States, for an unprecedented three terms of 6 years each. He retired and moved back to Hogwarts and became Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge and made Fudge a 10X better minister.
Peter Pettigrew became a secretary in the Ministry for Magic. He was never considered to have great talent. He later married a woman named Dolores Umbridge, who was also considered to have no great talent. Their son, James Peter Pettigrew, grew up to become Minister for Magic, and was known as the best minister for magic ever, as he pioneered rights for half-breeds, and mixed humans, muggle borns, house elves, and other magic creatures. His ministry was considered the beginning of the golden age of magic. Note: Dolores Umbridge died in childbirth. Peter was a good father and had 2 house elves to help him raise his son.
James Potter and Lily Evans married and had 5 boys, their eldest, Harry James Potter, showed an affinity for flying and DADA. Each of the boys had a specific and strong talent, the youngest, Remus Potter, having a talent for potions.
Sirius Black married Pomona Sprout, and they had 17 children. Pomona Sprout became Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology Professor. Sirius, her husband, became the caretaker.
Argus Filch, a squib who was sent to Muggle University, became a well-known and respected lawyer, a criminal prosecutor. He later became a judge, known as Judge Argus 'Hanging Judge' Filch.
Bellatrix Lestrange went insane, insisting that she was serving a Dark Lord named Voldemort. She went around killing people until she was caught by Auror Team Leader James Potter. She was killed by Frank Longbottom.
Barty Crouch Jr. became Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and promptly had his father arrested because his father had been stealing money from the ministry for several years. Also, his father had been kidnapping and torturing muggle children because he was a very sick individual and was sent to Azkaban for the rest of his life. Shortly after this, Barty stepped down and resigned his position. He just could not handle it. He went to play Seeker for the Chudley Cannons and helped them to be 3rd in the league.
So you see, Love is the most powerful thing there is. It changed the world from one ravaged by war and destroyed by hate, to a world much better off. This came to me as I was reading another story about Tom Riddle. I thought about the fact that McGonagall went to school with him and what would have happened if Tom and Minerva fell in love. So yes, being loved by Minerva McGonagall did change him. He wanted to kill those who hurt her, but he didn't because killing them would have hurt her and he could never do that. Credit for inspiration goes to the people who wrote stories where Hermione traveled back in time and fell in love with Riddle and Riddle with her and they changed each other, or to those who wrote about Minerva McGonagall and Tom Riddle in school together. Thank you.
Oh and in case you didn't get it: the disturbing image is of Tom Riddle skipping. It's a bit of a joke really. Seriously, try to imagine Tom Riddle literally skipping and see if you don't laugh a bit and also feel a little disturbed.