"Midnight!
Not a sound from the pavement!
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling alone..."
-Memory, Cats



A young witch stood nervously outside Professor Dumbledore's office. Finally she knocked.

"Come in," came the voice from inside.

Minerva McGonagall walked in the door.

"Minerva! How nice to see you! Sit down," said Dumbledore, gesturing towards the chairs in his new headmaster's office. "What brings you here?"

As if someone was following her, Minerva looked around nervously, then spoke. "I was just wondering if you still have that Transfiguration job open?"

"Yes, we do. Do you want the job?"

Minerva nodded.

"All right then." He pulled out a piece of parchment. "Professor...Riddle," he said, writing it on the paper.

"No."

"I'm sorry?"

"My marriage with Tom is over."

"Oh," said Dumbledore, obviously surprised. He could sense that Minerva didn't want to talk about it.

"But." She hesitated. "Albus, I just think you should know that I'm..."

"Yes?"

"Pregnant."

"How long?" Dumbledore obviously wanted to say something more, but he contained himself.

"One month."

Dumbldore looked at the papers on his desk, and saw Minerva's wrist, with a bruise on it.

"What happened?"

Minerva snatched her hand off the desk, as though she wanted to hide it. "Nothing."

"Something did...What?"

She looked away.

Albus knew that it hadn't been nothing. "Minerva, you can tell me."

In a small voice, she said, "Tom."

Albus' mouth dropped open. "He abused you?"

Very slightly, she nodded.

He reached for her wrist, and she reluctantly showed him. A blue-black egg sized bruise was there.

Dropping the subject, he said, "Well, if you want the job, it's yours."

She gave a small smile and nodded.

~

Seven months later...

Professor McGonagall sat at her desk, correcting papers.

"This is it!" said a strange voice form the hall

There was a rapping at the door.

"Come in," she said, wondering who it was. At eight months pregnant, it was too much trouble to get up.

The door burst open and at least twenty officials from the Ministry (she could tell by the badges) and the newly appointed minister, Cornelius Fudge, was in her office.

"Yes?" she asked warily. This couldn't be good.

"Your husband, Tom Riddle, ma'am, is believed to be Lord Voldemort, the one who is causing the attacks," said one of the soldiers.

"Have you..."

The door opened again, and this time it was Dumbledore who was at the door.

"Cornelius, what are you doing here?"

Ignoring Dumbledore, the minister continued his question. "Have you had any contact with Tom Riddle in the last six months whatsoever?"

The question caught her off guard. "Well-I don't know-I-"

"Answer the question," spit out one of the officials.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Are you carrying his child?"

Minerva nodded slowly, embarrassed.

"Search the office," said the Minister, gesturing towards his soldiers.

There came a knock at the door.

The Minister quickly waved his wand, and he, the Ministry officials, and Dumbledore became invisible.

Minerva walked up to the door and opened it.

In the hall stood a grinning Tom Riddle.

Minerva stared at Tom Riddle.

"What? Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked pretending to be insulted.

"Um-yes-of course..." she stammered. What was he doing here?

"How's baby?" he asked.

Instead of saying good, she replied, "What are you doing here? Asking me to get you out of trouble again?" She forgot about the people in the room. "You abuse me, leave me, and expect me to help you?"

Tom looked startled. "Minerva. It's not like that. The Ministry is after me for things I didn't do."

The word the soldier had said kept running through her head. (Your ex-husband, ma'am, is believed to be Lord Voldemort, the one who's causing all the attacks...Your ex-husband, ma'am...) "Things you didn't do?" she repeated.

Tom hesitated, then spoke, not very convincingly. "Yes, things I didn't do!" He looked warily around the room. "They're here, aren't they," he said, a statement, not a question. "You betrayed me. Well, let them know that..." At this point he pulled out his wand. "Voldemort will never die!" Simultaneously he disappeared in a puff of smoke and shot out a deadly curse.

The curse hit a mirror, and ricocheted back to Minerva.

A/N: This is just a short little fic I'm working on, cause I need a change from Do You Hear The People Sing?. Blame my muse if you don't like, it was midnight and I couldn't think straight! There will only be two parts, this and the next one. I'm juggling three fics right now (this, Do You Hear The People Sing, and a new one possibly called Arcana), so don't mind if it takes awhile.
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Disclaimer: All of the Characters belong to J. K. R.., the plot belongs to me! Um...the quote belongs to..uh..T. S. Eliot! Yeah. And-uh..Andrew Lloyd Weber! That's who! So don't sue. I know the title is one of thier songs, but you can't copyright an existing word (like Muggle...) :o)

OREO