DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, they all belong to JKRowling
NOTE:I'm sorry for the spelling/grammar/typing mistakes in advance, I haven't written anything in a while... Hope you enjoy. I will try and finish it ASAP. Please review I'd love to hear comments!
Minerva slammed shut the portrait to the Gryffindor common room and walked out briskly, her eyes nervously scanning her surroundings. Her hair was out of its usual bun and falling down her shoulder in an untidy plait, a few strands of hair framing her now stern looking face.
"Where in the name of Merlin…", she muttered.
Her heels made a clattering sound which echoed and was finally absorbed by the dark silence of the castle. She was wearing a dark blue robe and a white silk nightdress underneath.
"As soon as I find him I am going to…," she continued as she turned into a dimly lit hallway. "Lumos."
'Damn it's the last night of school year, I can't put him in detention…,'she thought. She was furious. It was not a good time to be exploring the castle at night, now that Voldemort had returned. She had taken the time to talk to her Gryffindors about their safety, and how they should be ready for what was coming. Of course, there were those who didn't believe in the Dark Lord's return. Still, that was no excuse for wondering about the corridors in the middle of the night.
She stepped carefully into the hallway trying not to make a sound. A rustling sound had put her on the alert. There was someone close by.
She was straining to see if anything was moving in the darkness, but there seemed to be noone there. She took a few more steps into the hallway, trying to see if the doors to the classrooms were properly closed. Everything seemed normal here.
Steps, firm steps approaching. Someone was coming from the opposite direction.
"Lumus maxima!" she commanded. The tip of her wand shone brighter and she could make out a tall figure walking towards her.
"Who's that? Show yourself," she stated firmly.
The figure stepped forward and into the white light that came from the tip of her wand. A translucid image of a man had emerged from the darkness.
"Hello Minerva," the voice was soft and hoarse and it sent a shiver down Minerva's spine, "don't you look pretty with your hair down."
Minerva tried to breathe steadily, she couldn't believe her eyes. This was unexpected. Her heart was racing.
"Don't be afraid, I'm only a projection… I can't harm you… at least not much. Besides, I'm only here to negotiate."
She swallowed her pride and ignored the first part of the comment.
"Negotiate? W-what do you mean?" she demanded, firmly pointing her wand at the ghostly figure.
She heard him produce what sounded like a chuckle .
"You are going to work for me now."
"No, I won't," she replied. "Never."
"Oh, but you will," he stated matter-of-factly. "You will find that I can be very persuasive, love," he looked into her eyes. "Now, you can either do what I tell you or resist me and watch me kill Albus Dumbledore."
Raising one long, dead white, translucid hand he gently pushed her wand down, pointing it away from him. She didn't fight back, she was paralysed.
"You know, Minerva, that I have the power to kill him now. He doesn't stand a chance."
"I-I don't understand… "
"That old man thinks he has won. He thinks love," he flinched as he pronounced this last word, "can defeat me. I am going to show him just how painful it can be. And then, when he is on the floor begging me to kill him, dying of a broken heart, then…," his black eyes glimmering with power stared blankly into the darkness behind her, "I will have won."
Minerva involuntarily gasped, pressing her palm to her chest as she processed what she had just learnt.
"You can save him," he added.
She closed her eyes as she tried to think. A few lonely tears were rolling down her cheeks. 'I can't betray him…' she thought, 'but I can't let him die…I can't risk it.'
"Will you let him live? If I do this?"
"Yes…"
"Fine, we… have a deal," she replied with tears in her eyes.
Then he disappeared into the darkness