October – Tom Riddle

"Hello."

Minerva's head snapped up from her book to see Tom Riddle sitting opposite her at the library table. She gave him a quick smile before dropping her gaze down to her book. Quickly peeking over his shoulder, Tom turned to Minerva with a beaming smile.

"What's your name?" He asked her. Minerva inwardly growled.

"Minerva." She quickly hissed.

"It's a lovely name." Tom flattered. Minerva didn't move and kept on reading. "I'm Tom by the way. Tom Riddle."

"Nice to meet you." Minerva muttered and turned her page. She had to re-read the first paragraph three times due to Tom's annoying tapping on the table. His tapping interrupted her train of thought, forcing her to reread the paragraph and start again.

"What house you in?" He asked. Minerva stifled an annoyed sigh; the boy could clearly see her tie colours.

"Gryffindor." She informed him.

"I'm in Slytherin." He spoke and glanced over his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few minutes, much to Minerva's liking. She turned the page and kept reading, glancing at the illustrations now and again to visualise the word's meaning.

"You have nice hair." Tom muttered. Minerva froze.

"Thank you." She replied. She frowned; what did this boy want?

"Do you know anyone by the last name of Riddle?" He asked. Frowning, Minerva shook her head. "You see, I'm an orphan and I'm trying to find my father but I can't seem to find anyone by the last name of Riddle in any of the books. I've seen you here a lot so I thought you might have found him."

"What about your mother?" Minerva asked. Tom stiffened.

"She's dead; she can't be a witch. If she was, then she wouldn't have died." He replied.

"Not even magic can prevent death, you know." Minerva informed him. "If you can't find your father, he might have been a Muggle."

"No, my mother was a Muggle, I'm sure of it. My father must be a wizard." Tom insisted. Minerva pursed her lips. "My mother died. If she was a witch, she wouldn't have."

"But not even magic can prevent death. If there is a spell then it's not known." Minerva claimed.

Tom sneered. "Then what's the point in being magic if you can't stop death?"

"We can delay it but never prevent it; everything must die in the end. I will die, you will die-"

"I won't die. I'll make myself immortal." Tom claimed. Minerva gritted her teeth, thinking Tom was arrogant and ignorant. Sighing, Minerva stood up and packed away her book.

"I'm not going to argue with you but if you want to find your father, I know nothing." Minerva finalised. She swung her satchel over her shoulder and stormed out of the library, slightly annoyed by the Riddle boy.

She hurried out of the castle, heading to one of the only places she knew was quiet and untouched by her fellow students. She raced down to the lake, stalking down a small path between two large bushes and various trees and jumped out onto an untouched pebbled banking. The cold water of the lake lapped against the pale pebbles, shadowed over by a large tree. Minerva hoisted herself up onto the lowest branch and scaled up the trunk to her usual V shaped branch. She made herself comfortable and hung her satchel from a reachable branch.

Pulling out her wand, Minerva thought of the happiest memory she could remember. With the image of passing her Transfiguration exam replayed in her mind, she aimed her wand and muttered the spell: "Expecto Patronum!"

Nothing but a small, silver wisp erupted from her wand. Sighing, she attempted the spell again and again but gained nothing more than the silver wisp.

"You're doing very well," spoke a voice. Minerva turned her head to see Dumbledore leaning against the trunk of the tree.

Minerva gave him an unsatisfied look. "It's not even enough to scare away a wasp." She claimed. Dumbledore laughed joyfully. He pulled out a flat stone from his pocket and skipped against the water five times. "Professor?"

"Yes Ms McGonagall?" Replied Dumbledore.

"What do you remember when you make a patronus?" She asked. Dumbledore stood as still as a statue, staring out at the lake sadly. Minerva hesitated, wondering if she should have asked the question. "You don't have to tell me," She added quickly. "I don't want to poke my nose in your privacy."

Dumbledore's mouth curved into a small smile. "Not to worry, Ms McGonagall." He said. "It's a faint memory, one when my family were all together and having a good time at Christmas."

Minerva frowned. "I'm using a similar memory but it's not working for me." She said, disappointed.

"Well, you're still young and inexperienced. Give it a few more years and I'm sure you'll be able to produce a full patronus." He reassured with a smile.

"Professor, you know Tom Riddle?" She asked.

"Yes, I know Tom. I went to his orphanage to tell him that he is a wizard. What about him?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Well, do you know who his parents are? He's been asking me if I ever came across his last name in any of the library books. Even though he is annoying, I do want to help him out. He keeps claiming his father's the wizard and his mother's a Muggle but I told him that not even magic can prevent death but he won't listen." She explained. Dumbledore stared up at her with a beaming smile.

"You're very thoughtful, but sadly, I do not know who Tom's parents were. I very much doubt that his father was the wizard one. I asked Professor Dippet if he knew anyone by Tom's surname but he did not know and he's been teaching here for long before I was even born." Revealed Dumbledore.

Minerva's face fell slightly.

Dumbledore chuckled, pulled out his wand and poked the tree trunk. Instantly, little blue flowers grew on Minerva's V shaped branches, tangling with her hair and sprouting between her fingers. "Cheer up, Ms McGonagall." He said lightly. "The happier you are, the easier it is to produce a patronus."

We get to see a bit of Riddle's nastier side and more of Minerva's infamous temper in the next chapter ;)