Meeting with an old friend

Minerva touched the silvery substance in the pensieve with the tip of her wand. Immediately a lot of images appeared. She carefully chose one and entered in it. She wanted to be sure about something which had happened not long before. She had by then almost forgotten it, having been so stressed and busy with the whole battle and so on, but now that she was alone again she could think more clearly and calmly.

Minerva was walking in the park of Hogwarts. She was alone, or at least she thought she was. She had gone out with a book, to escape just for a few moments from the presence of the Carrows, which had started to be quite oppressive. She tried to defend her students but it was impossible to do but little for them, and the atmosphere at Hogwarts wasn't the same anymore.

A shadow approached her from behind. She turned and extracted her wand just as this shadow called her by her given name.

"Minerva"

"Voldemort" she answered with a snort, repressing the wave of fear she had felt when she had seen him. How was it possible? Where had her feline instincts gone?

"You didn't call me like that, long time ago" he answered, his words coming out of his mouth like hisses.

"Long time ago you weren't like this"

"I've always been like this, Minerva" he replied with a short laugh, without any warmness in it. "Dumbledore still calls me Tom...sorry, called" he added, still smiling without cheerfulness.

"I'm not Dumbledore" she replied briskly.

"No, that's true..." he nodded. "I don't think I could have born two Dumbledores... it would have been much more work to kill two of them instead of one, don't you think so? But I could spare you; after all, as you said, you're not Dumbledore". A light passed for a second in his red eyes, while he looked intently at her.

Minerva stiffened and tightened her lips, but didn't answer. She wasn't exactly in the best position to argue. She stayed with her wand before her, but without making the first move for a fight. It wouldn't have been wise to attack Voldemort.

"Shall we go for a walk, like old friends?" he suggested, with a fake gentle tone.

"We've never been friends" the Transfiguration Professor replied succinctly.

"Oh, what you don't say, Minerva. We've spent quite some time together..."

"Just as long as you needed my help" Her tone had become sharp. They had talked to each other for less than two months, hadn't ever gone out together, and he had the nerve to call them old friends? After all he had done to her?

"I still do" Lord Voldemort answered, without abandoning his fake polite manners.

"What could you possibly need me for, Voldemort?" the woman asked, disdainful. She knew it wasn't wise to provoke him, but she couldn't bear to be treated like this, and, after all, she was a Gryffindor.

"Just like a true Gryffindor... brave and bold... and incredibly stupid when it comes to that" he replied, quite annoyed. "Still, stupid is probably the one adjective no one has ever used, nor will ever use, when referring to you, isn't it?" he added.

She didn't reply. He took a necklace out of his pocket, with a black stone broken in the middle. Minerva startled. It was the necklace she had lost while fighting against the Death Eaters... Dumbledore's necklace...

"Do you recognize this, Minerva?" Voldemort asked with a malicious tone.

Again, she chose not to answer.

"You know, I was there when Dumbledore gave it to you..." he gave a little disgusted laugh "A pathetic little scene..."

He started to walk around her, slowly, while she was still standing in the same position as before, concentrated.

"I can bring him back to you, you know.. I can call him back" he whispered in her ear, brushing lightly her wand with the tip of his long, skinny fingers. " You just need to help me in a few matters..."

For a moment, Minerva hesitated. Was it really possible? The offer was just so wonderful... she didn't know any way to bring it back, but after all he was Lord Voldemort, the greatest Dark Lord of all time... that was it. The answer was right there. She scolded herself. What was she thinking?

She feebly laughed, mocking him.

"Of course, you spent half of your life trying to kill him, and now you come and tell me you want to bring him back? That's the worst lie I've ever heard in my life, and believe me, I've heard quite a few in all my years teaching. I'll never join you, Voldemort" she added forcefully.

"I'd never thought you to be so stupid, Minerva..." he answered, rage growing within him. He closed his hand destroying what remained of the necklace.

"You see? That's what remains of love, Minerva..."

He raised his wand, and for a moment, Minerva couldn't breathe; pain surrounded her everywhere. Then he ended the Cruciatus Curse.

"I won't kill you today, because I still need you to educate my young purebloods... but do not think that next time I'll be as merciful! Just one more mistake, and you'll pay with your life..." he threatened.

Another figure was coming in their direction.

"My Lord..." he began, bowing. Minerva repressed a snort.

"I've finished here. Show our Professor the way back to her rooms" he answered to get rid of him. He was in a hurry. Severus could have noticed the wand he had just stolen, and he didn't want it to happen, not yet, not before he could try it...

Severus put an arm around her waist and brought her to her rooms, without speaking.

Minerva came back to present. She should have understood it that evening, on which side Severus was! There were so many clues, and yet she had failed to see them, utterly convinced by her own blindness. Why hadn't Dumbledore trusted her? Why didn't he tell her about Severus?

But the question which now mattered most was another: was it really possible to bring the dead people back? True, it had been Voldemort who had said it, still… and Albus had always told her it wasn't possible, but he hadn't investigated that much in the Dark Arts field… nor had she, in fact, but she was ready to do it. She was ready to do everything for him… But was it really what she wanted? Albus wouldn't have agreed…or would he?

She walked at a fast pace towards the library. She decided to try and look for everything she could. She would then decide what to do with what she'd discover.

After quite some time, here comes another chapter of my fanfiction!
I want to dedicate it to wanderinglostsoul, because without her this story wouldn't have been updated. Thanks, dear! =D
Thanks also to greenlover2 for the kind review. A special thank you to SylvaDragon, who always readily reviews and makes me very happy. You're great, girl!

Please review and make me know if there are any mistakes, I'm always happy to have the opportunity to improve my writing and my English.=D