Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (challenges & assignments)

Auction: Day 19, Auction 4 - Tom Riddle Jr/Minerva McGonagall

W/C: 2,182

Summary: Tom is fascinated by Minerva to the point of obsession, and he asks her every week for a date. So Minerva sets him a challenge and agrees to consider saying yes for once if he completes it...

A/N: un-betaed, as usual, very sorry. Will fix.

The Weekly Question

Minerva was patrolling the corridors after dinner, the students not daring to put a foot out of place in her vicinity while she performed her head girl duties. Minerva showed them fairness and respect, and in return, they respected her authority.

Then she saw him and silently groaned.

Tom Riddle.

Minerva would've turned away, gone to patrol the corridors around the kitchens earlier than she usually did, but Tom had caught her eye. A slow smirk appeared across his lips with a happy glint in his eyes. No, not happy. That boy didn't know actual happiness unless he was making someone miserable. She sighed, no, he was happy because he was about to make her miserable. She had the thought right the first time.

"Good evening, Minerva," he greeted her. He clasped his hands behind her back and fell into step with her. "How has your day been?"

"Should you be patrolling the third-floor corridors?" Minerva pointed her wand at a passing third-year and a dungbomb flew out of his pocket. He didn't even dare to protest, instead he dropped his head and kept moving. She put it in the bag she carried for these precise moments. "What do you want, Tom?" she asked when he still hadn't left her side to do his prefect duties.

"To ask you my weekly question. I'd thought you would be use to it by now."

She refused to look at him, she could hear the amusement in his voice. "I"m never getting used to that – STOP RUNNING!" she called the latter out to the nearly empty corridor, having heard racing footsteps coming around the corner. Two students came skidding around it, red faces and apologised quickly. "Go away, please," she said under her breath to Tom before picking up her pace.

"I haven't asked my question yet."

His voice really did set her on edge and she couldn't explain it. Most of the other girls simpered away if he so much as looked at them with his dark eyes that were almost black and his neatly combed black hair. She wasn't sure why he was suddenly obsessed with her this year. Six years they'd been in the school together, him the year below her, and Tom hadn't looked twice at her until Minerva had come back for her final year.

Minerva stopped walking and turned to face him with an irritable sigh. "Will you go once you've asked it?"

"Of course. I always do." She waved her hand, signalling him to continue. "Minerva, would you give me the pleasure of your company at the next Hogsmeade weekend?"

"No." He'd barely finished the question when she answered.

"You could be a little politer with your response," he drawled. He still had a smile on his face, which was unnerving.

"I do not draw things out for the sake of saving a person's feelings being hurt," Minerva snapped, feeling her lips start to purse with anger as she spoke.

"Shame. I do like to be hurt from time to time," Tom said quietly. "Have a good evening, Minerva."

She watched him walk away, a flicker of concern running through her at his words. She was certain he was telling the truth.

XXXXXX

"Good afternoon, Minerva," Tom's voice said quietly behind her as she left the Great Hall after lunch.

"For Merlin's sake, Tom! You asked me last night." She'd lashed out with her tone out of anger at him following once more and she hadn't been aware this time.

Tom tilted his head as he walked closer to her. Minerva wasn't a short woman, so when he was near to him their eyes were level to each other. There was nothing in his eyes, no emotions or… soul – well, that's how it felt, but Minerva refused to not meet his gaze. It gave him some kind of power over her if she did, she was sure of it.

"I've come to ask a different question of you."

"I'm going to be let for Transfiguration," she muttered.

"What can I do that would change your mind about joining me on a visit to Hogsmeade?" he asked the question, not delaying like he usually would. He liked to play with her quick temper, like a cat with a mouse, and he got great pleasure out of it when she didn't bite her tongue.

Not expecting the question, as Tom had never pushed on why she said no to his request. He accepted the answer for the week and that was that. Until the next week.

"You don't know what you want, do you, Minerva?" Tom asked after a minute of quiet. "There's no shame in admitting that you don't know."

"I want to be left alone for my final year of Hogwarts, Tom. That's what I would like. To focus on my studies, not some silly schoolboy crush," she told him firmly.

Tom smiled lazily. "This is not a crush."

"Is that so?" She couldn't help the intrigue that came out in her voice.

"You're one of a kind, Minerva." For the first time, he did something he hadn't done in the past; he placed a hand on shoulder. His hand was heavier than she was expecting – warm too. "I feel I would gain something by aligning myself with you. And vice versa. Not many people are of value to me like you would be."

Minerva dropped her shoulder slightly to make his hand fall away. "I'm not a toy to be collect, Tom. I'm a person with ambitions and interests."

"As am I," Tom replied, not phased at all by her continued rejection.

Minerva opened her mouth, but paused her words as a thought struck her. Tom was doing this because he felt he could get something out of her, but not once had she ever seen him do something for another person. Not unless it served a purpose for himself. She smiled and Tom's eyes lit up at that. "Yes?"

"I have a challenge for you, to prove that this isn't because I keep saying no – and we all know how you loathe it when a person says no. Don't you, Tom?" He gave a slow, single nod of his head in amusement. "I will reconsider my answer to your original question if you bake me a cake."

"A cake?" It was nice to see confusion on his features.

"Yes, Tom. A cake. And it has to be made by your own two hands. No magic, no house-elves to help, just you."

"Are you mocking me?" he asked, a hard edge to his voice. His eyes had lost their amusement.

"I do not mock," she said sharply, "I'm not a bully. I simply want you to prove to me that you can do something for another person without expecting something in return, because if you do this, my answer still might be no. You have to decide whether taking the time to do this will be worth it knowing you might not get what you want out of it."

A smile appeared on Tom's pale face once more. He didn't say another word as he walked off into the Great Hall. Minerva let out a breath; finally she could roam the corridors in peace. There was no way on this Earth he would do any kind of baking.

XXXXXX

"Minerva, would you be so kind as to come with me to the kitchens," Tom's voice whispered in her ear while was she in the library doing her Potions homework.

She nearly forgot where was, biting her tongue before she could swear loudly. Her two classmates, Olive and Vera giggled quietly while staring at Tom stood behind her. Two weeks she'd been free of him. It was blissful to know he wouldn't appear at any given moment to ask the question she never wanted to hear again.

"I have a surprise for you," he whispered when she hadn't moved from her chair.

"I hate surprises," she whispered back harshly. It was more the giggling happening across the table that was annoying her more than Tom's unexpected arrival. "Honestly, girls! You're young women now. Act like it."

"Ladies," Tom greeted them, emphasising the word with a smirk, "might I steal Minerva away from your study session?"

"We'll take your bag back up with us, Minerva," Olive said sweetly.

"I'll check out the textbook for you as well," Vera added, two red spots appearing on her cheeks.

Minerva gritted her teeth, closing her eyes for a moment. "Fine."

If she was being honest with herself, he'd mention the kitchens. Surely he hadn't learnt to bake… had he?

They walked down to the kitchens in silence, Tom glancing to her every so often, like he was checking she hadn't made a run for it down another corridor when he wasn't looking. It was taking a lot of effort to not be childish and poke him in the eye with her wand, which was tightly gripped in her fist, just in case.

"Did you miss me? I guess not," he added quickly when she didn't hide her sneer very well. "Did the absence not make your heart grow fonder, as the Muggles say?"

"Tom," she started.

"I haven't shown you my surprise yet," he said, hearing her tone of putting an end to this. "It would be impolite of you not to give me that at least, would it not?"

She reluctantly nodded and followed him into the kitchens. Three house-elves were stood by a large island counter, all wringing their hands, watching the door expectantly. The moment Minerva entered, they looked relieved. On the counter, as she had begun to suspect, were three cakes, one with a caramel coloured icing with Minerva's name in cherry coloured icing, the second was a Victoria sponge with neat dollops of cream circling the top, and the third was a naked chocolate cake with Tom's name in a navy coloured icing around the edge.

"I said no house-elves," she said, kneeling down to look at them. A gut feeling told her that she wouldn't put it past him to have not hurt them in some way to get them to do his bidding.

"I begging your pardon, miss, but we were happy to be helping Tom," one of them said with a beaming smile.

"You never said I couldn't ask them to show me how to bake. It's not a skill one learns without guidance, isn't that right, Gimble?" The middle elf bowed low. "I've spent the two weeks learning everything I could from them. My first attempt meant I was covered in sugar for the most part."

Minerva stood up, having thoroughly checked the elves and not seeing a single cut or bruise on them. Tom gave her that smile that would haunt her dreams one day, putting an arm out to the cakes.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He pulled out a bag of sweets from his pocket, little cherry ones, carefully placed one on each dollop of cream on the Victoria sponge. "There. All done. Three authentic Tom Riddle cakes for one Minerva McGonagall."

Minerva walked over to the counter, Tom not moving to give her much room. She could feel his eyes studying her while she turned the cakes on their stands. They really were beautifully done, but what did she expect, Tom wasn't known to give up on anything once he set his mind to it. Much like trying to encourage her on a date to Hogsmeade.

"Minerva," he said with a quiet sigh, placing a gentle hand on the back of her upper arm, "I'll either be your best friend or your worst enemy, I don't do anything by halves."

"That sounds very much like a threat," she said bluntly, moving herself away from his touch.

He folded his arms, watching her like a spider waiting for a fly to land in its web. "Not a threat. I want you to understand how loyal I am to those that I consider my equal… if they do not cross me."

"Am I crossing you if I still refuse to go to Hogsmeade?"

"Not at all," he said simply. He wave a hand at the cakes. "But I did what you asked without expecting you to agree as compensation. In fact, I am convinced of your answer being no."

Minerva nodded, not saying anything as she looked at the cakes. She was nothing if not fair.

"Okay, Tom. I'll go to Hogsmeade with you. Once. But that is it. I'm not interested in love, relationships, or forming an alliance," she added swiftly when she saw his thoughts flashing across his dark eyes. "I am happy with my lot and do not need a man to complete my life. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," he answered calmly. "One date to Hogsmeade." Minerva nodded sharply. "With an opening to more if you decide to change your mind at the time."

"I won't, but yes."

Tom held his hand out and she shook on it. Merlin help her if she did end up liking the boy.