AN: written for semi-finals of the quidditch league fanfiction competition. Prompts are: (word)planet, (word)solution and (song) Shut Up And Dance With Me.

Characters; Tom Riddle Jr./Voldemort and Minverva Mcgonagall.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters/places.

Minerva Mcgonagall thought she was a pretty good judge of character.

When she met Tom Riddle on the train to Hogwarts, she knew he was odd, and perhaps slightly troubled but she also knew that they could be good friends.

That was until he was sorted. She knew he might not get into Gryffindor with her, but he thought for sure that he'd go into Ravenclaw. Not Slytherin. She decided she'd still give him a chance, he didn't seem that bad, maybe Slytherin house had changed.

By the end of the first week, she knew se had been wrong. He had completely ignored her every attempt to say hi or be friends. She had almost given up hope all together when she got a letter. Short and too the point, saying simply, planet tower. After dinner. There was no signature but she knew who it was from. Only one person she knew called the astronomy tower the 'planet tower'.

After dinner she excused herself from her house mates and made her way up the tower. When she got there, he was already waiting.

"I was worried you wouldn't come."

"Why wouldn't I? I would like to think we're still friends."

He smiled at her, "I was hoping you'd say that."

She frowned, "It is not going to be easy though, everyone is going to be against us."

"Maybe we could keep it quiet? Just until we know enough magic to defend ourselves?"

Seeing no other solution, she agreed. They planned to meet once a week before they each snuck away to their common rooms.

In second year Minerva started to get worried, he was hanging out with people she knew would guide him towards a path she didn't want him to take. She begged and pleaded with him throughout the entire year. But he was unconcerned. "They're my house mates. Don't worry I'll be fine." But she wasn't so sure.

It was in third year that she started to really notice boys. Notice Tom, she eventually admitted to herself. The seventh years got to have a Yule ball that year. She wondered if she would ever dance. And even if she did, would she be dancing with who she wanted to?

The answer was no. The next year, the fourth through seventh years had a ball, but she didn't dance. And neither did he. They shared a glance across the room, each knowing what the other wanted and each knowing it was not safe to do so.

When she got to their next meeting she was rambling on about something unimportant and didn't even notice when he turned the music on. "Shut up." She froze, "Excuse me?"

"Stop talking, and come dance with me."

And before she knew it they were spinning around the tower in circles. Soon, that was all they did, dance as they talked and laughed. And wondered why their houses couldn't just get along.

Fifth year was her best year at Hogwarts, she made Quidditch captain and he made prefect. Their meetings went from once a week to two or even three times a week. Between the two of them they were set on getting first and second in their year for their O.W.L's.

Sixth year was her worst year. The second year Rubeus Hagrid got expelled, even though their was no way his spider could have done the attacks that had taken place. She knew Tom was involved. She knew that he was behind everything. But she couldn't bring herself to look at him as a monster when he was laughing as he spun her around. So she ignored the signs and continued on as normal. Slowly though, she thought she was loosing him.

By seventh year she had lost him. She tried to bring him back over and over again. Sometimes it would work for a little while, but eventually she gave up.

Then it was his turn. He tried to get her to join him. He tried to convince her he was right. But he also knew he was loosing a friend (or perhaps something more) because of a sufferance of opinion. He tried to win her back. Stopped trying to change her mind and started listening to her. He tried to see the world as she did, but he couldn't. He didn't know what love was, didn't know if he could love. But if he had to say he loved someone it would have been her.

By the end of the year they didn't talk, they hardly saw each other, and the romance that had barley begun ended with both sides wishing it hadn't.

In the first war all she could remember was the boy she'd met on the train. She nearly got other members of the order killed because she couldn't hurt him. Not while he was still her Tom.

When he came back she had no such problem. Her rage had long ago won over her love. And the man she loved, and the monster with his soul, to her, were entirely different people.

The rest of the war was a different kind of dance. She could almost she him smiling and laughing as they fought, maybe not against each other but she could almost hear him whispering, "shut up and dance with me" in her ear. Until he couldn't whisper anymore.

How very wrong she had been.

Thanks for reading!