Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

A/N - I have no idea where this came from, but I kinda like it :)

Written for Hogwarts; Divination, using the prompts Riddle Era, Minerva McGonagall, Uptight.

Fond Regret

She looks back on the years with a fond regret, an odd combination, but one she feels nonetheless. Before he was what he had become, he was charming, a good listener, and there was no doubting he was handsome.

She could claim she had been stupid, but Minerva knew that she hadn't. She hadn't been suckered in, she hadn't been tricked or fooled. She had known, even back then, that he could be dangerous. He had an aura that screamed danger. Perhaps that had been part of what attracted her to him. She had wanted, craved, fun and adventure, and despite being a Gryffindor, there was none to be had with her housemates.

She never told anyone about their... dalliances. She doubted very much that he ever let on to his 'friends', but at the time, that had made it even more fun, even more dangerous. Sneaking around, meeting in empty classrooms and atop the astronomy tower for secret trysts, a quick kiss in an empty corridor between classes, a look across the library.

She hadn't been in love, and neither had he. She had been sure then and she was sure now, though for slightly different reasons, but what they shared, what they enjoyed together, had been fun while it lasted.

She never told anyone. Dumbledore had asked her pointedly if she could think of anything from their school days that might be of interest or importance to the light side, and she had denied all knowledge. She had been in school with him, but they didn't 'know' each other. She had lied to protect her reputation, but also to protect the memories she had of Tom Riddle, way before he became Lord Voldemort.

She made a name for herself as a scholar, a slightly uptight teacher, and kept herself as far away from Tom, and his army, and his darkness, but she would never forget the sweet nothings he whispered in her ear as they made love under the stars.

She looks back with a fond regret, but she will never wish for it to have been different.