Oh gosh, this was beautiful! I loved how you described Minerva's internal struggle and Tom's thirst for power. Also I liked how you emphasized the concept of Tom giving up everything in his want for power and how it leaves him utterly alone in the end.

The love (lust?) scenes were also very powerful, but not in the way that made me cringe away from the screen in embarrassment ( which often tends to happen while reading romance fanfiction.)

The only thing that stood out for CC is that his eyes have always been described as dark instead of green. Or was that added to remind the reader of his Slytherin heritage?

Anyway, it was a great pleasure in reading this as I haven't come across the pairing using this era, the writers ( myself included) usually opting for thier school days instead, it was a nice change of pace in this what I think is a highly neglected ship.

*favorites*

Author's Response: His eyes aren't green? Oh darn, I just looked that up. But it's so cool when he has green eyes! *grumbles about canon* Whatever, what you said sounded good about it connecting him to Slytherin. ;)

Anyways, thank you very much for reviewing this! It means a lot because I think it was you who first sort of brought this ship to HPFF, and it is a fascinating ship. :) I'm glad that the love-ish scenes weren't too disturbing - I was afraid that they were heading towards smut in places, which would have been very disturbing.

It was tempting to write about them in school, but it seemed interesting to try get them together when he applied to Dumbledore for the teaching position. After studying the timelines, it all fit perfectly to capture that moment between them, him already half-way towards becoming the Dark Lord, and she, with more power than a student.

Okay, I'll stop now. :P Thank you again for reviewing and enjoying this story. ^_^

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This was an amazing one-shot! I found it so amazing that there were too many emotions to describe. Your writing was so powerful that at times, even I felt possessed by Tom. There's no wonder that Minerva couldn't resist him until the end. I have to say, your plot was so creative. I never would have imagined that Tom was controlling Minerva through his mind! Like I mentioned to you, it felt like a huge revealation moment to me. Everything just seemed to make sense and it felt more realistic. I truly doubted if Tom had held those feelings for Minerva, but then we find out that there was no physical contact for him. It was all through her emotions and her desires. It fell into place from there, but the next part is so depressing.

The ending was powerful and regret is such an amazing emotion to use. I found that the way you wrapped it up really stayed true to what you intended through out the one-shot. This was brilliant, and so unique to read. You call your writings weird, but I love so many of your pieces. Thank you for letting me get the first read of this one-shot. I'm so pleased with what you wrote and I'm glad I got to get the first review too. Brilliant job once again, Susan! I love you. - Lisa ^_^

Author's Response: Aww, thanks very much, Lisa! It means so much that you were the first one to read this, and that you liked it too! ^_^ It was a very strange story to write, and many times I felt that it was total rubbish. So it's great that it made sense with all the creepy mind control and wacky symbolism. :P Congratulations for getting the first review, Lisa, and thanks so much again for reading this piece for me. =D

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