Emma Moore, professor in Healing at Hogwarts, has to suppress her feelings for her old best friend and now colleague Severus Snape, who she hasn't seen in ten years, while figuring out who killed her aunt.
...
Emma stomped down the stairs two steps at a time. I'm late, I'm so, so late, she thought, jumping down the last two steps and racing towards the next set of stairs and zigzagging past other students. Just last night she'd reminded Lily to be at breakfast early, for Severus' birthday. And now she'd overslept herself. Staying up till the late hours to make a birthday card to go with his present, had been a bad idea. With both the card and the present now safely in her backpack, she rushed down to the Great Hall, hoping they were still there.
BANG.
She shrieked and skidded to a halt, grabbing the railing so as not to fall down the last few steps. Below her, someone was flung into the stone wall underneath the staircase. Students skittered about, several pushing past her up the stairs.
"McGonagall is coming!" someone shouted near the doors of the Great Hall.
Eyes wide, Emma peered over the railing to see if whoever smacked into the wall was injured.
"Severus!"
She jumped down the last few steps and rushed to his side. Severus groaned and grabbed his arm with his other hand. Tears gleamed in his eyes.
"My arm," he said. "It snapped, I think I broke it."
Invisible vines gripped at Emma's heart. How could this have happened, on his birthday no less?
"Come on, let's go to Madam Pomfrey." She hoisted him up, supporting him under his good arm, and helped him up the stairs.
"What happened, Severus?"
He made a growling noise from the back of his throat. "Black. He attacked me."
"Again?!"
He nodded miserably. "I'm sick of it, Emma, I'm done. I'm going to start learning how to defend myself. I'm going to learn how to fight."
"Was Lily not with you?"
"She was called over to the Gryffindor table. They kept her distracted there. Bloody cowards. Ow! Careful."
"Almost there." Emma pushed open the Hospital Wing doors and Madam Pomfrey immediately came rushing over to them.
"Hurt your arm, did you?" she said, ushering them in. "Go on then, Mr Snape, lie yourself down."
Madam Pomfrey had him healed up within minutes, but told him to take the first lesson off to rest up and recover from the shock. Just as she walked away, the doors opened again and a frantic Lily came running in.
"Severus! Oh my God, Sev, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't see it happen!"
Emma watched with a sinking heart as his face lit up when Lily hugged him. While Severus assured Lily that he was fine, Emma slipped away as quietly as she could, keeping her head down. The last thing she heard before the door fell shut behind her, was, "Thanks for coming, Lil. You're the best."
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