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 stared down at her Cauldron in horror, as the liquid inside turned from a lovely pink to a deep purple. It was supposed to be orange by now.
"Oh no, no, no!"
"You alright?" Severus whispered from the table to her right.
"No!" she groaned. "I can't get this bloody potion right. Oh, my aunt will kill me if I fail Potions... How am I so bad at this?" With her ladle above the cauldron, she hesitated. Would stirring only make it worse?
"Switch."
"What?" Emma looked up at her best friend. His eyes were on Professor Slughorn, who stood talking to a Slytherin with his back to them.
"Switch, now, while he's not looking. Mine just needs to be stirred for five more minutes."
Within half a second, Severus had leaped to her table and pushed her towards his own spot. He opened her textbook and began reading intently, lips moving soundlessly at the words.
As she stirred his cauldron, she watched him tap a certain passage of the book and mutter, "The alihotsy leaves. That must be it. Let's see..."
He sprinted towards the cupboard and took out some ingredients.
"What are you doing?" Emma hissed when he got back to their tables. "Those aren't in the recipe!"
He hushed her and set to work. Exactly four minutes later he stepped back from her cauldron with a satisfied smile. "Done. Switch back."
Looking down at her cauldron, Emma's jaw dropped. Orange swirls of smoke curled up lazily.
"Still not quite the orange it should be, but it's better than before," Severus whispered over the bubbling of his own cauldron.
"You saved my potion!" She looked up to see him smiling back at her. "You saved my grade. Thank you!"
He shrugged. "You're my best friend, Em. Don't mention it. Now hurry up and finish that potion, time's almost up. And try not to ruin it again."
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Knock. Knock. Knock.
Emma frowned at the door of her quarters, braid unfinished in her hands. Who could that be so early in the morning? She hadn't even been down to have breakfast yet. A quick glance at her watch told her she wasn't late.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Coming!"
She quickly finished her braid, not bothering to tuck in the strands hanging loose over her ears, and opened the door.
"Severus!" Her heart made an annoying little leap.
"Good morning."
An awkward silence fell between them, while Emma searched desperately for words. His lips pulled into a smirk. "Are you going to let me in?"
