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 couldn't repress a grin as she walked back to the castle with her best friend, wet and cold to the bone thanks to the snow.
"Don't know why you did that. I bloody hate snowball fights," Severus grumbled.
"Liar." She shoved him teasingly and he snorted.
"Don't start again. We almost made it to the castle."
Christmas was the best time of the year. With everyone going home, there was no one there to interrupt their happiness.
"You didn't have to stay, you know," he muttered suddenly. "You could've gone home. I'd be fine on my own."
Emma shrugged. "My aunt would've been out for most of the holidays. I'd be bored there. And you'd be bored here. Didn't make much sense to me."
It was a lie. A big, fat lie. Aunt April had told her she could take the full two weeks off, if Emma wanted to come home.
As soon as they entered the warmth of the castle, they used magic to dry themselves off and made their way to the Great Hall.
"Wait here," said Severus, without sitting down. "I'm going to go get your Christmas present."
"Now?" said Emma. "It's not Christmas day yet."
"Yeah, but it's annoying me already. I don't want to keep it until then."
Emma's eyes widened and she called after him, "That doesn't sound like something I'd want to have!"
He threw a smirk over his shoulder before exiting the Great Hall. While he was gone, she tried to guess what he could possibly have gotten her. Something that's annoying him... Something that makes noise? Why would she want something noisy?
By the time he came back, hiding her present behind his back, her curiosity had skyrocketed.
"What is it?" she asked, trying to peer around him.
He hesitated. "I hope you like it. I can always return him if you don't."
Her eyes shot up to meet his. "Him?"
He set it down on the table in front of her. Her jaw dropped. She reached out and slowly pulled the cage closer.
"You got me a new toad," she whispered.
The toad inside stared at her with its beady eyes. He was a little darker in colour than Croak had been, but he was... He was... Perfect.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it, Severus. Thank you," she said as she stuck her finger through the bars to pet him.
"What are you going to call him?"
She thought for a moment. All of a sudden, the toad let out a loud, deep croak, reverberating through the Hall. She grinned. "I think it's been decided. His name is Croak. Croak the Second."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
