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.
...
"Maybe... I don't know... Maybe they'll get a divorce or something."
Emma stared at him, stunned. "Severus... Lily is married. You have to get over her."
"I can't," he muttered, pulling a hand through his hair. "You know that. I'll always keep trying."
He said something else, but the buzzing in her ears drowned it out. She was married. Married to another man. And he still couldn't let go.
He was in the middle of a sentence, when she said, "I have to go."
His face fell. "Oh. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"No." She closed her eyes for a moment, as the gaping black hole in her chest grew. "No, Severus. I'm not coming back."
"What?"
Something changed in his eyes. They grew dark with emotion, but she was too tired to pinpoint which one. Too exhausted.
"I'm sorry. I have to go."
She stood up to leave, but he grabbed her wrist.
"What do you mean, you're not coming back?"
She couldn't bear looking up at him. Neither did she try to shake his hand off. It was too much. It was all too much.
"I just can't do this anymore. I'm leaving. And I'm not coming back."
Lily was right. She'd been right all along. He would never change. Nothing would ever be different.
He let go of her wrist, stepping back. She heard his breathing get heavier, faster.
"You don't mean that," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She closed her eyes again, and when she opened them, a tear escaped. "Goodbye, Severus."
"No," he said, his voice tight with sadness. Or anger. She couldn't tell. "No, you can't do that. You can't do that to me, Emma."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, but she was already on her way to the door. He probably hadn't even heard it.
"Come back! Come back here, right now!"
She winced at his roaring voice, but she didn't stop. With a trembling hand, she opened the door.
"Emma! Emma, come back! Please, I need you. You're all I have! Emma! EMMA!"
As she shut the door behind her, her heart broke into a million fragments, and she knew she'd never be able to pick up all the pieces.
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The first thing that came back was the pain. A throbbing pain, as if her heartbeat pumped nothing but fire through her veins. She heard a groan, only to realise moments later that it probably came from her own lips.
