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.
...
A final tear rolled from her eye as she stared at her best friend. "That's why you did it? Because you were afraid I'd leave you?"
He nodded. "It was selfish of me," he muttered. "I'm sorry."
"Selfish doesn't even begin to cover it," she growled. Then she stepped forward, finally lowering her wand. When he looked up, she said, "You should know by now that I'd never leave you."
He hesitated only for a second, before throwing his arms around her in the tightest of hugs.
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"Watch your posture. Bend your knees more. You must be flexible."
Emma nodded and did as Severus instructed, doing her best not to loosen the grip on her wand again, which had been his previous remark. They circled around each other, wands drawn, ready to attack.
They'd chosen the unused classroom on the second floor for their training sessions; the same one they'd used when they were still in school. No one ever disturbed them here.
She was panting. Hair stuck to her sweaty cheek. With her free hand, she wiped it out of her face. She'd been training for almost an hour before Severus had joined her. She couldn't wait to take a long, hot shower after this.
Her eyes never left his wand-hand. That's where the clue was. That's how she knew what he was doing.
"You go first."
It was all the encouragement she needed. With her lips sealed, she shot spell after spell towards him.
Incarcerous! Confringo! Petrificus Totalus!
It was no use. Severus didn't even break a sweat as he dodged and parried them all. His moves were nimble, elegant, while her own were still much too rigid, even after several months of training.
Suddenly his hand twitched. This was the sign she'd learned to look out for. That twitch, that sudden change in direction of his wand, showed a change from defensive to offensive. She threw out a shield charm before resuming her offense.
"Aargh!"
All of a sudden, she found herself flying backwards. He'd cast not one, but two offensive spells, and she'd only blocked the one. Her wand clattered to the floor as she threw her arms out to catch herself. Her wrist cracked as she flung into the wall. Her tailbone stung as she finally hit the floor, but it was soon drowned out by the pain in her wrist.
"Ow!"
Severus came running up to her, kneeling before her. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to... Are you hurt?"
She groaned, cradling her arm. "Yes. My pride is wounded. Merlin, I am so bad at this!"
He let out a relieved chuckle and sat down against the wall next to her. "You seem to be improving."
