Hello again! Here is chapter two. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story! I really appreciate it so much! Please read and review again!

I still don't own this! (But I wish I did)

Chapter 2

Severus heard a knock on the door at three o'clock. He broke out in a grin and forced himself to walk calmly to the door. He opened it, and in stepped the still ravishing beauty that was his best friend, Emma. He never would have expected his school day feelings towards her to pick up where they left off, but indeed they had and he nearly blushed when she smiled at him and opened her arms to embrace him. He mentally berated himself for the improper thoughts he was beginning to have about a married woman.

"Good afternoon, dear. I brought some biscuits, since I couldn't think of anything else." she said, her voice soft and sweet, just as Severus remembered from his childhood.

"Thank you, Emma. Shall I take your coat?" he replied in his silky baritone voice.

"Please," She replied politely. She had made sure to wear a long sleeved shirt to cover the bruises from her husband grabbing her the night before, but there was nothing she could do about the large burn on the back of her hand from being careless while making his dinner. She had bandaged it and hoped Severus wouldn't notice. Of course, it was the first thing he saw.

"Emma, what happened to your hand?" He asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Oh, it's just a little burn. I neglected to pay attention while I was making dinner last night." she replied casually. She had a feeling she knew what he would ask next, but hoped that she was wrong.

"May I have a look?" he asked, concern still lacing his tone. She nodded reluctantly. How could she say no when he seemed to care so much?

He pulled off the bandage and gasped. She winced, and supposed it really did look rather bad. "Emma, this is fairly serious! Why didn't you just heal it straightaway?" he asked, bewildered.

This was the question she didn't want to answer. "Well, I haven't done magic in a long time, Severus."

His eyes hardened, and he said, "Does he prevent you from it?" he spat. He was especially sensitive to this, because his witch mother was prevented from using magic by his abusive muggle father. She hoped he wouldn't draw that many parallels to their situations.

She winced at his tone, and his eyes softened. "Severus," she said, bracing herself for the questions to come, "I haven't done magic since I left Hogwarts."

His eyes widened in shock, but to his credit, he stayed silent and waited for her to continue.

She felt obligated to tell him the full story, so she began, "You recall that my father pulled me out of school and moved the family to America when that muggle-born was kidnapped from Hogsmeade, tortured and killed?"

Severus winced at the memory of the terrible event, but nodded. Her situation was not unique. Many muggle-borns were taken out of school by their parents after the tragedy occurred, however, most returned the the next year, when the fear had subsided.

"Well," she continued, "At that point, magic was no longer allowed by my father. I was sent to a normal muggle school and he forbade me to have anything to do with magic. I was still young, and very powerful, so I occasionally had bouts of accidental magic, and you can probably guess how that went over with Father," Emma winced at the memory, and Severus's eyes grew hard. He took her hand and traced circles on the back of it with his thumb, in a gesture of comfort. "Anyway," she continued after a moment to collect herself, "I had to take drastic measures to prevent myself from being punished, so I accessed my core like you showed me when we were eleven, and placed barriers around it. They are so strong that I cannot even see my core inside me anymore," she said tearfully. "I can only tell I'm a witch at this point because I can see auras."

Severus' heart nearly broke from his friend's depressed tone. "I will help you, Emma. You do realize that not every witch or wizard can see auras?" She shook her head. "Your power is still strong within you. I can feel it. I will take you to Madame Pomfrey, and we will see what she can do to help you."

He stood up and beckoned for her to follow into the bathroom. He looked in the cupboard and pulled out a jar of burn salve. "Give me your hand," He said gently. Emma complied, and he gingerly applied it to her burn. Within thirty seconds, the injury healed, leaving only a white scar behind, which he treated with another salve. Emma's eyes filled with tears. "I miss magic," she sobbed. Severus' heart ached, and he embraced her, holding her close and resting his chin on her head. "Shh. Everything will be okay," he said. "You have me to help you now. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you after you were taken away from school."

His declaration of loyalty made her sob even harder, and he continued to hold her until the tears subsided to quiet intermittent sniffles. When those stopped, he stepped back, handed her a handkerchief and asked, "Better?"

Emma nodded as she wiped away her tears. She felt it was strange to be comforted this way by Severus, whom she and Lily had helped so much in their shared childhoods. He had become the strong one, and she needed help. It wasn't easy to accept help since she had gone it alone for all these years, but if it meant being held in his arms this way, she was sure she could handle it. She handed his handkerchief back to him, and he gently wiped away a few stray tears with his finger. "Now," he said. "I have invited a special guest to tea with us. Let us return to the sitting room and await their arrival."

"Oh, but Severus, I must look a mess from all that crying.." she protested.

"Not at all, Emma. You look beautiful. In fact, just as I remember you looking at Hogwarts."

She chuckled darkly, "Very bloody likely, Severus Snape. Your flattery will get you nowhere. The years have not been kind to me."

His face darkened at this and he replied, "I do wish they had been kinder. You did not deserve such treatment at the hands of your father. Preventing a magical person from using magic is as devastating as muggle paralysis. I can't imagine a crueler fate. But, darling, I assure you that your looks have not suffered."

"Always the gentleman," she scoffed, but allowed him to lead her into the sitting room to await his mystery guest.

More updates to come soon! Again, please review and keep reading!

Love, Bekahbert