Chapter 10: Tea for Two
by ataraxis

Severus returned to his own chambers and fell into his reliable, trustworthy chair. Once he was settled, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes to relive the last few moments in Harry Potter's presence. He had been so stunned to realize that Harry was the sole occupant of Emma's rooms that he hadn't given thought to the fact that it must have been Harry he had seen in the bathroom naked. But now that he had put two and two together, he wasn't as surprised by his earlier reaction of thinking he might be gay.

His conscience had been right in pointing out that he had been attracted to someone years ago, the same someone he was apparently physically attracted to even now. Severus lifted his head from the seat and knocked it repeatedly against the seat.

"Why me? Why can't I get over the blasted Boy-Who-Lives-Just-To-Torment-Me?" Severus questioned himself aloud. Only silence met his question. He rolled his eyes and gave a sigh of long suffering.

Still something about the conversation he had with Harry nagged at the back of his mind. The pieces just fit together too well. Severus sighed once more and pinched the bridge of his nose to ease the tension that still radiated out from there, giving him a headache.

Severus left his living room and entered his bathroom to retrieve a pain relieving draught, with a hint of sleeping aid brewed in, and then he prepared for bed. He made a mental note to himself to invite Emma to a late evening tea tomorrow, the next time he saw her.

- - - hpsshpsshpsshpss - - -

Harry spent the next morning preparing himself for his role as Emma once more. The night spent asleep as himself had recharged his magical energies and the transformation was almost effortless. After the change, Emma called for a house elf for breakfast and devoured the entire meal.

Feeling chipper and actually relaxed, thinking that Emma and Harry were both safe from any further questioning from Severus, Emma set out for her first Charms class of the day.

- - - hpsshpsshpsshpss - - -

Classes that day had gone well for Severus, at least from his point of view. No cauldrons had exploded, though several students had turned in totally failed specimens, and he had been able to take thirty points a piece from every house except his own. Unfortunately, he had not been able to attend lunch like he had wished, as he had assigned immediate detentions to three students from Hufflepuff and stayed to oversee it. He had asked a house elf to bring sandwiches for himself and bread and water for his 'prisoners.' Now that it was supper time in the Great Hall, he hoped that Emma still had nothing planned for later on.

Severus sat quietly in his seat, watching his Slytherins, not noticing Emma enter from the staff door and walk past him and towards the Headmaster. He just caught a motion from the corner of his eye and saw the two professors quietly converse. He couldn't see Emma's face, but he saw that Albus looked placid and unphased, though there was no twinkle present in his eyes.

He continued to watch and Albus turned briefly while Emma was still talking and caught Severus' eye. Albus frowned at him in displeasure and Severus shifted in his seat, but did not allow his facial expression to change.

Severus could only conclude that Harry had told Emma about his visit last night, and was relaying the events to Albus. He knew Albus couldn't take him to task, for Albus had told Severus himself about being able to access Emma's room through the Floo.

Before he could watch to see how Albus responded, from the periphery of his vision, he saw a student throw something across the way at another house. Severus got up from his seat to deal with the irksome situation.

Once the student had been given detention and more points taken from their house, Severus returned to his seat to find the food had arrived and he prepared his plate. Before he took his first bite, he turned towards Emma and noticed that she did appear in better spirits and much refreshed from her night away.

"I take it your night away from the school left you feeling better?"

Emma turned her head and grinned as she chewed. Once done she said, "Indeed yes. I was able to sleep like a baby, without a care in the world. Though Harry tells me he wasn't so fortunate. I should take you to task for invading my chambers without my permission, but it seems you were just concerned about me, and for that I wouldn't. Of course, I blame Professor Dumbledore more for last night than you, as I expressly told him just a few hours before that I would be unavailable for the rest of the evening. He must be getting quite senile if he forgot so quickly.

"I hope you won't mention running into Harry to anyone. He's a very private person."

"No, I won't mention it, though I would like some answers to some questions I have. Would you be willing to have a cup of tea or glass of wine with me later on?"

Harry was instantly wary. He disliked the idea of more questions, and he was sure they would be about his 'relationship' with Emma, but avoiding Severus would just make it worse and make the man even more curious. So Emma nodded affirmatively and asked when.

"Would eight o'clock work for you? I have to patrol the corridors this evening at curfew."

"That would be fine. I'm done for now, so I think I'll head up to my office and finish grading until then. Enjoy the rest of your meal Severus." Emma arose from her chair and left the Great Hall by the side door. Severus' gaze followed her the entire way. Again he had this nagging idea pulling at the back of his mind, but he still couldn't put his finger on what was troubling him.

He shook his head to clear his concerns and focused once more on his dinner and avoided any conversation that Professor Sprout tried to engage him in.

- - - hpsshpsshpsshpss - - -

Severus called for a house elf to bring a tray of Darjeeling tea and lemon biscuits before Emma was to arrive. He didn't want any distractions during their conversation, or more like an interrogation. He honestly wanted some answers, and he was determined to get them.

Emma was punctual as usual and she entered and took her usual seat. Severus served the tea and biscuits immediately and once they were both settled, Severus started the conversation in earnest.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew Harry Potter when we spoke the last time? I mentioned that it was possible he could be the new Dark Lord and all you said was no, that you didn't think he could be something he detested. Why not just tell me you knew where he was and what he was doing and it wasn't being the next Dark Lord?"

Severus watched as Emma sat down her tea cup and then settled back in her chair. As he continued to wait for a response, Emma crossed her arms as if in defense and it was at that moment that the nagging thought he had about Harry and Emma came rushing forth. Severus kept himself from gasping with the revelation, Harry and Emma weren't friends. Harry was Emma. The same hand gestures, the same way they held themselves, even the facial expressions were the same; all told the story that Harry was masquerading as Emma Malsby. Hence why Albus trusted her completely, some relative unknown as far as he knew to the Order, to do their investigation of the students. The bits of conversation that he had heard from Albus' office made sense to him now. Harry and Emma both brought out fierce emotions in him, because they were one and the same person. The physical attraction he felt for them both also explained a quite lot.

Severus thought that he should be truly upset by this revelation, and that he should be demanding explanations from both the person sitting in front of him and the one person he had trusted most of his life, his boss and mentor, Albus Dumbledore. But all he felt was perfect understanding and it galled him somewhat that he did. He wanted to shout and rant and throw stuff around, but he wouldn't because deep inside he was proud and pleased with Harry. Harry had become the perfect spy and he had fooled Severus Snape, for that alone deserved his appreciation.

But he wasn't a Slytherin for nothing and he would get some small measure of revenge for not having been told who Emma was from the start. Oh yes, he would have the last laugh and possibly more than that when all was said and done.

A/N: Thanks to dearest Maggie for the quick beta. I hope this chapter appeals to everyone :). I would appreciate any feedback you give. I would like to thank all the reviewers for Chapter 9, they were wonderful.