Chapter 15: Mysteries Solved
by ataraxis

After his initial Occlumency lesson with Mr. Turner, Harry raced from one end of the school to the other so that he could be first to the Room of Requirement. He had a specific room in mind he wished to create for his and Severus' duel. Several students cast odd glances in Professor Malsby's direction as she passed them, but not one of them dared to stop her for fear of house points being taken.

As Harry entered the hallway where the Room of Requirement was located, he slowed down to a more sedate pace and when he noticed the door had yet to appear, he walked back and forth and thought of the exact room he needed. The door finally materialized, but Harry decided to wait until Severus showed up before entering.

Harry leaned back against the wall opposite the door and waited patiently. He didn't have long to wait before he heard the click of boot heels coming from the staircase around the corner. Once Severus was in view, Emma gave the Potions Master a pleased grin, noting the dueling robes the man had changed into. Harry had known he wouldn't have time to go back to his suite and change after his lesson with Mr. Turner, so Emma wore an almost exact duplicate of Severus' dueling robes; except instead of being in all black with touches of white, Harry's was in muted shades of gray and green with a white shirt, which he knew would look good against Emma's colouring or his own.

Harry opened the door and ushered Severus in. Once inside, Harry noticed the room had met every specification and he looked at Severus to see if the man understood what part of the room was for.

Severus finally noticed the vanity mirror and desk at one end, and next to it was a reminder picture of Harry Potter.

Harry turned to his opponent and spoke, "I would suggest you ward the doors against entry. When we duel, I'd like it be as me, not as Emma Malsby. It will just take me a moment to 'change.'"

Severus warded the entry to the Room of Requirement heavily, so no one, barring themselves, could enter or leave the room. Then he followed to where Emma sat at the desk and watched as one part after another of Harry changed back to normality.

Severus sighed with pleasure when he looked into the mirror and his eyes locked with the beautiful, green eyes that he had always found appealing. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, Mr. Potter. It is now a pleasure to see you."

Harry grinned with delight and he stood up and moved away from the desk. He would have need of it again when their dueling was over. "Thank you for the warm reception, Professor Snape," Harry spoke playfully and gave the man opposite him a smart bow.

"Don't get cheeky with me, brat." Severus stepped close to the younger man and reached up to lightly touch a cheek as he spoke. "So you are a Metamorphmagus. I wasn't sure how Emma Malsby existed after hearing bits of conversation between you and Albus over a week ago. I became extremely curious afterwards."

"You heard some of that? You gave no indication when you entered Albus' office. Damn, you have better facial control than I do. It's so difficult to keep a feminine voice in place, especially whenever I get upset or thrown for a loop. And with you, those things happen so easily. Before, my assignments had always been as men located in a foreign country, therefore I could get away with using my own voice." Harry figured now that Severus knew of his ability, he could tell the other man all about those assignments he had been on, and how he had decided that this assignment would be his last.

"Then if you're leaving the Ministry what will you do for a career?"

Harry grinned as he spoke, "I've asked Albus to take Emma's place as Charms teacher. He told me I'd probably be trumpeted in with much fanfare, and that if I were to stay here until the next school year, I would be assured of creating a full school, as attendance would be up and every invitation to the new first years would be accepted. I might not like my celebrity status, but I'm not above using it if I think it would benefit others."

Harry frowned as he thought once more about Albus. "Severus, you said Albus told you that I could be visited via Floo the other night, correct?"

"That's correct. Though mind you, he also told me that I should only try to visit Emma about half an hour after dinner was over. I, um, did visit then."

Harry gave Severus a questioning look.

Severus blushed and cleared his throat. "You were presently occupied in the bathroom."

Harry's eyes bugged at what Severus statement implied and he stammered out a shocked, "Oh." Then Harry turned bright red and ducked his head to hide his embarrassment.

"That's why I came back the second time. To find out why there was a strange man in Emma's quarters with no Emma in sight, when Albus had told me pointedly that Emma wasn't feeling well."

"You were concerned about me?" Harry asked with glee.

Severus smirked. "I believe I mentioned to you that evening that I had been concerned about Emma. Finding you there was a...pleasant surprise." Severus may have said he loved Harry, but he wasn't about to tell Harry that his returning to Emma's quarters that night had also been influenced from having seen the strange man naked in the bathroom and finding him physically attractive. He had some sense of self-preservation.

"So, let's get all the facts straight. Albus had to know you were there behind the door, since he has a charm on it that lets the door act like a mirror only he can see through. And since he knew you were there, he allowed you to hear parts of our conversation, which guaranteed that you would be curious to know who Emma was. Then he tells you that you can contact Emma, even though he knew I would be changing from Emma to Harry that evening, to recharge and rest. Yet, all this time, he told me again and again not to let you know who I really was. What game is Albus playing?" Harry just could not wrap his mind around what Albus was thinking. Even after knowing the man and interacting with him for over ten years, he had yet to figure out how the other man thought; it was like navigating a maze where the walls kept changing direction.

Severus shrugged and shook his head, clearly just as confused as Harry about the events that had led to this point, but Severus wasn't about to change history just so that Harry's cover wouldn't be known by him. He was glad for whatever Albus had done.

"If I hadn't figured out who Emma was, what would have happened to her and you, to us?" Severus was curious to find out.

Harry's smile was shy. "Why do you think I wanted to take Emma's place and leave my old job? I knew Emma would disappear from the face of the earth once the job was completed, but I wanted us to continue on as friends. You fascinated me from the first, when I started this job. You threw all my preconceived notions of whom you were right out the window when you were cordial to me, to Emma. It was as if you were a riddle that needed solving." Harry blinked and realized just what Albus had been doing with the two of them, but asked Severus just to be sure. "Do you like puzzles or mysteries?"

"Well, yes. I do the Daily Prophet crossword every morning at breakfast, as I'm sure you've noticed. And I really enjoy reading those Muggle mystery novels. Albus gets me a few of them every year for Christmas."

At this, Harry exclaimed, "That's it. That's what game he was playing. He wanted each of us to think of the other as a mystery to solve. He knew of your penchant for them, and mine as well. He's been sending me a new mystery novel by my favorite author, Aspen Russ each year while I've been away on assignment. In fact, that was the book I think you slipped on the other night when you fell into my bed, I found it trampled on, on the other side of the bedroom."

Harry noticed Severus blush once more and for the life of him, couldn't think why, so he asked.

Severus snickered, a sound Harry never thought to hear come from those thin lips.

"What?" harry questioned.

"Aspen E. Russ, or her full name 'Aspen Eve Russ', is an anagram for Severus Snape. Those books are mine. It's how I augment my teaching salary and what I do during the summer months while the students are away."

Harry at first was shocked and then when that additional piece of the puzzle fell into place, Harry realized why Albus was wanting them to solve these 'mysteries.'

"Merlin, we're perfect for each other. Albus knew that and he made sure we realized it ourselves."

Severus reached around Harry and brought the smaller man into the cradle of his arms. "That we are, but let's not let the old meddler know we figured it out. Alright?"

Harry nestled into the warm embrace and nodded his head. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well... I was thinking something like this..." Severus went on to explain in detail his plan to Harry and Harry laughed with delight at the wool they were sure to pull over the Headmaster's eyes.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Chapter 16 has been written and beta read by the ever lovely Magdelena and will be going up tomorrow. After that will be one maybe two more chapters and the story will be over. Thanks for reading along.