Emma pressed her forehead against the freezing window, watching the snow flutter about. The castle had never been so quiet before. Almost everyone had gone home for Christmas, and those who hadn't spent much of their Christmas break in the cosy warmth of their common rooms. She and Severus had the rest of the castle to themselves.

And it was wonderful. No one jeered at them as they walked through the halls. No one tripped Severus up or made fun of him in the Great Hall. It was a break. A real break. A well-deserved one.

"You're never going to win if you don't pay attention." Emma looked up to see her best friend grinning at her over the chessboard. "Come on. Your turn."

"Sorry." She hung her leg over the edge of the windowsill they sat in and focused her attention on the board. "Er... Knight to... E5."

She saw the twitch in Severus' lips and knew she'd made a mistake. Two minutes later, she'd lost the game and he was telling her all about the stupid mistake she'd made.

She didn't mind losing to him. The way he smiled when he won made up for it.

He jumped up from the windowsill. "You put the pieces back in place. I'll be right back."

Emma sat up. "Where are you going?"

Already on his way, he smiled mischievously over his shoulder. "It's Christmas Eve and we're out of sweets. I'm going to the kitchen to get some more of those chocolatey things you like."

Her heart swelled – she couldn't help it. "But you'll get in trouble!"

"Not if nobody finds out I was there!"

"... and then swish your wand down like this. Again, up in a circle, then swish down. Don't hold your wand too tight, that curbs the power of your spell. Everyone got that?"

Emma looked around the classroom, waiting for a hand to shoot up. Not one did. In fact, the first-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had been unusually quiet all lesson.

"No questions? Alright, then let's practice. Books away!"

Still no peep from any of them, despite them all obeying her immediately. What is up with these kids? Back when she was in school, first-years would all but burst into cheering the first time they got a chance to practice actual magic.

"Okay. As we've seen, the spell lights up the tip of your wand if cast successfully, so you'll know if you've done it right. Wands at the ready. Begin."

Emma walked up and down the classroom, zigzagging between the desks to watch her students practice. The muttering of spells rumbled through the room. Miss Granger, a Gryffindor and by far the brightest student she had, managed to light up her wand – albeit vaguely – within just a few tries. A few Ravenclaws had some degree of success as well. The Gryffindor boys in the back, however, not so much.

"Don't forget the circling motion, Mr Weasley. It's Ee-piss-key, Mr Finnigan. I know, very funny. Keep practicing. Mr Longbottom, staring at your wand isn't going to make it light up."

She paused when the boy flinched and cowered in his seat. The way the other boys glanced over at him didn't escape her notice.

Emma crouched down in front of Neville Longbottom's desk, took his hand and made the motion with him. "And swish down. Remember, the incantation is Episkey. Give it a try."

Neville whimpered, his eyes wide and his wand shaking in his hand. The boys around him had gone eerily quiet.

"Nothing can happen to you. It's a very safe spell. Just give it a try."

Neville opened his mouth hesitantly, before snapping it shut again, shaking his head furiously. "I'll blow something up again. I'm a failure."

At that, the Gryffindor boys burst into protest.

"You're not a failure, Neville!"

"Don't believe that arsehole."

"He's just a hook-nosed twat."

"Oi!" She stood up and gave the boys a pointed look. "Language, you two. You don't want to lose the points Miss Granger just earned your house, do you?" When they backed down, she continued, "Good. Now, will someone please explain to me what's going on? What has you boys so upset?"

Neville sobbed quietly, his wand abandoned on the corner of his desk. The other boys sat staring at each other or their own laps with their lips pinched.

"Anyone?"

"We've just had Potions, Professor," said one of the girls quietly. She glanced at Neville guiltily. "It was... pretty awful."

An uncomfortable feeling of dread settled into the pit of her stomach. He wouldn't...

"Why was it awful?"

"We were practicing the boil-cure potion and... Well..."

"Neville blew up his cauldron," said Dean Thomas. "But it was an accident!"

"It was pretty epic, really," added Seamus Finnigan.

The boys chuckled.

"I don't see the problem," said Emma. "You made a mistake. It happens; you've only been to school for a week. I'd be more worried if you didn't make any mistakes."

Neville brushed some tears away, but still wouldn't look at her.

"Professor Snape freaked," Dean muttered. "Called him a failure. He said Neville would never amount to anything and might as well quit school now."

Emma's heart clenched tightly as she watched Neville push his head further down between his shoulders, hiding from the world like a turtle in its shell. "Professor Snape said that?" Her voice came out low, almost like a growl. The classroom had gone so silent that her voice echoed off the stone walls.

Neville nodded, whimpering.

Emma crouched back down by his desk and said, "Mr Longbottom, listen to me. Making a mistake means nothing except that you've tried. You have to make mistakes in order to learn. That does not mean that you're a failure, or that you don't deserve to be here, do you understand? Keep trying and you'll get there soon enough, you'll see."

Wiping away his tears, Neville hiccoughed, "He just m-made me nervous. I th-threw in the wrong ingredient because he made me n-nervous."

Emma smiled encouragingly. "He is a little intimidating, isn't he?" She stood up, sighing. "Don't worry, I'll have a chat with him. For now, let's get back to practicing Episkey. Wands out, everyone!"

Her footsteps echoed all around her. The more she left the laughter and chatter of children's voices behind her, the more violent the disappointment washed over her.

She'd seen Severus leave the Great Hall. Knowing this conversation was best left private, she had planned to approach him at his office. But they'd barely left the bustling Hall behind them and Emma already found herself unable to wait any longer.

"Severus!"

He turned and smiled when he spotted her, obviously unaware of the turmoil inside her.

"Evening, Emma. How was your day?"

"Not bad." She walked past him, gesturing for him to follow. "My last lesson was a bit strange, though."

"How so?"

For a few moments, Emma listened to their footsteps harmoniously echoing back off the stone walls of the dungeon halls. Harmonious, for now. They'd only just become friends again. Was she really going to ruin it already?

The next moment Neville's face popped into her mind, the tears as he recalled his previous class, the terror in his eyes when asked to try a simple spell.

"One of the first-year Gryffindors spent most of my lesson wiping tears from his face. Apparently, they'd had Potions just before that."

The smile froze on his face, his eyes darkening, before he turned away from her to stare ahead. His pace increased, the harmony lost as she struggled to keep up. "And?"

"That kid was terrified, Severus! What did you do to them?"

His head whipped around and he stopped in front of her. "I taught them a lesson. I've been teaching for ten years before you came along, Emma, do not question my methods."

"Your methods? Scaring him isn't a teaching method."

Severus scowled. "If one scolding scared him that much, he shouldn't be in Gryffindor."

Emma grabbed his arm before he could walk off. A flood of anger washed the frustration away. "Those kids are eleven. They don't know how to be brave yet. How are they going to learn if you hold them back with fear?"

Severus ripped his arm from her grip, but she didn't give him a chance to respond.

"You should know better than anyone what fear does to a child. After all you've been through, you've become just like them – a bully!"

His eyes narrowed and he growled, "Don't you dare lump me with them. I am nothing like them."

"Well, you sure as hell sound like them from what I've heard!"

He stepped back, nostrils flared, and took a moment to straighten his robes. "If you have forgotten who I am since you left me, that's on you. I have nothing to prove to you."