A/N Hi! Here is a new part for you, and with that a new contest entry. This story is centred around Emma, the same main character as the one from the second story in this book, A New Life. She's kind of getting stuck in my head. I think I may have to write a full-length story for her. A novella maybe. Anyways! Have this short story for now. :) 

This is my entry for the 2019 Romance Collab contest. It has a max word count of 1000 words (sadly, lol!). Enjoy!

"I can't be seen with a Hufflepuff."

The words resounded through my head. I couldn't forget the look in his eyes. The bravery there completely contradicted the slump of his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Emma."

No. Those words meant nothing now. He'd said them to Lily, too, and it meant nothing then. Those words are hollow and meaningless.

"But we've been friends for years!" I shouted, still hoping against hope that he didn't mean it. That it was all some kind of stupid joke.

He lowered his gaze to stare at the hem of my black school robes, his ebony locks shielding the pain in his eyes. "Not anymore."

Not anymore. Those two words made my stomach turn and my heart contract.

Severus Snape was my best friend. The only one who knew everything about me; from my secret dreams to my worst fears. He was the boy I'd had a crush on since our first year at Hogwarts, and who still haunted both my dreams and my nightmares six years later. But he had let the other Slytherin boys get into his head. He'd let their talk of power and might lead him on the darkest path, dropping everything that meant anything to him.

Including me.

Just when I needed him the most.

It had been three weeks since Severus had dropped me like a sack of Hagrid's worst Treacle fudge and I believed I'd waited long enough. This was ridiculous. I needed my best friend and nothing, nobody, was going to stop me from seeing him. Not today.

It was Friday and the last class of the day had just finished. I knew Severus' schedule like the back of my hand, so I knew he'd be on his way down to the dungeons from the Charms classroom on the third floor right now.

I made my way through the cold, characterless hallways of the castle until I came by the corner that both Hufflepuffs and Slytherins passed on the way to their Common Rooms. I pushed myself into a shadowy corner and waited.

It wasn't long before the low, booming voices of his "friends" echoed off the ceiling. I pushed myself off the wall and walked in their direction. Just as they passed the corner, so did I. I hooked my arm in Severus' and pulled him back around the corner.

At my touch, Severus jumped backwards and pulled his wand, before noticing it was me. I gave him an unimpressed look and he lowered it.

"What do you want?" he sneered.

"We need to talk."

"No," he said, a defiant look in his eyes. "No, we really don't."

"Severus!" I sucked in a sharp breath, clenching my lips together in an attempt to stop them trembling. My vision already blurred, no matter how hard I tried. "Please..." I croaked out eventually.

He hesitated, glancing over my shoulder at the quickly disappearing voices of his friends. "Fine," he said. "Talk, then. I have nothing more to say."

Resisting the urge to slap him for being so horribly inconsiderate, I walked around him and stepped into the nearest empty classroom – of which there were quite a few in this part of the castle. I pulled the letter I'd received in the post that morning out of my pocket and held it in a clenched fist as Severus shut the door behind him.

"What do you want, Emma? I don't need this..."

"It's not about that," I interrupted him before he could shatter my heart even further with his words. "It's... It's..."

My lower lip betrayed me once more and I held out the letter for him to see.

Casting me a puzzled look, he took it and read.

In any other situation the change on his face would've been quite hilarious. He was already fairly pale normally but his face turned even whiter while his jaw dropped with shock. "Is this... Are you..."

I nodded. "She's gone." My voice cracked. "My aunt is gone."

Unable to stop myself any longer, I burst into sobs. My aunt had practically raised me. She was more of a mum to me than my actual mum. But her job as an auror was a dangerous one. And now she was gone and I had no family left. None to speak of, anyway. All I had was Severus. And even he had pushed me away.

"I... I'm sorry, Emma." His voice had softened to the low, deep voice he used when it was just us. The familiar sound made me feel at home. Made me feel safe.

The sobs continued racking my body. The hollow feeling that had settled in my stomach since I read that letter for the first time, seemed to expand into new depths. It swallowed my world. "I've got nobody left, Severus," I sobbed. "I'm all alone."

"No," came his immediate response. "No, you are not alone." Two arms wrapped themselves around my back and pulled me against him. The sweet smell of pinecone sent a few pieces of my shattered heart back together.

"You are never alone, Emma," he continued. "I swear to Merlin, I'll always be here for you."

For a few moments I just enjoyed the feel of his body against mine. When my breathing calmed a bit, I stilled and whispered, "What about your new friends? You can't be seen with a Hufflepuff."

He let go of me and lifted my chin, forcing me to look into his obsidian eyes. I'd never been very good at reading those eyes. I always fooled myself into seeing something that wasn't there. But this time, his words confirmed what I thought I'd seen.

"I can't be seen with a Hufflepuff. Except this one. You will never be alone, Emma. I will never leave you."