Keeping Emma

Chapter 6: The Silver Circlet

Emma sat in the parlor of her rooms at Hogwarts, knitting. It was the morning of her third day at the castle. The Headmaster had gone all out to make her feel welcome. Her rooms were pretty. She felt like a princess in her tower. Upon showing her the apartment on the night of her arrival, he had asked what her favorite color was. When she'd told him yellow, a wave of his wand had transformed the rooms into an aerie suffused in the glow of golden sunlight. The ancient, diamond-paned leaded glass in the windows acted as prisms, turning the morning sun into shooting bits of rainbow that danced upon her walls.

Later today, Professor McGonagall was going to take her into Hogsmeade to buy more clothes. For the time being, they had raided the lost items locker and managed to provide her with a rather mad assortment of odd items, a red cowboy-style blouse, a plaid skirt, a pair of boy's jeans, a few mismatched socks, and a sweater--oh, so sorry--make that jumper. Severus had said that sweater sounded 'smelly.' They'd also managed to come up with a pair of sneakers, or, as Severus had been quick to point out, trainers.

She had spent her first two days at Hogwarts being given a tour of the castle by Mr. Hagrid. She marvelled at the moving staircases and the huge hourglasses in the entry hall filled with precious gems. This morning, Mr. Hagrid was going to take her on a tour of the grounds and greenhouses. He had asked her to call him Hagrid, but Emma just thought it was wrong, disrespectful even, to call a man so much older than her by his last name.

Since her arrival, Emma learnd that Professor Dumbledore was quite serious about making sure that Severus did not get her alone. Mr. Hagrid was always there, watching. Even during meals in the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore kept Emma next to him. Although Severus sat to her other side, the Headmaster did not allow Severus and her to have so much as a private word. Last night at dinner, when Severus had placed his hand on her leg under the table, the Headmaster had ordered him to keep both his hands where he could see them.

The castle was home to what seemed to be an army of house-elves. One, named Merope, had been assigned to make sure she wanted for nothing. Merope had told her that when the wizard family that had owned her had died out they had left her in the care of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had very strict rules about how the house-elves were to be treated. He had also banned all self-punishment. Merope was very sweet. She had been horrified, however, at Emma's suggestion that they get some material and make her a little frock. Emma had a lot to learn if she hoped to avoid making another such faux pas.

The only fly in the ointment thus far had been the Silver Circlet. Severus had been unable to remove it. He'd tried as soon as they'd arrived at the Hogsmeade Station, but it would not open. Emma hated it. For some reason, it tightened threateningly each time Emma even accidentally touched it. It was a major annoyance.

A brisk knock came at the door. Emma lay her knitting down and ran to open it.

"Good morning, Emma," said Professor McGonagall. "Are you ready to go down to breakfast now?"

"Yes, Maam," Emma answered. "I was just working on my knitting. Mr. Hagrid is teaching me how to knit."

"Yes, Hagrid knits all sorts of things. Right now, I believe he is working on paw covers for his dog, Fang. He once knitted me a scarf for Christmas. It was over three meters long and brown. Everything he knits is brown."

Emma clapped her hand over her mouth to cover her giggle. "I know. He's the one who gave me the yarn I'm using. It's all he has. But he is such a nice man."

"Yes, he is," said Professor McGonagall as Emma closed the door to her chambers.

When they arrived in the Great Hall, Emma took her seat next to Professor Dumbledore, who questioned her about what her plans were today. She told him that she looked forward to seeing the Greenhouses that morning. The day before, Severus had tagged along on her tour of the castle. As they were going down to the dungeons, Severus had turned to lift her over a stair that was not really there. His hands on her waist had sent jolts of pure electricity through her. He had lifted her easily, then let her body slowly slip down his has he set her on her feet. But then Mr. Hagrid had cleared his throat and told him to "step away from the girl, Professor."

She was disappointed to hear Severus say that he was going to be busy taking inventory of the potion supplies left behind by his predesessor and would be unable to join them on today's tour. He always managed to find a way to distract Hagrid long enough for a kiss, or a touch, and Emma lived for those moments.

Professor Dumbledore looked at Emma. "I just noticed, Emma. Why is that circlet still around your neck? You should have removed it as soon as you arrived, Severus."

"I tried, Headmaster," said Severus. "But it won't open. I can't very well blast it off of her."

"Yes, and it's really becoming annoying," said Emma. "It begins to tighten if I so much as touch it accidentally."

Professor Dumbledore immediately looked concerned. "It shouldn't do that. I will send an owl off to Fudge immediately. Severus, I think it best that you not speak to Emma any more."

"Not speak to...for Merlin's sake, why? This is getting ridiculous. I have Hagrid threatening to kill me if I take her hand to help her down a stair. You've enchanted the stairs to the south tower to not allow me up there. Now you don't want me speaking to her?"

"Severus, I greatly fear that the ministry failed to properly remove the Discipline Curse from the Silver Circlet. If I am right, this means that any act of willful disobedience she makes would have some very dire consequences for her. It would be very easy to have an accident. Imagine that you tell her to sit down and she prefers to stand. You placed it on her. It should respond to your hand to remove it, and only your hand, unless someone has managed to alter the way it works. But why would anyone do such a thing?"

Severus had suddenly lost his appetite for breakfast. He turned to Emma, who looked ready to cry as she realized the danger the silver circlet posed to her. He grabbed the circlet and tried to pull it off of her, to no avail. Preston Portage's face appeared in his mind. Severus remembered him coming to stand by Emma's bed, looking down at her as she slept, a cruel smile on his face as he spoke of taking her to Azkaban.

"It's Portage," he said angrilly, giving up the attempt to remove the circlet. "He's done this to get back at not being able to have her in Azkaban."

"Severus," said Dumbledore. "You cannot say things like that. You have no proof. It could have been a simple mistake."

"Right, like threstrals can't fly," said Severus. "There's nothing simple about a mistake like this. That man is more twisted than...than I am."

"I promise you, Severus. I will get to the bottom of this. Come to my office this afternoon so we can discuss how to procede. Perhaps I will have heard back from Fudge by then. Also, I would be interested to hear the tale of exactly how you came to learn that the the stairs to the south tower are off-limits to you, especially after I told you that you were not to go to her chambers for any purpose."

After breakfast, Professor Dumbledore took Emma aside and warned her to avoid being anywhere near Severus. Emma was upset; Dumbledore was not being absolutely forthright about exactly what might happen should Severus tell her to do something and she refused.

She headed off to the greenhouses with Mr. Hagrid and Professor Sprout. They stopped first in greenhouse number one. It was filled with flowers of every sort imaginable. Professor Sprout began to explain about the qualities of various flowers in making potions. Emma learned that a mix of lavender and hops were the basis of a sleeping potion that would guarantee pleasant dreams and that calendula petals could be reduced to an oil that was used in healing balms. In the next greenhouse was an assortment of odd plants that pulsated, growled, and secreted smelly and disgusting slime. They came to a locked door. Professor Sprout told Emma that the area was Severus'. He had requested an area where he might be free to experiment creating his own potion ingredients.

"Severus was always an excellent student," said Professor Sprout. "Very quiet, though. Of course, there were rumors, but there are always rumors in schools about this student or that. We were never able to catch him doing anything wrong. It must have been difficult for him, though, losing both his parents at such a young age."

Emma realized that she knew nothing about Severus, about how he came to be the way he was. And, with Professor Dumbledore keeping them apart, she was not likely to ever find out. The third greenhouse they entered was like a tropical rain forest. Greenery formed a canopy high over her head, and her face was soon wet from the self sustaining mist that permeated the air. The path through the foliage was so narrow that they had to walk single file. Professor Sprout led the way, lecturing on about the various plants. Mr. Hagrid followed behind her, leaving Emma to follow along behind.

Suddenly, Emma found her arm grasped and a hand firmly clasped over her mouth to stifle her cry of surprise. She was pulled into the thick green foliage and quickly released in a small mossy clearing. She turned to see that it was Severus.

"What are you doing?" she whispered. "You're not supposed to talk to me."

Severus smiled and held his finger to his lips. He pulled her down to the soft green moss that covered the floor and kissed her, his fingers quickly unbuttoning the ridiculous red blouse. They had less than two minutes together before they heard Hagrid calling out for Emma. Severus pressed a note into her hand and disappeared into the greenery, leaving Emma to hurriedly try to get the blouse rebuttoned. She turned to see Hagrid lumber into the clearing.

"What are you doing, Emma?" he asked. "You need to keep to the path. We got a few man eating plants in this greenhouse, and you're the right size for a tasty little appetizer for any of 'em."

"Sorry," she said. "I thought I saw a flash of color and thought it was a flower."

"Well, come on then," said Hagrid. He held the fronds of a large fern back so she could get back to the path.

Professor Sprout was waiting on the path. She took one look at Emma and noted the green stains on her back. The blouse was pulled from the plaid skirt she wore and buttoned incorrectly.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Your blouse is not buttoned correctly and you've moss stains all over your backside. And your face is all flushed. Is the heat in here bothering you?"

"Oh," said Emma, looking down, her face turning red. She hurriedly rebuttoned it properly and tucked it into the skirt.. "I slipped. The moss is rather damp and slick. This blouse is a bit tight and a couple buttons came open. And it's hot in here, but I'm all right." She was feeling the heat all right, but it wasn't from the greenhouse.

"Well, come on then. And don't wander off the path again," said Professor Sprout sternly.

Emma held Severus' note in her hand. She couldn't wait to be alone to read it. The rest of the tour seemed to drag on. It was difficult to even fake being attentive. Finally, Hagrid was leading her back toward the castle. She told him that she wanted to get cleaned up before lunch.

Once up in her chambers, Emma hurriedly unfolded the note. His writing was beautiful, with long, swirling loops.

Emma,

Dumbledore's right. I cannot speak to you. The risk to you is too great. Between us, however, words are redundant. The air in my dungeon chambers is cool, even on the hottest of nights. But lying in my bed, imagining your dress on my floor, your body under mine, I burn. Leave your chambers tonight and meet me on the stairway to the dungeons. At midnight, the witching hour.

Yours, Severus

Emma smiled and held the note to her. Their few stolen moments on the train and in the greenhouse had made her realize that there was so much more to life than what she had experienced. His kisses drugged her, his touch inflamed. She'd never wanted anyone like this. He must have some feelings for her. A man does not pursue a girl like Severus was if he didn't. It had to be more than just lust.

That afternoon, Hagrid brought one of the Hogwarts carriages around and transported Emma and Professor McGonagall to Hogsmeade. He explained that Dumbledore had removed the spell that kept Emma confined to the school grounds for the afternoon. Emma had changed into the green dress that Severus had given her. She would wear it tonight when she sneaked down to the dungeons to meet him. She imagined him untying the laces of the dress and her heart danced.

On the way, Emma had a sudden thought. "Professor, how am I going to pay for these clothes?" she asked.

"Professor Dumbledore has given me enough to make sure you have everything you need," she said.

"But how am I going to pay him back?"

"I'm sure that the Headmaster does not expect to be paid back, Emma."

Emma was upset. She hated being financially dependent on anyone. The next time she saw Dumbledore, she would ask if he had any jobs or work around the castle that she could do.

Hagrid stopped the carriage in front of a shop called Gladrags Wizardwear. He assisted Professor McGonagall and Emma down from the carriage and held the door open for them. The proprietess of the shop greeted Professor McGonagall warmly.

Professor McGonagall introduced Emma to the lady and explained that Emma needed a full wardrobe. Suddenly, the shopkeeper's eyes grew cold.

"Forgive me, but isn't this the Muggle that I've heard about? The one who avoided being sent to Azkaban by some fast legal maneuvering by Dumbledore?"

"Well, it's nice to see that the gossip mill is up and running," said Minerva. "What difference does it possibly make to you? You sell clothing and we are here to buy some."

"I have my reputation to think of. If word got out that a Muggle was wearing my creations, I would be professionally destroyed. No, I will not have it. Please, remove this...this...person from my shop immediately."

Emma was stunned into silence. She had gotten used to the taunts and snickers of the rich kids in school. But she had never expected to face this type of rejection from an adult.

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to tell the woman off, but Emma spoke up instead. "It's all right, Professor," she said. "Anything from this place would probably be unflattering and itch anyway." Then she turned and walked back out of the shop and hopped into the carriage.

Emma was disappointed and silent on the drive back to the castle. She supposed that she could get more yarn from Hagrid and knit herself a few dresses or something. But she was just learning and even the scarf she was working on was slow going. Professor McGonagall had apologized for the storekeeper's attitude, but Emma just brushed it off, saying "It's not your fault, Professor. I wasn't allowed into my best friend's house either, just because I'm illegitimate and my mom and I were poor. I'm really rather used to it."

Entering the castle, Emma ran straight up to her chamber while Professor McGonagall went straight to Professor Dumbledore's office. Entering, she saw that she had interrupted his meeting with Severus.

"Back so soon, Professor?" said Severus. "Here I thought women never left a shop once they got into it." He was glad of the interruption. Dumbledore had been lecturing him for his attempt to sneak up to Emma's chamber the night before. It had been aggravating as hell. The stairway had kept moving him off to a different landing upon each ascent. It had taken him a half dozen tries before he realized that Dumbldore had anticipated this and had placed a spell on the stairs. While Dumbledore had lectured, he'd thought back to their brief interlude in the greenhouse and congratulated himself on having not gotten her a bra. That had truly been a stroke of genius, no pun intended. Her presence in his bed that night was a foregone conclusion. Emma was one flower ripe for the picking. She wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her. He knew it, and she knew that he knew it.

Minerva ignored Severus. "Beryl Bloward refused to have Emma in her shop," she announced. "She says she doesn't want a Muggle wearing her creations. I am so upset. Poor Emma. She put on a good front, but you could tell how hurt she was."

"That...witch," said Severus, feeling a surge of anger bolt through him. He had already been annoyed because Fudge had not yet bothered to respond to Dumbledore's owl regarding the Silver Circlet. He admitted that he liked to aggravate the hell out of her, piss her off to no end and then turn around and grab her and kiss her. That was just to keep her off balance and get her attention. But to deliberately hurt her, it was like kicking a kitten.

"That sums up my feelings exactly, Severus," said Minerva. "She is a sweet child. I often think if I had ever had a daughter, she would have been like Emma."

"Professor McGonagall, could you go ask her to write down her sizes and a list of what she needs? I'll fly to the village and then apparate to Mulroon and buy her some things in the Muggle department stores," he said.

"But you'll need Muggle money for that, Severus," said Minerva, who was pleasantly surprised that Severus would go out of his way for anyone. "And, by the way, we are collegues now. You can call me Minerva. Just not in front of the students, of course."

"My parents left me fairly well set in the Muggle world, Minerva," he said. "I can afford to buy Emma whatever she needs. Please, get the list and the sizes and I'll leave for Mulroon immediately."

"Yes, and while you're doing that, I'll head off to the Ministry to see Cornelius Fudge in person about that circlet. Oh, and Severus, could you please manage to not buy clothing that is so...revealing? I'm sure you did not fully realize it, but that dress you got her was, well, not exactly appropriate daywear for a young lady," said Dumbledore.

Just before dinner that evening, Emma was sitting on the window sill of her sitting room when she saw Severus come flying down the road that led to the gates. He glanced up and saw her at the window and came swooping toward her. She hurriedly opened the window and leaned out, and he came to a stop right outside. She noticed that he had several bags attached to his broomstick.

"Will you come tonight?" he asked.

Emma felt her cheeks flush as she smiled and nodded her head yes.

Severus smiled as a sense of victory surged through him. "Until tonight," he said. Then he soared away, circling her tower before landing at the main entrance.

It was nearly dinner time, so Emma ran down the stairs to the Great Hall. She noticed the packages that had been attached to Severus' broom sitting at the bottom of the stairs in the entrance hall. Severus had summoned Merope and was instructing her to take the packages to Emma's room. He looked up to watch her as she descended the stairs toward him. Oh, tonight would be spectacular, he thought. And the fact that he could not even talk to her was actually a plus. So many girls simply could not take it for what it was. They always wanted to discuss their feelings after. It was really a pain in the...neck.

"Is all this really for me?" she asked.

Standing on the second stair up, she was as tall as he was. For the moment, nobody was in the entrance hall. "I'm not supposed to talk to you, remember? I have to be very careful how I put things or you might get hurt. But yes, these are for you. I'm sorry you were treated like that. If it's any consolation, I saw her in Hogsmeade when I went into the Three Broomsticks to retrieve my broomstick. I put a rather nasty little hex on her."

"You did? What kind of hex?"

"Let's just say that she won't be sitting pretty for a while. It was the Sphincter Crudus, a Hemorrhoid Hex."

Emma quickly covered her mouth as she laughed.

He reached out and took her hand away from her mouth. "Why do you do that? I like to see you smile."

"Because I have this gap between my two front teeth and it's ugly."

"This is England, Emma. Nobody cares. We think you Americans are a bit obsessed about the dental thing, truth be told. And no part of you could possibly be ugly." He placed his hands on her waist, leaned in and kissed her.

"Severus, what are you doing?" They turned to see Albus Dumbledore approaching. "I told you not to speak to her."

"I am being very careful in how I word things. I'm phrasing everything as a question or simple statement, not a demand. I'm not entirely stupid, Headmaster. Besides, we weren't exactly talking."

"I did not say you were stupid, Severus. I promised that she would be safe in my school. And I mean to see that she is. It would be so easy to make a slip."

"Were you able to speak with Fudge about the Silver Circlet?"

"Yes, he was most confused too. He said that he had trusted Portage to remove the Discipline Spell. They will be arriving tomorrow to see to it."

"Good," said Severus. But he was thinking, tomorrow. By tomorrow she will be my lover.

After dinner, Emma went back up to her chambers to see what Severus had bought her. She opened one bag to see that it was filled with lingerie, a half dozen bras with matching panties, a few lace camisoles, nightwear, and stockings. She had to admit that the man had excellent taste. Who would have thought it after this rather gaudy dress he had bought her? She opened a box to reveal a beautiful emerald green lace pegnoir set. As she lifted it out of the box, a note fell out. Wear this tonight," it said.

Emma felt her face grow flushed. He'd bought this before he'd ever gotten her answer to his note. But of course he knew how she felt about him. He fascinated her. The sound of his voice penetrated her, spinning a magic all its own that entered her veins and spread ever down her body. When he looked at her, she felt like she was actually beautiful. She had never felt beautiful until now. With each kiss, each touch, she had felt her girlish inhibitions slip away like mist. That morning, in the greenhouse, she'd held his head to her, had wanted to shout at Hagrid for interrupting them, for his role in keeping them apart. For the first time, she was able to understand how her mother must have felt each time she'd met a man who had become one of her lovers. Had they made her feel beautiful too?

Another bag revealed some new jeans and tops, a couple dresses, skirts, and silk blouses. He had kept to black and the dark jewel tones that flattered Emma's coloring, staying away from the light pastels. The only light color that Emma could pull off was yellow because it contrasted with her eyes so well. The third bag had shoe boxes in it. Inside them she found a pair of new sneakers, canvas espadrilles, sandals, and a pair of emerald green satin slippers. He certainly had not scrimped. Everything carried designer labels. She had never owned such beautiful things.

Emma could not wait for the sun to set on the long summer day. She took everything into her bedroom and folded it into her drawers or hung it up in the large wardrobe that stood in her room. As she put her pretty new things away, Merope popped into the room. She began to take Emma to task for not calling her to put everything away. Emma had learned, by now, that the House-elf seemed to be obsessive about her work. Upon meeting Merope, the little elf had looked with horror upon the Silver Circlet and begun shaking. Emma asked her what was wrong and Merope had told her about the stories she had heard about them. Merope could not believe the Ministry would actually put one on a human.

Merope placed a basket on her bed. "The young Professor asked me to bring this to you, Miss Emma," she said.

Emma hopped up on the bed, which was much higher than she was used to. She actually had to use a little stepstool to get in and out. She began to remove the items. Inside the basket was another note in Severus' hand. I made these for you. The scents are natural, with none of the harsh chemicals and poisons in the ones they sell in the Muggle stores." Emma tore open the paper he had carefully wrapped the items in. There were soaps, shaped like a lily, and bath salts. A tiny crystal vial held the matching perfume. She opened it and smelled lavender and exotic spices. She spied a small box at the bottom and opened it. Inside was a pair of earrings. A round emerald held a string of tiny pearls. At the bottom, a tiny heart-shaped emerald dangled. Emma removed the little gold studs that her co-workers had bought her for her graduation present and held the emerald earrings up to her ears.

"What do you think, Merope? Do I look pretty?"

"Yes, Miss Emma," answered the little elf dutifully. "Is Miss Emma in love with the new potions professor?"

"I think I am, Merope," she answered.

"Oh," said the elf. "Does he love you back?"

"I...I don't know, Merope. But he must; a man doesn't do all this for a woman unless he loves her." A strange, pensive look came over Merope's face. "What? Why do you have that look on your face?"

"Oh, Merope is just worried about Miss Emma. Merope does not want to see you get hurt. The Professor, he was a student here. He was not always...nice."

Emma was reminded of what Professor Sprout had said about Severus being suspected of wrongdoing during his time here. No. She would not doubt him. Every schoolboy was a little mischievious. Dumbledore would not have hired him if he had done anything truly bad. "I'm going to have a bath now, Merope," she said. "And I won't need anything this evening, so you don't have to come back until morning. I'm rather tired and I'll be going to bed early."

"Yes, Miss Emma," said Merope. "Merope will see Miss Emma in the morning."

Bathed, perfumed, and dressed in the emerald green lace pegnoir set, Emma listened for the sound of Professor McGonagall's door on the other side of the tower from her own. It was not yet midnght, but she could not wait to be with him. Somehow, she knew he would be there, waiting. Emma opened her door just enough to slip out and closed it carefully behind her. She crept to the top of the stair and peered down into the darkness. Then, her hand on the rail, she lightly padded down the stairs to where Severus waited.

He pulled her close to him on the rough stone dungeon stairs and kissed her. Then, he swept her up into his arms and carried her down the stairs, deftly jumping over the disappearing one and down the cold, dark, dungeon hall to his rooms, kicking the door shut behind them. He carried her to his bedchamber and placed her on his bed. His black eyes glittered in the candlelight as he looked at her.

"Severus," she began, but he lightly pressed one of his fingers to her lips.

"Shhh," he whispered. "No words, all we need is...touch."

Hours later, Emma woke to see the faint gray light of dawn coming through the deeply set window high over his bed. Reluctantly, she lifted her head from his chest and looked for her nightgown. She saw its dark outline near the foot of the bed and reached for it, trying not to wake him. She pulled it back on and got up. The matching green lace wrapper lay on the floor. She slipped back into it and then found the little satin slippers he had given her. Once she was dressed, she could not resist lying back down next to him, for just another minute. She placed her lips to his chest and lightly tasted him with her tongue, smiling as he groaned. She began to get up again, but he brought his hand up to her head and buried his fingers into her hair.

Still more than half asleep, Severus whispered, "Don't leave; stay with me, Lily."

Emma's blood ran cold. Who the hell was Lily? For a moment, she thought she was going to be sick. She pushed herself away from him and got out of bed, backing up until she stood against the door. He finally awoke.

"Emma? What time is it? Hell, it's nearly morning. I have to get you back to your room." He jumped out of bed and hurriedly dressed. He crossed to where she stood by the door and bent to kiss her but she turned away. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"Who's Lily?" she asked.

Severus froze. "What are you talking about?"

"Lily. You called me Lily and asked me to not leave your bed. Do you already have a girlfriend?"

"No. Emma. Lily...Lily died last fall. She was killed. But I'd lost her when I was just sixteen. She married someone else."

So, this was the thing he had lost that he had referred to on the train, Emma thought. "But you love her," she said.

"Always," he anwered, his voice betraying an emotion that Emma had never heard.

"But where does that leave me?" she asked. Severus turned his head to avoid her gaze and she felt like someone punched her in the stomach. "You don't love me, do you?"

After a few seconds, he just said, "I'm sorry, Emma."

"You're sorry?" she screamed hysterically. "You're sorry? Oh my God! How could you make love to me like that if you didn't love me? Why did you do it?"

"I never lied to you, Emma. I never said I loved you. What happened between us was not about love. It was passion, sex between two people with nothing else forgetting everything they've lost for a night. And it was fantastic. But it was not about love. For me, it will never be about love."

Emma bit her lip to keep herself from breaking down. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "It was for me. No, you never lied. But by your every word, your every glance, your every touch, you made me feel loved. I believed. You made me believe."

"I'm sorry," he said again. What did she want from him?

Emma turned and ran from the bedroom.

Damn it, Severus thought. He couldn't have her running like mad through the castle. He chased after her. Reaching the door to his apartment, he called out, "Emma, stop!" A second later, he realized his mistake as the Silver Circlet around her throat glowed bright violet and Emma collapsed to the floor, screaming in pain.

Severus ran to her and fell to his knees beside her. He tried to pull on the heartless piece of metal. He began yelling for it to stop but it wouldn't. He prayed that his wand was in his pocket and felt relieved when his fingers tightened around it. He pulled it out and pointed it at the Circlet and said, "Finite Incantatem." He was relieved to see the circlet return to its normal silver color. But Emma lay still on the cold, hard stone of the dungeon floor.