Chap 11 - Unwanted choices

In case you didn't know, I don't own either the Potter universe (that one belongs to Ms. Rowling) or the Goddess Universe (that one belongs to Kōsuke Fujishima). The characters have just been telling me stories in my head.

Urd decided she had to do it. There was no way she could get around the fact that she needed more information, and that the information was stored in Yggdrasil. Closing the demonology book, she locked it back into it case. 'I'm going to be gone at least a week. So, that means I should tell Severus.' Setting her wand on the table, she picked up the storage box. 'I might as well return this while I'm at it. They are probably getting antsy that it is still here on Earth.' Scooping her wand back up, she headed out her door, making sure it was sealed. Now, no one could enter there except Severus. 'No one but Severus should have a need to be in my space. And he only if I need him to look something up.' Tucking the trunk a bit more secure in her arm, she headed for Snape's study.

Severus had just got back from a meeting with Dumbledore. 'I can't believe he wants me... me to do this.' Flinging himself in the chair next to the fireplace, he relived the last hour.

oooooooooooooooo

"Severus, my dear boy, come in." Dumbledore gestured the tall potions master into his office.

"Albus, what happened?" Snape knew that something had to have happened. Last night had been an interesting time. The Weasleys were gone, as was Granger and Potter. And if the trio were involved, then the something was typically really bad.

"Harry dreamed that Arthur was attacked by a snake. We got him out of there and into the hospital." Dumbledore offered Severus a lemon drop.

Shaking his head in refusal, Severus frowned. "Is he going to be okay?"

Dumbledore nodded yes. "Only because Harry was able to give us enough warning. As good as that was, it is the dream that has me worried. I think that Voldemort is invading Harry's mind."

'I wonder if it is really Voldemort, the demon, or if it is the Dark Lord.' Snape raised an eyebrow. "You think the the Dark Lord is controlling Potter? Or could control him?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm not sure... but I think we need to guard against that possibility. As good as Harry knowing something is going to happen is, I think the Voldemort is onto him. And that can be dangerous to him."

'And to me as well. Urd needs them together but not like that I'm sure.' Steepling his fingers together, he tapped his index fingers together repeatedly. "So, we have to keep the Dark Lord out of Potter's mind. How do you propose we do that?" 'Do not suggest that I teach him occlumency... just don't.'

"Teach him occlumency. I need you to do it." Dumbledore's eyes looked calmly into Snape's.

Severus tapped his fingers together a bit harder, and held them there. "No, Albus, I don't think I can."

"Severus, I know that the two of you are not getting along, but I'm sure that you can handle everything." The blue eyes looked confidently into the black ones.

"I'm not sure. Occulmency requires trust to learn. If you don't trust your teacher, then you will never learn it. He trusts you, not me. You should be the one to teach him. He would learn it really fast if you.."

Dumbledore interrupted him. "I can't. You know that there is a chance that the student can enter the teacher's mind. If Voldemort learned that I was teaching him, which he could easily do if he had access to Harry's mind, then he could use that time to attack. And we both know that he won't attack you."

"And if he did, he wouldn't learn anything more than he already knew." The frown that settled on his face hid the worry that was niggling in his mind. 'Unless he finds out about Urd. But, he hasn't been able to break into my mind to find out everything else I am hiding. Of course he doesn't know that I am hiding anything either.'

"So, that is why you must do it."

"Why not Minerva? She could at least teach him the basics." Snape knew he was grasping at straws, but he had to try. He knew that there was no way that Harry was going to trust him enough to learn from him. Or that he was going to lock up his feelings long enough to teach him properly.

Dumbledore bit down his irritation. It had been a tiring night, not to mention the school year so far. He really didn't feel like convincing Severus to do what was needed to be done. The boy just needed to act like the man he was and everything would be alright. "Severus, my boy, you know the answer to that. Occulmency is best learned from one teacher. And the other students would believe that you assigned remedial potions lessons. They wouldn't believe that Minerva would need to assign him extra practice in transfiguration."

ooooooooooooo

'That was the end of that.' Severus stared into the flames. He still believed that it was going to do more harm than good. He just didn't think that there was enough trust between him and the boy. Not that he had ever attempted to foster any. He just couldn't. He also knew that was his problem, and one that Dumbledore couldn't seem to accept. 'He seems to think that I can rise to anything if given enough time. But I know that there are somethings that just don't change. And my feelings towards Potter seem to be one of them.'

The knock at his door pulled him out of his musings. "Come in." Looking towards the door, he waited to see who it was.

"Severus?" Urd looked about the darkened room. The room was much different when it wasn't lit. The shelves seemed to hold bottles upon bottles of bits of plants and animals and the books were hidden in the shadows. Her eyes finally adjusted to the gloom and she spotted him in a chair near the fireplace.

"Urd, what can I help you with?" Snape knew he sounded tired. The grumpy side of him was sure she was here to get him to do something for her.

She crossed the room to where he was sitting. 'Something is bothering him. I hope that this isn't a bad time to leave.' Settling in the chair across from him, she set the trunk down at her feet. "I need to go to Asgard." She caught his surprised look. "I need to return the books and there is more information that I need to find, but it will only be available from Yggdrasil."

Setting aside his problem, he focused on her. "More information? How long do you think you will be gone?" Maybe she wouldn't see him struggling to work with Potter.

"Roughly a week. I need to make sure that Voldemort doesn't have another repository anywhere around. Also, I have to check to see if there is another horcrux. Since the Dark Lord made one, he could have made more. And for your wish to come true, all of them have to be destroyed."

"More? We are not even sure that the diary was one." An uncertain look flitted across his face.

"He is still around, right? That means the diary should have been one, and even if it wasn't, there has to be one around somewhere." As Snape nodded in agreement, Urd changed the subject. "Now, what is bothering you?"

His face shuttered for a moment, but he realized that after this much time, he didn't mind talking to her. It felt good to have someone that was just on his side. "Dumbledore wants me to teach Harry occulmency."

Urd raised an eyebrow. "And this is bad because?"

"Because it is used to defend one's mind from invasion, but to learn it the teacher must try to invade the student's mind. And the most affective way to block it is to control your emotions. To chose what is seen and what isn't. To cast the invader out of your mind if you want to. But to learn how to do that, you need to trust your teacher. It is not easy to learn to control hatred or anger... both are strong, and that is what Potter feels towards me."

"That is understandable considering your relationship."

Snape cut her off before she could continue. "I know. I never gave him a chance. I have always gone out of my way to make his life less pleasant. I'm not proud of it, but past is past, and he is not going to trust me."

Urd's sigh echoed Snape's. Leaning forward she looked him in the eye. "From what you've told me, that boy has been doing everything the hard way anyway and succeeding. Let's just hope he succeeds this time, too."

Snape curled his fingers around the chair arm. "I don't want to take the chance of him seeing the memories I have. They are mine." He looked deeper into the purple eyes. "And there is a chance. He might go on the attack and invade my mind. Or try to. There is no telling what he might see." There was no way he wanted the boy to see his memories of James Potter. Everyone deserved to believe their father was a good person, no matter what they were really like. Sure, he would be the first one to tell Potter that his Dad was prat, but there was a difference between being told that and seeing it. If you were told then you could disbelieve, if you saw, that was that. It would be forever etched into your memory.

Urd quirked one side of her mouth up. "Then use that memory remover spell I read about the other day. You just need some special bowl and then you'll be set. Take out the memories before you start, and then teach him to the best of your ability. You can do it."

"That is what Dumbledore believes. I just don't know."

Scooping up her box, Urd headed towards the fireplace. "You'll never know until you try. I've got to go. If I hang about here longer I might just decide to stick around. I'll be back in a week."

Snape watched as she stepped into the fireplace. "Good luck with your search as well." He headed over to his potions table as the white haired goddess vanished up the chimney. 'I need to ask Dumbledore if I can borrow his Pensive.'