Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or the stories, but I do own Eileen Pierce and her pet kneazle Mephistopheles! I also own Lucas Beowulf, Page Beowulf, Cheryl Applegate, Winnifred Miller, and any other random characters that appear in the story that were not originally in the Harry Potter series, since it's no fun if I don't have my own characters to play with. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-one
Eileen found her first day as a 5th year quite invigorating, her classes actually proving to be slightly challenging. Eager to take her homework to the library for a bit of studying, she crossed paths with Lupin on her way in from Herbology.
"Oh, Professor Lupin! Good afternoon." Eileen smiled.
"You seem happy, are you enjoying your new classes?" Lupin returned the joyful greeting as they walked into the castle together.
"Yes, very much! I actually learned a few new things this morning in class! I can't wait to be in your advanced class, professor, what sort of things do you teach to 5th years?" Eileen's eyes sparkled.
"That you will have to find out for yourself tomorrow!" Lupin threw her a wink before saying, "Oh, I had a message for you from your potions master."
"Is that so?" Eileen had forgotten that she hadn't seen him at all since she'd returned.
"Yes, he requested your presence in your practice room at 8 PM tonight, he didn't say what it was for though."
Her heart sank: Occlumency lessons. With everything she'd been worrying about she'd forgotten to practice clearing her mind and she was sure that Snape would take advantage of the situation to find out what she'd been up to.
"I see..." Eileen slumped a little as she walked.
"Well, I've got to hurry, I have a meeting with Dumbledore. See you tomorrow in class!" Lupin waved as he hurried down the hallway and disappeared up a flight of stairs.
Eileen continued on to dinner and poked her way through a meal before heading back to the dorm to drop her things off. Reluctantly, she began her journey across the castle to the dungeon, almost being late because of the time that it took to get there. Quietly, she opened the door and peeked in to see if Snape was waiting, which he was.
"I suppose Lupin is good for something." Snape muttered as he stood from his leaning position against a table in the middle of the room.
"He said you wanted to see me, he didn't specify why." Eileen said simply, standing a few feet from him.
"Well, I figured you would have come to me earlier but I guess being in another house can be time consuming." Snape crossed his arms.
"It wasn't my choice, Dumbledore moved me!" Eileen defended herself.
"Why?" Snape frowned.
Blinking in surprise, she said, "What do you mean why? He didn't...?"
"Didn't what?"
He never told him...Doesn't he trust him? Eileen thought as Snape eyed her curiously.
"Well, after everything that's happened, he thought it would be best that I not be in Slytherin anymore, seeing as no one wants me there anyway." Eileen lied.
"You're not telling me something. You said you would send me letters during winter break, I never received any news from you. I was worried something happened." Snape said with a look of concern, "Not even a Merry Christmas, were you having that much fun that you completely forgot about me?"
"I'm sorry, Severus, I just...got distracted." Eileen stared at the floor as she tucked one arm behind her back, grasping her elbow nervously.
Sniffing indignantly, Snape said, "Well, hopefully you at least got in some practice while you were gone. Let's begin."
"Yes, sir." Eileen assumed a dueling stance, clearing her mind as best she could before Snape could get a chance to attack her.
"Legilimens." Snape said sharply, barely invading her mind before she forced him back out. Seeing a brief flash from her Quidditch lessons with Draco, Snape said curiously, "What was that? I thought you were tutoring him."
"It was an arrangement we had in order to make sessions more endurable; can we get back to the lesson?" Eileen was trying harder now to clear her mind, feeling confident enough that she was completely thoughtless and ready for attack.
Beginning to circle her like a hawk, Snape watched her curiously before saying, "I bet you enjoyed your vacation with the Malfoys."
Her focus was broken for a split second before Snape shouted, "Legilimens!"
A flash of the first evening at their house crossed her mind before she quickly dismissed it and shut him out.
"You're tricking me!" Eileen complained, her eyes shut now.
"Part of closing your mind to someone is maintaining your focus no matter what they say to you." Snape continued to circle her, "Imagine that you are being interrogated by the Dark Lord himself. He wants to know what you were doing out of his sight, whether you had done the job he sent you out to do or if you had betrayed him. You know that you had been feeding information to the other side but you don't want him to know that, so you try to close your mind to him. As he talks to you, he mentions the names of witches and wizards on the opposing side, watching you closely for a reaction that would tell him that you had remembered something. He would only have to look into your soul for that split second to know that you had betrayed him because you had betrayed yourself with the simple mention of a name or place. In the field of battle, there are no fair games or second chances, it's lie or die."
"Are you speaking from experience?" Eileen watched him now, yet he did not respond, crossing the room to stand near the table.
Facing her, he said, "Like the Dark Lord, there are many witches and wizards who work for him in secret, people that would love to get their hands on you and anything you know. If you can't close your mind to them, you might as well turn yourself over before they inflict any curses on you."
"How do you know if someone is trustworthy or not?" Eileen asked.
"By mastering the power of Legilimency yourself. If you can master both sides of the coin, you can spin a web of deceit and unveil their secrets before they even realize you've picked their brain clean." Snape said, almost smiling.
"But who would trust you if they knew you had that ability?" Eileen frowned.
"Well you're not going to walk around with a sign on your back that says 'I can read your mind', not unless you wanna find out what the Killing Curse feels like." Snape cocked an eyebrow.
"Fine, shall we give it another try then?" Eileen said, more determined this time to shut him out. Taking a deep breath, she focused all her energy into completely shutting herself down emotionally, locking gazes with Snape as he paced around in front of her.
"What did you do during your winter break?" Snape asked in a dead tone.
"I danced in the pale moonlight with gnomes." Eileen blatantly lied.
"Was one of these gnomes named Draco?"
"No, but one did fake a broken leg."
"What else did you do?"
"I traveled to America and saw the Eiffel tower."
"The Eiffel tower is in France."
"Of course it is." Eileen did not blink once, too afraid to take her eyes off him for a second.
He eyed her curiously before asking, "Did you see your father there?"
"My...father?" She was caught off guard, not expecting such a question to come up.
"Legi-" Snape started but she knew better than to give him a chance to say it.
"Protego!" Eileen shouted, using the spell against him and reading his mind first. She saw a flash of Lucius visiting Snape the night of the party, shortly before Lucius returned home. They were speaking in harsh tones for a moment before the memory faded and she was forced back out.
Panting, Snape leaned against the table, saying, "Very...good...you've gotten stronger since we last...did this."
"Why was Lucius here? What did you two talk about?" Eileen asked with a frown.
"Leprechauns." Snape remarked snidely.
"I'm serious, Severus."
"So am I."
"Fine, if that's how it's going to be; Legilimens!" Eileen tried to invade his mind but he'd already hidden the memory away.
"Honestly, that's a poor way to invade a person's mind, you have to get them to open up first." Snape rolled his eyes.
"You mean like mentioning that I think you want to use me as some cataclysmic weapon against Muggle society?" Eileen rambled quickly.
"What? Where on Earth would you get that idea?" Snape stared at her in surprise.
"Why wouldn't you? I'm a loose cannon, you're my father figure, obviously over time you could mold me to do your will and together we would destroy all of mankind in a single night." Eileen shrugged casually, wandering across the room.
"I would never do such a thing, did Lucius say that?" Snape stepped forward.
"I doubt even Lucius trusts your word so why should I?"
"Because I'm not a spineless traitor like Malfoy!"
"So you do still have plans to follow the Dark Lord's will?"
"I never said that, you're putting words in my mouth. Listen to me - "
"No." Eileen whirled around and locked gazes with him, not even speaking the words that gave her access to his mind.
Unable to block her in time, the intensity of her attack forced him back against the table, flashes of his meeting with Lucius blurring her vision of him falling to the floor unconscious.
Before she could stop herself, more memories flickered by as they became crystal clear. Sinking into one of the memories, she fell into a dark room that was lit only by floating candles all along the walls. Within the room were a few hooded people who seemed to be plotting something. Curious, she moved closer to them until the dim light gruesomely outlined their faces, what she could see around the skull-like masks they wore. One was a rather tall man that spoke in a raspy, quiet tone, no distinguishing features about him other than an aura of darkness. The other looked much younger with short black hair dangling in his face, looking quite unkempt and greasy. She assumed it was Snape, seeing as this was his memory.
"Tonight I will strike, I need you to make sure no one interferes with my plans." The mysterious man said passionately.
"Yes, my Lord. But which child will you chose?" The young Snape asked, his voice smoother than it would be later in life.
The man seemed to be suspicious of Snape for a moment before saying, "They will be expecting me to attack young Potter, so I will instead pursue the Longbottom child. His parents aren't longed for this world anyway, I will be doing him a favor."
"Then I will assure your victory by distracting their guards." Snape bowed before vanishing from the man's presence.
The vision faded away and Eileen found herself standing in a dark and murky London street, houses on either side of her void of light. Something about the atmosphere seemed deathly cold to her as she slowly wandered down the street, glancing around for signs of life that weren't there. Suddenly, in the darkness she caught sight of a figure quickly darting toward a house to her right and slipping into the shadow of the porch. She hurried to catch up to it and caught sight of Snape unlocking the door and sneaking into the house, quickly shutting the door behind him. Inside, she saw him pull back his hood and remove his mask, beginning to speak to a young couple, the woman was holding a baby.
"The Dark Lord plans to come for Neville tonight, you must flee while you still can!" Snape said in a hushed voice.
"Are you sure of this? What about the Potters? Will they be safe?" The woman asked in a panicked tone.
"He has no intention of attacking them, besides he can't find them without - " Snape stopped mid-sentence, thinking about what he was about to say, "Knowing their secret."
"Who was their secret keeper? Shouldn't we make sure they haven't captured him?" The man asked with concern.
"Who?" Snape thought for a moment and then began to remember who was in the room with him and Voldemort, flashes of each person going through Eileen's mind as well. Lucius was there, another man with short brown hair and a wicked grin, and a rather short man who seemed somewhat vermin-like in appearance. Suddenly, it dawned on him who the shortest man was and a look of horror crossed his face before he muttered, "Peter. Why was he..."
"Peter? Who's Peter?" The woman asked, trying to hush her child as he began to cry.
"Stay here and don't let anyone in, at the first sign of danger I want you to get out of here and contact Dumbledore, do you understand?" Snape said sternly.
"Yes but...Snape, what's going on? Are the Potters safe?" The man asked, getting worried.
Without answering, Snape disapparated to a new location, pulling Eileen along through the memory. They arrived again in another London housing development but the mood was much darker here. One house stood in shambles, the windows and front door blown away by some mysterious force.
"No..." Snape gasped as he ran for the house, causing Eileen to pursue him in awe of the disaster, eager to see who was inside. Falling to his knees beside a body lying just inside the front door, he checked him for a pulse before hanging his head. The man was dead. Just as suddenly as he'd stopped, he was up and running for a room further inside the house. Standing in the doorway, he paused before slowly walking in to crouch beside a woman who lay in shock on the floor; she too was dead.
"Lily..." Snape whispered, a look of utter shock on his face as he swept his hand over her eyes and closed them. A fury was building inside Snape as his jaw clenched tightly, his voice weak as he muttered, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...damn you, Voldemort, you liar. You played me. You said...you said you were...I should have known. I should have known! DAMN YOU, PETTIGREW!"
Eileen could only watch in horror as she realized what day this was: it was the day Harry's parents died.
A weak cry from within the burnt baby crib distracted Snape from his wrathful fury, urging him to investigate. Leaning over the edge of the crib, he reached in and picked up the baby lying within it. Across its forehead was a jagged wound that looked quite painful, as the child's wailing was evidence. He quickly held the child in his arms and tried to calm it, walking back to the woman's side and crouching again. Looking down at her, he whispered, "You saved him, didn't you? Lily, you fool...why..."
Rocking the baby slowly, he muttered, "No, this is all my fault...I was the fool, not you. I promise...I promise I won't let him harm this child ever again. Lily...Lily..."
The sound of a motorcycle outside alerted Snape that he was no longer alone. Gently, he placed the child in the arms of his dead mother before rising and hiding in a nearby closet, shutting the door enough to make sure that the one coming in was not another Deatheater coming to finish the job.
Instead, a rough voice was heard entering the house and Eileen barely caught a glimpse of the man running in and falling to his knees beside the woman's body, crying violently. Though he was much younger, she knew that the man was the one whom took the blame for their deaths in the future, it was Sirius. Before she could seriously consider his presence there, the memory faded out and she was expelled from Snape's mind. She fell to the floor beside the older man she had just seen moments ago, her heart racing as she thought about what she'd just seen. Snape felt responsible for what happened to Harry's parents, but did he really mean for it to happen? It was obvious to her now that his allegiance lay not with the man that betrayed him but with the people he himself unintentionally betrayed.
"Severus...you tried to stop him...but you were too late." Eileen wept, feeling the hatred he must feel for himself inside, gingerly stroking the hair from his face before resting her head on his chest, crying the tears that his hardened heart wouldn't allow him to shed.
"He told Voldemort of the prophecy of his fall, but it was Voldemort that chose to attack young Harry. Ever since that day he has tried to make amends by protecting the children of this school. I was the only person to know his secret, now you know as well." A voice came from the doorway as the head master entered the room.
"Professor Dumbledore, I - " Eileen tried to explain as she wiped away her tears.
Putting up his hand, Dumbledore said quietly, "It was an honest mistake but I would suggest not speaking of your findings to anyone, not even to him. If his allegiances were to get out, his life and many others could be in grave danger. It is his espionage that keeps him safe, you know."
"I almost feel sorry for him." She muttered.
"Do not pity him, he has chosen his path and serves it well. A simple understanding of respect and trust is all that he requires from anyone, no matter what the situation. Though you could do him a favor and learn these lessons he's trying to teach you." Dumbledore said.
"Yes...I think you're right, sir. But what do I tell him when he wakes up?"
"Allow me to handle it." Dumbledore knelt as Snape slowly came around, letting out a groan of pain as he held his head and sat up.
"What happened...Dumbledore?" Snape glanced from his student to his superior in confusion.
"My goodness, we were worried about you, you sure took a beating! Luckily I heard the ruckus and came to investigate. Are you feeling alright, Severus?" Dumbledore exclaimed as Eileen fell silent.
"Yes, I...I think so. What were you doing down here? Isn't it rather late?" Snape moaned as he stood.
"Professor Flitwick informed me that Miss Pierce had not returned to her dorm yet, so I took it upon myself to look for her." Dumbledore explained, "I think it's best that we all take a break for the night and get some rest, you two look like you've seen better days."
"Indeed. I'll see you tomorrow for class, Miss Pierce, good night." Snape grumbled as he wandered out of the room and headed for his office.
"Goodnight, sir." Eileen muttered as she watched him disappear into the dark hallway.
"And that, my dear, is how you use Occlumency to get out of a sticky situation, remember that for your next lesson." Dumbledore whispered with a wink and a smile, escorting her out of the dungeons and up to the Ravenclaw dormitories.