To Severus' surprise, Mette opened her front door less than a minute after he had knocked. She looked perfectly awake, although she was still wearing her pyjamas.

"Good Morning," she said with an inquiring smile. "Come in. Don't forget to take your shoes off."

"I was blind," Severus said while attempting to change into the slippers, which was hindered by his excitement.

"How so? Come sit down first. You want some coffee?" Mette walked through the door that led to her living room, while Severus still struggled with his shoelaces. An instant later, he heard a cupboard open and close, and ceramic clinking.

"It's not a potion you need." Severus called. "It's not a version of Seeing what you experience."

Something shattered and Mette swore. Severus, who had finally managed to change into the slippers, hurried into the kitchen. Ceramic shards lay on the floor in a dark brown puddle. Mette stood by the sink and let water run over her right hand.

"You took me by surprise," she said with a grimace. "I missed the coffee mug."

Severus waved his wand, instantly making the shards reunite to form a mug; the spilled coffee disappeared. "Did you burn yourself? Let me see."

Mette held out her hand to him. He folded back his cloak and got a small vial out of a pouch on his belt. Supporting her hand in his, he let a single drop of the vial's contents fall onto the angry red spot.

Mette's eyes widened. "Oh... it's gone!"

"Yes. Essence of Dittany," Severus explained.

"Handy, that." She gestured at the pouch on his belt.

"Just a few potions for emergencies." Severus put back the Dittany, then went to the kitchen counter and poured coffee into the mug. He handed it to Mette.

They walked back into the living room. Mette sat down on the armchair, Severus took the couch.

"If it's not Seeing, then what is it?" she asked.

"It's a form of Legilimency."

"Pardon?"

"Legilimency is the art of penetrating someone's mind and interpreting what one finds there."

Mette squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to process this information. "So I'm... involuntarily reading people's minds?"

"Not quite. I wouldn't call Legilimency 'mind-reading' to begin with, it's more complex than that. You see, some people think in words, but others think in images or scenes, others again think in any combination of abstract shapes, colours or sounds. And there rarely is only one train of thought in each person's head. Some thoughts are more subtle, some more obvious, but they all happen at the same time. And then, there are emotions underlying all of this. Perceiving exact emotions is a very difficult feat for a Legilimens to master, because emotions don't normally express themselves in any clearly interpretable way.

"But you seem to be tuned into that very part of people's mind - their emotions. Only, you don't perceive the immediate feeling that the person is having at that moment. Instead, you feel the emotions that have carved themselves deeply into the person's brain and are influencing their whole lives. I presume those emotions run in the mind like a perpetual undercurrent. And you can access their origin."

"Wow." Mette let herself fall back into the seat. "That doesn't sound completely crazy. It might even make sense."

Severus nodded.

"Okay, so how do you stop being a... Legilimens?" she asked.

"I don't think people who are born with the skill can cast it off. But you can learn to control it."

Mette sighed. "Great, now I have to find someone who can teach me to control my stupid gift. Back to square one." She looked at the ceiling in frustration.

Severus' heart starting beating faster. "I'm here!" he said.

Mette said, without taking her eyes off the ceiling, "That's nice, Severus. Does that mean you'll help me find someone?"

"No, I meant, I'm someone. I'm the someone."

Now, Mette did look at him, her brows knitted.

"I mean, I'm a Legilimens and can teach you," Severus finally managed to say.

Mette sat up. "You are? Are you serious? Why did that never come up?"

Severus shrugged. "I haven't thought about it too much myself until recently."

"Wait, are you sure you can still do it? Have you tried it at all?"

With the slightest frown, he said, "I have tried it and I can still do it." He omitted the fact that he could only do it with a wand in his hand. In his past life, looking someone in the eyes had been sufficient.

"But... that's great! Wow, I can't believe it! You were the solution all along, I just looked at you from the wrong angle." She jumped up, beaming. "Can we start straight away? Like, now?"

A load dropped off Severus' shoulders; this was the reaction he had hoped for. He could, after all, help her in her endeavour. Plus, he would finally be able to redeem himself for not helping her get the taaffeite. Nonetheless, he had to slow her down. "This won't be easy. You should be well-rested. And, um... you need a subject, someone to put your hands on..."

"Oh," Mette said and blushed. "Couldn't that be you?"

Severus swallowed. A part of him had hoped she would want to use him as a subject, but he knew it was a bad idea. He slowly shook his head "You saw what happened in my past life... the emotions would be... extreme."

Mette looked up only for a split second, then cast her eyes down at her carpet again. "I know. But I can't imagine doing this with anyone else. You showed me so much trust when you let me see all your memories. I trust you too." Her voice had gotten very quiet.

Severus had to rein himself in not to smile like an idiot.

"Also," Mette continued, "wouldn't my training be most effective if I'm dealing with strong emotions?"

Severus sighed heavily. It was a bad idea. But he couldn't help himself. "We can try it once. If it's too hard, we will need to find someone else as a subject for you."

"Great! So, this afternoon?"

"You're reminding me of a certain person who 'won't take No for an answer'." he said, but not unkindly.

"Hey!" Mette laughed and gave him a light punch on the shoulder.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He went back to Mette's flat in the afternoon. The second he passed the boundary between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, people jumped out of the alleys and started shouting at him. He turned on his heels and ran back through the gate. As he stood a foot away from the boundary of the school grounds, he realized that it was the reporters again. They were apparently willing to wait around Hogsmeade all day on the very slight chance of catching him. He took a deep breath and marched out into the village, looking neither left nor right. The questions they shouted were the same as before. But as promised by the Headmistress, they kept a distance to him. He hurried to Mette's house and as soon as she admitted him, the reporters fell back.

When he entered the living room, Mette was breathing deeply and rubbing her palms on her trousers.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Severus asked. Mette nodded quickly. They sat down opposite each other. "Before you use your gift on me, you should practice focusing your mind on something, like your breath. I will only let you lay your hands on me once you've learned to completely keep your focus and not let yourself be distracted."

As he said this, he remembered his Occlumency potion. He had not thought about it since the day he had thrown Claire and Kenneth out of his office. Hence, he had never brewed it in its final state.

"Focus on my breath, like during meditation?" Mette interrupted his thoughts in a matter-of-fact voice.

"I... have never tried meditation, but from what I've heard, some of the techniques used during meditation seem to be related to Occlumency." Should I tell her about the potion?

"What's Occlumency?"

"It's the opposite of Legilimency, if you will. It allows you to close your mind to someone who is trying to penetrate it. Your case is somewhat twisted, as you are trying to keep yourself from doing Legilimency. But it's a good place to start nonetheless."

"I can focus on my breath," Mette said with confidence. "Should I do it right now?"

"Yes."

She closed her eyes, laid her hands on her thighs and moved her head gently from side to side as if trying to find a good position. Then, she exhaled and became still. Her breath was flowing calmly and slowly, her body rocking ever so slightly with every inhale and exhale. After a short while, she said in a calm, steady voice, "How do you know that I'm doing it right?"

"I... suppose I will have to trust you."

"You could check, couldn't you? Whether I'm not getting distracted?"

He'd thought about this. "I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable to invade your mind."

"No, I'd like a challenge," Mette said, "Will you have to look me in the eyes?"

"Yes, but-"

Mette had already opened her eyes and looked at him, or rather, through him, with an unfocused gaze. Putting his misgivings aside, Severus returned her gaze. Her eyes were the colour of moss, a deep green so dark, the casual observer would think it was brown. Focus, he called himself to order.

He entered her mind. While Claire's train of thought had been shrill and wild, sounds and images chasing and overlapping each other, Mette's mind presented him with a soft murmuring, almost like water running over stones. The sounds, images and scenes that would usually greet a Legilimens were subdued, drifting by and dissolving soon after they emerged. Underlying her train of thought was the slow, constant rhythm of her breath. Coming and going, everlasting, ever repeating. She was doing it right, that much was clear. He was amazed at how well she kept her focus. Every now and then, a thought would float up and attempt to distract her, but she never let it linger, always encouraged it to move on. The Occlumency potion might have gotten rid of those fleeting thoughts, but otherwise, it would have been wasted on Mette. Once or twice, Severus saw his own face, his features softer than he had ever seen them in the mirror. But those images, too, soon went away.

He had been in her mind too long already. Gathering his willpower, he pulled back and left her alone. She seemed to notice, for a few seconds later, she closed her eyes again. After another minute, her breath deepened and she started moving. Then, her eyes fluttered open. "How did I do?" she asked.

Severus nodded, saying, "Surprisingly well. You are not new to this."

Stretching, she said, "Nah, I meditate every morning and evening. I get up especially early for it."

"This will make our task a lot easier."

Mette gave him a shrewd look, saying, "You're one of the few people who are not weirded out by my meditation practice. Don't you think I'm a spiritualistic nutjob or something?"

"No? From my point of view, it's a useful skill."

"Does this mean we can start with the real thing now?"

Severus had hoped he could put this off for a while longer. She had not been supposed to be so well-prepared. "We could try it," he said slowly.

She stretched out her hands.

"Wait," he said and leaned back, out of her reach. But he didn't know what there was to wait for. Hesitatingly, he sat up and nodded.

Mette shifted forward on her seat and exhaled. She stretched out her hands and laid them onto both sides of his neck. Her features contorted almost immediately, her mouth twisted in silent agony. Severus hastily slid back in his seat, breaking the contact. Her face returned to its normal state in an instant. She panted and looked at him with knitted brows.

"Why did you pull away?" she asked.

"You looked like you were in pain."

"Well, yes. That's what this gift does, remember?"

"I thought you were going to focus on your breath."

"I tried. But you ended it before I could really get into it. Let me try again. Stay put this time."

He pursed his lips and moved back to his previous position. Mette put her hands on his neck, with the same result as before. Severus forced himself to remain still. Then, the wailing started. It became increasingly hard to endure seeing his own, deepest pain reflected in someone else's face. When she started sobbing, he finally pulled back. This time, however, breaking contact did not seem to end her experience of his emotions. She kept wheezing and couldn't seem to breathe properly. Just like that time he had seen her in the corridor after Claire had touched her. He stared at her, momentarily at a loss about what to do. Then he remembered. Paper bag, legs up. With a quick wave of his wand, he conjured a bag and thrust it in her hands. He gently helped her onto the couch and propped her legs up on the armrest.

"Thanks," she said into the bag. She seemed calmer already. After about five minutes, she sat up and said, "Again."

"No, you need to rest."

"Come on, I need to get the hang of this." Her face was set.

He hesitated before he said, "I have developed a potion that can help you keep your focus. I will brew it tonight and come back tomorrow evening. In the meantime, you can gather your strength."

"No way, I don't want to be drugged for this. I can't rely on a potion. Situations where I need or want to touch someone might come up unexpectedly. And I really don't want to take anything mind-altering when I'm with someone who I want to touch. I want to be completely present for that." Her face had gotten a little red, but she held Severus' gaze. "And I know I can do this. I need to try again."

Sighing, he went back into position. The third attempt did not go any better than the second, neither did the fourth.

Severus slid back in his seat again to keep Mette from diving right back in. "This won't work. I told you, the emotions I experienced back then are too strong for you to handle. They would be too strong for anyone to handle!" he said, irritated.

She shook her head. A muscle jumped in her jaw and she looked at Severus with a hard, almost manic expression.

"I'm not letting you do it again," he said.

"Yes, you are. You have to. I need to master this!"

"You haven't even found a way to start getting on top of your reaction, let alone mastering it! This is insane, you need to find another way, a different subject."

"No. I want to see this through, if it takes all night!"

"I will just leave," he said, getting up.

Mette caught his hand. "Wait!" Her tone was pleading now. "Just one more time. Only once, I promise."

He clenched his jaw and looked at her. "One last time."

"Thank you," she breathed.

I hope you all had happy holidays, if you celebrated anything.
And here I am, leaving you with yet another cliffhanger! Will Mette be able to get control over her gift? You'll find out in a few days :) Until then, fave, review and subscribe!