A/N - Thanks for all the follows and reviews! I really enjoy reading your reactions. Shout out to my beta - MrsFelton1988. Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14

Hermione looked up surprised that she was in the library. Theo was hunched over a book and the sun had already set. Wasn't she just in the living room? There was something important that she had just found. What was it? A loud bang echoed around the library as the door slammed opened distracting her from the train of thoughts. Draco stormed in; his face twisted in a menacing scowl. Theo looked up at him with a smile. "I'm guessing your ventures were unsuccessful?"

Draco slumped into the armchair opposite from Hermione. He gave her a curt nod in acknowledgement.

"Tori had another bad day. Pansy's with her now. She could barely sit up." His voice was filled with despair.

"We'll find something. We've only been through a quarter of these books." Theo said

Draco nodded. He looked up at Hermione.

"You ready?" he asked and stood up to walk to his room.

As she followed him, Hermione noticed that Draco's personality was nothing like she experienced in Hogwarts. He was still arrogant and snarky, but she could tell that he was deeply loyal to his friends and would do anything for them. He was smart, quick and determined. She also noticed that he no longer looked like the school bully she remembered from her memories. His face had matured, and he was tall, with a strong jaw and aristocratic features. Draco? When had she stopped thinking of him as just Malfoy?

Their training sessions had progressed substantially, and she felt confident that she had strong emotional regulation. In fact, she had been reading a lot about occlumency and in the past several sessions, she had begun to request that he train her in not just emotional control but memory protection as well.

As they entered his room, he began to apply the cushioning charm to every visible surface. Then they practiced, repeatedly. He was worse than he'd been compared to any of their previous sessions. He was vicious, cruel, and tried brutally to get a rise out of her. His callousness hurt her deeply as he attacked her looks, her broken relationship with Ron, her loss of job and she almost broke when he went after her parents. With all her self-control she managed to remain impassive and calm. After thirty minutes of continuous attacks he let up.

"Alright Granger. That was good. You'll have to keep practicing because it is easy to slip. But I think you've got control. Much more than any of us expected. And much faster. I'm not sure if there's anything else I can say to upset you. So I think it'll only be extremely unexpected triggers that will bring on your rage. This is really good news." He said softly.

She looked up at him surprised at the rapid change in tone. He looked at her, and she could tell that he was extremely hesitant - carefully considering his next words.

"Did you still want to learn Occlumency? It's very…invasive. I wouldn't usually recommend learning from someone you don't trust." He said shifting awkwardly looking at his feet.

"I want to learn. I've read the theory and I've been practicing. I can actually put up the walls or at least I think I can. But I need to test it out, Malfoy." She said determinedly

"It's not like what we've been doing so far. It hurts and I will see your memories until you learn to conceal them. The best way for you to learn is if I'm intrusive and go after the ones you want to protect the most. Are you sure?" he asked again needing confirmation.

"Yes." She said resolutely, staring fiercely at him.

"Legilimens!"

Draco had struck before Hermione had a chance to even brace herself or summon any resistance that she had read about. It felt like a sharp pain slicing into her brain as he entered her mind. She wasn't ready and the room swam out of focus, as flickers of images played out.

She was five, a boy with brown hair pushed her over in the playground. "You're a freak!" he yelled at her. She tried to get up and another girl with blonde pig-tails pushed her. "You're ugly! Like a witch!"

"Witch! Witch! Witch! They pointed and chanted as she was pushed around, tears streaming down her face.

She was seven, wrapped up in her mother's hug as blood dripped from her nose. Her father sat on the other side, trying to clean up the mess. "No one wants to be friends with me. They call me a freak." She cried bitterly

She was nine, sitting alone in the lunchroom, ostracized from all the other children. Different. Not one of them.

She was eleven, eyes wide as she looked at her parents with a huge smile on her face, hands trembling as she held her letter from Hogwarts. "I'm a witch." She gasped

She was sitting in a train compartment, Draco smiling at her. Theo and Pansy laughing and talking to her like they were friends. She finally belonged. "Slytherin!" The three of them yelled happily. "You better be sorted there." Pansy beamed at her. The memory moved forward. A scowl on Draco's face. Grey eyes filled with judgement. She ran out of the compartment, brimming with tears.

She was alone in the library, tears streaming down. No one wanted to be her friend. Still different – didn't belong in the magical world either. She was not a real witch.

The room came back into focus. Hermione was on all fours, panting heavily.

"I couldn't get the walls up. I wasn't ready. You need to warn me." she wheezed

"No one ever warns you when they break into your mind. You need to always be ready. You know the theory, now apply it. Do you want to stop for tonight?"

"N-"

Before she could finish expressing her thought, a stabbing pain pierced her mind as he brutally forced into her memories, streaming past looking for the most precious ones, the ones he thought she'd most want to protect.

She was twelve and was walking down Hogwarts corridor, Ron and Harry in front of her. "It's no wonder no one can stand her, she's a nightmare, honestly." Crying in the girl's bathroom alone.

"Filthy little mudblood". Draco looking at her in disgust from the end of the hallway. Crying at Hagrid's.

A hex ricocheting from Draco's wand as her teeth began to grow. Snape looking coldly at her, "I see no difference." Slytherin girls bowled over with laughter. Sprinting away in tears as her teeth grew down past her collar.

She was back in the room, tears streaming down her face. "Granger! You aren't even making an effort! Put your damn walls up!" Hermione looked up at Draco snarling at her.

"Stop being an arse Malfoy! It's different with you in there! I can't pull them down like when I was practicing!" she snapped

He looked at her frowning. A thought flittered in her mind – He was disappointed. He knew something about her that she had known all along, in a deep routed place in her mind. With access to her memories, he could see what others refused to acknowledge, the truth that she wasn't the most brilliant witch of her age, she had only managed to get lucky. She had tricked people into thinking she was intelligent and competent.

"Fine! Let's try something different."

He was back in her mind brutally shoving through.

Memories and images flickered in blurry streams as he pushed through searching for something specific. Pure fear staring up at a giant troll, club plummeting towards her. A three headed dog with teeth bared: its growls chilling her bones. Walking alone in a dark corridor with a mirror in hand – A basilisk appearing in its reflection, chilling yellow eyes crushing her soul. A werewolf prowling towards her ready to attack as she backs away terrified. Standing in the department of mysteries surrounded by grown men – death eaters – advancing towards her. Bellatrix leaning over and then blinding pain as she screamed. Panic and fear as Buckbeak dove towards Hogwarts, her stomach drops - scared of flying. Squeezing Viktor's waist and tightening her feet around the broom as they zoomed across the Black Lake unadulterated dread encompassing her at the speed they travelled.

Viktor alone in the library smiling at her, whispering sweet nothings in her ears. He was drawing closer…eyes focused on her lips. Her first kiss - trepidation, excitement, fear, nerves, and thrill surround her as he crept closer.

No! That's private. You're not watching that. A brick wall fell into place, sealing the memory away.

The room came back into focus. Hermione was kneeling on the ground, Draco towering over her.

"Okay. That was good. So not fear, not humiliation…intimacy." He mumbled to himself. "New tactic then. Legilimens!"

He was back in her mind forcefully trying to push down the existing wall around the memory of her first kiss. It stayed solid, unmovable. He brushed past it and then she was in the restricted section, Viktor's hand trailing up her shirt, skimming under her bra as he brushed her nipples. He leaned down and kissed her neck as a gasp escaped through her lips. Another wall slammed into place, blocking the memory. He moved forward, Cormac McLaggen forcing his tongue uncomfortably into her mouth, shoving her against the castle wall. A solid fence blocked the moment pushing it away. She was straddling Ben Perry under a tree, her summer fling with a muggle neighbor whom she had fancied for years. A gasp of pain as he took her virginity, entering into her. A barrier formed, sealing the moment away from his peering eyes. A clattering sound as basilisk fangs tumble out of Hermione's arms. Sprinting towards Ron, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron lifted her off the ground, spinning them around as they deepened their kiss passionately. An enormous titanium barricade solidified in her mind and she pulled back all intimate moments with Ron safely behind it before he could reach them. She was kneeling on the ground; a tender finger trailed her jaw. Reaching out, his hands carefully caressed her face, wiping a tear. His low soft voice whispered her name and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. A delightful scent of vanilla and pinecones encompassed her. She looked up at the man but could not quite make out his face like the room was in shadows and he was hidden in the darkness. Everything blurred around her. Draco pushed forward and she was looking at herself in the mirror, hair wet from her shower. The towel dropped and she examined her naked body. Trailing her delicate fingers against her breast, she tugged against her nipples a soft moan escaping her lips. Dragging her hand down, she began to rub her clit, as waves of pleasure crashed around her. She slipped her fingers in between her folds and moved her palm in concentric circles pressing hard increasing the stimulating sensation. Another moan filled with ecstasy slipped out. She was really close, she was about to- BANG! A towering black marble wall slammed into place and every memory in Hermione's mind was sealed away, hidden. She could feel his presence, but her mind was blank. He couldn't gain access to anything anymore; not her feelings, not her memories, nothing.

Suddenly, she was back in the room lying flat on the ground panting like she had run a marathon. Surprisingly, she noticed that Draco was also on the ground, one leg extended out while his head rested against the knee of his raised leg. He looked like he was inhaling heavily too. His breathing slowed down as he composed himself and looked up. His expressionless mask was back in place, but his face was flushed pink. He swallowed.

"Right. So your walls are in place." He cleared his throat. "That was the first step. You'll need to keep practicing to ensure they stay up. The next part is showing partial truths that can be mingled with fabrications and lies. The real memories would stay in the recesses behind the walls and edited versions can be brought forward to deceive the wizard or witch conducting the legilimens." His voice was controlled, cool and disengaged. However, she noticed that he refused to look at her, staring directly at a spot on the wall in front of him. He stood up; his cheeks had a deep pink tinge to them.

"Alright. I think that was enough for our session tonight. I'll leave you be then." He walked out of the room hurriedly. Hermione heard his footsteps down the hallway and then they came to an abrupt stop. He walked back into the room.

"Actually...This is my room, it's late and I need to…umm…head to bed." He said awkwardly

She nodded. Her face was beet red as she shuffled out of his room, completely and utterly embarrassed.

A/N – I have written a small one-shot about the memory where Draco and Hermione meet on the Hogwarts Express before their first year. A glimpse was shown in this chapter, if you are interested in the full interaction, please check out my other one-shot story called "A Brief Encounter."