A.N.: Hey guys, here's another chapter for you. I hope you like it. :-) I finally decided on the pairing for the story. Yes, this will be a triad with Hermione, Fred and George. I just don't have the heart to break the twins apart. I hope you're all okay with this. If not, turn around and run. ;-)

My friend, Multilingualism, betaed this chapter for me. Thank you so much for your help.

Chapter 14: Of gaining trust

It was a strange feeling to go to Professor Snape's office in the knowledge that there would not be a lesson today and she'd be just doing her homework. It was Sunday and Hermione had two more essays that would be due tomorrow, one of them being potions, which made her even more nervous doing her work in the strict Professor's presence. But he was, of course, right that teaching her Occlumency was of no use if she wasn't even able to stay awake during the lesson, but as she was still officially in detention they had to fill the time somehow.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Do come in," he invited her inside with a neutral tone. Hermione followed him hastily into his office but halted after he had closed the door behind her. The room looked… different. She couldn't really put a finger on it but somehow Professor Snape's office suddenly felt almost inviting, but apart from her armchair, that he had moved to a corner and added a small table next to it, nothing seemed to have changed. Strange.

"I hope you'll be comfortable enough in the corner over there," he said while he returned to his chair behind the desk. "It's probably not the Gryffindor common room but you'll find that you are at least quite undisturbed here as I am not very fond of chatter."

She nodded with a shy smile. "Yes, thank you, Sir. I very much appreciate it."

His answer was an unintelligible grunt before his attention shifted back to the large stack of essays on his desk. Well, it looked like she wasn't the only one with a mountain of work and somehow the realisation made her feel better.

It was at least two hours later when Hermione realized how different doing homework with Professor Snape was. He was right, it wasn't the Gryffindor common room which meant that apart from the scratching of their feathers and the shuffling of paper no other sound could be heard in the room and Hermione realized that she found it relaxing to no end. It wasn't just that she wasn't constantly disturbed by Ron and Harry, who were asking for her help or started discussing Quidditch instead of doing their work, somehow it was the whole atmosphere of the room that had this effect. She had already finished her essay for Professor Sprout and she was halfway done with her Potions essay, but instead of feeling stressed or tired she felt more and more relaxed. Wasn't that strange? Maybe not. She loved studying after all and it was the first time she could do so totally undisturbed and without pressure. And for a moment Hermione wished that she could spend all her evenings like that with the silent company of her grumpy Potions Professor. But the man would probably kill her if she asked him to let her do just that. Professor Snape wasn't very fond of nosy students after all.

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Dolores Umbridge felt that she was really doing a great job. Six weeks into the school year and she had already established six new rules that helped the children to behave properly every day and even though there were still some wrongdoers, behaviour in school had noticeably improved. The Minister was pleased with her and the daily reports she sent him on everything she noticed about the teachers, the Headmaster or various students she had started to monitor. Harry Potter was still a difficult case, but at least her punishment at the Quidditch game had shown some effect and the boy had refrained from being violent again. But she'd have to continue keeping an eye on him, as she knew that it was only a matter of time until the boy would start seeking attention by telling stories again. She had to prevent that under all circumstances because in the momentary political situation a panic was the last thing they needed. Also, those infamous Weasley-twins had calmed somewhat down. Dolores had been warned about them and when she started her job she had been prepared to reign them in immediately. Luckily banning them from Quidditch had the desired effect and in retrospect, she asked herself what others considered that difficult with those two. After all, she had managed just fine. But not everybody was Dolores Umbridge, after all, which made her presence at the castle even more important.

But her search for the Open Link was unfortunately still as fruitless as it had been at the beginning of the school year. The rules established by her had managed to re-establish a certain order and there were far fewer students indulging in inappropriate activities in the hallways. But there was still no one that was particularly eye-catching to her and that should have been impossible. Because through the Minister Dolores knew that the Open Link was still intact but after such a long time certain behaviours should be noticeable by now. There were students showing a high interest in other students, of course, Dolores monitored them all, but none of them had sought out her help and that was odd. She had informed all of her pupils what it would mean if the Open Linked remained open for a long while and by now the affected student should feel the draining effects on their magic, start to panic and seek out help. But nothing happened and that unsettled her more than she would ever admit out loud. What was it, she was missing? Was there possibly someone else who had found the Open Link before she did and had started influencing him or her? What if she didn't seem trustworthy enough to whoever was affected?

Dolores took a measured sip of tea from her favourite teacup, before she carefully placed it back on the silver tray to her left. It was obvious that she would have to take certain measures to ensure that the Open Link was finally found. Even if the person didn't feel the need to talk to her about his problems, they would possibly feel the need to write home about them. It, therefore, wouldn't hurt if the Minister would assign the help of some house-elves to check the student's mail for some information, discreetly of course. Apart from that, she would have to work on her public image. Dolores Umbridge was a very trustworthy person after all. The students just finally had to realize that.

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Severus had watched Hermione Granger over the last week and he was pretty sure that his slight change of behaviour towards her was enough, that she started forming some sort of attachment towards him. He wasn't an idiot and therefore he knew very well that it was totally delusional to aim for something like romantic feelings in the first place. Considering their age gap and the fact that he was her Professor and such a relationship was strictly forbidden, that would have been ridiculous. But luckily romantic feelings or even love were not necessary to form a temporary link and therefore save the girl's magical core from bleeding out. All it took was admiration, friendship or trust. And these things were totally in his reach if he just played his cards wisely.

Welcoming her into his office for doing her homework in peace was just the first step of that process and it had worked fairly well. The girl had more and more relaxed in his presence and now she even openly smiled at him, when he welcomed her or wished her a good night. The next step would be a tad more difficult for him, as it would demand from him to open up a bit towards her. He despised doing that, no matter with whom. Severus was a very private person and he never shared his past or his memories with anybody. But he wanted Hermione to trust him, to even like him. And that wouldn't be possible without making certain sacrifices. It would hopefully be worth it because if they really managed to establish a temporary link, then it would buy the girl time to look for a suitable permanent partner. And in the meantime, their shared energy was maybe an insurance that could keep him alive, if things in this war went south for him. It would be a win-win – situation in the end and so Severus had no qualms to manipulate the girl into the right direction, just a bit.

"Good evening, Miss Granger," he said when she dutifully knocked at his office door at the time they had agreed upon. Today was the day of their next Occlumency lesson and Severus could feel the nervousness radiate from her. She probably remembered how she "fell asleep" the last time and was embarrassed about it. Should he make a comment to reassure her? Probably not, that would have been too out of character for him. And he didn't want her to become suspicious of his behaviour.

"I hope you took my advice on getting enough sleep. Today I'd like to teach you something new in our lesson, but only if you feel rested well enough," he said and moved into the centre of the room. There he stopped and looked at her with a raised brow.

"I'm feeling much better today, Professor Snape. You'll have my full attention, I swear." The girl meant it, that much he could tell from just looking at her and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well, sit." He gestured to her armchair, that now stood in the middle of the room and with a lazy wave of his wand he conjured one for himself opposite from hers. She followed his order without hesitation and looked at him with her hands folded in her lap. Severus sat down slowly and waited a moment before he said: "Today I intend on teaching you Legilimency, Miss Granger. It is not strictly necessary for you to master it to defend your mind, but as you agreed on teaching Mr Potter, it will be very useful for you in the future. Furthermore, it will allow you to take a look at my Occlumency shields and hopefully, this will help to improve your own ones."

He could see her eyes and mouth widen in surprise at his words and for a moment she just stared at him in speechless silence. "You want me to look into your mind, Sir?" she asked hesitantly like she was afraid of having misunderstood him.

"I do," he replied simply and waited in silence for his words to take effect. Then he continued: "There is no reason for you to get too excited, Miss Granger. You will not see anything I don't want you to see. All memories dear to me are safely tucked away and not even the Dark Lord has ever found a single one of them. And believe me, he tried."

The girl sighed in relief, but her eyes remained worried nonetheless. "I really don't want to pry, Sir. It is very generous of you to offer such a thing though and I do appreciate it, but I really don't want to risk angering or hurting you in any way." She nervously kneaded her hands in her lap.

He sighed. "You are not in danger of doing so. Learning Occlumency requires a lot of trust, as it allows the teacher to enter your mind without you being able to defend yourself in the beginning. By letting me teach you, you showed great trust in me, Miss Granger, and it is time for me to return this trust."

She looked at him for a long moment and sought out his eyes. Their eyes locked and for the first time, he realized, that there were flecks of gold hidden in her hazel orbs. "Thank you, Professor. I will not disappoint you, Sir."

He nodded, without breaking eye contact before he formed his lips into a kind smile. "I know. Now watch closely. The wand-movement for performing the spell goes like this."

Severus started to explain everything to her, that she would need to know to be able to enter his mind. Then he readied himself and cleared his head.

"Alright, Miss Granger. It will be easiest for you if you try to keep eye contact. One says that the eyes are the gate to somebody's soul. In this case, there is some truth to that."

She nodded eagerly and even though he could still feel her nervousness most of it had changed to something like nervous anticipation. Good. "Very well, Sir. Are you ready?"

He snorted amusedly. "Of course, girl. Do your worst," he said and looked into her eyes without hesitation. And then he set about to earn her trust.

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Entering Professor Snape's mind felt like diving into a cold, deep lake. As soon as she had cast Legillimens, his black eyes seemed to swallow her and a moment later she felt herself being swallowed by darkness. And for a moment Hermione had to work hard, not to panic. Did she do something wrong? Because she was pretty sure there should have been something. But no, there was only impenetrable blackness and silence. She pulled back with the feeling of disappointment and after a moment Professor Snape's office reappeared before her eyes. The man himself sat in front of her and after a moment his eyes blinked and he looked at her with a raised brow.

"Well, Miss Granger? What did you find?" he asked and Hermione could have sworn that there was a small smile tugging on his lips.

She sighed. "Nothing. There was only darkness. Did I do something wrong?"

The Professor shook his head. "No, this is how an empty mind looks like. If you manage to teach Mr Potter properly, then this is what you should find in the end – nothing. No flashes of memories, no sound, nothing."

Hermione nodded in relief. "Alright, thank you, Professor."

"Don't thank me, yet. That was just the first step," the man replied. "When you cast your spell the next time, you'll find out what my mind usually looks like. You can look around on your own if you like, or I could help to guide you if that's what you prefer. Which is it?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. "I think I'd like some guidance, if you don't mind, Sir. I kind of felt lost a moment ago and as I have no idea what to expect…" Hermione shrugged without ending the sentence.

"Alright. Recast the spell when you're ready," Professor Snape said with a nod. And Hermione did. The feeling of diving into a cold lake still remained, but this time the Darkness faded after a moment and Hermione found herself on the shore of a lake that strongly reminded her of the Black Lake. She should have been wet, but as everything was just a visual projection of professor Snape's mind she felt completely dry when she pulled herself up. And suddenly Professor Snape was there, right in front of her and even though he still wore his dark teaching robes, he looked somehow different – younger.

"You're here," Hermione said in surprise which led to the man in front of her smiling amusedly.

"It's my mind, Miss Granger, of course, I am. What you see is a projection of myself. It might vary from reality to some degree, but it should be close enough to the truth."

She nodded. It was only logical that a self-image created out of a person's memory slightly varied from reality. Hermione was sure she also viewed herself slightly differently from how she really looked. "But if this was a real attack, you wouldn't be here, am I right Professor?"

"Absolutely. This is just for showing you around, come." Professor Snape made an inviting gesture with his head and when Hermione looked in the direction he had pointed to, her eyes went wide with wonder. "This is Hogwarts, Sir. You created the image of the whole castle in your mind?"

"I did. I consider this place my home, even though I was not an orphan when I went to school. And as you might have found it is easiest to project a place in your mind, you have a strong relationship to." Professor Snape started walking and Hermione hurried to keep stride with him. It was surprisingly easy, considering their height difference and Hermione attributed it to the fact that this only played in Professor Snape's mind.

"I see. It's only logical that it's easiest to imagine a place one is very well used to. But isn't that also a disadvantage in case of an attack? The attacker does most likely know Hogwarts too."

The Professor looked at her with glinting eyes. "So? Let's try an experiment, Miss Granger. You as a student are very well acquainted with the castle. Try to find one of my memories - any memory will do."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure, Sir?"

"Absolutely. Go on. I am quite curious about what you'll make of this." With this, the Professor's steps slowed down and Hermione guessed he wanted her to take the lead. She nodded in determination. How difficult could this be? Yes, the castle was huge but she had a few ideas where she would start her search.

It was a long while later when Hermione realized that she wasn't any closer to finding what she was looking for. She had checked all the logical places like the library, the Great Hall and Professor Snape's office but it had been of no use. She had admired the great details the Professor could picture in his mind and apart from some books in the library being totally blank there wasn't much that gave the mental image away. But there was no memory. Not a single one. It was beyond frustrating.

Finally, she went to the potions lab, not the one they used in class but one that looked much more private and was well stocked with various ingredients, cauldrons and brewing equipment. And something told her that she was finally in the right place. "It's here," she said and looked around. It was only logical, the man was a Potions Master after all, but what had he done?

"Very good, Miss Granger. Now what?" He looked at her with an amused glint in his eyes and Hermione got the impression that he was curiously waiting for what she was going to do next. What was she going to do? She decided to check the ingredients on the shelf first. If Hermione decided to hide memories within books then she guessed he could do so in the different jars and containers, too. But after she had opened, sniffed and even touched several absolutely non-inviting ingredients she decided that there was nothing. It had to do something with the lab though. What if…

"Is there a book with potion recipes somewhere here, Sir?" she asked and he looked at her with a smug smile.

"No, Miss Granger. There is none. Why would there be? Do you imagine me needing one?" Yes, the Professor's eyes were definitely glinting with amusement which assured her that she had the right idea. If the Professor had really done what she thought he had, then it was absolutely brilliant and there was really almost no way anybody but him could access his memories. She smiled.

"If I had to guess one needs to brew a potion and drink it. Every different potion gives access to another memory. Am I right, Sir?"

But Professor Snape only smiled and shrugged. "Try it, Miss Granger. I am sure there are at least one or two potions you have the instructions memorized for word by word. Go on."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes but after a moment she straightened her posture and started. She wasn't as proficient in potions as he was and she guessed that he would have used more advanced potions or even his own recipes to hide his memories with. And so she chose the most advanced potion she had recently brewed, the Draught of Insight. She had brewed it twice by now and really, she could remember the instructions by heart. And so it was only a while later until she bottled the finished, silvery potion and looked at the phial in her hands with a heavily beating heart. Should she really drink it? Would it even work? And if it did, what would she see?

"Are you sure you are okay with this Professor?" she asked the man who leaned casually against a workbench and watched her with his black eyes. He shrugged.

"I wouldn't have let you come here if I wasn't. Go on, enjoy the show." His tone was almost sarcastic which made her shiver in dark anticipation. Merlin, what memories would a man like Severus Snape hide, she asked herself. Would it be something terrible? Something from his time as a Death Eater? Or from his childhood? Hermione didn't know but as the Professor didn't hold her back, she decided to find out. She took a long, last look at the man in front of her before she took a deep breath and drained the content of the phial. And immediately Hermione's world went black.