A/N: Thanks for the reviews! As for Sam and Sev not being married yet...hm. That's an excellent question that I cannot answer at this point without giving away some future plotlines. This story is actually being massively reedited from my rough draft on my livejournal site, so I don't know in which chapter the information will be revealed exactly, but I assure you it will (hopefully) be thoroughly explained in a few chapters.

Chapter 15- Welcome to the Snape Institute for Accelerated Learning

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. -Abraham Lincoln

A little after 10, the Trio walked into the kitchen carrying all their school books. Samantha and Severus were leaning over three sheets of parchment. Samantha tapped one with her wand, and wrote something down. She looked at Severus with a questioning look. He smiled and nodded.

"Well, we've got a schedule that looks like it will work," said Severus as he made five copies of each of the parchments. He handed each of the blackbirds a set. "Keep them somewhere so that you don't lose them, at least until you've got them memorized. Now, since today is Monday, we will start with Defense. Our first task," he said as he got up from his chair, "will be to find a room in this house big enough for practical lessons. Each of you split up and take a floor. Let us know if you find something."

Everyone walked out of the kitchen and spread out across the house. Samantha walked around the first floor, opening random doors. She found lots of rooms filled to the brim with boxes and old trunks. She walked down a darkened hallway to find herself in front of huge double doors. She lifted her wand, looking at the tarnished silver engravings on one side of the door. She tried the handle and it turned underneath her hand. She pushed the doors open and smiled.

"Severus!" cried Samantha. Her next words were drowned out by a piercing shriek.

"MUDBLOODS! SCUM! FILTHY HALF-BLOODS AND TRAITORS BEFOULING THE HOUSE OF MY -"

The screams were suddenly cut off. Severus came walking down the hall, his hair disheveled. Harry followed him, panting slightly. Ron and Hermione appeared soon after.

"Samantha, please refrain from shouting, woman," growled Severus softly. "Did you find something?"

"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact," said Samantha. She led the way into the room and waved her wand to light any candles. They jumped when a giant chandelier came to life, instantly brightening the huge room. Severus took a few steps into the room, his jaw hanging open.

"It's a ballroom," said Hermione, looking wide-eyed at the expanse of the room. "It's so -"

"Perfect," finished Severus. "Absolutely perfect!" He tilted his head back, gazing at the tall ceilings. "Yes, this will be more than adequate. I hope you weren't planning on hosting any galas, Harry."

"No, sir," said Harry with a smirk. "I'm not really a 'gala' kind of guy."

Severus turned to shut the doors behind them. He walked to the center of the room, unbuttoning his sleeves and rolling them up.

"Shall we begin? Wands out. Nonverbal spelling and shielding, if you please."

The rest of the morning passed quickly. By lunch, Harry had gotten the hang of nonverbal jinxing, hitting Ron with a well-placed Jelly-Legs. Hermione worked with Samantha on timing and increasing the speed of her reflexes.

"Alright, that's enough for today," said Severus loudly. "If you three would reread the sections in Confronting the Faceless on nonverbal casting for Wednesday. Weasley, I want you to do a little extra practice."

"Got it," said Ron, reholstering his wand. "What's for lunch?"

"Whatever you can fix, Ron," said Samantha as she walked out of the room. "I'm sorry to say that I am not a house-elf and will not be doing all the cooking. You all are on your own for today."

"What do you mean, you're not going to cook?" cried Severus as he ran after her. "I can't make anything that's worth eating!"

"What did you say yesterday, Professor?" said Harry with chuckle, following the pair out of the room. "Something about potion skills and cooking coinciding?"

"I distinct remember saying they usually coincide," said Severus softly so as to not reawaken Mrs. Black. "I never said anything about me being able to cook." He ran quietly after Samantha into the kitchen.

Ron and Harry laughed softly all the way down the hall while Hermione just shook her head. They pushed open the kitchen door to see Samantha leaning against the stove, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at Severus.

"You are pushing your luck," she said crossly. The Trio started making some sandwiches. "I caution you to stop while you're ahead."

"Fine," growled Severus. He walked stiffly over to the table and sat, propping an elbow up on the table. He grabbed an apple out of the bowl in front of him and took a loud crunching bite. Samantha rolled her eyes and began to slap together a turkey sandwich with mustard and tomatoes. Harry offered her a piece of lettuce but Samantha shook her head. She picked up the plate and walked over to where Severus was still noisily eating his apple. She slammed the plate down in front of him.

"Stop being such a child, Severus," she said as he looked up at her with grateful eyes. "Your pouting is getting on my nerves."

He gave her a dashing smile. "Thank you, love. Have I told you how beautiful you are today?"

"Shut up and eat, Severus," said Samantha, narrowing her eyes at him but a small grin played about her lips. "I think your free time today can be used looking for cookbooks in the library." Severus frowned at her and took a bite out of his sandwich.

At 12:45, the Trio cleaned up all the dishes and food. Severus stood and left the room without a word. He came back after about 10 minutes.

"Go and get your cauldrons" he said. "Meet me on the fourth floor landing and we'll start Potions class." He turned on his heel and left. Ron and Harry sighed, and with heavy faces went up to their rooms after a bouncing Hermione. The three of them, along with Samantha, met Severus at the top of the stairs on the fourth floor and followed him to the end of the hall. He walked into a moderate-sized room, furnished only with a small wooden table. He looked from it to Samantha.

"Sam, if you would do us the honor of turning this table into something a bit more practical," he said waving his arm at the table.

"Sure thing," said Samantha. She waved her wand, and the table grew, taking up a third of the room. She waved her wand again and conjured three stools. Severus smiled at her as the kids sat down and put their cauldrons in front of them. He handed her the sack of potion ingredients and she handed each of them a standard kit. Severus looked at the wall behind him. He tapped it, turning it into a blackboard.

"And you made me make your table?" asked Samantha with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, dear," said Severus in a suffering tone. "This is the only large bit of Transfiguration I can do reliably. As you can see, it's not exactly the most useful thing in the world. Now," he turned to address the kids, "let's start with some antidotes. Sam, could you go get your book for Harry to use, please?" She nodded and left. Severus waved his wand over his shoulder at the chalkboard, covering it in spiky writing. Samantha walked back in and handed Harry her book.

"Open your books to page 134, and begin making the potion listed on that page. You have an hour and a half. You can copy down the notes while your potions are brewing."

At the end of the lesson, Severus stopped them and looked into each of their cauldrons.

"Textbook quality, Hermione," said Severus as he gave her potion a tiny stir. "You have a wonderful grasp on brewing technique. However, you would benefit greatly from learning to be a bit more flexible in your brewing to enhance your potions. You and I will work on this on Tuesdays and Thursdays during one of your free periods." He moved on to Harry's, which looked similar to Hermione's, but it wasn't quite the shade of yellow the book mentioned. Severus nodded.

"Not terrible, Harry," said Severus as he stirred his potion. "You added too much of an ingredient by mistake. Judging from the consistency of your potion, it wasn't anything major. It looks to me to have been the pomegranate juice. I want you to read over chapters 4 and 6, paying special attention to the properties of each ingredient. You may want to cross-reference them with your previous potions text as well. You and I will have extra lessons on theory and ingredient properties, say on -" he looked over at his copy of their schedule, "- Wednesday nights. Just for an hour or two after dinner, nothing too intense. Just enough to ensure you don't blow up my lab."

He moved over to Ron's cauldron and frowned. He ladled some potion, letting the lime green substance splash back down into the rest.

"And what exactly is this supposed to be, Weasley?" said Severus in a sneering tone. Ron gulped at the familiar glare from Severus.

"Uh, the - uh - the base potion for common antidotes," he said weakly. "Sir."

"Weasley, this potion is completely worthless," said Severus. He pointed his wand at the cauldron, vanishing the contents. "I think it's safe to say that potions is not your specialty. We certainly cannot have you wasting ingredients." Samantha gave Ron a sympathetic look. Severus walked slowly in front of the table. He turned back to Ron with a triumphant look on his face. Ron's face paled.

"Samantha, do you still remember most of the spells from your extra credit work in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey?" asked Severus, still smiling at Ron.

"Yes," said Samantha slowly. "I have a few books on Mediwizardry as well."

"Excellent," said Severus. "Mr. Weasley, I regret to inform you that you are being kicked out of my Potions class. If Sam will consent, I think you would be much better suited for learning some basic healing spells and charms with her instead. It'll be good to have more than one person in our group who's good at healing."

"Wicked!" said Ron. He gave Harry a smug look.

"Clean up your stations," said Severus. "Hermione, you and Weasley are done for today. Perhaps you could work on Weasley's nonverbal spelling from this morning? Sam can go with you."

"Come, my little blackbirds, back to the ballroom," said Samantha. The three of them left the room. Severus turned back to Harry.

"You and I are going to practice Occlumency," said Severus. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Follow me."

Severus walked down the stairs, noticing Harry's increasing nervousness as they neared Severus's room. He pushed open the door and motioned Harry inside. Severus went to Samantha's room and grabbed her desk chair, bringing it in for Harry. He set the chair across from his own, turning it to face the other and sat down.

"Please, sit down, Harry," said Severus. Harry sat down slowly, stiff and apprehensive. Severus sighed. "Please try and relax. I won't be hitting you with legilimens for a little while yet. You're much too wound up at the moment. Sit for a minute and clear your mind."

"How do I do that, sir?" asked Harry tentatively. "You've told me that before, but I don't understand how."

Severus thought for a moment. He stood and pulled a book off his shelf. He opened the book to the first page, scanning down the contents before finding the page he wanted. Severus handed the book to Harry to read and retook his seat.

"There's an explanation, although I personally found it more confusing than helpful."

Severus waited as Harry read the passage. Harry closed his eyes and sat still for a few moments. He frowned and opened his eyes, looking back down at the book. He reread the passage and tried again. After a few more minutes, Harry opened his eyes and looked at Severus.

"Ready?" asked Severus as he stood and pulled his wand. Harry nodded and did the same. They moved to where there was a bit of open space in the room.

"You can use a spell to repel me if you so choose. All I ask is that the spell not be protego or anything that will kill me. But try to use just your mind to push me out. Brace yourself." He paused to let Harry ready himself. "On three then. One…two…three! Legilimens!"

For a few moments, Severus didn't see anything. Everything was dark inside Harry's mind. Severus pushed against the walls, smiling slightly at the vast improvement. But as soon as he pushed, Harry's wall shattered and memories of a green light and his own pale face filled Severus's vision. He quickly ended the spell, shaking slightly. Harry was breathing heavily, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Sit down for a minute, Harry," said Severus. The boy sat in the chair, looking up at him with an ashen face. Severus gave himself a mental shake and continued in an even tone. "That was a good start. You kept me out at first. It was only after I put a little more into the spell when your walls fell." Severus conjured a small goblet and filled it with water. He handed it to Harry, who drank it quickly. Harry handed it back to Severus, who set it behind him on the desk. Severus let Harry sit for a while to calm down.

"Do you feel up to trying again?" asked Severus. The boy nodded and stood up again. Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them and nodded at Severus.

"On three," said Severus softly. "One…two…three! Legilimens!"


Once again, Severus saw nothing but darkness. Harry's eyes were squinting in the effort of keeping his walls up. Severus pushed gently against the walls, but this time they held firm. Severus cancelled the spell, not wanting to hurt Harry by forcing the walls to break. Harry smiled at Severus, who returned the gesture.

"Well done, Harry," said Severus, "well done, indeed. Since Occlumency is rather draining, we'll stop here for today. Take that book with you." Severus pointed his wand at the book sitting open on Harry's chair. "Read whatever you think would help you the most. I've got another when you've finished with that one." Severus frowned as Harry rubbed his scar. "Is your scar bothering you?"

Harry dropped his hand quickly. "It's just tingling a bit. It did this the last time I had lessons with you too."

"Hm," said Severus. He went over to stand right in front of Harry, who was nearly as tall as himself. He saw Harry tense as he lifted a finger, running it lightly over the red lightning bolt on the boy's forehead. Harry shivered and backed away slightly.

"Harry, are you alright?" asked Severus as he stepped back quickly. "I didn't mean to make it worse."

"No, it's okay," said Harry. He rubbed the scar a couple of times. "It just felt weird when you did that."

"Well, we will definitely stop for today," said Severus. He picked up The Extensive Guide to Occlumency and handed it to Harry. "Why don't you go and rest a little before dinner. You're still a little pale."

Harry nodded and left the room. Severus turned his chair back around to face the desk and sat down. He ran a hand through his hair as he went over the memory he had seen briefly in Harry's mind. Severus shuddered at seeing the green light shoot out of his wand, once again reminding him of every bad decision he had ever made. He leaned over his desk, resting his head on his arms.

He jumped awake at the feel of a hand on his back. He turned to see Samantha, grimacing at the soreness in his neck. She put a plate of food on the desk and stood behind his chair. She began to massage his back, working her way up to his neck and back down again.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked as he leaned into her touch.

"About 3 hours or so," said Samantha softly. "It's already a little past 7." He nodded and bent his head forward, stretching the muscles under her hands.

"How is Harry? We had our first Occlumency lesson," asked Severus. Samantha pulled away and lifted Severus's head. She frowned slightly at the paleness of his face.

"He seemed fine to me," said Samantha. "He was his normal, chipper self at dinner. You, however, look awful. You should've gone to bed last night, Severus."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Samantha," said Severus. He stood up and stretched a little, reaching for the plate of food Samantha had brought him. He sat down on the bed to eat. Samantha sat down next to him.

"How did the lesson go?" said Samantha. Severus took a bite of mashed potatoes and swallowed.

"It went really well, considering," said Severus. "The first time I got past his walls with a little pressure, but the second time, his walls were more solid. We'll work up to where he can withstand a spell cast at full force. If he keeps this pace up, I may be able to teach him some Legilimency as well."

"That's great," said Samantha. "I'm glad it's going well."

"Where are the kids now?" asked Severus, taking a bite of meat.

Samantha smiled and lay down next to him on the bed. "I think they decided to work in the ballroom. Ron's been there all afternoon working on his nonverbals. I checked in on them before I came up here. Harry was reading your Occlumency book and Hermione and Ron were working on spell casting."

"Good," said Severus. He finished eating and set the plate on his bedside table. He gazed at Samantha, who had her eyes closed and a small smile on her face. He slid off his shoes and lay down beside her, putting his head on her stomach. Samantha ran a hand through his hair as his breathing deepened. After a few minutes, she looked down and grinned. Severus had fallen back asleep. She leaned back in the bed and fell asleep.