Hi! Chapter 2 is here! I hope everybody likes it! Feel free to REVIEW!
Locations and characters are the property of JK Rowling's immeasurable genius. I just borrow them to excercise my writing abilities.
Chapter II-
She woke up at six the next morning. Ginny hadn't been a particularly early riser until the last months when the paranoia around her had finally penetrated. After that she had stayed awake as late as possible and got up as early as she could.
The lack of a decent sleep had gotten to her. She had dark rings under her eyes constantly and drank an absurd amount of caffeine. Even so she often dozed in and out of conversations, nearly comatose on her feet.
She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, from the shower to her closet, dressing in jeans and a t-shirt, from the closet to the kitchens. There she picked up toast and an apple along with many scoldings from the house-elves for being up so early.
As soon as she had done that she swung by the library. It was completely deserted, but she was perfectly happy about that. She went past the shelves and straight back into the restricted section.
She reached for Blood only to find an empty space where it should have been.
Ginny scowled. Who in their right mind would actually borrow a book like that?
She swept around to another shelf, nearly tripping over a chair.
"Could you be any clumsier? I think the library might still have a chair intact." A snide voice asked her.
"Sir." She greeted a scowling Professor Snape.
He stood up, pushing in the chair and held out a book. "Why are you reading this?" Blood was written in fading gold on the leather.
"It's a book, sir. Books are for reading."
"Yet again, you show an amazing affinity for stating the obvious."
Ginny decided not to answer that.
"So why are you here instead of reporting for lessons?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You said after breakfast."
"Exactly."
"Most people wouldn't want to teach anyone anything until after the students eat."
"After the students eat I teach them."
"Oh."
"Now shall we get a move on? And keep in mind that when I say after a meal, I mean directly after the meal no matter when you eat it."
"Yes sir."
He led her out of the restricted section and handed her the book. "Did you want to borrow this?"
"No sir."
He looked at her for a minute. "Why?"
"Questions that I don't want to answer would be asked if I borrowed any morbid book. A book dealing with morbid magic… I don't want to go into it."
Snape studied her. "Borrow it."
"Why?"
"It's clear it fascinates you. You can read it and then we can discuss it."
"Are you serious?" She asked. "Sir."
"When in your life have you seen me anything but?"
He had a point. She wrote down what she had borrowed for Madame Pince to find when she came in and followed him out of the library.
Once in Snape's chambers he relaxed again.
"What do you know of Occlumency?"
"It's the practice of defending your mind from people trying to read your thoughts and memories. It requires eye contact in almost every single case."
"Did you inherit Miss Granger's aptitude for memorizing the textbooks?"
"Apparently so."
"Never do that again." Snape told her. "Miss Granger may have done excellently in most classes, but textbooks never get to the real heart of things. Their definitions cover only the very base of what anything is." Ginny nodded. "If you ever memorize a textbook definition you will need to keep a diary for the rest of the month."
She froze. A diary. Tom. The writing on the walls, written in blood.
"I was joking." Snape told her, seeing her eyes widen and the fear in her eyes.
She swallowed. "I thought you never joked."
"Every rule has an exception." He informed her. "Remember that. Now… moving on. Your definition of occlumency was approximately right. Legilimency?"
"Searching someone else's brain."
"Right. It's a very precise magic even if the practitioner doesn't care if they hurt the person whose brain their searching."
"Does it hurt people often?"
"If the caster isn't careful, yes. Having someone ram into your mind and start dragging up memories that you didn't even know you had isn't pleasant. If you aren't careful it is exceptionally easy to drive someone insane."
"And Occlumency helps prevent that?"
"Partially. Occlumency is the way to defend your thoughts. However you are correct. It requires an extremely organized mind and that organization can be a defense against insanity." He paused and took out his wand, motioning for her to do the same. "Let's see if you have more ability than Potter. Ready… legilimens!"
A presence entered her mind. It was strange but not terribly painful. She was reliving her childhood. Fred was holding her doll out of reach, Charlie was scolding her. Ginny closed her eyes. Get out. She told him. Leave.
And just like that he was gone.
Snape was watching her with something resembling surprise in his eyes. After a minute he nodded. "Not bad." He was silent again. "Most people cast spells to drive others out."
"There's no point in wasting the energy if you can break the eye contact just as easily. Plus it's less harmful."
"What if the caster doesn't require eye contact?"
"Then I'm screwed."
A smirk crossed his features, but it was a very puzzled smirk. "This time I'm not using eye contact. Ready… legilimens!"
She was eleven again, watching Lucius Malfoy pick a book up out of her cauldron. She was writing in Tom's diary, delighted to finally have someone to talk to. She was killing the chickens, their blood was on her hands. Oh god no. Not this! NOT THIS! "PROTEGO!"
"I take it that's a sensitive part of your life." He said once he had recovered.
"Yes sir."
"You can't lose your head like that. No matter how sensitive what they are seeing is, you cannot lose control. Your reaction will tell them how to hurt you."
"Yes sir."
"Did your Defense teacher instruct you in the art of silent spells?"
"Not before or after you."
"Sir." He reminded her. "Alright. That's more important than legilimency. I'm going to hex you without speaking and expect you to shield yourself without speaking." She nodded.
His wand moved. Ginny raised her own and thought Protego as loudly as she could. She flew across the room when his expelliarmus hit her.
"Dismal." Snape informed her, helping her stand up. "There is no need to think loud enough to hurt people's ears. What does it feel like when you cast a spell correctly?"
"It always feels like there is something going through you and then your wand, something warm and dangerous and…"
"Okay, this time call up that feeling."
His wand moved again and she obeyed his command, recalling that warmth and power. Her fingers twitched and a shield came up around her, sending the professor hurtling into the wall.
"Sir?" She offered him a hand and helped him to his feet.
"Much better." He said. "Your wand didn't move."
"It didn't need to sir."
He frowned. "Do you know the point of a wand?"
"It channels the magic that comes out of your body into a different source so that when the spell takes shape it doesn't hurt the caster."
"What did I say about textbooks?"
"Sorry sir. It keeps the spell from hurting the person who casts it."
"Better. Why didn't you use it?"
"The magic just didn't want to go into it. It was too excited to be out and it just jumped out of my fingers."
"You lost control."
"Yes sir." She said.
"Try again." He told her. "Hex me and I'll block it. Watch what I do." Ginny opened her mouth and raised her wand. "Silently."
She grumbled but closed her mouth. What spell should she use? It would be so satisfying to give him extra long teeth or boils, but that would be immature. Expelliarmus! She thought.
He raised his wand and narrowed his eyes. She could feel some sort of popping feeling and a spell warded him, sending her hex back at her. She formed a jelly-like shield in her mind, dragging it into being around her.
The spell hit the jelly and it broke apart, pieces flying around the room and leaving jelly marks on the walls. Snape raised an eyebrow.
"What spell was that?"
"I don't know sir."
"You dropped your wand after your first spell." He informed her after a moment. He handed it to her and she felt the warm sense of recognition vibrate through it. An empty feeling entered her stomach.
"I don't want it." She said quietly. "It's a hindrance."
"How so?"
"It makes nonverbal spells more difficult and restricts what kind of spell I can cast."
Snape studied her thoughtfully again. "It is handy to be able to cast spells without a wand… but you do need to be able to use it too." He paused.
"So that if I'm ever disarmed I can still fight and no one will be expecting it?"
"Precisely." He said with a hint of approval in his voice. A bell clanged somewhere above them and Snape winced. "It's time to teach the dunderheads."
"I'm sorry sir. If I can help at all, tell me."
"Read that book you borrowed… make notes on things you find interesting and such. Practice nonverbal spells, with and without wand."
"Yes sir."
"Alright... I expect a decent amount of improvement by this evening."
"Does that mean be perfect at everything?"
"Something of that sort."
Ginny smiled. "Have fun with the dunderheads sir."
He scowled and walked out the door.
Snape was even more irritable when he returned that night, choosing to hammer on her door and vanishing into his room as soon as it opened. Ginny scowled and followed him.
As soon as she walked in and shut the door she saw a twitch in his hands that meant a spell. She twisted her wand and threw forward a shield that absorbed his hex.
He nodded curtly, apparently calming down quickly.
"Have your brothers started breeding yet?"
"Bill and Fleur have a child, but she's going to Beauxbatons."
"Thank god."
She smirked. "Bad classes?"
He growled at her and threw himself into a chair. "If you were any of your brothers you would have ribbons coming out of your ears for that." Snape sighed. "As it is, you reflected the hex."
Ginny laughed outright at that. "Remind me not to be comfortable around you-" She gasped and flew into the wall as a spell hit her. Her wand flew across the room.
"Good enough for a reminder?"
She grumbled as she stood up, rubbing an aching arm. "Too good."
"Never, ever let yourself be distracted. If someone can engage you in conversation you are doomed."
"You are a bad man."
"I'm trying to teach you something girl!"
"I never said that it wasn't intelligent, I said it was bad. If you never relax then how can you possibly have friends?" His eyes darkened and she realized her mistake. This was Snape she was talking to. Had he ever had friends? Had he ever let his guard down? Harry had told her a tiny bit about his father tormenting the younger Snape. Had he learned not to get comfortable from that?
"Legilimens!" He said without warning her. She gasped as a painful sensation traveled down her spine. Her third year she watched Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. The dragon had almost hit him. Hermione was talking to her about Harry and Ron. "They're so stupid! If your brother had ever-" Ginny dragged a different memory in front of it. Percy was carrying her through their house on his back. He hadn't done that since she was five… Stop it. She whispered in her mind. Percy…
"Sectumsempra!"
Author's note: Gasp! How do you like it so far? Let me know... by reviewing!