Disclaimer: I do not take credit for anything associated with Harry Potter. No financial profit is being made.
A/N: Some of you are wondering what I mean when I say Hermione's soul is unusually bright. I hope I can help clarify things with this explanation: having a brighter than normal soul does not necessarily mean that pure of heart, just hat her "life force" is stronger than average and is extremely sensitive to a dark aura like Voldy's. This can be attributed to Hermione's great intellect and magical strength.
Unlikely Partners
Chapter 7
Severus entered the white brick mansion late in the morning, about ten minutes until noon. He had spent three hours carefully preparing a strong anti-anxiety potion for Hermione. The creamy orange colored liquid now sat inside his coat pocket.
The east wing hallway was deserted for the moment, but Severus had no desire to linger in the corridor, lest Rudolphus Lestrange appear to ask him how he had enjoyed his first night with his new captive. Severus could not afford to waist time talking to the man when Hermione needed to take the potion he carried as soon as possible.
Severus Apparated to his rooms, and upon arriving in his sitting room, he was relieved to notice that Hermione was no longer projecting the shockingly intense mental anguish that had overwhelmed her so much the night before.
Taking this as a good sign, Severus relaxed a degree and removed his coat. He took the small spherical bottle from the inside pocket and went to into his bedchamber to find Hermione.
Hermione was nowhere to be seen when Severus arrived in the room. His eyes snapped to the bathroom at the far left corner of the chamber. The door was shut and Severus moved further into the room.
"Miss Granger, I've returned with your potion," he called to her.
He didn't receive an answer. He waited several seconds before raising his voice.
"Granger!"
Severus went to the bathroom door and knocked sharply.
Still, no answer.
"Dammit, Miss Granger, answer me!"
Even after that, there was no response.
In truth, Severus hadn't expected Hermione to wake so soon. The potion she had drank the previous night should have made her sleep longer than normal. He had thought that she would be still sleeping when he returned.
Miss Granger can you hear me? He asked telepathically.
Seconds stretched on and all was silent save for the ticking of the clock on the wall in the other room.
"Severus?" a plaintive voice called from within the closed room.
Hermione's voice was distant and weak.
The fact that Hermione had used his given name barely even registered as he retrieved his wand from the side table and said a silent spell to undo the lock so that he could gain access to the room Hermione was in.
Hermione sat against the wall with her knees bent, her arms clasped around them, and her head angled down as if she was enduring great pain.
"Miss Granger," Severus said softly. It was a tone of voice those who knew him would never have thought he was capable of using.
Slowly, with great effort, Hermione raised her head to meet his gaze. Her eyes were red rimmed and tears shined on her cheeks.
Severus uncorked the potion and bent to one knee to hand it to her.
"Drink this."
There was a clouded faraway look in Hermione's eyes, a sort of glazed over daze that had extinguished any glimmer of light in her gaze.
Hermione forced herself to raise her hand to take the bottle, but her muscles were trembling so badly that Severus leaned over and held the potion to her lips.
She obediently swallowed the liquid and then leaned her head back against the cream tiled wall, letting her eyes fall closed in exhaustion.
Severus stared at the girl before him, waiting for some sign of the potion's effectiveness.
Hermione's skin was unusually pale and beads of sweat stood out on her forehead.
After several minutes, Hermione slowly dragged her eyes open and focused on Severus's face. Her eyes were dilated to the point where there was only the thinnest sliver of brown iris surrounding her pupils.
Hermione held her former professor's gaze for several seconds before speaking.
"I want to say that the potion took away my anguish," she began in a hollow voice, "but I'm not noticing a significant difference."
"I honestly don't know what to tell you," Severus said to her. He rose and moved to sit on the edge of the white whirlpool bathtub.
"What are you going to do now?" Hermione asked weakly, her voice devoid of all emotion.
"I'll have to find another way to help you," Severus told her.
"And what exactly would that be?" Hermione asked, closing her eyes again.
"My next plan is to teach you Shield Occlumency."
Hermione opened her eyes halfway.
"Is that not like what you tried to teach Harry?" she inquired in a barely audible voice.
"No, it's different in that it enables the person practising it to block out any unwanted stimuli. In your case, by utilising Shield Occulmency you will be able to block Voldemort's presence from your mind."
"How come you didn't tell me about this before you brewed the potion?" Hermione asked in that same lifeless voice.
"Because Miss Granger, in order for you to learn the technique you need to be in a perfectly fit mental condition. I was hoping that the ani-anxiety potion would alleviate your distress somewhat so that I could teach you Shield Occlumency more easily."
"Why didn't the potion work like you thought it would?" Hermione asked.
"Anti-anxiety potions treat the person taking them as the source of the anxiety. Your anxiety does not originate in your mind, it originates from the dark energy radiated from Voldemort downstairs. I thought the potion would partially help you, especially since that was the most concentrated form I could give you without risking negative side effects, but...Obviously you are so sensitive to Voldemort's presence that your condition will not change with any simple treatment."
"You say that as if this is somehow my fault," Hermione remarked casually, focusing most of her attention on trying to not visibly shake with every breath.
"I did notmean for you to take it that way, Miss Granger."
Hermione didn't answer, finding it easier to relax while closing her eyes and leaning her head against the cool tile behind her.
"Is it any better than last night?" Severus asked.
"I've been trying to stay calm for the last two and a half hours," Hermione told him. "I had to come in here because I couldn't stand being in the main room. I was too overwhelmed and like last night, I could barely breathe, in here, I suppose it's slightly better. At least I'm not hyperventilating. Though the longer I try to remain calm, the more exhausted I become."
"I really shouldn't try to teach you Occlumency while you're in this state," Severus told her. "But, I don't think your condition will improve unless something is done now."
"You could just let me suffer and see if I adjust on my own." Hermione said drily, her voice hardly above a whisper as if the sound of her own voice was hurting her ears.
Severus let out a sigh.
"I won't do that." he told her seriously. "The only reason I have reservations is because when I teach you how to shield, I'll have to look into your mind and to do so while you're in your present condition would be tantamount to reading a diary that is a record of your most private memories and thoughts. If I try to teach you Shield Occlumency now, I will see things you may not want me to see."
"And my alternative option is to just sit against this wall in pain?"
"Miss Granger, I'm not really suggesting that you do that, bu I also want to warn you that...no, never mind. I hardly think it's necessary to worry you with the possibility of further complications."
Hermione opened her eyes and stared directly at Severus.
"What are you keeping from me now, Snape? After you conveniently forgot to mention the pain potion you gave me last night when we talked at Remus's, I now have to wonder what else you're deciding not to tell me." Hermione said in a stronger voice, her mind more lucid now than before.
"It's nothing, I assure you." Severus said quickly.
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" Hermione asked. Severus narrowed her eyes at Hermione's display of impudence.
"Must you always insist on knowing everything?" Severus half snapped at her. He gave her a hardened stare as if willing her to stay silent on the matter.
"When someone is going to warn me about something and then suddenly decides to drop the subject, I immediately get suspicious. And considering everything that happened last night, I don't think you should keep any details from me."
Severus did not immediately respond.
"Have you read much about Occlumency?" he asked.
"I wanted to, but the Hogwarts library didn't have any books on it."
"You've never looked the topic up in Flourish and Blotts?"
"Almost all the times I was there, I was with Harry and Ron, and I would never ask them to go into the store with me. And I didn't want to leave them and make them think I was avoiding them."
Severus exhaled forcefully.
"Then let me give you a very brief history lesson," he told her.
Hermione met his gaze and waited for him to continue.
"Occlumency is an Eastern discipline, developed in China around 1108 AD and perfected around 1200. In the thirteenth century, it was taught in magical military academies throughout Asia, the first one being the wizarding equivalent of Tsun Zu's war academy. Now in the military academies, all the students were male and so were all of the masters who taught them.
"Women weren't taught Occlumency until the sixteenth century. But the masters found that it was an unwise decision to include women in their academies."
"How come?" Hermione asked.
"The women were getting pregnant." Severus told her simply.
"That really wasn't the answer I expected."
"Don't interrupt me. I'm far from finished." said Severus.
"Sorry, go on."
"It was discovered that process of imparting knowledge of Occlumency magnified sexual attraction between the master and the female student. When it was found out that the reason for the high number of unexpected pregnancies was the fact that Occlumency acted like a particularly strong aphrodisiac when it was taught by a middle aged unmarried master to a young woman, the discipline was forbidden to be taught to female students in the academy. Over time, women masters came to open their own academies where they taught girls the art of Occlumency. And the women masters were forbidden to teach male students for the same reasons."
"Have you never wondered why Hogwarts doesn't offer Occlumency as a class?" he asked her.
"I always thought it was because it took so much skill to master." Hermione told him.
Severus snorted loudly.
"Potion making is a discipline that takes skill to master and Hogwarts offers that to everyone."
Hermione didn't immediately respond.
"You were going to keep this . . . fact . . . from me?" Hermione asked him seriously.
"Miss Granger! Understand that it matters not whether you know this information before I begin to teach you Shield Occlumency. Your weakened mental state will affect your ability to sense and perceive Occlumency induced feelings. And my first plan involved you being able to rest today after the anti-anxiety potion, brewing a fresh anti-lust potion just for peace of mind tomorrow, and beginning the Occlmency lessons tomorrow evening. Right now, you won't be affected by the Occlumency's power of attraction."
"What about you?" Hermione demanded.
"What do you take me for? I won't lose control over myself if that's what you're asking." Severus said irately.
"Last night you told Voldemort you couldn't wait to rape me, so forgive me if I'm more than a bit wary of your intentions." Hermione told him seriously.
Severus stared at her as if she had physically slapped him.
"That was a low blow Miss Granger," Severus told her icily. "I can't believe you truly think me capable of raping you."
Severus searched Hermione's gaze, astonished to see from the set of her features that she had meant every word of what she had said.
"If you hadn't kept this information from me, I wouldn't be so suspicious of you. But there was no good reason for you not to tell me this little history lesson earlier in the conversation." Hermione told him softly. She massaged her left temple gently and let out a deep breath. Clearly she was still in great discomfort, and her energy was continuing to drain.
"I didn't think it was necessary."
"Can I really trust you?" Hermione asked him.
Severus had a sneaking suspicion that he knew where the conversation was heading.
"Now is not the time to discuss my reasons for serving Dumbledore."
Hermione sighed.
"Will this Shield Occlumency definitely get me back to normal?" she asked him.
"Yes, I'm certain it will," Severus told her.
"Then let's get the first lesson started." Hermione told him seriously.
A/N: A bit of a cliffy, I know. But the more you review the faster I write, so please leave me a review.