Completely removed from the turmoil soon to take place in the library, Severus made his way upstairs, hoping to find Tiberius, and with him, something to do. From his earlier conversation with his grandfather, Severus knew that he wasn't greatly interested in potions, like he, but rather in some rather obscure areas of magic that he hadn't heard of before, namely Occlumency and Legilimency - if he was remembering correctly. He'd investigated the library for further texts but had found scant little on them, which made him wonder about their… placement, shall he say, on the spectrum of light and dark.

Not that magic being dark would stop him from investigating, of course. He'd feel slightly guilty, perhaps, remembering his earlier forays into the darker arts that had slowly waned as he grew older. She'd been horrified when she discovered him, Severus remembered, and rightly so. The darker spells had a way of leading you in, tempting you with the promise of unlimited power…

He shook himself from the memories, reaffirming in his mind that he wouldn't allow himself to be led so far down that path again. But a little intellectual curiosity was fine, wasn't it? Even Cassie had warmed up to the greyer spells somewhat, after he'd shown her their usefulness.

"Do you need something, Severus?"

The boy glanced up, not having realized how far he'd wandered lost in thought. He was in Tiberius' office now, a small comfortable room filled with books, papers, a desk, and some comfortable chairs.

Suddenly slightly uncomfortable with disturbing him, Severus started to shake his head. "No, sorry."

Tiberius raised his brow, a certain sparkle coming into his eyes. Severus wouldn't have noticed it, perhaps, except for the intense way that his grandfather was staring at him.

He frowned, feeling something not-quite-right in his head; like he'd just forgotten something important to him. Overwhelmed by an intense desire to get it out, Severus concentrated on trying to push it from his thoughts, paying no mind to the curiosity clearly written on Tiberius' face.

Seconds later it was gone, though Severus knew it had left of its own accord, and by no means because of his efforts. It had been impossible to make it leave, it seemed, and Severus felt his head ache slightly, as though feeling the beginnings of a migraine coming on.

"What was that?" he asked cautiously, although he was quite certain that his grandfather'd had something to do with it. The wizard facing him had a certain half-smile on his lips, and he answered easily.

"Legilimency, Severus."

"Ah," Severus remarked simply, not sure what else he could say. Would Tiberius indulge his curiosity, or would he be sent away?

His grandfather gestured for him to sit, and Severus did so, making himself comfortable as he settled in for what was sure to be a longer discussion.

"Are you aware of what Legilimency is, Severus?" Tiberius asked first, summoning a tome to him as though already anticipating his response.

"Barely."

His grandfather nodded, the book landing on Severus' legs and flipping open to the beginning pages with a flick of his reddish wand. "Read."

Legilimency, a spell allowing for the caster to enter and examine the mind of another, has slowly fallen out of use in the last century, due perhaps to its advanced nature…

Severus stopped reading, his mind finally processing what he'd just read. Enter the mind… A bubble of fiery anger rose within him, perhaps irrationally, and it was only just that he managed to stop himself from snapping at his grandfather.

"You read my mind," he stated instead coldly, though inside he was burning with fear and emotion over this betrayal of privacy. Had Tiberius seen something he should not have?

"I did not," the wizard answered calmly, the smallest of smirks curling around his lips. Severus blinked in surprise, utterly discomfited. If he hadn't then….

"Read further," Tiberius commanded, and Severus' brow quirked at his imperious tone. Nevertheless, he brought his eyes back to the page, skipping forward a little when he couldn't see anything relevant to what he'd just been told.

...Unlike Legilimency, which can, theoretically, be mastered by anyone - although certain familial traits have been discovered - Occlumency is a largely inborn trait, often passed down through generations. This is perhaps most due to the innate nature of the mind, with some persons' being organized by logical category, and therefore better suited to the mind arts in general, and others' being ruled by emotion and responsiveness, lending the mind to greater possibility of disinhibition and disarray. Occlumency, as stated above, is better suited to those individuals with logical minds, who are able to categorize information while separating it, at least in some part, from emotion. This is especially true when dealing with the finer points of Occlumency, those of deflection and guidance, rather than the brute shielding that even those without training are sometimes able to accomplish–

"Is that what I did? Create a… shield? In my mind?" Severus asked cautiously, still not certain how to feel. Tiberius nodded in response, and explained to him the nature of what he had done.

"I was only doing a surface scan. Impressions of emotions, mostly, and the occasional thought or two. I would have stopped had you had no shields, but they intrigued me. I did not think before this that your mind's inclination would be similar to mine, Severus. It's an interesting possibility, one that would be inclined to explore, if you would allow me to do so. I don't suppose you've had any experiences with Legilimency, however?" Tiberius asked.

"Should I have?" Severus asked cautiously.

His grandfather shrugged, his eyes straying to a portrait on the wall, one of a beautiful woman with dark eyes who smiled at him lightly. "A gift for the mind arts runs in our family. My mother had it, certainly, as do I. Some aunts and uncles as well, from what I've been made aware of. It skipped Eileen, and I had assumed it skipped you…" he trailed off meaningfully.

"I– How does it usually manifest?"

"During childhood. Fifteen at the latest, from what's been observed, though it could be later. The mind arts have long since stopped being researched, and those who have access to data are… inclined to keep it to themselves. The experience itself… it varies; for myself, I began being able to read thoughts from others' minds. It was disconcerting, to say the least, but my mother noticed it soon after it began and trained me as best as she could. She never fully mastered both Occlumency and Legilimency herself - it was not her passion - but encouraged me to pursue both."

Severus remembered suddenly the incident in the cafe; feeling like he'd slipped into Cassiopeia's mind, seeing thoughts and memories float around his mind that were not his own. Had that been…?

"It may have happened to me," he said slowly, meeting Tiberius' eyes. That was how the incident with Cassie had started; maybe he'd be able to recreate it…

He felt the same dizzying sensation begin to take hold, and he almost didn't breathe for fear of breaking the connection. The room dimmed in his eyes, and instead of the study he found himself standing at the edge of a forest. Curiously, he stretched out his hand, finding a shimmering, barely-visible magical barrier in front to him, like the one surrounding the Princes' house. He pushed against it lightly with his hand but it didn't give way, the magic as hard as rock beneath his palms. Instead, it pulsed with a red light as if with warning, and he suddenly felt himself repelled, the image dimming until he saw the study again. He blinked, breaking eye contact with Tiberius and slumping in relief in his chair as the incredible pressure was lifted from his head.

"Was that it?" he asked, one hand rising to rub at the side of his head as it began to throb in pain, apparently unhappy with whatever he'd just experienced.

"It was," Tiberius answered, a satisfied smirk appearing on his face. "And a good attempt too, for your first time. Or second?"

"It's happened once before, with Cassie," Severus replied, closing his eyes against the light, as it only made his sudden headache worse. "I didn't think it'd hurt this much."

Something flew into his hand, and Severus was surprised to find it to be a vial of Pepper-Up. He smiled gratefully, tipping it into his mouth after a sudden bout of unease compelled him to confirm that it was, in fact, Pepper-Up.

Sighing in relief with his head finally clear, Severus settled in the chair comfortably, listening as his grandfather explained what had just happened.

"The thing you encountered was the basic shield I put up. Those trained would be able to break through it with some effort, I believe, unless I put all of my effort into keeping it up. Then, however, if they entered my mind, I would be left defenseless, so I find it's more important to learn to deflect intrusions, and be able to guide the Legilimens away from the things you do not wish for them to see. But that's advanced. For now, I would be glad to teach you the basics of both arts, and see if you have the talent for them. I do wish we could have discovered this earlier…"

January 9, 1975 - Hogwarts Express

It was unfortunate, Severus thought, that the day of their return to Hogwarts should fall on his birthday.

It would have been enjoyable to spend the day with Cassie still in France, even if the day was not greatly important to him. Instead, he'd received some small gifts in the morning, they'd packed, and Eimear had apparated the three of them to King's Cross, and then Eileen back to Spinner's End.

He and Cassie had settled into a compartment in the back of the train, and had soon been joined by Aurora, who flitted between their compartment and another, chattering excitedly about her break.

For now however, it was quiet, and Severus enjoyed the peace as he reviewed his Charms textbook, Cassie leaning over his shoulder and reading along.

Cassiopeia tossed and turned in her bed, feeling like all of the progress of her winter stay had been turned around in one night. It was two in the morning and she couldn't sleep, her dreams each time she managed to doze off being interrupted by visions she couldn't bear to see. And so she stayed awake.

She closed her eyes, trying to breath through the pain each vision brought. They were of her father, mostly, though Black, McKinnon, and James Potter made their appearances as well. They were not however memories, or at least they weren't all. A mix of those things she tried her hardest to forget, and those she prayed would never happen.

Why couldn't she sleep? Was she forgetting something important…?

The thought made an intense bolt of paranoia shoot through her, and she sat up straight, getting out of her bed to kneel beside it, uncaring if she woke Aurora with her movement.

Where is it? Where is it?

She rummaged through the items underneath her bed, swallowing in fear when her fingers found the edges of the wooden box.

What if it's not in here?

Reverently, she flicked open the lid, slumping in relief when her eyes found the glowing silver and sapphires in the dimness of her room. She didn't know what she'd do if the crown was stolen. The thought itself was unbearable, seeming to cause her heart to twinge in pain.

No, she'd do everything to protect it. Everything. Anything.

Even if still she wasn't quite sure why.

•••

Thank you for reading! Something very important will happen in the next chapter, so I hope you'll stick around. And once again, thank you to silentmayhem for helping me make this story even better for all of you. I hope you all have a wonderful day :)