Hermione never had a hint of detention in her life, yet here she was standing in front of the dungeon door. She didn't notice how long she was inspecting the woodwork before she heard a voice from inside.
"Enter." Her professor commanded. She obeyed.
Snape examined the slight feminine frame of the figure before him, illuminated from behind by the candle light in the hallway. When had she grown? She looked at the cauldron on the long table at the front of the room, a variety of ingredients splayed to each side. Before being told what to do, fear of the possibility began to grow in her stomach.
"You will correctly generate the potion that you so miserably failed at the other night." He directed. She swallowed, she was right. Visuals and sensations of that failure came to mind for the instant that she looked into her professor's eyes. No emotion betrayed his face. She looked at the stone floor.
"Sir, I'm not…"
"I will accept no excuses related to Weasley or Potter." He interjected.
She looked back at him, perturbed. "I was just trying to help a friend."
He came towards her. "Does your friend have trouble with occlumency?"
Hermione fought back any sign of emotion. Her professor knew that she was trying to aid Harry in his training sessions by giving him a potion to shield his mind from intrusion.
Snape continued as he paced around her. "The mind is quite an easy thing to control, and its intentions can be very separate from the heart, or other parts of the body." He paused. "When you attempt to control the functions of the mind, there are various states. Rather than preventing intrusion, your potion permitted it. It permitted the thought of the very first person you saw to pervade it so strongly that it could be felt all throughout your body. Could it not, miss Granger?"
"Y-yes, sir." She stammered, forcing herself to prevent recalling that night's events.
"Yes." He affirmed. "So, you admit that you don't believe he's capable of developing the skills to prevent my intrusion into his thoughts?
"No!" She shouted, "he just looked so tired…" She could see his drained face and limp body climbing back to the Gryffindor tower.
"Do you find yourself more competent?" He questioned and before she had a chance to think of a reply, he was within her mind. Wave after wave of image flew before her eyes and she could feel him examining each one. Surprising to her, they were all of professor Snape. First she watched his robes flowing in a determined stride in the hallway, then he was making a potion change color, the image switched to him holding a wand with a proper stance sending sparks of green at a snake, Soon he was chiding her and suddenly his lips were on hers. She forced him out and took a step back. He seemed confused at first as well, and then he came to an answer.
"A side-effect of the potion," he said almost to himself, "It caused me to pervade your mind so much that when I perform occlumency it will only reveal thoughts of me…"
She was startled at first, "will this occur for everyone who tries it on me?"
"No." He stated confidently. "It requires my touch."