Chapter 9: De Docendo

When Severus entered Headquarters, intending to give Hermione Leta's message and try to gain some information from the surface of the girl's mind as she read the parchment and hopefully let her guard down for a moment, he was stopped in his tracks by Minerva, who just exited from the Library.

"Ah, Severus. I wanted to speak to you about Miss Granger."

"Yes?"

"I'd like to know what exactly happened to her while she was taken; perhaps you could start Occlumency lessons with her to find out?" she suggested.

Severus nodded, pleased that he now would have a completely legitimate excuse for spending time with the girl, "When shall I start?"

"As soon as possible, if you will."

He simply nodded his agreement, before continuing on his way to the stairs.

Minerva, clearly having much on her mind, didn't seem to notice nor question him going upstairs. He wondered whether she had found out about the girl's kill.

Hermione sat again on her bed, reading. This time she wasn't as surprised to see him.

"Miss Granger," he started, after casting Muffliato again, "I have a message for you."

She frowned, confused, and took the note he extended to her.

He focussed on her, and as she read, he was able to make out a few things in her mind without her noticing. What he found seemed to explain her odd behaviour: the girl had developed some affection for Leta, apparently.

"Please trust Severus, he has your best interest in mind, as do I.

I hope I'll see you soon,

love,

Leta"

Upon finishing the note, Hermione looked up with wide eyes. "Are you—? I mean, what—what is this?" she stuttered, discomfited.

"It is a note from the Death Eater Leta Watkins to yourself, miss Granger," he drily replied.

"But, how? Did you talk to her? Why are you giving me this? What is going on?"

"The Dark Lord has given me the order to cooperate with Leta on your teachings, as Leta no longer has direct access to you."

He knew she wanted to know whose side he was on, but he didn't intend to give her that information.

"Incidentally," he continued, "Professor McGonagall has told me to give you classes on Occlumency."

Hermione swallowed fearfully. "Why?"

"I suspect because she thinks you have switched sides, and she wants me to use Legilimency on you in an inconspicuous way to find out," he replied honestly, following Leta's example of putting light on the Order's negative aspects – lack of trust in a central member, however deserved – to continue the girl's indoctrination.

"I haven't!" she denied vehemently, before clearly realizing whom she was talking to, and promptly turning red.

He simply raised an eyebrow at her outburst.

"I will have to take some measurements, of course," Ollivander told Hermione and Professor Snape, after the Professor had explained Hermione's loss of her wand.

"Of course," Hermione nodded.

The wand maker took the necessary measurements, spoke them aloud, and the numbers appeared on a piece of parchment he had laying on his desk. Afterwards he took her right hand with his left, and put his other hand on her left shoulder. Before going any further, her explained, "I also have to feel out your magical core, so I can create a wand suited to your magic."

Hermione nodded her understanding.

The man closed his eyes and concentrated. His frown became deeper. All over her body, Hermione suddenly felt hyper-conscious about her nerves, along which Ollivander's magic seemed to travel. It was an odd experience, but soon ended.

He reopened his eyes and gravely looked her in the eyes, with something Hermione recognised as worry.

"What?" Professor Snape questioned from his post by the door.

"Nothing… I am merely surprised by the darkness of miss Granger's magical core."

Hermione swallowed, wondering whether he could have sensed that she had killed someone, but he said no more about it.

"I will let you know when your wand is finished, Miss Granger. It shouldn't take very long."

Hermione thanked him, and she and Professor Snape left his room.

The first day of Severus teaching Miss Granger, he explained to her the principles of Occlumency and Legilimency, going into the theory more than Leta had. They did not have the time to go over to practical work, as they were in the Order's headquarters, where they could be interrupted at any moment, and Severus had not yet had the chance to talk to Minerva about teaching Hermione at his place. He gave the girl some books to read on the subject, and told her to practice, as he would talk to Minerva that evening, and the next day he would try to penetrate her mind, when he would have succeeded at convincing Minerva that his house was a better place for practice.

Indeed, Minerva accepted his reasons, and trusted him, so, starting the next day, she let Severus and Miss Granger use the floo to go to Spinner's End.

It had been Leta's idea to get Hermione to Spinner's End for lessons, so that, when Hermione would be ready, Leta would be able to visit her without the Order's knowledge.

Severus pulled away from Hermione's mind and ended the spell, not having expected what he had seen just now.

"That's private!" Hermione exclaimed, looking at him angrily and somewhat flushed.

"Then you should shield your mind."

"I'm trying!"

Leta opened the door, and Severus stepped inside, past her, without invitation. She turned around, eyebrows raised at his lack of manners.

"You slept with her."

That was not what she had been expecting. "Good morning to you too, Severus."

"And she clearly has some remaining... Affection for you."

"And?"

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You know very well what I'm asking."

"This is none of your business: you were merely to teach—"

"You forgot to put up wards: her escape was a direct result of your sleeping with her."

"Yes, well, I was kind of occupied with other things at the time."

"Does the Dark Lord know?"

"Seriously? What do you think?" Leta mocked, incensed by his accusations.

"I think you were playing a dangerous game before she fled."

Still mockingly, Leta laughed, "Oh really? Well, just let me tell you this: the Dark Lord questioned me about her escape, found out the reason, and congratulated me for my manipulation."

"Why did you not tell me earlier?"

"Because it wasn't relevant."

"We are on this task together, and I do not appreciate being at a disadvantage."

"Well, you weren't: you got no negative results from me not telling you before. Now, how is she?"

Several times, Hermione had to avoid her best friends: she did not want to have to lie to them, but she would have no choice if she were to talk to them. Undoubtedly they would ask questions she could not answer. Nearly a week after her return, however, they cornered her in the library.

"Hermione?"

She looked up from the book in her hands, and saw the two boys standing next to her, blocking the way to the door. She hadn't noticed them come in.

"Hello Harry, Ron," she calmly replied, hoping they would not ask their incessant questions.

"You have been avoiding us, haven't you?"

"I've been busy…"

"Hermione, what is going on? Even at the busiest times of the year at school, you still had time to talk."

"Yes, well, what I'm doing now is harder and even more important."

"What's going on, Hermione? What's up with the 'classes' Snape is giving you?"

"He's teaching me Occlumency." She decided to omit the fact that he was also teaching her relatively dark spells, continuing Leta's instruction, since she knew her friends would immediately think her a dark witch. She wasn't. She just thought she would be more able to help Harry fight against the Death Eaters if she understood and practised the magic they used.

"But why? Why do you need to learn that?"

"Because I—" she shook her head at herself, and continued, "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's about what happened when you were with them, isn't it?" Harry guessed.

Ron lost his patience, and exclaimed, "Why won't you tell us what happened there? We're your best mates!"

It hurt Hermione to do so, but she merely shook her head, and slipped between the two, making her way to the door.

"Have you found something yet, Severus?" asked a tired-looking Minerva.

"Not yet. I suspect that if Kingsley is indeed correct and she did indeed kill someone, as you told me, she might have been so shocked at her own behaviour that her mind has tucked it away in some hidden corner, blocking it for her own sanity."

Minerva sighed and nodded. "Anything else of importance? What was done to her there? She hasn't been the same since her return."

"I found traces of psychological torture: they induced illusions, making her believe her worst fears had come true."

"Poor girl." Minerva sighed once more. "You will tell me if you find anything else, won't you?"

"Of course, Minerva. Good evening."

"Good evening, Severus."

"It doesn't make sense! Why is she so different?" Ron asked, exasperated.

"She must've gone through a lot," Harry shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but what? And she no longer talks with us! We hardly ever see her anymore!"

"I don't know. I want to know why Snape suddenly wants to give her Occlumency classes. I mean, it's not like she has a connection with Vol— You-Know-Who like I do, right?"

"Yeah. And about that: Fred and George told me they overheard McGonagall telling him to give her those classes."

Harry frowned. "But why?"

"That's what I'd like to know! They heard just the end of the conversation they had, so they couldn't say."

"What if... What if we're right and Snape is a Death Eater, and—" Harry started.

"No," Ron denied.

"But, Ron, what if she's—"

"No, Harry, it wouldn't make sense. This is Hermione we're talking about."

"But she spent an awful long time in captivity, and she doesn't have any wounds or anything."

"Well yeah, but it still wouldn't make sense—why would they want her, and why would she ever join them?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. There's probably some logical explanation. I just wish she'd talk to us again."

"Me too, mate, me too."