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Chapter Fifteen

Samantha and Severus just stared at each other as the rest of the students grabbed their possessions and left the DADA classroom. Severus watched the excitement grow from different levels on her face to horror then back to excitement again with little expression on his face at all. She had to be the strangest individual he had ever met in his life. He was only assuming that her expressions were reactions to each other's ability to see into each other's minds. He hadn't expected that little brush against his mind from her at all. It had angered him to think that he had actually allowed her to gain entry but now that he had had time to think about it he was somewhat pleased to see how he could use this to his advantage.

When everyone had left the room, Samantha flicked her wand at the door and it slammed closed. Then she turned to him and whispered, "You saw something didn't you?" She was nervous again. She watched him closely, but if he had caught a glimpse of her dream, surly he would have been acting strangely right? Or would it have not bothered him at all? No, it would have disgusted him; he would have taunted her, mocked her, and probably reprimanded her in some way. She let out her breath and excitement regained its claim on her face. He hadn't seen the dream.

"You saw something as well." He announced. He watched as her expression relaxed and wondered what she was really thinking about. But now he knew that she would feel it if he did enter her mind, though he wouldn't have anyway.

Samantha watched him skeptically. "What did you see?" she asked, for some reason she didn't want to reveal what she had seen first.

"What did you see?" he demanded.

She was quiet for a minute, "I'd rather you go first."

Severus scowled, "Why is that? It's pretty obvious that we both know what the other had seen."

She bit her lip, trying to remember what she had read in the hundreds of books she had researched Legilimency on. "Is that normal?"

He frowned, "I'm not sure." He rolled his eyes and said, "I saw the memory of you listening in on your father as he talked to your grandfather about the family member that you have that was skilled in both Legilimency and Occlumency. I couldn't hear everything that was being said because from your position you hadn't been able to hear perfectly." He paused a minute, then said, "Then I felt you enter my mind."

Samantha nodded. "At first all I was seeing was the same memory but in greater detail then when I usually recall it." She looked up at him, "Before, I couldn't remember who it was that my father had been talking to. But then in this particular reenactment I saw my grandfather. I must have been seeing what you had been looking at."

Severus sat back down in his chair, "So much about Legilimency is still unknown." He said the fact for no particular reason but she seemed to understand why, nonetheless. "I saw the real memory, whereas you can only see what you remember of that memory. So when you entered my mind you weren't seeing my own memories at all, you were seeing what was actually in my mind, at that particular moment, which was your memory." He was talking to her, but he was more talking to himself. He looked up at her and was full in thought as she too sat down again.

"Well actually that wasn't all I saw." She said slowly.

His eyes, which were on her but weren't focused on her, did focus on her now. His eyes narrowed and a guard flew back into place. "What else did you see." He asked, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that he was asking it in a dangerous tone, as if maybe she should rethink what she was about to say next.

She straightened in her chair. "Well, I saw…what you were looking at in my mind. Then it sort of blurred out of my mind and I heard an echo," she looked him straight in the eye, "an echo of your voice saying, 'It was probably something prissy and useless, her mind.' I assume that I am right to think that you were referring to me?" She asked with narrowed eyes and watched as slight amusement settled over his lips and continued, "But then I saw something that had to have been your memory." She said it softly, and the amusement vanished from his face.

He leaned back in his chair, seemed to stretch a few inches and he asked, "And what was it exactly that that you had seen?"

Samantha hesitated for a moment. She didn't know why but something was screaming at her not to tell him what she had seen. But she wasn't going to lie to him, besides why would it make him angry? "I saw myself." His eyes narrowed even more, "I am assuming it was from last night in the forest, I was running and-" she felt a blush start behind her ears, she tried to fight it but continued, "I was smiling and laughing. I was talking to you but I couldn't hear what I was saying, the noises surrounding us, well you were to low." She watched him. "It was weird seeing me through your eyes, though." She mumbled.

Severus was quiet for a minute. Anger and confusion boiled within him. He hadn't even known that she had seen this image. He had only felt her presence in his mind, the only explanation he could think of was that it was so subtle and fragile that he hadn't been able to feel what she had been looking at. He looked back down at her and said, "Well, obviously it had to have been from last night Cromwell. What, do you think that I dream about you or fantasize about you? I see you far too much to torture myself in such ways. As for you not being able to hear anything that was being said, it was because I usually try to drown you out whenever you tend to annoy me the most."

He watched as she left the room, slamming the door behind her. She hadn't said anything, she hadn't even looked angry. If he had been forced to put an emotion to her abrupt change in attitude he would have said that she had looked disappointed.

As he sat there rethinking everything they had just shared and as he rethought about everything he knew about Legilimency he realized that it was uncommon for the person being looked at by a Legilimens to actually see what the Legilimens was looking at, if it could be done at all. It was still unclear exactly what she had done. Had she seen in her own mind what he was looking at? Or had she seen in his mind what he was looking at? He was mad because he didn't have answers to these questions. He was also mad because he had not known about that last scene she had seen in his mind. Why had she seen it anyway? He hadn't been thinking about the events of last night. But then again there had been nothing else to see between last night and this morning, which would be why that was the first thing that she would have come across. It was also their first attempt, they knew little about what they were capable of, and it wasn't going to be their last attempt at it.

Walking towards the door he found himself guilty, again, for unnecessarily hurting her in some way even though it was in his nature to do so and had it happened a few months ago he wouldn't have cared less.

Well at least they felt the same way about each other, Samantha told herself as she stormed off to her next class. Well she didn't like thinking about him either. And that dream was a lapse in judgment on her part…well technically on her unconscious part, so it was hardly her problem.

Calming down she slowed her pace enough to realize that she was heading in the wrong direction for Transfiguration. He wasn't mad at her she mused, he must have been mad that he hadn't realized that she had seen more than he had thought she had seen. How she knew when it wasn't her he was mad at she had no idea. Maybe it was because of what people always say about him. That he was cruel, that he was rude, spiteful and dark. Yes he could be all those things but over the past few months she realized that, with her at least he was only those things if she pushed him too far, or if he was mad at himself. Not that that gave him free rein to attack her like that but at least she was able to know when he really meant to hurt her.

She arrived to her Transfiguration class just as Professor McGonagall was closing the door to begin the lesson. With a warning look and terse nod she allowed her entrance and Samantha headed to the front left of the class. She sat in the first row next to Lily and behind them sat Sirius, James and Remus.

"What took you so long after DADA?" Lily asked.

"Snape and I had to talk about something for the Potion." She lied. It sickened her how simple it was to lie for her now. She never used to lie; she never had a reason to. Not that what she was lying about was that big of deal. It just didn't seem right to tell people about her being able to look into Snape's mind and him being able to look into hers. And the lies before that…it just didn't seem that everything about her and what she did had to be everyone's business.

"You two are still getting along alright?" Lily asked.

Her friends had asked her this question many times and her answer had always been the same, "As great as it can be with Snape." and it was the truth, with his dark mood swings and lack of trust he did make getting along quiet difficult and when they were fighting she would tell them and when he was acting quite pleasant she would tell them as well, though they believed her story more on the former.

"Hey, Samantha?" came Remus' soft raspy voice from behind her.

Smiling she turned, she was about to greet him as well but when she noticed his face all she managed was, "Oh, Merlin, what happened to you face?" He had scratches all over them; some looked as though they had been very deep and ragged. They were healing now, he must have seen Madam Pomfrey but she hadn't seen them when he was helping her off of the floor in DADA class earlier.

She watched as a blush rose up his neck and across his face and James put a vile into his hand under the table. He quickly drank from it and the gashes were gone again. As he drank Sirius grinned awkwardly, "Our potion required some live, not to be mentioned creatures, and well let's just say we didn't know how to handle them."

She gave them a stern look and started, "You-" but Professor McGonagall had begun her class. Samantha gave Remus a sympathetic look but he wouldn't look her in the eye so she turned her attention back towards the front of the class. Poor Remus, he always seemed to be the one getting hurt.

The Professor was giving them their essay topics which they were expected to complete in today's lesson when the classroom's door swiftly opened and Snape came into the room. Scowling, Professor McGonagall glided over to him and they talked silently for a moment. Samantha couldn't help but look over at him. Snape looked up once as if he could feel her watching him, and she hastily looked back down at her notes from last class.

"Well yes, of course, that man wouldn't have thought to give you a late slip." Professor McGonagall was saying in response to his excuse for being late because of being held after class by the DADA teacher. She sent him to his seat, muttering under her tongue about the man being an imbecile and about Dumbledore's seemingly feeble intuition.

As he swept past Cromwell's desk she didn't look up at him again. He knew she wouldn't. He didn't feel Professor's gaze on him so he swiftly placed a piece of parchment under Cromwell's fingers and noticed that Lupin, Black and Potter had seen him do it. They all narrowed their eyes at him, Potter wrinkled his nose, looking like a buffoon and Black even clenched his fist. Severus lifted his nose at them and knew that that simple posture would anger them the most. He rolled his eyes as he past them and walked to the rear of the classroom where he sat into his seat, listened to the Professor repeat their essay instructions and waited for her to reply.

Samantha stared down at the piece of paper in her hand. Groaning, knowing there was no way she was going to ignore it she opened it and read Snape's spidery scrawl. Cromwell, your actual raw talent at something thought to be rare took me by surprise. I assume that you think that I overreacted and that my words were unnecessary and harsh? I keep forgetting that you are female and your feelings are sensitive as well as easily wounded. I suppose I am meant to be sorry?

Samantha laughed. This letter was just like him. He wasn't sorry at all but for some reason she didn't know just this unlikely ridiculous letter which showed no more remorse then his expressionless face could, made her feel better. He probably knew this too, which was why he did it and that alone told her that he was in some semblance sorry.

She quickly wrote on the parchment and flicked her wand over it.

Severus snatched the floating sheet of parchment out of the air in front of his nose and opened the neatly folded letter. Her curvy writing was there under his spidery one.

I know that you doubt me at every turn, and I know that you had never dreamed that it was possible but I have greatly impressed you, Snape. Admit it. As for your outburst, I know that it was out of pure horror that you didn't know that I had been that far into your mind. I know that you always have to be in control Snape, but it is okay to sometime not be. I forgive you of course, she had drawn a stupid goofy smiley face then continued, but only because your attempt at an apology was so rather sad.

He scoffed, and pulled out his quill. He tried to push back the annoyance at her statement of knowing all this things about him. About him being mad because he hadn't known she was in his mind, about him always having to be in control. She didn't know how right she was about him and it angered him that she did know this, that she had the nerve to throw it in his face. But she wasn't taunting him, in the sense that he would have expected someone to taunt him. If it were anyone else he would have stayed away from her. Perhaps he should be staying away from her. It would be that smart thing to do, and he was smart damn it, but even as all these thoughts went through his mind he wrote back to her.

Samantha was stuck on her essay, the right words weren't coming to mind when she thought about what transforms in a mouse first when it is being transfigured into an edible pumpkin pie. She turned her quill over and over in her hand. Then a theory came to mind, she bend back over her essay to add to it and realized it was another note in Snape's spidery handwriting. She looked under the parchment for her work and frowned when she found it nowhere. She read the letter.

I have reason to doubt you, but the many reasons of which are too many to fill this sheet. As for your impressing me, you have done no such thing so far in my knowing you. I think that my apology was sufficient under the circumstances. Since I doubt that you can tell time I feel the need to remind you that we have to attend to the potion during lunch today. And you are wrong, I always have to be in control but you will never be able to understand that about me.

The words vanished; she had almost not had enough time to read that last sentence before it was all replaced. Let's leave it at that.

In other words, he wasn't going to expect or tolerate any questions regarding what had just been said. She smiled, but that's what made them such a great team, he dictated straight forward rigid rules, and she bent and questioned every one of them. She bit her lip and wrote in response.

Before she was finished her essay parchment floated back onto her desk and she picked it up noticing his scrawl in bright red ink all over her paper pointing out her errors. She narrowed her eyes.

Snape was finished with his essay and was leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling. He was deep in thought planning and working out how he would practice Occlumency. He straightening in his seat just as something aimed for his forehead. It surprised him and its pointed end hit him square between the eyes. He picked up the parchment and studied its layout. It looked oddly like a plane, something muggles used to travel long distances through the sky. A paper plane, he scoffed.

He opened the neatly folded parchment.

"You want to practice Legilimency and Occlumency with me?"

Samantha stared at Snape through dumbfounded eyes. He sat in a chair across from her in the Room of Requirement, his posture straight and his fingers steepled in front of him. He looked completely serious and part of her was excited, or she at least assumed that's what her racing heart meant.

"Let me get this straight," she said after a while as he kept staring at her without saying anything, "You want to spend even more time together outside of the classroom and away from the Potion?"

His next expression was one of pain and nausea. "Putting it that way," he said slowly, "no. However I want to learn the art and I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't be able to find anyone, other than yourself that has…" he paused, waving his fingers in a nonchalant motion, "Some degree of ability in one or the other."

Samantha leaned back in her chair. She had the opportunity to learn an incredible art, or rather expand on what she was already capable of, if she was in fact capable of it. The possibility of being able to do something that so few people have mastered such as looking into people's minds would be amazing, she mused. And working with someone as determined and proficient as Severus Snape she was sure to learn more than with anyone else.

She looked up at him then. At some point he will be looking into her mind. She will be susceptible to him finding out things about her that no one else would ever know, and he to her. He might even eventually see that dream, she reminded herself. He sat there silently, obviously waiting for her to comply or refuse. There had to be an alternative reason he wanted to do this, she thought. There was no way that Snape, someone who wouldn't even answer a simple question about anything, would allow anyone access to his most secret of secrets. Perhaps he was so arrogant to think that she wouldn't be able to penetrate him, or so arrogant to think that he might actually be a natural at Occlumency, either way something was telling her there was an underlying reason. Something was telling her not to trust him and not to do this.

"Why?" she asked.

He raised a brow, "Why what?"

She thought a moment, "I don't see you as someone who likes to share…at all" she said slowly, unsure of how to ask it, "Why allow me the opportunity to see things that you work so hard to hide?"

Anger blossomed out of nowhere. "I don't try to hide anything." He ground out.

Samantha watched him shift. One moment he was amused and somewhat open, the next he is angry and shut off. "Snape, it's just a simple question." She rationalized.

"And I gave you an understandable answer." He said, "Cromwell, either you want to try it or not. I can read books and memorize information; I can't practice it on myself."

Samantha watched as something else changed in him, he sounded a bit desperate, his breath came out raspy, and perhaps he wasn't angry after all perhaps it was desperation that made him snap. But why? "You really only want to learn it?" she asked.

Severus growled, "Does there have to be another reason? Of course I would want to learn it."

Samantha sat up straighter, "Fine, but why with me, why outside of the classroom, Snape? Why not tell the Professor that you had breached something? You know that he will be delighted to discover that one of his students has Legilimency talent."

Severus was annoyed, he knew that with she would try to complicate the matter before agreeing to anything but he saw a different approach. "Look, Cromwell. Maybe it's not something I want people to know about me. Like you said I don't like to share anything…nothing at all." He said the last three words dangerously, "I have a feeling that you don't have many secrets, but I think that maybe you want one." He said it slowly, his eyes narrowing as if he was just realizing something about her. "Why else would you have lied to the Professor about not having seen anything?"

Samantha had her response ready but his accusation caught her off guard. "I have secrets." she heard herself saying defensively.

He looked at her doubtfully. "I don't see why you're making this such a big deal."

She scoffed, "Well maybe because I might actually have secrets that I don't want people to know, that I don't want someone picking through my memories and know things about me that are private." She threw at him and prayed the blush wouldn't creep up her neck as he gave her an arched brow. "More importantly I don't understand why you're so calm about it."

"Perhaps, because we might not even be that good at it." he paused and stared at her open face for a moment. He wasn't prepared to let her into his mind, which was exactly the point. If they were to practice the art then he would work on Occlumency and not even give her a chance. He frowned, but if her skill was to meager then there wasn't much of a point. He assumed he would have to let her see something and work on her talent enough to see if she was even capable of being somewhat a compatible opponent. The thought made him want to retract his offer. But his long-term self preservation out won his short-term and he continued, "Also, if we were to see something…that would just be one more secret we will have to keep to ourselves."

Samantha was thinking.

She lay there on her four-poster bed staring up at the ceiling as the other girls in her dormitory snored and dreamt.

Should she go through with it? It would be amazing to learn Legilimency and it would be exhilarating to learn it outside of the classroom. It would be something she taught herself…well with Snape there.

She closed her eyes, thought of Snape. Was it going to be worth it? Maybe she didn't have that many secrets, not really, but she did have some self preservation. What if he saw something that he could use against her, to humiliate her to taunt her. Like that stupid dream. She shook her head, he wasn't that petty. But if he ever did turn against her he could use her weaknesses against her.

But you would finally be able to see what was really in his mind. Samantha reopened her eyes. Going through with this was beyond getting to know each other; it was knowing each other intimately. Her heart speed up, she didn't want him to know her intimately and she didn't want to know him the same way either.