Hey guys!

Just wanted to say, THANK YOU for the reviews. Really, they make my day, so keep them coming!

I'm going to try to post every Tuesday. Okay?

Well, that's all I really have to say!

Hope you enjoy!

Hermione knew instantly that he was in her mind. She could feel the tense, angry, and cold presence. It was oppressive, like a heavy cloak wrapping around her. Without giving her a chance to breathe, he dove in, instantly pulling forth the memory that Hermione had spoken about that morning in Dumbledore's office. The images flashed quickly before her eyes, almost too fast for her to grab a hold of. The point where Avery was about to be killed was approaching and Hermione's eyes widened in panic as she stared into the emotionless gaze across from her. Instantly, Hermione began showing him a different memory, anything to keep him away from that horrible scene she wished to forget. She began showing him a time she spent at the park with her family and concentrated intensely on the sights, sounds, and smells to help strengthen the scene. Hermione watched as the corner of his mouth turned down in an obvious sneer before pain erupted in her skull. This time, she had no control over what he saw. He saw the dream and Avery being slaughtered. He heard the cackle of cold laughter. He heard the screams of innocent victims and the laughter of the Death Eaters. Suddenly, another thought came to the forefront of her mind before she could even stop. Harry had told her about Igor and Snape standing in the Potion Master's private store flashing his Dark Mark. Hermione watched as Snape's eyes narrowed as he continued to watch the memory of Harry's whispers to her and Ron in front of the large fire in Gryffindor Commons. Abruptly Snape yanked himself out of her head causing her to cry out.

"I see Potter can't keep his mouth shut." He growled.

Hermione clung to the desk, the pounding between her temples trying to wrench her mind in two. Silence hung in the air as she took a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry Professor, but during the Tournament-"

"I'm well aware that Potter told you of what he saw." Snape ground out glaring at her.

His face suddenly became thoughtful for a moment as he leaned the back of his legs against the desk and Hermione felt herself stiffen with anxiety, afraid of what he'd put them through next.

"Miss Granger, what was that memory? The one with the park."

"I didn't want to see…" Hermione trailed off, avoiding his alert gaze. "So I pulled the first thing that I could think of."

Hermione could have sworn that she saw his lip quirk in what, for him, would be considered a smile, but as quickly as the movement had appeared, the moment was gone.

"You used another memory to deflect me from seeing the one I was after." Snape clarified.

Hermione nodded, reflexively swallowing as her nerves started to surge forward beneath his scrutiny.

"Not bad, Miss Granger, for a first try, but that was not what I was trying to teach." he berated, destroying his compliment with an insult.

She sighed, and finally stood wincing slightly as the steady throbbing continued. Hermione noticed that Snape appeared uncomfortable and made an effort to keep his eyes away from her. He waved his wand and a bottle flew from his office and through the classroom. A cup appeared and the liquid began to pour itself.

"Drink that, for your head." he ordered as Hermione peered at the glass with a sense of suspicion.

"I pulled out of your head too quickly and didn't give you time to adjust." That was the closest thing to an apology as she was going to get.

Hermione took the glass hovering in front of her and tentatively sipped. As the sweet liquid washed over her tongue, the pulsing behind her eyes began to dull. Hermione glanced at Ron, his head still down.

"Ron?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He raised his head from the table and peered up at her. He looked terrible with his glazed over eyes and face so pale that his freckles jumped off his skin. Hermione thrust the drink into his hand and he looked at it for a while.

"Drink it." Hermione urged, watching as he lifted the glass to his parched lips.

"Perhaps Mr. Weasley doesn't think he's up to the task?" Snape goaded.

Ron jumped from the desk and stood in front of Snape, the challenge written clear across his face. Snape's mouth twisted into an amused sneer.

"Legilimens."

Severus spent the better half of two hours watching Mr. Weasley pick himself up off of the floor. Even with his wand the boy was helpless. It was Potter all over again. Weasley was completely petrified over the fact that his mind was about to be invaded, that he neglected to even attempt to prevent such a thing from happening.

"Mr. Weasley! Attempt to exercise some self-control over your thoughts!" Severus roared.

This time, Weasley didn't try to get up off the floor. He remained sprawled out staring at the ceiling. Sighing, Severus once again turned to Miss Granger. He could see the intense yearning to prove herself, to whom, he didn't know. He didn't care one way or another if she learned how to correctly prevent the Dark Lord from reading her thoughts.

"Let's go, Granger, get ready." he demanded even though she held her wand at the ready.

He didn't bother to count due to his frustration, but she needed no preparation. Her eyes were locked on his, her feet set apart and wand pointing at him. The determination on her face made him pause for just a moment. Wordlessly Severus cast the spell and plunged into her mind. He could feel her panic for a split second, then a moment of…wonder? He could feel her testing his presence in her own mind, getting comfortable with the intrusion. But she shouldn't be getting comfortable. Severus shoved forward, grasping onto her feeling of wonder.

He could suddenly see her as a young girl, sitting in a boat, looking upon Hogwarts for the first time in her life, watching as a feather floated into the air, and then a cat. Cat? It was a forced memory, he knew. Severus raised his eyebrows at her, and was given a cocky smirk in return. Severus pushed further into her head, the cat dissolving under a new onslaught. The crease between her brows deepened as he fought his way through memories that did not interest him, shunting them aside. Severus could feel her trying to find out what he was looking for, seeing if she could head him off before he got to the memories he wanted.

I know what you're trying to do, Miss Granger. he thought, knowing she'd hear the words in her mind.

Granger didn't flinch or make any notice that he had spoken to her. She gazed fiercely into his eyes before feeding him another memory. He found he was looking at her in the library, studying, but she wasn't really reading. Her mind was racing. He felt a strong feeling coming from her…helplessness? Before Granger had time to react, he was flying through memories, memories that focused on her being powerless in situations. Watching Dementors hover above Sirius Black and Potter, the familiar tightening in the chest, her eyes were widening, her panic allowed him to access her mind easier and faster, Potter and Weasley fighting, placing her in the middle of it, Potter telling her of dreams he had been having, her parents looking at her oddly after she had explained Transfiguration to them, seeing the slight disapproval in their eyes knowing that their daughter was of a different world entirely.

A subtle twist of her wrist and a sudden flare of pain caused him to recoil. Eye contact was broken and along with it the spell. Severus studied his pale hand and saw small slices, steadily dripping blood. Raising his eyes to Granger's face, he saw that she was appalled at what she had done, her face suddenly going a concerning shade of white.

"Severing Charm?" he inquired, amused with her choice of defense.

"I'm so sorry Professor, I didn't mean it, but it was the first thing that came into my head because I happened to glance at my notes before we came here-"

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. Severus turned his wand on his own hand and performed a quick healing spell before vanishing the remaining spots of blood both on the floor and his hand. When Severus glanced up, the blood rushed back into her face, the skin going suddenly pink. For a moment Severus thought she was embarrassed about injuring him, but then he recalled the last memory that he had seen. Her parents didn't understand a single thing that went on in this world and from the general feeling he'd encountered while watching the memory, it was a wedge between her and her parents. Severus could see the excitement as she explained to her parents what she was learning in school, but ever perceptive, she could see that they couldn't understand. Granger wouldn't lift her eyes to his face, and instead took a seat staring at her hands. Severus felt a flash of sympathy for her before catching himself.

"Let's go, Weasley." Severus barked, even angrier after he nearly sympathized with a student.

By the end of Weasley's sad attempt, Severus was ready to curse the boy into next week.

"Get out! Out! The both of you! And don't come back!"

The red-head immediately fled to the door, and for the first time in twenty minutes, Granger lifted her eyes to his face obviously wondering why she was being thrown out. Nevertheless, she pulled herself up and left the room. Severus stormed up the stairs and into his office before slamming the door behind him. Settling into a chair, he began grading more essays, knowing the task was a mindless one.

That night at dinner, Hermione listened as Ron explained to Harry how the lessons had gone. The two were both in agreement that Snape could not teach them the right way.

"He just kept going! He didn't even tell us how to stop him!" Ron ranted before stuffing his face with potatoes.

Hermione's head was still aching, and the pain became sharper the more her thoughts raced. She had been doing fine with the lesson and couldn't understand why she was banished. Hermione could feed him memories, which was more than Ron could do, but Snape knew how to get by her meek defense. While Hermione would enjoy learning how to successfully feed someone a memory, she was far more interested in learning how to prevent an attacker from seeing anything at all. She wanted to learn how to shield her mind completely. Thinking back, Hermione recalled the moment that she had felt Snape enter her mind. The sheer wrongness of having a foreign entity rifling around her carefully ordered thoughts and memories made her shiver. The force nearly crushed her. Hermione could feel the power radiating off of him, the fierce control he held over his emotions. In her mind he felt obscure, didn't feel exactly human because he'd started wearing his intensity and bitterness as a shield.

"Hermione?"

"Hmm?" she murmured, refocusing on the conversation before her.

"What do you think about the lessons?" Harry prompted.

"I think with practice we can manage." she concluded with confidence.

"Of course you do." Ron scoffed rolling his eyes and digging into his food.

"It wasn't that bad!" Hermione argued, slamming her book shut. "We just need to practice."

"Well you can practice, because I'm not going back there. You-Know-Who can read my mind all he wants. I don't ever want to hear Snape's voice in my head again." Ron grumbled, shivering slightly.

"I told you, he's a terrible teacher." Harry replied, reaching for a dessert plate.

"He is not!" Hermione snapped quickly.

"Oh, right, you don't like to say bad things about your teachers." Harry sneered glaring at her because she was defending Snape.

"Well, I'm going back!" she hissed shoving her plate away and standing up.

"Now?" Ron asked looking up from his plate for the first time, his brow rising in surprise.

"Yes, Ronald, now! You can stay here."

Hermione left the room before either could say another word. Anger pulsed through her veins as the conversation replayed in her mind. Snape wasn't a bad teacher, exactly, he just expected a lot from his students. The subject material was a little difficult to grasp, even she could admit that. When she reached the classroom, Hermione eased the door open and entered. The room was pitch-black, except the small sliver of light that came from under the office door. Taking a deep breath, she marched up to the door and knocked three times.

"Professor?" she called, willing her voice to remain steady.

There was no answer. There wasn't a sound. Could he be at dinner?

"Professor?" she asked again.

Why would the light be on if he wasn't there? Maybe he just forgot to blow out the candles in his office? The more likely reason was that he was in his office and chose to ignore her. Fine! She'd just sit at a desk until he came out! Turning around, Hermione took a seat in the back of the classroom, taking care to be as quiet as possible. The room was cold and her thoughts were beginning to blur due to exhaustion as she rested her head on her folded arms. Hermione had a mound of studying to get through, but she had to convince Snape to take her on again. She didn't know how long she could go, seeing Voldemort slaughter people every night in her dreams. Hermione wasn't sure how she could tell that what she was seeing wasn't a nightmare. The visions were too real, the fear was too strong. No matter how many times she tried to convince herself that what she'd seen was just a dream, the heavy feeling of dread never seemed to leave.

Finally, just as she was beginning to succumb to sleep, the door was hauled open. Hermione jolted up, her eyes darting around in the oppressive darkness. Footsteps struck the stone floor heavily and with purpose. Fumbling could be heard at the front of the classroom, and with a sigh of frustration, two torches in the room were suddenly lit. The light made her recoil slightly as her eyes struggled to adjust. When Hermione focused, she saw Snape digging in his desk. As if he could feel her gaze on him, his black eyes snapped up. Before he spoke, she could feel the rage, see it in every line of his form.

"What are you doing here?" his voice was controlled though Hermione could feel his wrath simmering just below the surface.

"I-I needed to talk to you, Professor." she stumbled, her carefully constructed argument vanishing from her sleep-addled brain.

"I thought I told you to get out!" he snapped.

"You did, sir, but I-I want to keep taking lessons." Hermione tried to regain some ground in this conversation that was quickly disintegrating.

"Well, Miss Granger," he sneered. "Find someone else to teach you."

"But you're the most accomplished-"

"No, I am not!" he immediately cut her off, hands braced on the surface of his wooden desk.

Hermione climbed to her feet and approached him. Using an extreme amount of effort, she kept her gaze locked on his burning black eyes that were growing more furious with every step she took towards him.

"Professor, please. I want to learn." Hermione spoke softly in an attempt to diffuse the volatile situation.

"Of course you do, you know-it-all. When haven't you wanted to learn before?"

"Not only that, but this is important, for Harry's safety." Hermione added, ignoring his insults.

"No, Granger, and that's final. I will not waste my time with someone like you. Get out. I'm not giving you a note, so if you get caught out of bed past curfew, it is not my responsibility." He dismissed her without a glance while gathering up his belongings.

She glared at him for a long moment before straightening her shoulders and tilting her chin up defiantly.

"Fine," she announced, making an effort to sound casual. "I'll ask the Headmaster to teach me being that you seem incapable of doing so."

Hermione felt horrid about talking to a teacher so disrespectfully, but she needed these lessons. Turning on her heel, she marched towards the door stopping only for a moment to grab her bag.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for speaking disrespectfully to a teacher." he barked.

Hermione pretended she didn't hear him.

"Be in my office tomorrow night, Miss Granger." Snape's voice was pitched so low that Hermione almost missed the words.

Hermione turned to look at Snape. The reason that he'd spoken so softly was that he could barely get the words past his clenched teeth.

"See you tomorrow then, Professor." She responded while stifling her growing smile.

"You are to tell no one of these lessons. Tell them it is extra credit."

"I will, and thank you."

Snape's anger seemed to abate slightly as she genuinely thanked him.

"Goodnight, sir."

Hermione left the room, her heart soaring, focusing on how to get to bed without being caught.

The next day, she quickly ate and had to restrain herself from running to the Defense room. Shoving open the door, she found Professor Snape hunched over some essays. He didn't look up when she entered the room, instead deliberately choosing to ignore her. Placing her things down on a desk, she pulled out her wand. Hermione hadn't noticed that he stopped grading his papers and was intently waiting for her eyes to lift to his. She sensed his gaze and turned.

In a flash, he was in her head, launching memories aside and digging deeper and faster than she could comprehend what was going on. Hermione could see flashes of her day, the test she took in Charms, see Harry and Ron's face, and then suddenly they were at dinner and she was watching their conversation replay. As quickly as the attack had come, the oppressive feeling was gone. Hermione stumbled slightly.

"You can never let your guard down, Miss Granger. Never. If you do, the Dark Lord can access anything he wants." Snape finally said, though Hermione could detect a slight undertone of arrogance.

"You didn't give me a chance!" Hermione protested, angered at her failure.

"And do you think he will?" he hurled back at her standing from his desk, causing the wooden chair to squeal in protest against the stone floor.

Snape stormed around the desk to stand before her, his menacing robes billowing around him. Hermione's anger flared when she saw his smug expression, but she quickly banished the feeling, remembering that she was supposed to be clearing her mind and focusing.

"No Weasley?" Severus asked with a smirk as he slid his robes away from his wrists.

"No, he doesn't think he can do it." Hermione answered, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to relax.

"He can't." Severus responded casually.

"How do you know?"

"You can always tell if someone has the gift. The first time their minds are breached, they have a natural defense up already. Usually this defense is weak, but it's there. We can take that and build on it."

"But I didn't have that." Hermione murmured.

"Yes, you did. Your defenses are the weakest I've come across yet, but there is something there which I can work with." he replied, sounding as if he were scolding her for being weak.

She fell silent, thinking for a moment.

"Sir, can I-can I ask a question?"

"Do I really have a choice, Miss Granger?" He sighed deeply while rubbing his hand over his face.

"I was wondering, once you think I have the general grasp of Occlumency, could you maybe teach me Legilimency?"

"What!?" He roared, his face turning red.

Hermione recoiled from the sound of his voice echoing through the empty classroom.

"What purpose would that serve?! I am only to teach you Occlumency! That is it, Granger!" he raved, moving back behind his desk, viciously stuffing student essays into a drawer.

"Please, sir! I just thought maybe when I learned Legilimency, I could help teach Ron and Harry Occlumency! They need to learn and until they do nothing is safe from Voldemort." Hermione rushed to explain.

"Do not say his name!"

The room fell silent except for Snape's heavy breathing. He was leaning with both palms pressed to the desktop, his face lowered, allowing her only to see his greasy hair. When he finally raised his eyes to her face, she couldn't help noticing how sallow his looked. A few of rest would do him well.

"Miss Granger," he was choosing his words carefully. "This is not something a girl of your age should be learning."

"I'm seventeen!" she cried and instantly realized how childish that made her sound.

"Regardless! You are not capable of such a feat." Snape refused to budge, but Hermione wouldn't stop pushing.

"Dumbledore himself said that you were my age when you learned."

"Yes, when I learned Occlumency." Severus clarified, standing to his full height while taking a deep breath.

"I would like to learn both." Hermione pushed.

"No, I will only teach you Occlumency." Snape spoke in a tone that brokered no argument.

Hermione was silent, and he raised his eyes to her face, gaze drilling into her. Giving a curt nod in acceptance, Hermione tightened her hand around her wand, preparing for their lesson to begin, waiting for him to attack her when she was least prepared.

"You do not need your wand."

Hermione looked at him puzzled.

"The most important thing that you can do is to build mental barriers. You must imagine your memories being locked up in a room that no one can break into. This is difficult to master, but it is the only way to ensure safety. Do you understand?"

"Yes, but…I'm not sure how to build the barriers in my head."

"It could be anything. Anything with a surface that looks impenetrable."

"May I ask what you use?"

He looked uncertain for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell her.

"I use a room. The person trying to access my thoughts must break through one of the walls I have spent years building. In this room I can feed them the memories I want them to see while keeping the less…desirable ones hidden." he admitted quietly, no trace of malice in his voice.

After a moment, Snape seemed to remember himself and raised his wand to her face, eyes now focused and penetrating.

"Now concentrate. Block me from your memories and thoughts. Hide your emotions from me."

They stared at one another for a moment, as her mind focused on the ocean. She had gone to the beach with her parents often, and figured the water was a more than acceptable way to block him. Giving him a short nod, Snape wordlessly cast the spell.

Water. Water. Water.

She pictured the ocean, only letting him see the water, making sure that in her mind it was harder than concrete. He hit the surface, and did not break through. His black eyes bore into hers, and she felt triumphant for a moment, letting her guard slip for a second. He took advantage of her brief distraction and burst under the surface, wreaking havoc in her mind. The memories flashed quicker than she could see. Just blurs of color, until the movement came to an abrupt halt.

She saw her parents standing in the sitting room, while her four year old self was on the floor playing with her dolls. Staring intently at the doll's head, the hair began to grow and the previous blonde hair turned red. Her parents went silent as they saw the scene unfold.

Fast forward.

Hermione was ten years old, and sitting in the kitchen with her parents who were yelling at her for something she did wrong.

"Hermione, didn't we teach you better?" her father chastised.

"You told us that you knew what was going on!" her mother was always quick to follow her husband's example.

"I thought I did, but then the teacher handed out the test and I-I don't know, I froze!" she began crying as she tried to explain herself.

"Apparently you haven't been studying enough!" her mother continued, ignoring the sobs.

"I studied for four hours a night every day this week! What more do you want!?"

The glasses sitting in the drying rack exploded, sending glass skittering everywhere. Her parents jumped up and moved away from her as if she was contagious.

"I-I didn't do that!"

"Go to bed. Now." her father demanded.

Hermione fled to her room.

Professor Snape pulled out of her mind. Hermione stood motionless, taking deep, long breaths. It had been years since she'd thought about such defining moments of her childhood, moments when she knew she wasn't normal.

Hermione turned her back to him, feeling her eyes begin to burn. The last thing she wanted was to be caught crying in front of him. She'd never gain his respect if she gave in to hysterics over every painful memory that he dug up and pulled out. Hermione knew it came with the territory – Occlumency, in its nature was an invasive event. It was meant to be violent and violating. She knew what she was walking into when she stepped through that door this evening. Hermione had agreed, more or less, to transparency. She could hardly berate him for what he saw when she begged him for these lessons.

"Professor?" Hermione finally spoke.

"Yes, Miss Granger." he responded deliberately keeping his voice quiet.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" She kept her voice quiet in an attempt to prevent it from cracking.

"That depends on what the favor is." He replied cautiously.

"Whatever goes on during these lessons, can we-can it stay between the two of us?"

Snape remained silent and she didn't risk a glance at his face afraid of what she would find there. Hermione just needed a moment alone in order to gather herself and shove her humiliation aside.

"Very well, Miss Granger, nothing will leave this room." Snape eventually answered.

"Thank you." Hermione bit out, feeling her emotions, an uncontrollable mass, surging forward.

"I think that you should go now, we've done enough for today."

Hermione gathered her things and left the room without a word.