Chapter 11

The Snapes were in the hall with Petunia and Harry. Suddenly, a fat boy who seemed to be of Harry's age loomed out.

"Mum, what's happening?" he asked Petunia.

"Nothing, Son. Go back to the living room with your father."

"But who are these people? They look weird."

"Of course they look weird, Dudley. These are the freaks that are going to teach Harry. Now, to the living room."

The boy gave a confused look but obeyed his mother. Skyrah was starting to fume inside. Who the hell did this woman think she was to talk about them as if they were monsters? Who died and made her queen? She was so rude! Skyrah took a big breath. Patience, she told herself. "Mrs. Dursley, please, the term is witch or wizard. I ask you to refer to us as that, not as freaks."

"I will call you whatever I want!" squeaked Petunia.

Wrong answer. Skyrah was fed up now.

"It's obvious you already know my husband, so I'm sure you know it is better not to cross him. Let me tell you something: you better not cross me either. If you call Harry, Severus, me, or any other witch or wizard, freak in front of me once again, you'll regret it. Did I make myself clear or do you need me to make drawings for you to understand?"

Harry was starting to see why Severus had married the woman: she was Snape 2.0. Harry was sure that if she took that tone with a first year, the student would burst out crying. Even at his age, her expression and her voice had been pretty scary. The boy gulped at the thought of what a class with that woman would be like. A nightmare. In spite of this, he had to admit that his aunt hadn't been polite with them and that Skyrah had asked nicely at first. In fact, he liked the fact she had confronted his aunt. He hated the term freak, after all.

When Petunia saw Severus's smirk at his wife's remark, she swallowed hard. "I don't want them here, fre-Harry. Off to your room! Now!"

"Thank Circe! I can't stand it in here another minute!" Skyrah muttered under her breath.

Only Severus had heard her. The comment nearly made him chuckle. Nearly.

"Follow me," said Harry. As an afterthought, he added, "Please."

They went upstairs and entered a small bedroom, quite dirty and messy, with stuff spread out all over the floor, including Hedwig's cage. It was poor on furniture: a little wardrobe, a small desk with an old chair and a bed, where Harry sat on. He stared at the Snapes, thinking about the class he was about to recieve. Severus and Skyrah stood still and very close due to lack of space. Severus cleared his throat, making Harry react.

"Oh! Yes, one can sit on my chair and the other one, here, on the bed. I would take another chair from the living room, but there isn't enough space in my room for another chair, and even if there was, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon wouldn't let me…"

This made Skyrah frown.

Harry didn't know what was worse, sitting next to Snape or next to the other Snape, but he had to endure it.

Seeing Severus was stiff, Skyrah murmured low enough only Severus could hear her, "The bed may be more comfortable, but you'll have to be closer to the boy. Choose. I don't care."

He took the chair, so Skyrah sat next to Harry, smiling softly at the boy. She had thought the bed would be comfy, but it really was the most uncomfortable mattress of the world.

"Do you know why we are here, Mr. Potter?" Severus inquired. "What has Professor Dumbledore told you?"

"Just that two professors would teach me something which will protect me from Voldemort."

Severus nodded. "Correct. My wife and I are here to teach you Occlumency."

Noticing Harry furrowed his brow, he continued, "A legilimens is a person who has mastered legilimency. Legilimens are able to navigate through the mind of someone else. They can read it, control it even. We believe You-know-who reaches you in your dreams through this art. Occlumency is an obscure branch of magic, yet a useful one, which acts as a defense of the mind against legilimency. It will help you shield yourself from his influence. Do you understand its importance?"

Harry let that sink in and nodded.

"I do not want to hear you complaining, insulting or pouting in my class. Instead, I expect you to obey and to give your best."

"Yes."

"Yes, sir," replied Severus locking their gazes.

"Yes, sir," repeated the boy unwillingly.

"In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate your mind and you will attempt to resist," Severus added with a smirk.

"Do you have any questions, Harry?" asked Skyrah, feeling like this was going too fast for the boy.

Harry gaped. He had expected her to treat him like Professor Snape. Instead, she had smiled at him and called him by his first name.

Shock must have silenced him for a while, since Severus hissed, "No questions... As arrogant as your father. He believed he knew everything, too." Harry clenched his fists. If Severus noticed, he ignored it. "Very well. We'll start right now."

Before Skyrah or Harry could object, Severus was already in the Harry's mind. He saw Harry walking with Ron and Hermione down a Hogwarts corridor, nothing interesting. A few seconds later, he was out.

"You didn't even try, Potter."

"You didn't tell me how to!"

Severus was about to make a snarky remark, when Skyrah shot him a disappointed look that made him feel something nasty in his stomach. Guilt.

"The boy's right."

Harry was shocked once again. Had the woman who claimed to be Snape's wife just defended him against her husband? Apparently so. Severus was as surprised as Harry; unable to speak.

Skyrah sighed and touched Harry's arm with so much gentleness the boy became more and more confused as the time went by.

"Are you okay?" she wondered, receiving a nod from Harry. "All right then. To become a good occlumens, you must blank your mind. Empty it from any emotion or thought. If you opened a blank book, you wouldn't able to read it, right? Even if you had the skill to read you simply wouldn't be able to because there was nothing to read. You have to do the same with your mind, so that the reader, in this case the legilimens, cannot reach you. Does it make sense to you?"

"I think so…"

"Good," she replied with a small grin.

Her voice was nothing like the way she had talked to Petunia. It was soft and even sweet, although Harry could still notice a hint of sternness.

"To the count of three," warned Severus.

Harry's eyes widened.

"1"

No emotions. No emotions. No emotions…. He kept repeating in his mind.

"2"

No thoughts. No thoughts. No thoughts…. He desperately chanted in his head.

"3. Legilimens."

Severus roamed through Harry's mind freely. No resistance stopped him. Flashes of the school year came to his mind until the Professor had had enough.

"I told you to try, Potter. Professor Snape has already told you that you have to empty your mind. Do not insult her and do as she has instructed."

Harry glared at him, breathing hard.

"Harry, take big breaths," said Skyrah. "It's just your first lesson. Don't worry, you haven't insulted me. Occlumency is a hard skill to gain. Practice, patience, discipline and high concentration are required to master it."

"Again, Potter. 1, 2, 3. Legilimens."

Harry wasn't prepared for it; he kept thinking about the way Skyrah kept defending him. All Severus saw this time was flashes of their meeting with Petunia plus Harry's impression about Skyrah. Try as he might, Harry couldn't repel Severus. He forgot about emptying the mind of emotion and thought, and instead, there was a feeling of anger which didn't keep Severus from going through the layers of his mind.

"Stop thinking about my wife, Potter. That is highly inappropriate," he snarled.

Skyrah and Harry blushed.

"S-sorry. It's just that..." He trailed off. There was not a right way to say this, and Severus already hated him, so Harry spoke frankly. "How can you be married to her? All the school believes you are single!"

Severus scowled. Harry was glad he hadn't gone as far as saying that everybody believed nobody would ever love his mean and grumpy persona enough to wed him.

"All the school will be in shock when they find out then. Discipline your mind. I want to find it blank. 1, 2, 3. Legilimens."

Harry's efforts were useless. This time, the images that were coming through his mind were of Cedric Diggory. His death. Severus pulled out with a gasp. He stared at Harry with a neutral expression upon his face. Both were breathing shallowly.

"What's happened?"

Neither answered Skyrah's question. Harry did not even look at her.

"Please," he said, voice cracking. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"I'm sorry, but we're doing this for your own good. You-know-who will not be able to reach you if you learn the skill. Severus, may I try this time?"

He nodded, still recovering from seeing his student lifeless.

"Okay. Remember you have to conceal your thoughts and your feelings. Close your mind. Try shutting your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. We'll stay silent for a few moments so that you can focus and then I'll count to three out loud so that you can get ready. Got it?"

Harry nodded and did as told. He was glad that Severus was going to give him a break and that it would be his wife the one to do it now.

Skyrah counted to twenty in her head and then, she muttered, "1, 2, 3. Legilimens."

She was able to wander through his mind even though he tried to push her out. Tiny as the resistance was, it existed. She saw many memories with a bushy-haired girl and a ginger boy. His friends, she guessed. Suddenly, grief and desperation invaded he as Cedric's death replayed on his mind once again. Skyrah pulled out and broke the eye contact.

She kept quiet for a few seconds, controlling the sudden urge to cry. Avada Kedavra had killed that boy, just like it had killed Daniel. She cleared her throat.

"You did well, Harry. You tried to push me out. I'm not going to lie, the attempt was extremely weak, you had to really pay attention to see it; but it doesn't mean that you weren't trying. It's a beginning."

Harry smiled shyly at her. Those were the kindest words anyone would direct to him at least for the day, he was sure of it.

"Again Potter. Let's see if you really learnt something. 1, 2, 3. Legilimens."

Severus couldn't feel anything in the beginning, yet as the memories flashed, he felt a minute resistance from Harry's part. Nothing he couldn't break past. The scenario of the memories changed. It wasn't Hogwarts anymore. It was this house. He saw how a six-year-old Potter had to endure all his family calling him a freak after a magical accident. He saw how a nine-year-old Potter cooked and did all the chores while the Dursleys relaxed on the sofa, doing absolutely nothing. He saw how the fat boy got all the presents while Harry watched from afar with a wishful expression. He saw how Harry locked himself in the cupboard under the stairs under Petunia's orders after Vernon hit him for breaking one of Dudley's many toys when it had been his own son's fault, not his nephew's. Harry's Room, that's what he could read when he saw a ten-year-old Harry locked in that cupboard. Alarmed, Severus pulled away.

The air was thick.

Severus's world had turned upside down. Lily's child had been living with monsters. Harry Potter, the arrogant boy, the celebrity, was an abused child. He couldn't see Potter as a mini-James, not now. Now he only saw Harry.

"What have I just witnessed, Potter?"

Harry looked at his lap. Skyrah was confused. Her husband hadn't asked him with malice in his voice. Rather, he sounded…horrified.

"Answer me."

"It was nothing."

"Don't play dumb with me, Potter! What I have just seen is abuse!"

Skyrah covered her mouth to conceal her gasp.

"They don't abuse me, sir," Harry tried again.

He was shocked and afraid. Why did he have to think of the Dursleys? What would happen to him, now?

Skyrah became more distressed when Harry used the pronoun they, as in more than one.

"Don't call me liar, Potter. I know what I saw. Is the headmaster aware of this?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. My guess is that he isn't. I asked him a few times to let me spend summer at Hogwarts, but he never lets me…"

"Do they still treat you like this?"

He didn't answer.

"Do they?!"

"Sometimes, okay?!" he shouted, shoting his head up. "They sometimes do! But it's nothing I can't handle! This is my room, I don't live in the cupboard anymore!"

When Harry mentioned this room, Skyrah realized that the abusers were the Dursleys. Wait. Had he just said he lived in a cupboard?

"You don't have to handle any of this shit! Can't you see? They have no right!"

Harry had never seen Severus losing his manners like that, making big gestures with his hands.

"Why do you care? You never did before! You always treated me like dirt!"

"I have never laid a hand on you!"

"Please, lower your voices," Skyrah begged with unshed tears in her eyes but with a firm voice. They obeyed. Softly, she said, "You cannot stay another day here, Harry."

"And where should I go? To an orphanage? The Weasleys have enough children, and I don't want to be a bother to anyone. My godfather isn't an option either. He's still on the run."

A pregnant pause followed.

"Pick all your things up, Potter. We're leaving. Skyrah, stay with him. I'll be back in a second."

Skyrah grabbed his wrist right before he could leave. "Don't do anything stupid, Severus."

He didn't even look at her. He just left the room. Skyrah gulped and shut her eyes as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"Come on, sweetheart. Do as he said. If I can help you with anything, tell me."

Sweetheart.

No one had ever called Harry that. He found he rather liked it. It made him feel warm inside. He only wished he understood why she was crying. She didn't even know him. Did it mean she cared for him? A Snape? Ha! As if. But then again, Mr. Snape had acted differently, too. Sure, in the beginning he'd been the usual git, but when he found out his secret, he looked angry, and Harry had a feeling he wasn't angry with him for a change.

The Dursleys were lounging on the sofa, wasting their time watching a TV show. Severus glared at them.

"I know how you treat Po-Harry, Petunia, you and your two pigs. Lily would have never treated your son like you did hers."

The muggles stood up in fear as soon as they realized Severus was pointing his wand at them.

"It's a particularly hot day, isn't it?" said Severus, grinning wickedly. "Maybe you two fancy a vacation in the cupboard."

Before the Dursleys could react, Vernon and Petunia were inside the cupboard under the stairs. Little Harry barely entered there, so how Vernon and Petunia managed to fit in that cupboard was miraculous. As Dudley kept screaming, Severus cast a langlock.

Now that he couldn't talk and that his parents were locked, Severus hissed, "You deserve way worse for what you did. You are the freaks of this house."

Harry had just finished packaging when Severus came back. Two minutes. That's how long it took him to gather all his belongings.

"I'm done, sir."

"Have you apparated before, Potter?"

"Apparwhat?"

Severus rolled his eyes. It was evident that the boy wasn't familiar with the term.

"Take my hand."

"Why?" he asked, not trusting in his Professor.

"I will not repeat it," said Severus with such a stern voice that Harry didn't even think twice before obeying.

Severus mouthed the word home to his wife and disapparated.