Only Love Can Save Me Now by The Pretty Reckless

From the sound, the sound

The world is spinning out

Only love can save me now

God, slow down

Lost is all I found

March 15th, 1977

"You've read through Guide to Advanced Occlumency like I asked, right?" Ivy ignored the slightly icy spring wind that moved through the mountains, rustling the silver and green scarf strung about her neck.

"Yes," Severus replied, standing in front of her at the base of the Black Lake.

Sizing up his usual disgruntled countenance, she noticed that his hair was extra shiny in the sunlight that provided them with just enough warmth for the outdoors to be bearable. Suppressing the ever-present suggestion to tell him to take a proper shower, Ivy pressed her lips together, momentarily second-guessing herself.

It wasn't wise to teach a Death Eater Occlumency; the only reason she was doing so was for Regulus, as she'd overheard him asking Severus to teach him what he learned from Ivy. This wasn't surprising, considering she hadn't spoken to Regulus or Theya in over a month. At least this way, he would have some protection to shroud his regret surrounding his Dark Mark.

"I'm ready," Severus added.

"You better be," she narrowed her eyes. "Because this is going to be very unpleasant."

"Much as your worry flatters me," he drawled, drawing his silver lime wand. "I can handle it."

"If you say so." Readying her hazel wand, she made sure her own mind was secure before holding his gaze and shouting: "Legilimens!"

Severus had just opened his mouth to counter when her spell reached its target. Her vision tunnelled straight at him and into the depths of his eyes.

Just like when she and Theya had previously practised, she had two intermingling perspectives. One was the perspective of her own mind, which felt her lips moving as Severus stood still with his wand hand still raised, giving the occasional spasm. The other brought her to the maze he'd constructed around his mind.

His mental defence consisted of a stone labyrinth, the exact protection she'd instructed him to envision around his consciousness. Pressing herself against his fortification, the structure gave a mighty shake. This told her that he was unsuccessful in abiding by her other instruction: to fill the maze with distractions and falsities.

When Ivy pushed harder, forcing her will upon him, the walls crumbled, though she only had partial access to his mind. Still, she was more skilled than he and could therefore sense a deep bitterness that had wound itself around him. She could feel the vibrations of his will trying to resist hers, and could nearly feel the sweat on his forehead as though it were on her own. More than that, she was able to sift through some of his memories.

She could see a dirty, crooked street sign on a dark, desolate avenue that read Spinner's End… There was a little girl sailing through the sky, the afternoon sun lighting her long auburn hair as she floated down from a swing… Theya, smelling of mangoes, wound an arm around Severus's narrow shoulders and gave him a jostle… Then, she watched Theya, clad in a pink silk gown, golden hair in tight curls, lean in with her eyes closed…

Ivy sensed him conjuring a Bat Bogey Hex before he cast it, and she vanished from his mind, deflecting the spell with a quick slash of her wand. Back to solely her own body, she shook out her legs and arms, feeling slightly tired but otherwise fine. Severus, on the other hand, was bent at the waist with his hands on his knees, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Very funny," she rolled her neck.

"As far as I'm concerned," Severus panted. "You'll always be a Bogey Firstie."

"Ariadne is never going to live that down." Ivy waited for him to recover. "Even third years know that story. Some Hufflepuff called her Bogey Girl just last week."

Severus straightened silently and she knew he was done with the chit-chat.

"Getting into your mind was like cutting through soft butter," she told him plainly.

"I still managed to repel you."

"Only after I was inside your mind," Ivy tightened the scarf around her neck as the wind sliding across the Black Lake picked up. "Once you can keep someone out of your head, you can work on what happens when they get in. That's the advanced part… Guess I should've put more emphasis on keeping people out of the labyrinth before telling you how to fill the labyrinth with lies. My mistake."

"Where did you learn all this?"

"Theya."

Severus looked out over the water in silence.

"Still not ready to have that talk?" Ivy teased.

He fixed her with a scathing look.

Holding in a sigh, she fidgeted with the ring on her pinky finger. Since Theya's lip curled the instant she saw Ivy, and since Regulus outright ignored her existence, she'd been spending most of her free time with Severus and Ariadne. They, however, were relatively unpleasant company, as Severus had been in a perpetually sour mood for months and Ariadne remained frosty with her. Any time spent on her own was used to research what had happened to her soul, though she hadn't found a scrap of information.

"I'm going to dig deeper this time," Ivy warned him, finishing a run through of her mental defences. She raised her wand before he could reply. "Legilimens!"

Her perception tunnelled into the black of his eyes and this time, she didn't allow him to gain his bearings. Ivy pummelling through his maze and straight into the depths of his subconscious, heading for the memories she could feel him trying to conceal. The struggle was long, and by the time she got through, she was the one panting.

She saw a fridge empty aside from a single rotting apple... Then, the inside of a closet as a man and woman shouted horrible things in the other room… She listened to Severus yell I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her and watched emerald eyes fill with the exact same hurt as Regulus's had a month prior.

Ivy was slammed out of his head by her own distracted thoughts as Regulus's pained, betrayed face blazed in her mind's eye.

"Legilimens!" She heard too late.

Severus made mist of the protection she'd wound around her mind and she went to work protecting the memories she needed to guard at all costs. However, as he breached her mind fully, he didn't bother with the memories she was blatantly hiding, and instead plunged into the ones so near the surface that she couldn't hide them with so little time.

Ivy struggled against him, only able to slowly raise her wand arm as a series of memories flashed before her eyes.

Regulus stood too close to her, looking as though Ivy had emotionally eviscerated him, which she had… The Dark Lord stood in a blood-spattered kitchen, saying You remind me of Bellatrix… Regulus whispered all the filthy things he was going to do to her as he ground his hips into hers… Rhaen had a tight hold on Ivy's arm as he dragged her up the stairs at Selwyn Estate, her fearful cries bouncing around the ballroom…

Green light flashed bright and Ivy's will slammed into Severus, the impact reverberating in her mind. There was a dead nine-year-old on the cellar floor, SQUIB carved into her arm, as Ivy managed to shout an incantation. Bellatrix loomed over her, face wild with dying ecstasy as Ivy's spell hit Severus square in the chest.

Falling to all fours on the sunny grass, her head hung low and she breathed raggedly.

She reassembled her mental defences while her body calmed.

When her breathing slowed and she could be sure her mind was secure, she looked up to see Severus on the ground, the Jelly-Legs Curse doing its job nicely. His wand lay in the dirt beside him as he watched her with an unnerving expression.

"Tell me what you're thinking this instant." Wand still clutched in hand, she sat back on her heels and pointed it at him steadily. "Or I will find out for myself. And I promise you, it will not go the way things just did."

Severus didn't make a move for his wand, he just continued staring at her with a frown that told her nothing. He was silent for several moments, and when she didn't lower her wand, he finally said: "I don't think you're anything like Bellatrix."

Something in the way he spoke set her teeth on edge and she stood slowly, wand still raised. "Is that good or bad to you?"

"If I tell you the truth," his fingers inched towards his wand. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I wouldn't do that," Ivy angled her wand at him dangerously. "I've been known to torture people even after they're dead. And that depends on what the truth is. Which, I will be able to tell regardless of what you say next."

Severus swallowed and raised the hand he'd been going for the wand with, placing it on his knee. "Another perk of your Divination senses?"

Ivy squinted at him.

"It's a good thing," he said evenly.

Using a Legilimency trick she knew he couldn't yet identify, her silver eyes maintained contact with his black ones. When she understood that he was telling the truth, she relieved him of the Jelly-Legs Curse.

Severus snatched up his wand and got to his feet warily.

"Don't ever tell anyone what you saw today," Ivy tucked her wand up her sleeve, watching him carefully. "And I'll do you the same courtesy."

She didn't trust him, but the only other option at this point seemed to be Obliviation, which she thought unnecessary. Although she hadn't wanted him to see Hazel's death, it wasn't like he'd seen her reaction to it. All things considered, she thought herself lucky to get away from a Legilimens this unscathed.

"Works for me," he mumbled, seeming to relax as he stuck his silver lime wand into his robes. "But your sister-"

"If I can't bring up Theya," she started toward the castle, beckoning for him to follow. "You definitely can't bring up Hazel. And while we're at it, I don't want to hear a single thing about Regulus unless you have news that he's no longer ignoring me."

"I can't say that he's happy with you," Severus walked alongside her up the hill, having the gall to smirk. "But I did hear some interesting things he'd be happy to do to you."

"I didn't know you had a sense of humour," Ivy let out a shocked laugh. "Maybe you and Theya have more in common than I thought."

He shot her a look.

"I know," she rolled her eyes. "I know."

Severus cleared his throat, eyeing her sidelong as they walked, the sun beating down on their backs.

"What?" She sighed.

"You won't want to talk about it."

"Spit it out."

"I guess… I'm just surprised you're so calm."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He was quiet for a moment. "She didn't tell you."

"Who didn't tell me what?"

"Ariadne," Severus stuck his hands in his pockets, hunching over slightly. "Regulus asked her to Hogsmeade. They're there right now."

Ivy halted their trek to stare at him. "What?"

"Yeah," he paused with her, looking longingly up at the castle.

Her gaze went in the direction of Hogsmeade. She could just see some of the thatched roofs.

Truthfully, she was a little upset with Regulus. Not for going on the date -though she did want to light either or both of them on fire- but for abandoning her for behaving like a proper pureblood bitch. After all, she'd stuck by his side at his worst, even when there wasn't a hint of potential to work with. Granted, she'd made that decision as a twelve-year-old, a decision that wasn't the wisest. Perhaps, he was simply smarter than her.

"You're not going to cry, are you?" Severus prompted.

"What am I, seven?" Ivy scoffed. "Of course not."

"Are you going to smash something, then?"

"Of course," she started walking again, spiteful envy sparking in her veins.

It was her own fault that they were going out on a date, but that didn't mean she couldn't be angry about it. Merlin, did she want to wring someone's neck.

"Care if I join you?" Severus caught up with her.

"You're volunteering to spend time with me?" Ivy snorted. "This is bigger than you having a sense of humour."

"Shut up or I'll change my mind."

"You can come. Why do you want to, though?"

"You're not the only one whose mind was completely violated today."

"You asked for it."

The Three Broomsticks was exactly how Regulus liked it; smoky with faint chatter in the background that made for the perfect reading environment. Except, he was waiting on Ariadne to return from the loo instead of Ivy.

Quick as the thought came to mind, he banished it. Even if Ariadne felt more strongly about pureblood ways than he currently did, at least she would be straight-forward with him. He wouldn't have to guess what she was thinking at all times.

Spotting her on her way back from the lavatory, he straightened.

Taking a gulp of his gillywater as she sat across from him, he gave her a warm smile.

She cocked her head, tossing her wavy, dark hair over a shoulder. "Your shirt collar is crooked."

"You don't like the rugged look?" He laughed.

"No," Ariadne deadpanned, sipping her butterbeer.

"Oh," he fixed it. "Better?"

Ariadne reached across the table and straightened his tie.

Regulus gave her a bewildered look that she didn't seem to notice, but he decided not to comment. "Where to next?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Uh, I dunno," he admitted. "Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Nuh-uh," Ariadne shook her head.

"Why not?" He frowned. "They've got the best tea."

"I don't think so. Watching people slobber all over each other? Blegh."

"Fine," he thought how Ivy and Theya were always fine with Madam Puddifoot's. Afterall, it was cosy and a great place for making fun of other students. "What about Zonko's?"

"Too loud."

"Honeydukes?"

"Too sticky."

Ah, he thought, now I remember why we avoid Ariadne on Hogsmeade weekends.

"We could go for a walk," he tried again.

"Too cold."

"It's 12 degrees outside," he pointed out.

Ariadne shrugged and fixed him with an innocent smile.

"Then…" He took a breath. "We'll just stay here."

"Sounds good," Ariadne said happily.

Regulus sipped his gillywater to have something to do as they sat in awkward silence. It was the first time he'd hung out with her one-on-one, and now that it was just them, he wasn't sure how to feel about her.

Glancing up, Ariadne was busy watching him with a loving look.

Maybe he wasn't trying hard enough.

"Read any good books lately?" He smiled.

"I don't really read."

"Right. Uh, what do you like to do, then?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, adjusting her turtleneck. "Exploding Snap is fun."

"You're not in any clubs, right?"

"Nope."

"Er," he tried to think of a shared interest. "What do you do outside of Hogwarts?"

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"During Holidays. Do you try to get into pubs or practice wizarding chess-"

"Wizarding chess," she echoed, looking at him strangely.

"Just an example," he told her quickly. "What about Quidditch, any teams you support?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ariadne suddenly looked excited.

"Great!" Regulus said, relieved. "What team?"

"The Quiberon Quafflepunchers."

"Why?" Regulus raised his brows. "Your family's not from France."

"No," she snickered. "Their team name just sounds funny."

"Huh?" He stared at her.

"Quafflepunchers, y'know?" Ariadne grinned.

"You… don't watch Quidditch, do you?"

"Oh, no, I don't."

Regulus nodded and leaned back in his chair, deciding that silence was better.