Hermione stood still and silent processing what Professor Snape had said to her.
"What do you mean sir? Is that what this morning was about?"
Professor Snape sat down on one of the dusty stools and motioned for her to sit on the other.
"Albus and Minerva have decided that my lessons with young Potter failed because of our mutual disdain for each other. They are hopeful that you could teach him. But I would have to teach you first."
Hermione processed the new information. It made some sense to her. She certainly did get along better with Harry than Professor Snape did. She still didn't know where eight cauldrons of Veritaserum came in.
"Sir, how are we going to use the Veritaserum?"
Professor Snape replied "If Potter would have gotten through more than a handful of lessons, he would told you. One of the most effective ways to build mental strength for occlumency is to build tolerance to Veritaserum."
Hermione nodded. "I would like to learn occlumency and legilimency, but can you explain how the process works. How did you learn?"
Snape started to speak slowly. "In our lessons, I will attempt to shuffle through your memories and thoughts. You will attempt to build mental barriers that keep all of your memories and thoughts concealed. Once you are able to block out my intrusions completely, I will teach you how to only block off specific memories or thoughts. That is what you must do in order to occlude without the Legilimens knowing that you are occluding."
Hermione opened her mouth, but he cut her off.
"I'm sure you recall that Potter constantly whined about headaches. He never took the time to really practice, so he would feel mentally fatigued after our lessons. Taking Veritaserum and attempting to not divulge information helps build tolerance to the potion itself, and it helps to strengthen your ability to strengthen your barriers. I will not divulge the circumstances of my learning occlumency. If you really must know, Potter could tell you. His invading my privacy to find out was the actual reason that our lessons were cut short."
Hermione didn't know what to say. Harry had never said anything to them about him crossing a line. He had only described the rage and the yelling that ensued during their last lesson with no context.
Hermione reached out and placed a hand on the side of his arm.
"I'm sorry, Professor. He never told us anything about those specific circumstances that led to your lessons ending. He made it out that you just flew into a fit of rage out of the blue."
Professor Snape stood up, and she pulled back her hand. He turned towards one of the workstations and started preparing ingredients. She almost didn't hear what he said.
"It certainly would not be the first time someone blindly listened to a Potter at my expense."
Hermione walked over to the station next to the one he was at and started preparing ingredients as well. She didn't really know what to say. She didn't want things to be awkward between the two of them, but they had never really talked about personal things before when they were brewing.
Hermione tried to casually say, "So, when are we going to start lessons?"
Professor Snape continued preparing the ingredients and answered her, his attention still mostly on the work he was doing.
"Tonight at 11 pm in the library."
Hermione stopped her cutting.
"We can't start sooner?"
Professor Snape gave her a sideways glance.
"We could start as soon as these Veritaserum bases are stable if you would stop chit-chatting and prepare your ingredients."
Hermione smiled to herself. She hastened her preparation of ingredients for this cauldron. About half an hour later, she had started the base for her first cauldron and got it to the stable point. At about the halfway point for the second base, she glanced over at Professor Snape who was sitting on one of the stools reading. She glanced at his cauldrons, and-
"Oh my God! You've finished six bases!"
Professor Snape looked up at her and closed his book.
"I have been making potions longer than you have been alive."
That was a good enough explanation for Hermione who sheepishly finished her second base in more time than it took him to do six.
"You didn't really need my help."
He smirked. She was bright.
"No, I didn't. I needed an excuse to pull you away from the boy who lived to annoy me and the other one. They cannot know about these lessons until Albus decides that Potter should start learning."
Hermione looked at the dusty clock on the wall. Time had passed quickly. It was lunch time, and her stomach growled loudly reminding her of the time. Professor Snape looked over at her, a casual smirk on his face.
"You should go upstairs for lunch. Molly would stone me if I starved one of her cubs."
Hermione smiled. Professor Snape and Mrs. Weasley had such a strange relationship. He really disliked most of her children, but the two seemed to have a mutual respect.
"Aren't you going to eat something, sir?" she asked the man who had not moved from where he sat, even after she had started towards the stairs.
"I really don't think that's the best idea. The more exposure to Potter and the Weasley boys I have, the more headache relief potions I have to brew. It's becoming wasteful at this point."
Hermione laughed. "I can bring a plate down when I finish."
Professor Snape looked alarmed by her consideration.
"That would be acceptable."
Hermione turned towards the stairs, smiling to herself. 'Acceptable' was high praise from Professor Snape.
Hermione moved up the cellar stairs and down the hallway. When she entered the kitchen, it was obvious that the majority of the Weasleys had already eaten. Only Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Harry sat at the kitchen table. When Hermione walked in, the three looked up at her.
"Taking a break, love?" Mrs. Weasley inquired.
Hermione answered as she served herself a bowl of the stew and potatoes that Mrs. Weasley had prepared.
"I'm just making a plate for Professor Snape and myself. We are very busy brewing, and he can't step away from the lab."
Hermione felt a little guilty about lying to Mrs. Weasley. She could have stayed to eat and then brought Professor Snape his lunch, but she preferred to have extra time with him discussing potions and their occlumency lessons.
"That's very kind of you, dear. I'll make you a basket with snacks for later."
Mrs. Weasley busied herself filling a basket with homemade sweets and other provisions. Hermione finished serving a second, fuller bowl for Professor Snape and pulled two spoons and napkins out of a kitchen drawer.
"Did Ron already go back upstairs?" she asked conversationally.
Mrs. Weasley gave her a sympathetic look.
"He hasn't come down since breakfast."
Hermione winced. She and Ron had been disagreeing more and more in the recent weeks, but she was still his friend. It pained her to see him so upset. She started towards the door, balancing the two bowls in her hands. The basket floated in the air, following behind her. When she was almost out of the kitchen, Ginny called out for her.
"Hermione, what time do you think you'll be tied up until?"
Hermione almost tripped at the wording of Ginny's otherwise innocent question. She looked at her friend and temporary roommate and saw, from the look of her eyes, that the wording choice had been intentional.
"Professor Snape and I will be brewing until 11 at least. I'll try not to wake you when I come back to our room."
Ginny shot Harry a furtive look, and Hermione turned around rolling her eyes at her friends. They had spent every waking second together all summer, and Hermione guessed that they would spend some time together in her and Ginny's shared room tonight. She returned downstairs to the cellar, pushing the door open with her foot. She walked in and saw Professor Snape sitting at one of the workbenches. He had situated two chairs on either side of the lab table. He looked up, surprised, when Hermione walked over and set down a bowl in front of him. She set down her bowl and levitated the basket to settle on the other end of the table. She handed the professor a spoon and napkin and looked up at him expectantly. Professor Snape cleared his throat.
"I assumed you would dine with Potter and Weasley."
Hermione stilled, her spoon paused mid-air as she was taking her first bite.
"I don't fancy being a third wheel on Harry and Ginny, and Ronald didn't come downstairs for lunch."
Professor Snape finally started eating.
"Mr. Weasley must have fallen gravely ill since this morning. I have never known him to miss a meal."
Hermione chuckled at that.
"We had a row this morning, sir. He thinks I spend too much time alone with you."
Severus' head shot up.
"What does Mr. Weasley think that you and I are doing?"
Hermione put her spoon down.
"He thinks that you are a bad influence on me because I would rather brew than listen to him drone about quidditch. We have both changed since term ended, and he doesn't like the direction I've gone in."
Severus inclined his head and started speaking.
"You have certainly developed over recent months. Your progress in brewing is impressive."
Hermione smiled. She glowed under the usually surly man's praise.
"I've always loved potions. I remember my first potions class, and you did that speech. I copied it down in my notes word for word. Those first few potions lessons are some of my most treasured memories from when I first knew I was a witch."
Professor Snape looked thoughtful. After a moment, he spoke.
"It is rare to have a student with such talent and enthusiasm for my subject."
Hermione blushed and averted her eyes. When they spent time together in the lab like this, she often forgot that she was his student.
"So, after lunch, we can start with occlumency lessons?" she asked hopefully.
Professor Snape answered her.
"Yes, you will consume a quarter of a dose of Veritaserum, and you will attempt to not answer me when I ask you questions."
Hermione blanched. She didn't think that they would start with the Veritaserum so early. Her thoughts started racing. What if she embarrassed herself by telling him something really personal? What is she told him about the feelings she had been having towards him.
She stammered "What type of questions?"
He smirked and replied, "The type that will give you the most motivation to not divulge the answers."
Having seen the panicked expression on her face, he chuckled.
"You can trust me to not divulge any secrets you may share. Your personal life interests me very little."
Hermione highly doubted that he would have the same cavalier attitude if he found out that she had been having wet dreams about him for months. She put her spoon down, having only finished half of her portion of stew. She didn't know if she should be too full when the interrogation started. Professor Snape continued eating for a few minutes as she tried to calm herself. He wiped his mouth with the napkin and neatly placed it in his empty bowl. He banished both of their dishes to the kitchen sink.
He stood up and glided over to a small door that Hermione knew was then ingredient storeroom. He carefully pulled out a small, glass vial filled with clear liquid.
Hermione gulped as he moved back towards the table that they were seated at. He didn't immediately sit back down in his chair, she noted. He walked over to the side of the table where she was seated and uncorked the vial. Hermione stared pensively at his hands as he drew up some potion with a pipette.
After he had prepared the potion for administration, he looked at her expectedly.
"You will start with one drop. You may not be able to refrain from telling the truth, but it is possible if you focus."
Hermione took a deep breath. She trusted Professor Snape implicitly. He had protected her and her classmates from danger on multiple occasions. She looked up at him, and he moved the pipette towards her mouth. She opened her mouth, and he placed the dropper under her tongue. She felt the single drop of the potion leave the pipette, and he extracted the instrument from her mouth and banished it to one of the lab's basins.
Hermione's eyes glazed over, and she felt a sense of calm wash over her. She wasn't sure what she had been worried about. This wasn't so bad. Professor Snape returned to his seat across the table from her. They looked at each other for a moment before he started with his questions.
"What is your name?"
"Hermione Jean Granger" she responded with no thought.
"When were you born?" he asked.
"September 19th, 1979", she answered.
This wasn't going so badly, she thought.
"Have you ever stolen ingredients from my potions stores?"
Hermione went white. She tried to refrain from answering, but she couldn't help herself.
"Yes sir"
Professor Snape smirked.
"That feeling you felt when you tried to lie is what occluding feels like at first. You must gain control over the urge to reveal yourself. Let's try some others. Who is your best friend?"
"Harry Potter", Hermione answered without hesitation.
Professor Snape made a face of displeasure.
Hermione smiled and said, "You shouldn't ask things you don't wish to know the answer to."
Professor Snape continued without acknowledging that remark.
"Miss Granger, I am going to warn you that I am going to have to ask you some things that you really don't want to tell me. It is necessary for you to practice controlling the urge to reveal the answers. Trust that anything said in this room will not leave it."
That really didn't make Hermione feel any better. If Professor Snape knew that she was hot for him, it didn't really matter if it was a secret to everyone else. He was the person she was most afraid of finding out her most embarrassing secrets. But she acknowledged to herself that he was right. She looked into his eyes and gave a slight nod. Professor Snape maintained intense eye contact.
"When did you have your first kiss?"
Hermione bit her tongue. She wasn't that embarrassed, but she wanted to try to contain herself.
"Do not bite your tongue! I have seen plenty of people bite their tongue off that way!" he scolded.
She let go quickly and maintained eye contact, willing herself not to answer his question. She felt like she was holding her breath. Pressure was building in her chest, and she felt like the only way to relieve it was to answer him. She resisted until she felt like she was going to faint.
"During my fourth year!" she practically screamed, heaving to catch her breath from the effort of not answering immediately.
"That was an admirable first try. With whom did you share that kiss?"
Hermione closed her eyes, trying to will away the urge to tell him. She breathed deeply, but felt the pressure building until she felt a sharp pain behind her eyes. She kept her eyes closed, willing away the pain, but pressure started building in her chest. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She tried to keep her mouth closed, but she couldn't help it.
"It was Viktor Krum", she answered.
Professor Snape's face remained neutral.
"What else did you and Viktor Krum do?" he asked.
Hermione sucked in a harsh breath. She kept her eyes open and tried to forget the answer. If she forgot it, she couldn't tell him. That worked for about thirty seconds before she started feeling numbness in her fingers. She looked down and noticed that they were looking blue. Seconds later, she shrieked. What had been numbness and tingling turned into excruciating pain. It felt like someone was tearing her finger nails off.
"He put his hands and mouth on my breasts, and I put my hands and mouth on his penis." Hermione said. She was mortified at herself, but she felt instant relief from the pain. She broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. She couldn't believe she told him that.
Professor Snape still looked unaffected by her spilling her most embarrassing thoughts.
"It is ok that you are divulging the truth. Many can't resist at all their first time under Veritaserum. When was the last time you participated in a sexual act?"
Hermione resisted for as long as she could. She avoided eye contact, and she tried to regulate her breathing. After nearly five minutes of painful pressure in her chest, she whispered the answer to his question.
"I touched myself last night."
Hermione closed her eyes. It felt like minutes had gone by without either of them saying anything. She regulated her breathing and felt the effects of the Veritaserum slip away. The small dosage had worn off. She looked up at Professor Snape, who looked uncomfortable.
Professor Snape stood up and walked over to the basin. He conjured a goblet and poured water into it. He crossed back over to the table and handed Hermione the goblet. She gratefully accepted it, drinking the entire goblet in one long swig. A thought occurred to her.
"Professor, to teach Harry how to occlude, won't I need to learn legilimency as well?"
Professor Snape answered her, "You will. That is what we will work on in our lesson tonight. In the meantime, I would suggest that you get some rest. You will need energy for our lesson tonight, and it is obvious that your mind is quite tired."
Hermione started to walk towards the door to the stairs before Professor Snape called after her.
"Miss Granger, your little friends think that you will be brewing all day. You cannot go upstairs. You may rest on the cot down here."
He pointed towards the door that Hermione knew was his bedroom. She nodded gratefully and walked towards it, wishing that the circumstances of her entering his bedroom for the first time were different.