Summary: Occlumency lessons
A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Have a bonus chapter!
Chapter 7
Severus sat in front of Dumbledore's desk telling him about the invite to Voldemort's meeting.
"This is good, Severus," Albus said as he stroked his beard. "Now, have you heard of Occlumency?"
"Yes, I have some experience with it. My mother taught me as a child so I could not instigate my father's moods."
Dumbledore gave him a commiserating look. "Sorry to hear the reason why you know the skill, but in the end, this is good. May I test your abilities? You'll need them to keep Tom from knowing who you used to be. He is second only to me in his ability to use Legilimency."
Severus nodded and soon felt a slight nudge in his mind. Of course, Dumbledore would cast silently as would the Dark Lord. Because of his previous experience with Occlumency, Severus had already imagined his backstory richly so that anyone trying to read his mind would only find a young man who had grown up in Germany. He even had a couple of memories of his own father acting as his dad. He knew no one had met his father, and they did resemble one another, so his father could be a stand-in for a grown-up Severus Snape. He felt it would work as a memory.
Albus withdrew from his memories. "You have a natural ability for this type of magic. For now, you are fine to attend and keep your shield up. I would like to give you some lessons as well. Mr. Potter is also trained in this type of magic so you can use one another to practice."
"What about the other two?"
"They have not been trained."
"Perhaps they should be," Severus noted.
"They shouldn't need it," Albus replied.
"Granted, Potter is the more likely candidate for the Dark Lord to use Legilimency upon, but if they are captured, you can bet he will use his mind powers to get information."
Albus thought for a minute. "I had been concerned about that, but I do not have time to teach them. I barely have the time to schedule working with you."
"I can train them. If you say Potter has the ability, we can work together."
Dumbledore nodded. "Excellent idea, Severus. You should start as soon as possible."
"We will be meeting tomorrow. I will bring it up to them then."
"You and I will meet on Fridays after your last class. We can work here."
Severus nodded and stood to leave. "Thank you, Headmaster."
"Have a good night, Severus."
oooOOOooo
Severus hurried through the dungeons. Blaise looked up from the reading chair where he was studying.
"Severus, where are you headed?"
Severus frowned. He didn't want to get distracted by Blaise or worse yet, invited to join him in whatever he was studying. He thought fast.
"I'm headed to the Owlery to send my family a letter. My dad owled this morning upset that I've been silent since getting here," he fibbed.
"Oy, you'd better get going then. No one wants to be in trouble with their parents. My mum sends me a Howler if I take too long to write."
Severus gave a small smirk. "Yes, nobody wants that."
He turned and left the dungeons, heading up to the Room of Requirement. He managed to beat the trio there, so he had the room create their training room. It didn't take long for the others to join him. They all settled on the cushions, Severus leaning against one as he rested on another. Harry and Ron were deep in conversation about the Quidditch win over Ravenclaw earlier.
"Did you see how Stinson almost fell off his broom?" Ron exclaimed to Harry.
"No, Ron, I was chasing the Snitch, remember?"
"Yeah. It was awesome. You really missed a good one."
"I heard everyone in the stands laughing. Glad he wasn't hurt."
"Yeah, definitely," Ron agreed.
Harry looked at everyone.
"All right. We were going to work on disarming spells and shields today," he said.
"I have something before we officially start," Severus interrupted.
Everyone turned their attention to him.
"I met with Dumbledore yesterday. Because of the spy work he has asked me to do, we discussed using Occlumency. I have experience with it, and I convinced him it would be prudent for all of us to have this ability as any one of us could be captured. He told me you already know how to do it, Harry?" he asked as he looked over at Potter.
"Yes, but it's difficult for me to do."
"He suggested the two of us teach Ron and Hermione."
Harry's eyebrows rose. "I wouldn't think he'd trust me to teach others. I can barely do it myself."
"I think that together we can be effective," Severus offered, "And through teaching, you may find a better understanding of it yourself."
"Oh, can we start today? I've been begging Harry to teach us, but he wouldn't," Hermione said.
"You need to have more confidence in yourself, Harry," Ron advised.
Severus held up his hand. "It takes some time to master. I have been using these techniques to some extent since I was old enough to understand them."
"Why would you need to do that?" Harry asked.
"My mother taught me when I was six. We both employed the technique to not antagonize my father. He was prone to anger, especially when he was drunk… which was always."
Hermione looked livid. "That's vile! How could your father be so awful?"
Severus furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to reveal to his new friends. They had been supportive of him already, though, and he'd vowed to make friends in this new life he'd tumbled into. Perhaps it would be okay to open up about his family life.
"Alcohol and no money can be a dangerous combination. He also felt that my mum should have used some of her magic to make our life easier and more lucrative. When she wouldn't do so, he learned to hate her… and he had no love for me either, being a wizard and all that."
"Are they still alive, Severus?" Hermione asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure how long that relationship could have lasted the way it was by the time I left. Despite her using Occlumency to not disturb my father, it eventually stopped working. Or possibly my father hated her so much that he was triggered no matter what she did. He just beat her all the time."
"That's rough, mate," Ron said.
"No matter. We aren't here to discuss my family. I just brought it up because I have a good deal of experience and can guide you through this with Harry's help."
"So, what do we do?" Ron asked.
Severus looked over at Harry, who nodded for him to go ahead and take the lead.
"My mother explained it well when I was little. She had to be simple so I could understand at the time. For me, we worked on the calming effect of Occlumency. Obviously, my Muggle father would never be reading my mind, but she told me if I could create a false calm through memories it would help to relax me, thus not getting my father upset. So, basically, Occlumency helps not just with blocking memories, but with also keeping emotions in check. It's not just clearing your mind, but also filling it with what you want the other to see."
"I read that basing the memory in some fact is helpful," Hermione said.
"Of course, you've read all about it, right?" Ron asked.
She gave him a cross look. "Well, Harry wasn't willing to teach us anything. I thought it would be important to at least know the basics of the technique."
Harry laughed. "You are so predictable, Hermione," he said with a chuckle.
"What?" she asked as her eyes narrowed at him.
"You always seek out your answers in books."
"Well," she said haughtily. "They have the information I need."
Severus cleared his throat, which caused the other three to turn back to him.
"Books can be helpful in understanding this concept, but really, unless you experience it first hand and practice, you would never be able to be an Occlumens from just reading about it."
"Of course," Hermione conceded.
"So, basically you need to clear your mind, especially of extraneous thoughts," Severus continued. "Legilimency isn't precise mind reading. It is based on interpreting emotions and thoughts, which can be visible, especially if the Legilimens is strong in their craft. Any extraneous thought can be viewed, and if they are incongruous to the thought you're trying to send out, it can be fatal."
"So, how do we keep our mind clear?" Ron asked. "I have no issues clearing my mind, it's just not having it run wild once I do."
"Good question," Severus said with a nod to Ron. "One thing you need to do is get a decent night's sleep every night. If you're tired, keeping your mind clear is much harder. For me, when I am trying to clear my mind, I concentrate on my breathing. It's something simple that I can do no matter what is going on, and it helps me to concentrate on that over any stray thought that might want to enter my head. You don't need to use breathing, but do find something basic that you don't have to think about."
Severus looked at each of them.
"Okay, let's practice. Try to keep your mind blank."
He gave them a few minutes of silence as they all tried to keep their minds clear. Finally, he held up his hand.
"How did that go?"
They all nodded. "Your tip on concentrating on breathing really helped," Harry mused.
"Good. Now, all of you stand up."
They were all soon on their feet.
"We are going to go from calm to chaos. We will all duel with each other, but will try to keep our minds clear except for what we are casting. Prepare yourselves."
They moved over to the dueling area and all took up their stances. Soon the curses and hexes were flying. They sparred for several minutes before Severus called an end.
"Was that harder or easier?"
"I thought it was a bit easier," Hermione admitted. "I was concentrating so hard on the fight that there really weren't any stray thoughts."
Severus nodded.
"Yeah, that was easy," Ron advised.
"Good, now… we can all sit back down… I want you to keep your mind clear while I try to distract you."
They started again. This time, Severus called out questions that would make them think about their past. He paused for a bit after every one.
"What was your favorite birthday gift?"
"How old were you when you knew you were a witch or wizard?"
"Who is your favorite author, and your favorite book?"
"What was the part of that book that you liked the most?"
Hermione grunted at that point. He smirked at her as her eyes came up to his, and she glared at him. His smirk widened.
"Keep your mind clear," he urged.
"How many siblings do you have?"
"Is one of them your favorite?"
"What would you do if your familiar was hurt badly?"
"Hey, no fair!" Harry said.
"Harry, this is war. The Dark Lord will use any means to break your concentration so he can read your most intimate thoughts."
Harry nodded briskly and continued to concentrate. Severus returned to the exercise.
"How does casting a powerful spell make you feel?"
"What do you like to do on summer break?"
He paused as he looked at the other three.
"All right. That's enough of that. Were you successful?"
Ron nodded. "Yeah, but it was hard. When you first started asking a question, my thoughts concentrated on each question. But as the time went on, I was able to tune you out more. Hear the question, but not react to it."
"That's good, Ron. How about you, Harry?"
"It was hard for me. I really had to concentrate on my breathing after every question."
"Hermione?"
"You saw it was difficult, but once I realized I could just hear you and not react mentally, it went better."
"Good. I think we're ready to practice actual Occlumency," Severus directed. "Harry, I'll need your help with this."
"All right," Harry said. "Should we pair off?" he asked Severus.
Severus nodded. "That would be prudent."
"Do you want to start with Hermione, and I'll work with Ron, then we can switch?"
Severus looked at Hermione. "That sounds fine," he agreed.
They moved to opposite ends of the room so as not to disturb one another. Severus looked at Hermione and raised his wand.
"I will try to penetrate your mind. Your job at this point is to resist and not let me see any memories at all."
Hermione nodded and shook her shoulders to get ready. She looked at Severus. He pointed his wand at her.
"Legilimens," he chanted.
Hermione was sending a flock of birds at Ron. She was fighting against Death Eaters with her friends. She was being lifted up by a half-giant and pointing her finger at him, giving him a piece of her mind. Severus couldn't help himself. He laughed at the last memory.
She glared at him.
"I'm sorry. You were just so stern with that giant. He could squish you to death, and you're nagging him to put you down."
Finally, she grinned. "It worked. He set me down."
"Kudos to you on that. Now, I couldn't feel you even attempting to push me out of your mind. What were you doing?"
"I was trying, but the sensation of my memories going by so quickly was disconcerting."
Severus nodded. "It's strange, right? Try to grab a hold of the memory I am viewing and center on it, and then push me out of your mind."
They got ready to start again. This time Severus could feel some resistance as he viewed a memory of Hermione and Harry in the library. He moved on to Hermione dancing with a young man with dark hair. The resistance increased but still didn't push him out. He moved on to a memory of her casting her Patronus. The otter was moving about her.
"Ugh!" she cried.
Severus withdrew from her mind.
"I can't do this!" she cried.
"Nonsense, you were doing well for your second time."
From the other side of the room, Ron started to whinge. "Geez, Harry, do you have to be so rough?" he asked.
"See?" Severus said as he raised his hand and motioned toward Harry and Ron. "You are both just learning. Let's go again."
Hermione composed herself and nodded. Without warning, he was in her mind again. This time, Draco was calling her a Mudblood, and she reached back to punch him.
"No!" Hermione said as she pushed Severus out of her mind.
He gave her a startled look. "Good show, Hermione. That was brilliant," he told her.
She smiled proudly. "Thank you."
"Let's do it again. Now that you know how it feels to expel me from your mind, you should find it easier."
"Okay," she said as she readied herself once again.
He flicked his wand at her and called out the spell. He was in her mind only a matter of seconds before she'd thrown him out. His eyes widened as he came back to himself and looked at her.
"That was intense," he said.
"I've always been a quick learner, and I don't believe in doing anything halfway."
"I'll remember that," Severus acknowledged. "Now, one more time."
He was more forceful this time and she struggled for a minute to get him out of her head, but she eventually was able to cast him out.
"Severus," Harry called out to him.
Severus put his wand down and looked over.
"Can we switch out? I am having a hard time explaining well to Ron exactly how to do it. He's sort of getting it, but it sounds like you could help better."
"Of course."
He moved over to where Ron was standing and Harry changed places with him and began to work with Hermione.
"Okay," Severus said. "Shall I just cast the spell, or do you have any questions?"
Ron frowned. "I know I'm supposed to push you out of my head, but I don't know how to do it."
Severus nodded. "What are you trying when you make the attempt?" he asked.
"I try to force you out, but I don't seem to be able to attach onto anything."
"Concentrate on one of the memories that I am reviewing. Concentrate on the magic around that memory. You should feel magic that is foreign to you. That's my magic. Latch onto that magic and push it out."
"I can do that," Ron advised.
"Let's go, then."
He raised his wand and cast, "Legilimens."
Ron was battling the dueling dummy and then casting his Patronus. He was ignoring Hermione as she glared at him as he kissed Lavender Brown. Severus felt a slight tug but kept on going. Ron was playing Quidditch, kicking a Bludger that almost made it into the goal. The intensity increased as Severus moved to a different memory where Ron and Harry were wrestling one another in their dorm room.
All of a sudden, he was forced out. Severus arched his brow.
"Good job, Weasley. That's exactly what you need to do to get me out of your mind."
Ron grinned. "Thanks," he said.
"So, you and the Brown girl, huh?"
Ron turned three shades of red. "Yeah, we dated for a good part of last year."
"But you are no longer together?"
"I don't know if you could tell from my memories, but she's a bit of a handful."
Severus smirked. "I can see that from what little I've dealt with her in classes."
Ron moved up close to Severus. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Severus arched his brow again.
"I still kind of have a thing for her."
"Really?"
Ron nodded. "We broke up near the end of last year. At the time, I didn't even know why. I had said something when I was in the Infirmary having been poisoned. I had no idea what it was. One day she was hanging all over me, the next… she was glowering at me from across the table." He shrugged.
"Did you ask her about it?"
"At the time, no, but I was chatting with her last week. She's finally calmed down enough to actually acknowledge my presence."
He got even closer to Severus. "She said I called out Hermione's name when I was unconscious."
"I see. So, do you also fancy Granger?"
Ron frowned. "I did at the time. I was being an arse, to be honest. I originally got together with Lav to make Hermione jealous. When we broke up, I was fine with that as I was still interested in Hermione. But over the summer…" He shrugged. "It just kind of went away."
"Is Hermione interested in you?"
Ron shrugged. "She mostly ignores that part of our relationship. I know she was mad at me for being such a jerk last year. I can't blame her. I wish I had handled the whole thing differently. It took her a while to warm back up to me. We hadn't spoken for a bit back then."
"Does she know you want to get back with Brown?"
"No, but she's made some comments that could signify that she wouldn't be upset if I do."
"Do you want to keep your closeness with Hermione as you pursue Lavender?" Severus asked.
"Of course. We've been friends since our first year. I don't want to lose that, and I did miss her when she wasn't talking to me."
"Then tell her what is on your mind. Treat her like the friend you want her to be."
Ron looked over at Hermione and thought about what Severus had said. "You're right, mate. If she knows, she won't think I'm going behind her back. Yeah. I'll talk to her."
Severus gave a slight bow of his head in agreement.
"Are you ready to move along?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Got distracted."
Severus didn't let him get ready. He was in his mind almost before Ron had finished his sentence. He saw Ron laughing with Lavender and then kissing her. Then he was fighting with Hermione as she sent a flock of birds after him. Ron got a handle on his memories and cast Severus out again.
"Good," Severus said. "But it seemed to take you a while to get me out. What happened?"
Ron shrugged. "My mind was on our recent conversation. It was difficult to concentrate to get you out."
Severus crossed his arms as he regarded Weasley. "You don't have the luxury to let your thoughts take over your head. It only takes a moment for the Dark Lord to get in there, and he will be looking for specific things. Things he can find in seconds."
"Yeah, but we'll be putting up fake memories, right?"
"Ultimately, yes. But if you can't cast me out, you won't be able to show the Dark Lord what you want him to see. He will be in charge of your mind. Not you."
"I see. So, it's like we're casting him out of the memories we don't want him to see, then showing him something else?"
"Exactly." Severus regarded Weasley for a bit. "Shall we go once more?"
Ron nodded. Severus entered Ron's mind but was shoved right out before he could even see anything. He stumbled back a twitch and arched a brow at Weasley.
"Nicely done," he admitted.
Ron grinned. "I didn't want you to think I was incompetent."
Severus smirked back. "I was beginning to think that maybe you were."
They both laughed which caused Harry and Hermione to break off what they were doing and turn toward them.
"We've probably worked on this long enough," Severus offered, without explaining their burst of laughter.
"Let's practice dueling. Same partners," Harry said.
Everyone agreed and soon they were dueling with one another. They rotated through each other and finally were done with their practice.
"Merlin, I'm starving," Ron said as they all slumped down on the cushions. "It's too bad we can't be seen together. It would be nice to have lunch right now."
Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out a picnic basket.
"I thought about that. We're always hungry when we finish up. Might as well enjoy a meal together," she said with a nod of her head toward the basket.
"This is brilliant, Hermione," Harry said as he began unpacking the basket.
Soon they were all feasting on fried chicken, pumpkin juice, and chocolate cake for dessert. They all chatted together as they had their fill, and then split up to continue their day.