"You cannot be serious!"

Hermione leaned back in her chair, recoiling from his closeness in sudden disgust. How could Voldemort expect her to open her mind to someone like Snape? And how was that using her against him?

"Is there something wrong with that?" He sounded so innocent as he asked her that, so truly surprised that she had to force herself not to punch him.

"He tried teaching Harry a couple of years ago and that was pure torture. I will not submit to the same treatment," she hissed, grabbing the book on her lap harder.

Voldemort chuckled. "Ah, I remember. An amusingly futile attempt by Dumbledore to protect Potter from me. It is true that it was torture for him. But that was only because Severus designed it to be so. Under my orders, he would never harm you."

"You underestimate the hate he has for me. And regardless, even if it wasn't as painful as Harry described, I will not let someone like Snape into my mind. Into my memories." The very thought of it made her ill.

"Why not? I already saw everything there is to see. What difference does it make if Severus sees it as well?"

For a moment, she could only stare at him, mouth open in disbelief. Then she shook her head firmly. "You can't tell me you don't understand. What you did was atrocious beyond description. For me, it was only a couple of days ago, even if it has been many years for you. I will not submit to that again."

Voldemort remained silent for a long time after that. He looked at her, his alien eyes roaming her face, taking in every frown and scowl that appeared. Then he sighed. "I find it hard to believe that someone like you would shy away from the opportunity to learn something new. To gain the means of protecting yourself."

Hermione swallowed hard. This was right on topic. Of course, Voldemort would know how driven she was. There was little she wouldn't do to gain knowledge. She wanted to learn Occlumency. She just couldn't help but feel nauseous whenever she remembered how violated she had felt after she realised that Voldemort had looked at the memory of her whole life. It made her feel naked in a way no clothes could change. It paralysed her.

She took a deep breath. "Why do you even want me to do this? What can you possibly gain from me learning Occlumency from Snape? I thought you wanted to use me against him?"

"There is only so much I can learn about the people around me from interacting with them myself. What is much more interesting is seeing them interact with others. With you." He leaned forward, taking one of her hands in his. "We are partners after all, are we not?"

She shuddered. She had said that she wanted to be treated as his partner. She did want to learn Occlumency. There was no logical reason to say no to this. It was just her emotions, this stupid vulnerability she felt, that made her hesitate. If she wanted to win against Voldemort, she would need to grow stronger, colder.

"Okay," she finally whispered, pushing away her fear and disgust. "You are right. We are partners. I'll do it."

"Marvellous!" In a gesture that did not fit him at all, Voldemort clapped his hands together and smiled broadly at her. He was definitely too excited about this.

"I just hope he remembers to not be a bastard for five seconds," she murmured under her breath.

Laughing, Voldemort stood up and pulled her with him, embracing her with both arms. "Don't worry, my sweet. He will have clear instructions to be gentle with you."

Hermione shivered. "Gentle. Yeah, right."

"Just remember. He is still my most valuable follower. I expect you to treat him with respect as well."

She stared up at him, gritting her teeth. She hated that she always had to crane her neck to even be able to look him in the eye. It gave him a position of power over her that she loathed. Determined to fight this feeling of being small, she grabbed his arms and pulled them away from her.

"I will show him the respect that he earns. If he indeed is gentle, I will behave."

"That's my little lioness," he teased, brushing a soft kiss against the top of her head. "Now, I think you have a book to read. I will let you know once your Occlumency lessons can start."

She grabbed the book that had fallen onto the chair and nodded in determination. Even if it came from Voldemort, she had a new source of knowledge. She would read every single page and squeeze every bit of understanding out of these brittle parchments. Maybe next time he tried the aura magic on her, she would be more prepared.

The complete stillness of the headmaster's office was unnerving. Hermione had only seen it a handful of times when she was still a student at Hogwarts, but whatever warmth and colourful personality Professor Dumbledore had brought to the room, it was now all gone. Replaced by nothing but grey bookshelves around the walls of the room. Only the huge oak tree desk in the middle of the office reminded her of the old times.

She stood here, exactly in the spot that she arrived at after apparating, afraid to move a muscle. Now that she was here, all her anxiety was back in full force. It was one thing to be alone with Snape in the breakfast room at Malfoy Manor. It would be something else entirely here, in his office.

She had arrived five minutes early, expecting Snape to be an overly punctual bastard who would belittle her if she was even a second late. Instead, the office was empty and nothing even hinted at him having been her at all.

The heavy wooden door opened noiselessly as Snape stepped into the room. Hermione swallowed. He looked as emotionless as ever, and yet she felt a chill fall over the room, emanating from his body.

He glanced at her, but remained quiet as he crossed the room, slipping into the comfortable chair at the desk. With a short nod of the head, he motioned to the chair on the other side. "Sit."

Hermione hesitated for a second, but then she steeled herself and followed the order. Sitting upright, hands carefully folded on her lap, she stared at Snape expectantly.

"I am to teach you Occlumency," he explained. "Gently, as our lord impressed on me. I understand that you have basic knowledge of the art?"

Expect for his lips, nothing moved in his face as he spoke. His whole body seemed frozen in place, as stiff as her own. It added to the anxiety the quiet office already caused in her. Hermione forced a nod. "Yes. Only through reading though, and some conversation with Harry back in year five. I have no practical experience with it."

"Don't let Potter's account distract you. You possess a disciplined mind, so you will fare better than him." He looked her directly in the eye as he said that, but Hermione ignore it. She would not raise to his provocations.

"Now," he continued, "why don't you tell me what you know so we can determine the starting point."

She licked her lips and nodded again. "Occlumency serves as defence against Legilimency. It can prevent a Legilimens from accessing one's thoughts and feelings if done right. Through a calm and empty mind, one can close off memories that should not be seen by others."

"What else?"

Hermione shrugged. "That is about as much as I currently understand. From what I have heard, Occlumency can also be used to prevent talking under the influence of Veritaserum, but I don't know how one would do that."

"Have you ever knowingly been subject to the probing of a Legilimens?"

She hesitated again. This question implied that Snape did not know what Voldemort had done to her. Was she allowed to talk about that? If Voldemort hadn't told anyone, it would mean that he didn't want anyone to know. Though if he truly wanted to keep it secret, he would never allow Snape to use Legilimency on her, as he would discover it sooner or later.

"Knowingly might not quite be the right word," she replied. "I was not aware of it as it happened, as I was unconscious, but I realised it happened after I woke up again."

He raised an eyebrow at that, the first indication of any emotion since he entered the office. "Someone used Legilimency on you while you were unconscious?"

She squared her shoulders. "Indeed. It happened recently, as a matter of fact. On the same day I was captured by the Dark Lord. It was he who did it."

For a long second, Snape remained silent. Nothing in his faces betrayed his thoughts, but Hermione got the distinct impression that he really had not known about this.

"How did you discover the intrusion?"

Against her will, images from the moment she woke up from her ritual came into her mind. One thing stood out clearly amongst the chaos of that day. "I had a headache like never before. It was as though I could still feel the touch of another in my mind."

"A headache usually only happens when an inexperienced Legilimens tries it, or if the intrusion was deep and thorough. As you say that it was our lord that did it, I assume it was the latter."

She scoffed. "Deep and thorough. That is one way to describe it. From what I know, he looked at every single memory I have. Literally all of them."

That finally broke his stiff posture. With slightly widened eyes, he leaned forward. "He looked at all of your memories? Are you absolutely certain?"

"I mean, I was unconscious, so I can't really verify it. But from what I have observed, that is the case." She wouldn't tell him that Voldemort used her memories to live his life exactly as he saw before. She still didn't fully understand why he did it, he could have easily chosen a different path and maybe prevented his first downfall. Telling Snape would only raise more questions that she could never answer.

"I will endeavour to not leave you with a headache." To her surprise, she actually heard a hint of sincerity in his words.

"Thank you." She still hated the idea that Snape of all people would read her mind, but it seemed that Voldemort's instructions actually made him comply. "So, now what?"

"From what you told me, you have a basic understanding of one side of Occlumency," he explained as he folded his hands on the table. "Emptying your mind so a Legilimens is unable to find anything is one way of protecting yourself. Any skilled Legilimens will of course immediately understand what is happening and then dig deeper. This method is usually insufficient against a harsher attack. You can use it to remain calm though, even if no Legilimens is present. By emptying your mind, you also let go of most of your emotions, which makes it easier to hide your true feelings."

"Is that how you remain so stoic at all times?" Hermione interjected.

"Obviously," he chided. "It is not recommended to do it all the time though. You might lose yourself if you are not careful. Or you risk your emotions appearing stronger than they are once you let go of the emptiness. It can make you feel volatile and not in control of your emotions."

Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at him. To her, it felt as though he always had this kind of shield up, at least whenever he was around her. Was that not overdoing it? Or was he just so devoid of all feelings that he appeared as though he was occluding at every moment?

She gave herself an internal nudge and let go of the thought. It was not something she should worry about. Instead, his explanation left her with another question. "You said this was the basic form and that it doesn't really work against a skilled Legilimens. What else should I do?"

"Before I answer that: Do you understand what Legilimency actually is?"

She sighed. Nothing was ever easy with this man. "I know that it's not mind reading. It is more like looking at memories and the emotions attached to them. You can sift through images and look at a person's inner self as though watching a video."

"I see Potter was able to retain at least a little of what I taught him. Impressive." He got up and stepped around the desk, directly next to her. "Legilimency is easiest through eye and skin contact. Do I have permission to touch you?"

Hermione had to supress the urge to scoot back with her chair. He was too close, towering over her in his dark robes, face still impassive, but for his eyes that seemed to burn into hers. She wanted to tell him no, but she knew that would get her nowhere. Licking her lips, she nodded.

"I will put two fingers on your temple. Please keep looking into my eyes. The easier it is for me to slip into your mind, the less it will cause you any discomfort." He waited for a moment until she nodded once more. Then he explained, "I will invade your mind and look at the first memory that comes up. Relax and let it happen. This is merely a demonstration so you know what Legilimency truly is."

Unbidden, a maelstrom of memories rushed through her mind. Images from different times and spaces, some very old, some recent, whirled around, too fast to make out. Anxiety gripped Hermione's whole body. What would he see? Which memory would be the one her subconscious would surface? She wanted to deliberately select one, but whatever she tried, she couldn't grab any. It was all a hurricane of thoughts and emotions.

"I will touch you now," Snape warned her. His voice was quiet and deep, an almost pleasant sound in the midst of her panic.

Then she felt his warm fingers on her temple. Trying to keep to his instructions, she looked into his eyes, now so much closer as he leaned down, wand drawn. Before she could form any other thought, she felt a presence in her mind. Reality around her seemed to give way to whatever memory he found. For a heartbeat, she relaxed as the intrusion didn't hurt just as he promised.

But then the images he selected got clearer and she almost screamed.