Summary: Hiding the future

A/N: Thanks for reading! We get some more one on one time with Severus and Hermione today.

Chapter 3

Hermione awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and a bit more positive about her predicament. She knew she'd need to adjust and accept what had happened, but she also knew that grieving would help her to move forward.

She missed her parents already. Maybe she should search them out here? She immediately pushed that thought from her mind. It was certainly not good for the timeline, nor would it be good for her psyche. It would probably make her feel even worse.

Hermione took a deep breath. She should go out and get some groceries with the money Severus had loaned her. It might take her mind off of what was going on in her life. She rose, showered, and got ready for the day. She found a coat in the closet that would work for her and put it on. Leaving the house, she cast a Point Me spell to guide her to the nearest shop. It was only a couple blocks away, and she enjoyed the walk. It was lovely outside. A little brisk, but the sun was shining and it shone down on her, lifting her spirits as she made her way to the grocer.

As she entered the shop, she wondered if Severus would ever stay for a meal. She decided to get enough supplies so she could feed him if necessary. Of course, Hogwarts fed him three full meals, but maybe there would be a time when he'd skipped dinner or was just peckish.

Some time later, she was done and laden with bags. She probably shouldn't have bought so much, but it was nice to just concentrate on filling the pantry for a bit. Putting her bags down for a second, she looked around. No one was about, so she used wandless magic and set a weightless spell on the bags. Lifting them again, she was relieved at how much easier it was.

She got back to Spinner's End and unloaded all of her purchases. Opening a can of soup, she had some lunch. Looking around, she noted again how everything was a bit run down and decided to do something for Severus. The house needed some TLC, and she had plenty of time on her hands. Setting her bowl to wash in the sink, she got working at cleaning and fixing up the house. She spent a good part of the day freshening up everything and felt good about what she'd done.

She was sitting on the sofa with a book when Severus came through the Floo that evening. She looked up and smiled, but her smile evaporated when she saw the anger on his face. He looked around.

"What the hell did you do?"

"I… I cleaned."

"Who told you to do any of this?" he ground out.

"I just wanted to do something for you. You've opened your house to me, and I wanted to say thank you."

"Did it cross your mind that maybe I wanted it the way it was?"

"Falling apart?"

He looked furious. "Perhaps I like it falling apart. Take my chair for instance. Sure it looked terrible, but it was comfortable!"

Hermione stood and waved her wand over the chair, removing a glamour and showing that the chair remained as it had been.

"When I sat in it, I felt how comfortable it was. I thought perhaps a glamour to make it look better would be nice."

Severus' shoulders relaxed a little. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Did you glamour anything else?"

"No. I fixed the stairs and the molding in the kitchen. I brightened up the paint in there. I left everything in the cabinets as they were, just straightened them out. I repaired the plaster around the fireplace and repaired the third stair."

Severus looked around again. "I apologize. The first thing I saw was my reading chair, and I was upset." He looked down at the floor. "Thank you for straightening up the place. It actually looks nice."

Hermione regarded Severus cooly for a bit before nodding. "Apology accepted." She meandered to the kitchen. "Have you eaten? I made a roast and there's plenty left over."

"It does smell nice. I have already eaten though."

"Tea, then?"

"Sure."

He sat down at the table, and she brought over a cup for him. He added cream and sugar and took a sip.

"So, what is the future like?"

Hermione chewed her food a little longer than necessary. "Well, I really can't go into it."

"Come now, there must be something you can say. Are you happy? Or shall I say were you?"

"I was. Things were going well for me finally."

"They weren't always… blissful?"

She chuckled. "No, not at all, but going into that will reveal too much, I'm afraid."

"Did I survive the war?"

She stared at him, her mouth slightly agape. "I didn't say anything about a war."

He shrugged. "Just a guess."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You didn't enter my mind?"

"You can feel when I do, and you were very adamant about me not doing so the last time I tried."

She nodded and took a sip of her tea to try and gather herself.

"I will say the last time I was in your mind, despite you hiding many things, I could feel from your emotions that there was something more going on. Did the Dark Lord return?"

"Severus. I can't. I can't tell you anything. Everything has to move along as it did in my past."

"It's just a question."

"A question I can't answer."

"So, yes, then."

She grit her teeth together. "I refuse to confirm or deny that remark."

"No need. You are a terrible liar. I can see right through you."

"Well, shite. That's going to be a problem, isn't it? How am I supposed to keep the future a secret when it's written all over my face?"

"Hermione, I am a gifted Legilimens and Occlumens. I can read people probably better than anyone save Dumbledore and the Dark Lord when he was alive. I think you'll be fine with lay people."

"You're sure? I can't… I mean, I might as well go off and hide myself somewhere if I'm going to give away everything. What if the wrong people find out what I know?"

Severus arched a brow and contemplated what she'd said. "Have you studied Occlumency? You pushed me out of your mind the other day very easily."

"I'm somewhat self-taught. I can push someone out, but I have a hard time showing them what I want them to see."

"I can teach you to do that. If the Dark Lord is to return, and he finds out you are from the future," he paused. "He'd stop at nothing to… acquire… your knowledge."

Hermione blanched. "Merlin… I hadn't thought about that."

"I will teach you. We will work nightly on it. I assume we have plenty of time before he returns."

Hermione chewed on her lip before giving an almost imperceptible nod. Severus nodded once to acknowledge her.

Their tea finished, he sat back. "No time like the present."

"Severus, you will see things… things you shouldn't."

Folding his arms in front of him, he made an offer to her. "I can take a vow not to reveal anything, or to change anything."

Her lips thinned. "No. I won't have you hurt. What if you accidentally change something you know about." She shook her head. "I won't see you hurt."

He arched a brow at her. "Most people don't give a rat's arse if I am hurt."

She straightened. "Well, I'm not most people."

"That's not the first time you've said that."

She shrugged. "I don't know you well now, but the man I knew in my time was honorable."

"I am a Death Eater."

"And a spy. I know that is no secret among the Order now. I can let you know that your spying continues."

"So, I'm not dead?"

Hermione looked away.

"I see."

"I didn't say one way or another, Severus. Stop assuming!"

"Shifty eyes usually mean that a person is trying to avoid speaking of something bad or unsavory."

"Perhaps we should work on my reactions along with Occlumency."

"I was intending to help you with that, too." He regarded her carefully. "How?"

"How what?"

He huffed. "How did I die?"

She looked down at the table, her eyes getting misty. "I can't, Severus. I can't say."

"Are you crying?" He looked at her as if she were mad.

Her eyes met his, and she looked incensed. "Yes! Of all those we lost, you were the hardest for me to take!"

"Why the hell would you care if your old Potions Master was killed off? I know the way the students think of me now. I'm sure there was much rejoicing in my death. I take it my spying was found out."

Hermione leveled a nonchalant gaze at him. "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

His eyebrow involuntarily arched. "Not bad. You'll be fooling them all in no time. Now really. How did I die."

"Severus." She gave him a sharp glance. "I won't tell you."

He looked at her grumpily. "Fine." Getting up, he went over to his library and perused the titles, finally pulling something from the shelves. Walking back to Hermione, he handed her the book he'd chosen.

"The Subtle Art of Occlumency," she read.

"Read this. Some of it will be familiar–most of it will not. When you've finished we'll begin training. Perhaps you can head my Legilimency off some by studying this."

She looked up at him. "Thanks. I'll get it done tonight."

"Don't rush. Absorb what you read. If it takes you a few days, that's fine."

"Okay."

"I should be going. Have a good night."

Hermione walked him to the fireplace, then sat in his reading chair and devoured the Occlumency tome for the rest of the night.

ooo

It took her three days to finish the Occlumency book. Severus would quiz her each night and give some pointers, but now he sat in his reading chair, and she on the sofa.

"All right. Your task is obvious."

"To keep you from finding anything out about the future."

"Yes. Do you think you can do it?"

She gave him a worried look. "I do, but I'm not sure how it will go."

Severus stood. "Let's find out."

Hermione stood as well. Severus pointed his wand at her. "Legilimens."

Hermione attempted to throw Severus out of her mind, but he didn't go easy on her, and it was much more difficult than she had anticipated. He'd already seen several things in her mind, including him lying in a pool of blood on the Shrieking Shack floor, before she was able to cast him out.

"Not bad," he said. "I expected to be able to stay in your mind for at least twice as long before you cast me out."

"You purposely searched out that memory!" she accused.

"Of course I did. Now will you explain why I was lying in a pool of blood?"

"Severus!" she ground out. "You're not supposed to know any of this!"

He shrugged. "Well, it's too late to take it back. I've seen it. You might as well tell me what it is that I saw."

She folded her arms in front of her and glared at him. He looked duly chastised.

"I shouldn't have done that; I will admit that I shouldn't. But it has been bothering me since we discussed it the other day."

Hermione searched his face. She noted his sincerity and her shoulders relaxed some.

"I can't blame you, really. I would want to know if it were me."

"What I saw, though, didn't tell me much of anything."

"That's because there's a lot of backstory that I'm not willing to tell you about."

He pointed his wand at her. "Should I just search your mind?"

"I won't let you see that again."

"Legilimens!"

He was in her head. She showed him memories of her childhood. Riding a bicycle. Going to primary school. Children making fun of her because she was bookish. By the time he'd gotten to that memory, she'd thrown him out of her mind.

He arched a brow at her. "You're several steps ahead of our training. You did a good job showing me what you wanted me to see. That's the goal of what we're doing. Good job."

She smiled at him. He took that chance to crash into her mind again. He was merciless, and she struggled to keep him in the memories she'd selected for him to see. He kept pushing and pushing, and she found her head beginning to ache from her efforts to divert him. A sharp pain coursed through her, and she doubled over, holding her head. She cried out as she fell to her knees. Severus pulled out of her mind and rushed over to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I feel like my head is splitting in two."

Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a potion. "Take this."

She reached out without looking up and grabbed the potion, unstoppering it, and downing it in one move. She kept her eyes closed as the potion took effect. Severus reached out and grasped her shoulder.

"How is it now?"

"Better," she muttered.

"I apologize. I shouldn't have pushed you so far. You were doing so well; I didn't think of the repercussions."

"It's… it's okay. I assume if someone was out to see my memories, they wouldn't tiptoe through my head."

"That is definitely true." He stood and helped her up. "Come sit on the sofa. We are done for the evening."

She nodded and let him lead her to the chair. She settled in and rested her head against the back of the sofa with her eyes closed.

"I'll get you some tea," he offered, moving to the kitchen. He emerged quickly with a cup prepared just as she liked it. He touched her carefully to garner her attention. She opened her eyes and straightened her head, taking the cup.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome," He said as he settled next to her. "Do you need another dose of the potion?"

Hermione gauged the pain in her head. "Yes, I think that would be helpful."

He handed her another, and she took it, chasing it down with some tea. Closing her eyes, she let it take effect.

"That's better. I feel myself again."

Severus was frowning as he looked at her. She met his gaze, and it was like she could tell he was chastising himself for hurting her.

"It's okay, Severus. I want to learn how to do this."

He stood abruptly. "I must be going." He rushed to the fireplace and fled his home.

Hermione sighed as she looked after him, wishing he hadn't run away.