Shifted: Book Two

Chapter Twenty Seven - Snape's Lesson

The room was dimly lit with shades of emerald and pine, and the shelves were stacked with all sorts of different sized and coloured potions. The room smelled of bubbles and smoke and burning flowers, it was sort of comforting in a way.

He pushed Hazel into the leather seat in front of him, and moved Harry to the side.

"It appears there's a connection between the Dark Lord's mind and your own, Harry", he spoke, looking into his broken eyes.

"And Hazel?", Harry asked.

Snape examined Hazel for a few seconds, before wiping his index finger over his lip and speaking again.

"That night at the cemetery, when you shielded Cedric from the Dark Lord's killing curse, where did he strike you?", Snape asked.

Hazel, though she didn't want to, tried to remember by taking her mind back to that traumatising night; she reimagined the moment she was struck with the curse, how her body boiled with poison and heat and darkness. Her vision went blurry again, and she started to lose a little balance, but she remembered, and answered Snape's question apprehensively.

"My...neck", Hazel said, as she placed her hand on her neck, feeling the sore mark that had been ironed on.

Harry's brows dropped, he moved Hazel's hair behind her ear and revealed the mark she had been trying to hide. Snape approached her and inspected the peculiar mark.

"I noticed it a couple weeks ago, I thought it was just a scratch but-", Hazel insisted.

"Hazel, why didn't you tell me?", Harry asked with concern.

"This is far worse than a scratch, Hazel. Tell me, why do you think Harry was left with that scar on his forehead?", he asked, taking a step back.

Hazel glanced at Harry, then back to Snape, thinking of an answer.

"Because his mother's love protected him from the killing curse-", Hazel answered before being interrupted by Snape.

"The same curse you survived. He's somehow made a connection to you too", Snape explained, taking another step back.

"Whether he is, as yet, aware of these connections, for the moment, unclear. Pray he remains ignorant", Snape continued, shuffling around in his draws by his desk.

"You mean, if he knows about it, then he'll be able to read our minds?", Hazel asked, nervously.

"Read it, control it, unhinge it", Snape answered with certainty.

Hazel began to panic; what if Voldemort could see into her mind and find out that she shifted? What if he could find out how to shift, and therefore shift into her old reality and cause more destruction? What if he took complete control over her mind? Hazel's breathing intensified, and Harry could tell how anxious she was getting. He locked eyes with her, and that brought a sense of peace and reassurance to her, helping her slow down her breathing.

Snape continued to explain.

"In the past, it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to invade the minds of his victims, creating visions designed to torture them into madness".

He repositioned some potions that were left on his desk before picking up his wand.

"Only after extracting the last exquisite ounce of agony only when he had them literally begging for death, would he finally kill them."

He pointed his wand towards Hazel, then down to the ground.

"Used properly, the power of Occlumency will help shield you from access or influence", Snape continued, looking at Harry and his trembling face.

"In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate your minds", glancing over to Harry, then back at Hazel again, who was sat in the leather chair before him.

"You will attempt to resist. Prepare yourself", he warned Hazel, before casting his spell and entering her foggy mind.

"Legilimens!", he said, now being shown illustrations of Hazel's mind.

Hazel shrieked. It was unsettling, having someone in your mind and having control over it. Her mind was like an old, scratched tape player, it was as though Snape was picking and choosing her memories to play.

First, Snape's attention was brought to Hazel's arrival at Hogwarts, when she was found on the ground and surrounded by confused faces during the beginning of the fourth year. Then, all three of her tasks were highlighted from her memory. Hazel could feel herself losing control, but she heard Snape call out for her, reminding her to stay focused.

The image then switched to the night at the cemetery, he replayed the moment Hazel was struck by the killing curse, and the unbearable pain was brought back to her, only for a shorter and endurable moment this time.

"Focus, Jones", Snape yelled like an echo in her brain.

Snape then discovered their creation of Dumbledore's Army, he saw the members involved, practising their spells. He saw the look Harry gave Hazel when he told her they couldn't have created the army without her. He then saw Hazel inspect her neck in the mirror, rubbing her fingers over her scar in agony.

Hazel lost complete control, her body trembled rapidly and she squealed in distress. Snape stopped the short lesson, and allowed Hazel to catch her breath back.

"What are you trying to do? Drain me?", Hazel yelled, clutching her chest and panting like a dog on a scorching, summer morning.

Snape zoomed forward and leaned into Hazel with an intense glare.

"I'm trying to teach you how to protect your mind, if this was the Dark Lord controlling you, he would've tormented you far, far worse", Snape snapped back.

He snapped his fingers at Harry and guided him to replace Hazel in the seat. Hazel stumbled and sat down on the cold surface, running her quivering fingers through her hair.

"Same goes for you, Potter. Concentrate... Legilimens!", Snape casted, now entering Harry's mind.

His shrieks tore into Hazel, it was so unsettling and distressing, but Snape was right. Though it was tormenting the two children, he was teaching them to shield their memories against someone who would use it as a form of torture. Only time would tell if these lessons would be in good use.