Severus Snape A Soul Undiminished

Chapter 29 - Legilimency & Occlumency

Sirana woke up earlier than usual. She was excited to start her studies with Severus. She wondered what exactly he had in store for her.
If he is as accomplished a teacher as he is a lover, I'll be a magical genius in no time, she thought with a smile on her face.
Severus must have been watching her from his side of the bed. "You will not likely be smiling by the end of the day. I intend to fully exhaust any energy you may hold until you are completely spent," he said, and she didn't doubt him for a second.
Severus was most impressed by Sirana's skill at both Legilimency and Occlumency.They were rare magical abilities, both of which he himself was quite accomplished in. Lucius had noticed that Sirana possessed the ability to shield her mind from his, but he must have attributed it to mere happenstance or perhaps a drop of magic in her blood to which she was unaware. Severus, however, knew differently. He knew her grandfather had been a powerful wizard, from what he could glean from the books he'd found, and she'd obviously inherited his magical blood. Her own magical powers must have lain dormant for her to have no knowledge of them. He suspected a recent event, perhaps before she came to be at Malfoy's, had
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triggered its emergence. She was formidable, even to Lucius, in her own way. He knew she was not a lamb, but he would indeed have her be a wolf by the end. There were so many things he wished to teach her, and it would begin today. He'd seen the excitement in Sirana, and he felt it in himself as well. Perhaps his calling did actually lay in teaching. Now, whether to have her call him Professor Snape...
"Snape??!!" Sirana exclaimed. "That's your name??? Not that that's a bad thing...but it doesn't roll off of the tongue like Severus. How about I call you Professor Severus? Doesn't that sound better?"
Merlin's...! She is going to drive me mad after all, he thought. He couldn't allow the train to derail before it even left the station.
"Professor Snape will do," he said more sternly, leaving no room for argument.
"Yes, sir," she replied, defeated, and yet, he noticed that she hadn't used his title in a last bit of defiance.
They were in his study, where he'd intended to conduct most of the lessons. He felt it important to keep this part of their lives separated in this manner.
"While I'm away, you will have ample time to read, so while I'm here, we will use that time for practice and direct application. I will prepare your lesson plan so that your reading material will progress in a logical order."
He saw her nod her understanding and proceeded, "From what I've observed, you can read over a dozen books a day. I
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will check your retention of the material before assigning the next curriculum. There may be days when I am unable to return, so I will set out several days in advance and then perform my assessments upon my return."
She nodded again, and he asked, "How long have you had the ability to...feel someone else's mind?" He was unaware if she knew what the ability was called.
"Since I was young. My grandfather and I have had a connection since we first met. I still feel it there. That's why I know he is still alive," she answered. "With Lucius, I felt him trying to enter my mind. It was invasive, and I stopped him. When...I first saw you, and I felt you enter my mind, it was different."
"How was it different?" Snape replied.
Sirana thought for a second, then answered, "You asked," she said simply.
His expression softened at that. "Can you communicate with your grandfather through your connection with him?"
"Not really. I just feel it there, and I know he's alright. I think when I have the nightmares, though, he is there, his connection... I don't know how I know that," she said as if in deep thought. Perhaps that is why he could only see parts of that memory instead of all of it—as if some of it was seen through her eyes, and some from another's.
"Today, we will begin our lessons with Legilimency and Occlumency. In simple terms, Legilimency is the ability to enter
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another's mind and Occlumency is the ability to shield one's mind from another.My last student failed."He still felt the sting of that failure. "Perhaps you will prove to be more proficient."
"I will do my best," she replied in a serious tone.
"I am going to try to enter your mind, and I want you to stop me," Severus said.
He stepped several strides away from her, and turned to look directly at her, wielding his wand. He started slowly, feeling familiarity at this level, then abruptly tried to slip into her mind. Just as it had been at Lucius's when he'd first seen her, his mind was met with a wall of stone and fire. The wall was strong and unmovable, and the fire made even the attempt to get closer very unpleasant. He backed out, never having experienced defenses of this nature. There were others who had resisted him, but they were well-trained, and their method was expected. This was not either, but the power was undeniable.
"Legilimens!" he said, this time bringing his full force against her mind.He heard her gasp lightly,then the flames from the wall blazed even hotter, forcing him out violently. He unconsciously took a step back.
He stepped forward,"Again!"he almost shouted.This time, he caught her off guard. He'd stopped just before entering and softly 'asked.' Her wall fell, and he slipped in past her defense before she could realize and recover. He made her pay for the error. Not in a way that he would have with an enemy, but in the way that he wanted her to learn from the mistake
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so that a real enemy could not so easily take advantage of that weakness. When he left her mind, she stood with her head held in proud defiance, but he saw the tears in her eyes, too stubborn to fall. He wanted to stop, to give her a chance to gather herself, but he could not spare her for the graveness of the lesson.
fall."Again!" he commanded, and this time her wall would not fall.