Chapter 5 - Training
Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter.
"Legilimens"
Snape quickly penetrated Harry's non-existent defenses and was soon watching his memories. The memories he saw first were of Hermione by the banks of the lake as they shared their first kiss. The next memory was of the Dementors about to kiss Sirius. Interestingly, this memory had Professor Snape in it, unconscious, about to be killed by these same Dementors until Harry drove them off with a powerful Patronus. Professor Snape ended the attack at that point. He realized he owed Harry a life debt, much like the life debt he owed James Potter, his hated rival. He had hated Harry for years, but looking into his eyes to cast the legilimens spell reminded him of his love and his hatred faltered. The life debt and Lily's eyes momentarily flustered the potion's master.
"You must do better than that, Mr. Potter. Prepare yourself. Legilimens!"
Harry, facing attacks on his mind, was instantly back in his childhood, where he'd been attacked regularly and faced great mental pain, alone and locked in a cupboard. These memories were next and Snape saw memory after memory of Harry's life at the Dursleys. He saw the underfed abused boy locked in a cupboard. Sometimes, when the boy couldn't help it, unknowing, called for his mother. Snape's heart broke again. This could have been his son, if things had worked like he'd wished. This was Lily's son.
Harry called out and fell to his knees. Snape broke the attack and turned away. He paced around his office, his black cloak sweeping behind him.
"Sir, I'll do better next time. I want to try again."
Snape just glared at him, unable to speak. He continued pacing. His whole mind was on fire, his two selves warring. His own occulomency was being stressed just to reconcile the two halves that should never have been able to coexist. He should have been completely insane, but there was too much iron control. He stopped pacing to kneel next to the fallen boy. He looked into Harry's eyes, deeply, unblinking. Harry braced himself for an attack, but kept his gaze steady.
"Harry, go to your room. We'll recommence another night. I'll send word."
Harry stood up and made it to the door. The door swung mostly shut behind him. He'd failed and since he'd bonded with Hermione, that was something he had never done.
Snape waited for the boy to leave and then drew his wand. He remembered his own childhood, hated and abused. He at least had parents. He had known he was a wizard. He'd had a friend before going to Hogwarts. Lily's son had none of that. He finally realized his revenge on James should have never fallen on a child. He realized how much Lily would have despised him.
"Reducto" he shouted, destroying a shelf of components.
"Reducto" blowing half the desks into splinters.
"Reducto" shattering pieces off the stones of the wall.
It wasn't enough. He walked to one of the walls and punched it, feeling the pain in his hand somehow making the pain in his mind less. He transfigured the ruins of several desks into a mirror, looked himself in the face, and put his fist through his own reflection. He kneeled on stone floor, beating his fists against it. He screamed until his throat was raw, knowing that in the dungeon, nobody would hear.
Harry looked on from a crack in the door. He didn't know what had happened, what had made the man break down like this, but he was afraid for the Professor's life. He'd never thought about it before, but one of those reductos against the temple would have been a perfect form of suicide. Should he run and get Professor Dumbledore? Gryffindors don't run.
He quietely walked to Snapes side. The potion master didn't hear him until Harry was upon him, then whipped his head around and pointed his wand.
"You dare?" he asked shaking, wand pointed more steadily.
Harry nodded, putting his hands on the professors shoulders and sinking to his knees in front of him. He looked directly into his eyes, giving him full permission to read him. He didn't know why he was there. He wouldn't have guessed he would have ever felt anything but hate for this twisted man, but something was driving him.
Snape looked into Harry's mind, deciding if he found disgust or pity, he would kill them both. What he didn't expect was to hear Lily's voice.
"I don't despise you. You've sacrificed your whole life for this. Protect my son and everything between us is forgiven."
Snape teetered on the edge of madness. Finally, he broke, falling into Harry's arms. Both wept.
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room and Hermione waiting for him. She pulled him into her embrace, knowing everything that had happened. She had been with him as he feared the reducto that he fully expected and she'd been with him for Snape's unexpected breakdown. They wept together, finishing the process of draining the fear and anxiety. They fell asleep on the couch, neither wanting to be further from each other than that.
The next day Professor Snape wasn't seen at meals.
In DADA, Professor Moody cast the Imperius curse on each student in turn. Harry was able to mostly throw it off, hearing a voice in his head contradicting the guidance he was given. At first he was only able to partially fight the effects, but he soon realized he could completely ignore the curse. He assumed his bond was part of it, as Hermione strengthened his willpower. There was more, though, as the voice he heard was not Hermione's. When Hermione had her turn, she was immediately able to ignore the curse, gaining the benefit from Harry's experience.
That afternoon, Harry and Hermione met with Professor Moody, who quickly tested them against the entire 1-4 year spell curriculum. He asked them questions about dark creatures and cursed objects. He seemed very focused on determining their strengths and even more focused on finding weaknesses. When they seemed to know the answers to every question, he pulled out his wand.
"Defend yourselves." The retired auror began casting.
Harry and Hermione were living in each other's heads by this time. She cast a protego shield while Harry cast stunners around the edge. Moody slammed increasingly powerful stunners into the shield, which didn't flicker. Meanwhile his shield was about to collapse under Harry's intense red bolts.
"Reducto!" Moody called, aiming at the shield.
Hermione winced, fed more power, and the shield held. Harry, shaken by the events of the night before went berserk.
"Reducto! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" as his wand danced, throwing out powerful charms. Moody's shield went down to the reductor, his wand flew to Harry at the disarming hex, and he was unconscious after being hit by the stunner.
"Harry, I don't think you should have done that." Hermione said, surprised by the unconscious teacher.
"Well, I didn't expect him to cast a reductor at us."
"Maybe you should wake him." Hermione said.
"Do you really think that's a good idea?"
"Well, you do have his wand."
"Good point." Harry said. "Innervate!"
Moody began to stir, his magic eye spinning around first. He was understandably shocked by the outcome.
"Well, Potter, well done! Maybe we'll have to try this one at a time next time. Until tomorrow, then. Remember, Constant Vigiliance!" Professor Moody said, gaining his feet and limping away.
"Don't you need your wand back, Professor?"
Professor Moody held out his hand and summoned his wand, shaking his head as he limped away.
Tuesday morning, Professor Snape was back at the head table for breakfast, looking pale. He behaved in a subdued, but otherwise normal fashion during potions. At the end of class he slipped a note to Harry and Hermione. When they read it, it simply said, "Here, 9:00"
That night, they came down to the potion's classroom together. Professor Snape was working at his desk.
"Professor?" Harry asked from the doorway.
"Ah, Mr. Potter. Come in."
They came in and sat. Snape looked at them for a long moment as they looked back. Nobody seemed to know what to say.
"I think we started badly, Mr. Potter." Snape said. It wasn't clear whether he meant the earlier lesson or 3 years ago.
"Perhaps we did, Sir." Harry offered.
"You're emotional. So unlike I was when I learned occulomency. Perhaps my method is not the right one for you. There is another.
One way, my preferred, is to blank the mind completely and start with a void for a defense. It's a powerful defense, because an attacker gets no sense of your mind. However, I can see that won't work for you.
Another method is start as if you're achieving a void and then fill it with one single, powerful image or emotion. Much as if you're trying to cast a Patronus. Realize the legilimens may be able to take this one image or sense this one emotion, but otherwise it is a strong defense. Some call this the flame in the void technique."
"Let's try again. Empty your mind. Pick one powerful image. Legilimens!"
This time, Harry was able to defend his mind. Snape was able to eventually break through the defense, but only after significant effort and Harry got a better sense of how to defend. Harry felt much as he had when learning the Patronus from Remus. He didn't get it immediately, but he got a sense of progress. As soon as Professor Snape broke the defense, he ended the spell before Harry could even feel him in his mind. It was much less unsettling.
"Legilimens!"
Harry poured in powerful emotion, in this case love. He knew that Dumbledore thought this was the power that Voldemort knew not, so if he picked it, it might hurt Voldemort should he try to penetrate his defenses. He could visualize his defenses now as a green wall, much like his aura. He compressed the wall until it was razor thin, but dense. Snape was not able to break through and eventually managed to slide over.
"Again. Legilimens."
Harry built the wall higher, making a dome. There were no gaps to go through and Snape couldn't force it. His defense held.
"Very well. You may have a chance after all, Harry." Snape said, not even realizing he was no longer calling him by his surname. Hermione noticed that Professor Snape could say Harry without the hatred she always heard when he said 'Potter'.
"Let's try your defenses, Miss Granger. Did you listen when I instructed Mr. Potter?"
"Yes, Professor." Hermione replied, hoping he didn't realize they were so much in each other's heads that if Harry could do it, she could, too.
"Legilimens" Snape cast, coming against a shining golden sphere. There were no gaps and there was no breaking it.
"Adequate. Now, with preparation, you can resist a known attack. Continue to practice at night. Our next lesson will begin to prepare you for unexpected attacks. Then we'll work on attacks while distracted and maintaining a defense while doing other things."
H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr
A/N: I really want to do a better job with Snape. We'll see if I do.