Two of the Same (A Harry Potter Student/Teacher Romance)

Chapter 13: Occlumency Lessons (Marceline's POV)

Chapter 13: Occlumency Lessons (Marceline’s POV)

Halfway through vacation, Sev decided it would be best if he taught me Occlumency so people wouldn’t find out about us.

“So basically, I’m going to try to enter your thoughts, and you are going to block me. Alright?”

I nodded reluctantly. I had a lot of memories that I didn’t want anyone seeing…

Sev pointed his wand at me.

“I’m sorry I have to do this,” he said.

“No, I know, it’s important,” I said. “We need to this so I will be able to keep us a secret.”

I watched as he waved his wand. “Legilimens!”

Instantly, he was inside my thoughts. The first one that surfaced was of my parents screaming at me when I was little. I was sitting in the corner of my living room, sobbing.

Sev released me from the spell. I fell back against a cabinet, breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, fine,” I lied. “Go again.”

Snape reluctantly put his wand up again.

“Legilimens!”

Again, Sev went into my thoughts. The one of the first time my dad beat me surfaced, followed by me standing in front of my bathroom mirror, inspecting my broken nose.

I fell into a chair, feeling like I had just run a marathon.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

“Go again. I can take it,” I said.

Really, the physical part wasn’t what was bothering me. It was the emotional part.

“Legilimens!”

My very worst memory filled my mind. I had spilled a glass of water at the dinner table, and my father pulled my chair backwards and grabbed me by the hair. He dragged me down the hallway, and began filling the bathtub with water. He grabbed me by the hair and shoved my face into the water, holding me beneath the surface…

I hunched over, sobbing. Sev stood across the room from me, apparently horrified by what he had just seen. He crossed the room and put his arms around me.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

I sniffled. “It’s okay.”

Sev held me for a few minutes while I recovered. When the tears had stopped, I was more determined than ever to make this work.

“I want to do it again,” I said. “I think I can do it this time.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t have a worse memory to relive, so yes. I  need to get this.”

Sev walked back across the room and pointed his wand.

“Legilimens!”

I braced myself and tried to clear my mind, but the frustration of feeling memories creeping back made me defensive. Without even thinking, I raised my wand.

“Expelliarmus!”

Instead of my own memories, Sev’s memories filled my mind. The first one was of him when he was very young—probably no older than twelve years old. He was sitting in the corner of a dark room while two people, presumably his parents, had a yelling match. The next memory was of him being teased when he was a little bit older. Someone knocked his books out of his hands as he walked down the hallway. The next memory was one that startled me; Sev was older, probably in his early twenties, and he was standing before Voldemort. The very last memory was a very strange one; Sev was standing before a mirror, but instead of his reflection, a woman dressed in a wedding gown stood before him.