It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 23

"Merlin help us!" laughed Minerva, "We barely survived having the four we have here now!  Can you imagine two of Neville Longbottom or Seamus Finnegan?  Hogwarts would surely be reduced to rubble!"  She collapsed into a fit of giggles, as Albus laughed heartily and Severus sat shaking his head.

"Don't you even suggest such a thing, within earshot of those young people, Minerva.  Or you and you alone will be responsible for the damages!" Severus intoned, which did nothing to quiet the laughter coming from the other two.  "I, for one, have considerably altered my opinion of both of those young wizards and I think, with the right instructions, they could be quite formidable foes to anyone trying to enter this castle."

"Here, here!" gasped Minerva.  "BOOM!"  And she was off again, giggling like a schoolgirl.

* * * *

Thursday morning found everyone crowded around the kitchen table, enjoying breakfast as Winky whipped out omelets and flipped bangers onto plates at an amazing speed.  Molly was sitting at her place, actually getting to enjoy eating with her guests, as opposed to hovering around the table, as was her usual occupation.

They had decided to spend the night at The Burrow so Molly and Winky could have everything ready for Arthur's return the next day and to also give Sirius an extra couple of hours out of Grimmauld Place.  Kids and adults alike were rested and in good spirits, when the fire blazed up with green flames and Severus Snape stepped out.

"Severus!  Join us won't you?  Have you had breakfast?"  Molly immediately went into hostess mode.

"Thank you, Molly, but I ate earlier.  However, I won't say no to a cup of coffee," replied the Potions Master.  "Good morning, all." 

He looked around the table, if not with a jovial smile, at least he was being cordial.  As he surveyed the stunned looks on his students faces, he noticed the Muggles didn't seem at all surprised with his greeting, until he remembered they were used to being greeted by the actor who portrayed him . . . obviously this person was more sociable than himself.

"Good morning, Severus," Remus replied, being the first to recover the power of speech.  Turning to the others, he snapped them out of their frozen postures by instructing them, "Shove over, you lot, make room for one more, please."

"Oh, right!"  "Sorry!"

Chairs scraped and Severus lowered himself onto the wooden stool which floated over and landed with a soft thump at his side.  Winky was there in the next instant with a steaming mug of coffee.

"Thank you, Winky,"  intoned Severus.

"You is welcome, Professor Snape, sir," answered the shy House Elf.  "Can Winky get you anything else, sir?"

"No, this will be sufficient."

"Yes, Professor."  Winky hurried back to the stove, blushing.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of this early morning visit, Severus?"  Dan asked, passing the cream and sugar.

"Thank you, Dan.  Actually, I'm here to collect Pott . . . Harry, for his first 'Occlumency' lesson."  He turned and looked at the young Wizard, noting the look of dread that had flitted over Harry's face.  "I have devised a plan for your instruction, which I think you will find preferable to the methods I seem to have used in our first go around; no shouting, no nasty remarks, no beating you up mentally."

Pausing to take a sip of coffee, Severus watched the relief flow over Harry.  He caught Dan's eye and received an almost imperceptible nod and smile. 

Severus continued, "Albus and I have discussed this and we have come to the conclusion that the Dark Lord is being very subtle in his method of invading your mind, so I must show you how to detect those attempts at manipulating your thoughts.  If you are aware of his presence, you can better control your reactions and what you present as your thoughts . . . Harry."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan to me," intoned Sirius.  "If Harry can at least be aware of what he shows Voldemort, without giving any more information than we want him to obtain, then we have a distinct advantage."

"And after the blow-up at the Ministry in June, he'll realize it's a two-way street and shut his mind from yours, Harry, so it's not going to be that long that you have to keep on your toes, so to speak," added Dan.  "I think you'll be very good at 'Occlumency', given how you'll be trained this time, because near the end, you could see through Voldemort's eyes and spy on him without much trouble."

"That's right.  I forgot that bit," admitted Harry.  Standing up, he turned to grin at Severus.  "I'm ready when you are, Professor."  Looking over at Dan, he winked.  "Or as you would say, Dan, 'Let's get this show on the road', eh?"

Severus looked first at Remus, then Sirius before he grimaced slightly.  "I've got a bad feeling about this," he muttered, which caused the two Marauders to look at each other and laugh, as their classmate and his pupil took their leave.